Nearly half of the high-demand jobs in West Michigan are in the health sciences.
That’s one of the key takeaways from the new 2023 Hot Jobs! List. The report from West Michigan Works! highlights the top 100 jobs in the region’s high-growth industries.
The list is an essential tool used by West Michigan Works! and community partners to begin discussions around career exploration, identify existing skills that would transfer into high-demand occupations, and inform decisions regarding funding occupational training.
The report covers for following counties: Allegan, Barry, Ionia, Kent, Montcalm, Muskegon, and Ottawa.
Top sectors
After the health sciences sector, the construction industry represented 30 out of the 100 Hot Jobs!, followed by agriculture with 28, professional services with 25, manufacturing with 24, and information technology with 13.
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Jacob Maas
High-demand occupations are defined as those with a significant number of open positions in the current job market, that are expected to see considerable growth in the next five years, and can lead to self-sufficiency through living wages and opportunities for advancement.
Occupations on the Hot Jobs! List must show a growth rate of at least 4%, double the regional average, over 10 years; annual openings above industry averages; and wages at or above $14.30 per hour.
“We are pleased to roll out several new updates to our annual Hot Jobs! List that make it easier for job seekers to find rewarding career opportunities,” says Jacob Maas, CEO of West Michigan Works!.
“We’re thankful to our five industry talent councils and the many employers contributing insights each year. Their continued partnership ensures an accurate representation of the regional employment landscape, which helps guide how we allocate resources for occupational training.”
New feature
New for 2023, the Hot Jobs! List features a new visual classification system that allows job seekers to quickly identify whether an occupation meets the criteria for West Michigan Works! training scholarships, if an occupation is represented within multiple industries, and the level of demand for each position.
Training and development specialist, sales representative, and statistician are the only three occupations that span all five high-demand industries. However, 11 positions are present in three sectors, and 35 jobs appear in two or more industries.
A new “demand scale” of one to three replaces the “percent growth” and the “number of jobs” added. The visual scale allows job seekers to intuitively identify the demand for a job compared to others. All occupations in the report are in high demand, but some more than others, as indicated by one, two, or three fire icons.
Of the 100 occupations in the Hot Jobs! List, 64% meet the criteria for West Michigan Works! training scholarships for on-the-job training, licensing, an apprenticeship, certification, an associate or bachelor’s degree, or a postsecondary non-degree award. Notably, 44% of occupations on the list require a bachelor’s degree or higher.
Increased wage range
The 2023 edition of the Hot Jobs! List also features an increased wage range of the 25th–75th percentile. Those who are just starting their careers may expect wages at the lower end of the distribution, near the 10th or 25th percentile, while those with more experience and education may expect wages near the 75th or 90th.
The online Hot Jobs! List provides additional features such as sortable fields, videos, and more information about each occupation. Job seekers can access the 2023 list at
westmiworks.org/job-seekers/hot-jobs/.
Occupational data was obtained from Economic Modeling Specialists International (EMSI), the National Center for O*NET Development, and The Employers’ Association (TEA) of West Michigan. Local data and employer feedback were used to determine the industry focus for our region: manufacturing, health sciences, information technology, construction, professional services, and agribusiness.
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