Pharmacist Assistants - Employment & Outlook

The table below provides information about the number of workers in this occupation in various regions. It also provides information about the expected growth rate and future job openings.

Employment

About half of all pharmacy technicians work in retail drug stores.

Major employers:

Pharmacies and drug stores
Hospitals
Grocery store pharmacies

Outlook

Growth for this occupation will be about as fast as average. As the population ages, more people will need medications. New medications are always being developed and more will become available. Also, new federal health care laws mean that more people will be covered by health insurance and be able to seek medical treatment.

Demand for pharmacy technicians also grows as pharmacy technicians do more tasks formally done by pharmacists. Job prospects will be best for those with experience, formal training, and certifications.

Pharmacy Technicians (CIS 100154)

Location	Employment	&	Growth		>>>>	Annual openings
			This occupation	All occupations
Illinois	19,048 Very large	&	5.3%	5.8%	>>>>	1,603 Very High
Champaign Area	334 Very large	&	6.6%	7.0%	>>>>	28 High
Charleston-Effingham-Centralia Area	288 Large	&	-1.4%	5.0%	>>>>	22 High
Cook County	8,539 Very large	&	5.8%	5.6%	>>>>	724 Very High
Decatur Area	163 Large	&	4.3%	7.0%	>>>>	13 High
DeKalb-Elgin-Aurora Area	827 Very large	&	7.6%	9.7%	>>>>	72 High
Du Page County	1,808 Very large	&	6.7%	5.4%	>>>>	156 High
Edwardsville Area	322 Very large	&	-0.9%	5.1%	>>>>	24 High
Jacksonville-Carlinville-Litchfield Area	175 Very large	&	5.1%	7.0%	>>>>	15 High
Kankakee-Morris-Pontiac Area	272 Very large	&	4.4%	5.2%	>>>>	22 High
Lake County	1,220 Very large	&	7.5%	8.6%	>>>>	106 Very High
McHenry County	333 Very large	&	7.2%	6.8%	>>>>	28 High
Mt Vernon-Marion-Carbondale Area	289 Very large	&	8.0%	6.8%	>>>>	25 High
Northwest Illinois Area	341 Very large	&	3.8%	3.6%	>>>>	27 High
Peoria-Bloomington Area	813 Very large	&	0.2%	7.3%	>>>>	62 High
Quincy-Macomb-Galesburg Area	250 Very large	&	-1.6%	4.3%	>>>>	19 High
Rock Island-Moline Area	273 Large	&	7.0%	5.7%	>>>>	23 High
Rockford Area	469 Very large	&	-1.3%	7.6%	>>>>	35 High
Shawnee National Forest Area	150 Very large	&	4.7%	2.4%	>>>>	13 High
Springfield Area	441 Very large	&	3.4%	4.7%	>>>>	37 High
St Louis-Belleville Area	519 Very large	&	-1.0%	6.4%	>>>>	40 High
Vermilion County	119 Very large	&	5.0%	4.9%	>>>>	10 High
Will County	1,142 Very large	&	7.0%	9.1%	>>>>	98 Very High
United States	422,300 Very large	&	3.6%	3.7%	>>>>	33,400 High