Be careful when reading statistics like this. The data here may seem to counter what most optometrists have been saying about over saturation in the field, but in talking to optometrists myself, I hear that the major issue is with over saturation in certain prime areas (LA area and Bay area in California, for example). So while these desirable locations (and other big cities I presume) are being crammed with optometrists, other more rural areas are without many or any optometrists. When factoring both types of areas, the need for optometrists looks good (but it really may only be in certain places). This is most likely how the Bureau of Labor Statistics can say that "Employment of optometrists is expected to grow much faster than the average for all occupations through 2018" even though actual optometrists in the field will bemoan saturation.
So, I guess the point of this is just be careful interpreting data, and talk to optometrists who can give you a sense of what it is like to be in the field.
