According to the Michigan Health and Hospital Association, health care has been Michigan's largest sector in terms of employment, with hospitals being the largest single employer in many Michigan communities. Job opportunities in health care continue to burgeon, even in the state's struggling economy.

In addition to the aging of the "baby boomers" among Michigan's population, which causes many to access health care services more frequently, the state's economic downturn in recent years has caused its Medicaid caseload to soar.

As of January 2008, more than 1.5 million Michigan citizens received health care through Medicaid and more than 1 million additional residents have no health insurance of any kind.

As the need for health services among these groups rises, the call for individuals with the skills and advanced education to meet that need increases.

Physicians, nurses, pharmacists, radiological technicians, medical laboratory technicians, medical records technologists, medical billing coders — almost every health care-related occupation is facing a serious shortage with the state.

An October 2004 study prepared for the Michigan Department of Labor & Economic Growth projected that the state will need to fill more than 100,000 professional and technical health care jobs between 2004 and 2015, including nearly 24,000 registered and practical nurses.

As Michigan's economy continues to diversify and lose manufacturing jobs, the state's health care sector will become an even more significant source of stable jobs that pay good wages and provide benefits for a growing number of Michigan residents and their families.