By Ashley Rowe on September 7, 2012 in Health Care.

In addition to Physical Therapists and Registered Nurses, Occupational Therapists top the list of the most common advertised job titles. Here's a further look at one of the most demanded occupations.

Currently, there are over 28,000 jobs posted online for this profession by more than 1,800 employers. During this 2 1/2 year period, Occupational Therapists saw its highest point in hiring demand during February 2011 with more than 41,000 ads online. However, since then, demand has declined 19%. Despite declining job volume, this occupation continues to be one of the most advertised positions.

Occupational Therapist Hiring Demand – 4 Year Period

SOURCE: WANTED Analytics

According to our Hiring Scale heat map, across the nation, it is likely to be very difficult to fill Occupational Therapist positions with once exception; Buffalo-Niagara Falls, NY. This location has the least difficult circumstances for recruiting, due to a low volume of job ads in relation to candidate supply. The New York metropolitan area has the most qualified job candidates currently in the workforce. It also has the highest volume of job ads for this position making it a difficult location to recruit since hiring demand outpaces the talent supply.

Heat Map of Hiring Demand for Occupational Therapists

SOURCE: WANTED Analytics

The most required certification for Occupational Therapists is Occupational Therapy; Feeding, Eating and Swallowing. In addition to this knowledge employers are looking for the following most advertised skills:

1. Orthotics or Orthotic Devices
2. Treatment Planning
3. Time Management
4. Personal Protective Equipment
5. Preventive Maintenance

It may take longer to fill this position with an average posting period of 47 days, just under 7 weeks. To reduce the time to fill this position, Recruiters can offer attractive relocation packages to candidates in the metro areas with less difficult recruiting conditions such as Buffalo-Niagara Falls, NY, Albany, NY, Rochester, NY, Portland, ME or Jackson, MS. Offering a more competitive salary for this position can also attract more candidates to apply for open positions. The current national average salary range for Occupational Therapists is $72,000 – $88,000.

To look up average salaries for the position you are filling, try a free trial of WANTED Analytics™.

Analytics users, log in, under Occupation type then select Occupational Therapist, add your location and search data through the Maps tab.

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