The current employment situation and future outlook for those seeking Orlando medical jobs is continuing to look bright.

The healthcare industry is among the few that has been able to survive, and even thrive, throughout the economic recession. Throughout Florida and the nation as a whole, the industry has continued to grow and add jobs, while other industries have been forced to cut payrolls.

The Orland-Kissimmee-Sanford area's education and health services industry employed 118,500 workers during February, according to the U.S. Department of Labor Bureau of Labor Statistics. This is up from 118,200 workers during January and a 1.5 percent increase from last year.

Historically, the healthcare industry is one of great importance and high-demand. The fact that people will always get sick and need medical caretakers means there will always be a need for workers to fill various healthcare positions.

The healthcare industry includes: offices of physicians, dentists, and other health practitioners; outpatient care centers; medical and diagnostic laboratories, home healthcare services; other ambulatory healthcare services; and hospitals.

There were 39,744 establishments in Florida's healthcare industry during 2007. According to the Florida Agency for Workforce Innovation, those establishments employed 669,154 workers, an increase of 18,205 workers from 2006. The majority of that growth was found in medical and surgical hospitals and offices of physicians.

The largest sectors in the healthcare industry that year were general medical and surgical hospitals, accounting for 285,798 jobs, and offices of physicians, accounting for 164,792 jobs. Together, those two industries make up 67 percent of overall healthcare employment.

In Florida, healthcare employment is concentrated in the southeast and central parts of the state. Broward, Hillsborough, Miami-Dade, Orange, Palm Beach and Pinellas counties have the highest concentrations of healthcare employees.

Even though the main function of the healthcare industry is to diagnose and treat people with medical problems, only nine of the 15 largest occupations in the industry provide direct patient care.

The occupations with the highest employment include: registered nurses, nursing aides, licensed practical and licensed vocational nurses, medical assistants and home health aides. These five occupations make up about 32.6 percent of all employment in the industry.

The average wage for healthcare employees in Florida during 2007 was $49,804 per year, which is 25 percent higher than the state's total average wage of $39,776 per year.

Registered nurses, the largest occupation, earn an average salary of $29.52 per hour or $61,402 per year. Along with RNs, the highest-paying occupations are physical therapists, earning $36.02 per hour, and dental hygienists, earning $28.29 per hour.

Average hourly wages among the top 15 largest occupations range from a low of $10.29 per hour for home health aides to a high of $36.02 per hour for physical therapists.