New college graduates entering the lucrative mobile app economy earn about $99,000 per year on average, more than double the average salary that a typical new grad earns, according to a new report from ACT/The App Association.

As a result, the booming market is giving healthcare professionals a steadily increasing number of new and potentially lucrative job opportunities.

“Changes in the regulatory landscape have created new opportunities for connected health companies,” said Morgan Reed, executive director of ACT/The App Association, in a statement. “With healthcare providers shifting from fee-for-service to value-based payments, growth will continue in key areas including chronic condition management, personal fitness and wellness, and remote patient monitoring.”

Mobile apps are poised to have a profound impact this year on the $3 trillion healthcare industry, the report titled “State of the App Economy” found. For example, 86 percent of clinicians say mobile apps will be central to patient health by 2020; the connected health market will reach $117 billion by 2020; and the remote patient monitoring market will reach $46 billion by 2017.

The so-called app economy is a $120 billion ecosystem worldwide. While 74 percent of app companies are in the United States, 82 percent are startups or small businesses and 82 percent are located outside of Silicon Valley in both urban and rural areas. The research also determined that 68 percent of app companies have unfilled positions – and that number is growing.

App businesses typically start out very small. Those that achieve success suddenly are in need of various types of professionals to manage and take the business to the next level of growth.

Top skills in demand are: developer, marketing, engineering, business development, human resources, customer service, finance and legal expertise. These professionals can be seasoned executives or new college graduates.

Twitter: @SiwickiHealthIT