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WILKES-BARRE &mdash; Teri Ooms, executive director of The Institute for Public Policy & Economic Development at Wilkes University, a recent study shows that regional career opportunities exist at all levels.
				&ldquo;A mass exodus of workers, either through retirement or out-migration, is projected to result in a large drop in workforce representation of low skill occupations, from 57 percent in 2018 to 46 percent by 2026,&rdquo; Ooms said. &ldquo;Conversely, the proportion of high skill occupations, those which require at least a bachelor&rsquo;s degree, is projected to climb from 13 percent of the regional workforce to 20 percent during the same period of time. Middle skill occupations, which require either long-term training or an associate&rsquo;s degree, are also slated to fall by four percentage points during this time.&rdquo;
				Andrew Chew, Senior Research & Policy Analyst at The Institute, said the analysis outlines five industries of Northeastern Pennsylvania&rsquo;s economy that are poised for future expansion and investment, as well as those that provide accessible employment opportunities with upward mobility and transferable skills.
				&ldquo;These target industries identify sectors of economic specialization in Northeastern Pennsylvania that offer competitive advantages to employers and employees alike,&rdquo; Chew said.
				Collectively, the study shows that the following target industries employ more than 196,000 workers in the region, representing nearly 43 percent of Northeastern Pennsylvania&rsquo;s economy. Some of the target industries below even surpass national and statewide equivalent shares: (1) Healthcare and Social Assistance, (2) Logistics, Transportation, and Warehousing, and (3) Utilities and Energy Production.
				Combined, these industries are set to create approximately 7,530 new positions between 2018 and 2026. Employees in these target industries are also, on average, better compensated than regional employees in other industries, receiving approximately $49,907 in wages &#8211; a nearly 20 percent premium over regional workers in all industries.
				Healthcare and Social Assistance
				A source of nearly 82,000 jobs across Northeastern Pennsylvania, Healthcare and Social Assistance is a thriving industry sector in the region.
				As of 2018, Healthcare and Social Assistance jobs represent nearly 17 percent of the regional workforce, and is projected to grow at a rate of 1.1 percent annually over the next decade, compared to an average projected decrease of 0.2 percent across all other industries in the region.
				Reflecting the major demographic changes facing the region, many of these jobs are located in industries that serve the elderly and infirm. Projected growth in Services for the Elderly and Persons with Disabilities, along with Home Health Care Services, Continuing Retirement Care Communities, and Assisted Living Facilities for the Elderly, demonstrates the important role of the region&rsquo;s aging population in workforce development through the coming decade.
				Moreover, the region&rsquo;s challenges in combating the opioid crisis may regrettably require a greater need for healthcare workers in settings that address this pervasive social crisis, including Residential Mental Health and Substance Abuse Facilities and Outpatient Mental Health and Substance Abuse Centers.
				Ooms and Chew said the approximately 82,000 Northeastern Pennsylvania workers currently employed in health care and social assistance professions earn, on average, approximately $45,431 &mdash; 8.9 percent more than the $41,726 in average wages earned by workers in all other industries.
				Between now and 2026, the largest number of jobs created in this industry is projected to come from a handful of occupations, specifically Personal Care Aides (34 percent); Home Health Aides (18 percent); Registered Nurses (6 percent); Medical Assistants (6 percent); and Medical Secretaries (5 percent). The fastest-growing occupations by total percentage growth from 2018 to 2026 include: Home Health Aides (27 percent); Personal Care Aides (23 percent); Medical Assistants and Child, Family, and School Social Workers (17 percent each); Physical Therapists and Mental Health Counselors (14 percent each); Social and Human Service Assistants (13 percent); Mental Health and Substance Abuse Social Workers and Medical Secretaries (12 percent each); and Medical & Health Services Managers (11 percent). Conversely, many larger industries in healthcare occupations are growing at more modest rates, such as Licensed Practical Nurses (3 percent), Preschool Teachers (2.6 percent), and Nursing Assistants (0.5 percent). table 4
				Logistics, Transportation, and Warehousing
				Northeastern Pennsylvania&rsquo;s Logistics, Transportation, and Warehousing industries supply nearly 38,000 jobs in the region &#8211; approximately 11.3 percent of the regional workforce &mdash; and is expected to grow by a rate of 0.3 percent annually over the next ten years, compared to an average 0.2 percent contraction across all other industries in the region.
				Positioned equidistantly from major centers of urban commerce in New York and Philadelphia, and located along the major transportation routes of Interstates 81 and 80, Northeastern Pennsylvania is home to growing industries in warehousing, as well as road, transit, and ground passenger transportation. Since 2013, this sector added approximately 4,900 jobs across Northeastern Pennsylvania &mdash; an average annual growth rate of two percent, compared to a 0.4-percent growth rate among all other regional industries.
				Moreover, as this sector continues to expand, regional workers may continue to access economic opportunities in new sectors. For instance, the continued growth of Wilkes-Barre/Scranton International Airport &mdash; the fifth largest airport in Pennsylvania by passenger count &mdash; has generated new positions in airport operations and air transportation, as exhibited by the double-digit percentage employment growth in these industries from 2013 to 2018, and the prospect of continued growth in the coming years.
