Nursing jobs in high demand in Arkansas

As the baby boomer generation nears retirement, states around the country will need to find people with nursing jobs to take care of the aging population and to replace older healthcare workers who are leaving the workforce.

Arkansas is no exception to this trend as The City Wire reports that nurses are in high demand in many parts of the state. According to Arkansas' state workforce services department, registered nursing jobs are expected to grow by 38 percent by 2018.

"LPNs and RNs are still an occupation that is still in demand in Arkansas. I know we’re not having difficulty placing students," Bruce Sikes, the chief academic officer at the Arkansas Tech University (ATU) – Ozark campus, told the news provider.

Ester Leonard, an ATU nursing instructor at the school's Ozark campus, says that while hiring might be down in certain areas, it is up on the whole.

"We’ve seen some decline in hospital (jobs) but not in long-term health care," she told the news source. "Although it is declining in some hospitals, overall it is increasing."

Demand for registered nurses isn't only going to increase in Arkansas, as the Bureau of Labor Statistics states that employment for these professionals will increase by 26 percent nationwide by 2020.