Southeastern Minnesota is both an engine for developing the state’s healthcare talent pipeline and home to some of the industry’s largest employers. With about 61,200 people in this region employed in healthcare delivery occupations and related postsecondary awards holding steady, the region expects to see a shortage of anywhere between 1,250 (expected based on demographic forecasts) and 3,700 (matching employer demand) healthcare professionals by 2021. In the second quarter of 2018, 10,240 healthcare positions were advertised online in the region. Unemployment sits dangerously low at 1.5% and lower for critical occupations, as low as 0.8% for the region’s number one occupation in shortage: Registered Nurses.