				Workers in Northeastern Pennsylvania currently employed in the Logistics, Transportation, and Warehousing sector earn approximately $42,787 annually, a nearly three-percent increase over the average regional wages of $41,726. Although the largest number of employment openings in this sector include Laborers, Packers and Packagers, and Industrial Truck and Tractor Operators, many higher-paying opportunities exist on the supervisory level, as well as in other specialized positions &mdash; for instance, First-Line Supervisors of Helpers, Transportation Managers, Logisticians, and Cargo and Freight Agents.
				Infrastructure and Construction
				Ooms and Chew said with just under 24,000 workers across Northeastern Pennsylvania, Infrastructure and Construction remains one of the most prominent industries in the region.
				Between 2013 and 2018, this sector added approximately 748 new positions to the region. More notably, however, the Infrastructure and Construction sector is expected to add another 662 positions between 2018 and 2026.
				Since Northeastern Pennsylvania is poised for future net job losses in the region, this sector&rsquo;s value to the regional economy will only increase. High-growth industries within this sector include positions involving: (1) Power and Communications Lines; (2) Water and Sewer Lines; (3) Oil and Gas Pipelines; (4) Plumbing, Heating, and Air-Conditioning Contractors; and (5) Highway, Street, and Bridge Construction.
				Workers in Northeastern Pennsylvania currently employed in the Infrastructure and Construction sector earn approximately $50,606 annually, a 21-percent increase over the average regional wages of $41,726. In fact, all but two of the 25 fastest-growing occupations in this sector pay their workers above-average wages.
				Additionally, the proportion of new jobs created in the Infrastructure and Construction sector paying above-market wages is expected to continue growing well into the next decade. As of 2018, Construction Laborers and Solar Photovoltaic Installers &mdash; the two occupations currently paying below-market wages &mdash; represent nearly 27 percent of workers in the top 25 Infrastructure and Construction sector; however, by 2026, they will likely represent just 23 percent.
				Utilities and Energy Production
				Home to just under 7,000 jobs, the Utilities and Energy Production sector is, by far, the smallest target industry for Northeastern Pennsylvania &mdash; however, it stills continues to harness one of the region&rsquo;s most valuable natural assets &mdash; its geographic conduciveness toward the generation of various sources of energy, both fossil fuel and renewable in nature.
				Since the 1950s, the long decline of Northeastern Pennsylvania&rsquo;s coal industry has been a well-established historical phenomenon &mdash; a downturn that continues, to some extent, to this very day. However, despite a projected drop in demand for employment in this industry of 0.6 percent (compared to a 0.2-percent drop across all other regional industry), there remain significant and well-compensated employment opportunities in certain corners of the sector.
				While the region&rsquo;s historical economic development has been steeped in the extraction of fossil fuels like coal and natural gas, sub-sectors that generate the production of renewable energy sources, such as biomass and wind, are actually growing at a faster rate than non-renewables. Industries experiencing the largest projected absolute employment gains include: (1) Support Activities for Oil and Gas Operations; (2) Natural Gas Extraction; (3) Drilling Oil and Gas Wells; and (4) Biomass Electric Power Generation.
				Careers in Northeastern Pennsylvania&rsquo;s Utilities and Energy Production sector pay approximately $80,177 in average wages &mdash; a 92-percent differential from the average regional wage of $41,726.
				Moreover, all but one of the fastest-growing occupations within this sector (Oil and Gas Roustabouts) pays more than the average regional wage, representing 76 percent of Utilities and Energy Production employees.
				Unsurprisingly, many of these jobs also involve the extraction of natural gas, given the rich deposits of natural gas found throughout the Marcellus Shale, including Service Unit Operators for Oil, Gas, and Mining, Roustabouts, and Rotary Drill Operators. Additionally, some occupations in this sector with six-figure salaries are growing at near double-digit percentage rates. For instance, demand for new Petroleum Engineers, positions which pay more than 160 percent of the average wage in Northeastern Pennsylvania, is projected to grow by nearly nine percent from 2018 to 2026.
				Advanced Professional Services
				A broad sector home to a vast array of diverse industries, Northeastern Pennsylvania&rsquo;s Advanced Professional Services sector employs approximately 46,434 regional workers, roughly 9.5 percent of the area&rsquo;s total workforce.
				Specifically, this sector includes five NAICS industries, each of which depend disproportionately on workers with bachelor&rsquo;s or advanced degrees: (1) Information; (2) Finance and Insurance; (3) Real Estate and Rental and Leasing; (4) Professional, Scientific, and Technical Services; and (5) Management of Companies and Enterprises. Occupations in this sector can be found across a wide range of professional settings and industry sub-sectors, from Libraries and Archives to Veterinary Services, and Investment Advice to Software Publishers.
				Careers in Northeastern Pennsylvania&rsquo;s Advanced Professional Services sector are well-compensated, as employees earn an average wage of $57,224 &mdash; a 37-percent increase over regional wages of $41,726.
				Reflecting the diversity of this broad-based sector, high-growth occupations draw from a vast array of disciplines.
				While Software Developing and Programming is projected to see the largest job growth between 2018 and 2026, positions focusing on the analysis and synthesis of data are demonstrating more robust relative growth, such as Statisticians (21 percent), Operations Research Analysts (14 percent), Actuaries (14 percent), and Market Research Analysts and Marketing Specialists (10 percent).
				Finally, occupations historically seen as high-growth are continuing to expand at modest rates, such as Accountants and Auditors or Insurance Sales Agents (one percent each), reaffirming their status as safe educational investments.

Institute study: Regional career opportunities exist at all levels