Recent reports from the Bureau of Labor Statistics have shown that, after reaching a low point and leveling off, hospitals are beginning to show growth in the form of thousands of new jobs added in recent weeks.

Perhaps another positive sign for the financial state of hospitals, is the news that Ohio's Cleveland Clinic is preparing to add 1,800 new positions in 2010, after losing millions of dollars over the past two years. According to The Plain Dealer and Cleveland.com, the hospital's new positions range from physicians to support staff. Cleveland Clinic is coming off of a year-long hiring freeze, which has been a sign of the times for many hospitals nationwide.

The trend is not isolated to this renowned hospital. Other area hospitals also plan to hire on a large scale in 2010. More than 800 jobs are projected for MetroHealth System and University Hospitals of Ohio, including many doctors, nurses, and administrative staff, according to the article.

Many economists eye the medical industry because healthcare is often the last sector to contract when the economy is bad, and the first to recover when the economy begins to contract. Therefore, this positive growth for hospitals may also signal improvement for other industries outside of healthcare.

Additionally, although this particular report only covers one area, Ohio is a region that has been especially hard-hit by the recession. Therefore, similar hospital job growth will likely be experienced in other systems, throughout various regions of the country.

The Bureau of Labor Statistics recently released its projections for the top 30 occupations predicted to experience the highest growth and add the most new jobs during the ten year period ending in 2018.

Of the 30 careers on the list, six are in the healthcare industry! Additionally, several other careers, while not specific or exclusive to the healthcare industry, are ones needed in medical settings such as information technology (IT), receptionists, and administrative professionals.

While healthcare in general is a high growth industry, these six in-demand medical careers are where the jobs are, or at least where they're projected to be!

More: 6 Most Rapidly Growing Medical Careers | BLS Report

Are you seeking a medical job that's a real "gas"? All kidding aside, careers in anesthesiology offer a fast-paced, dynamic and rewarding health career working in the operating room (OR). Most anesthesiologists work in hospital ORs, while others work in outpatient surgery centers, medical offices, or dental offices. Careers in anesthesiology are some of the most lucrative of all healthcare careers, because of the training required, and the nature of the work, which is very high-risk, and high-pressure. Additionally, careers in anesthesiology often require being on call at night and on weekends on a regular basis. (The frequency of call depends on the surgical volume, and the number of anesthesiologists who are sharing the call schedule.)

Anesthesiologists are physicians who administer anesthesia (gases and/or injections) before and during surgery or a surgical procedure. As another career option, some anesthesiologists specialize in pain management. Pain managment specialists run an office-based practice administering injections and other treatments to help patients manage chronic pain.

If becoming a doctor is not an option for you, but you're interested in working in a surgical setting, you may want to explore a career as a CRNA. A CRNA is an advanced practice nurse who also administers anesthesia to patients during surgery in place of the anesthesiologist. CRNAs work as an extension of anesthesiologists, performing essentially the same duties, but must work at a facility where an anesthesiologist is on staff and can provide oversight such as quality control or emergency back-up, if needed.

More: Anesthesiologist Career Profile | CRNA Career Profile

Hospitals, Home Health See Notable Growth

There is some good news and bad news this month for the healthcare industry. Slightly fewer jobs were added in November than in the previous month's increase of 29,000 new jobs in October, according to today's report from the Bureau of Labor Statistics. However, after several months of remaining relatively flat, hospitals saw a slight uptick in job growth, adding 7,000 jobs for the month of November.

The other notable growth segment within the healthcare sector was home health care, which also added 7,000 jobs in November. According to the BLS, the healthcare industry has added a total of 613,000 jobs since the beginning of the recession, in December 2007, including this month's increase of 21,000 healthcare jobs.

The overall job market (including all industries) saw a bit of good news with a very slight decline in the unemployment rate, from 10.2 percent to 10.0 percent. With a total decrease of 11,000 jobs in nonfarm payroll, this is the smallest monthly decline in jobs since 2007, prompting many experts to predict that this could be the beginning of the end of the recession.