Recent jobs data shows how healthcare is quickly becoming the nation’s No. 1 employer, the industry with the fastest-growing jobs, and the sector with the fastest-growing individual industries, like home healthcare. This information comes from recent future projections by the US Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS), the 132-year-old principal fact-finding government agency for labor economics and statistics.
This is all very good if you work in healthcare, because it shows that there will be plenty of jobs for you for years to come, and many of them are well-paid, highly skilled jobs. The expansion of various industries within the healthcare sector also shows that healthcare jobs are becoming more diverse, so there will be many different types of opportunities as well.
Challenges Grow for Providers
But for healthcare providers – hospitals, health systems and a variety of other healthcare facilities and services – the news from the BLS presents real challenges, namely that the supply of healthcare workers will not meet demand.
Of particular concern to healthcare providers should be the information from a BLS program called the Job Openings and Labor Turnover Survey, or JOLTS, which produces data on job openings, hires, and separations. Healthcare job hires have remained relatively static over the years. But healthcare job openings have been rising significantly in recent years.
In January 2013, there were 533,000 job openings in healthcare and 454,000 job hires. In January 2014, there were 631,000 healthcare job openings and 479,000 hires. Then the real rise in openings began. By July 2014, there were 778,000 job openings and 509,000 hires. A year later, in July 2015, there were 1,010,000 job openings and 519,000 hires.
The latest data, for January 2016, shows 1,046,000 job openings and 519,000 job hires.
Help Needed for Jobs Gap
This widening gap represents unfilled healthcare jobs of all types, including for nurses, physicians, allied health practitioners and others. And, when considered along with employment projections by the BLS, the unfilled healthcare jobs gap probably will not be resolved in the near future.
Job openings due to growth and replacement needs for 2014-2024 in healthcare are projected to reach nearly 5.2 million. Among that total is 1.1 million RNs, 1 million technicians and technologists, 311,200 therapists and 290,000 physicians. While many health education programs have increased their numbers of graduates, they are not expected to approach those BLS projections.
Healthcare organizations already have their hands full. In this transformative era of healthcare, they are concentrating on providing top quality care for patients – and rightly so. They also must focus on containing costs, expanding population health, and aligning with government incentives and regulations to change from volume-based to value-based care.
At the same time, they face an extremely competitive environment for hiring the healthcare professionals that they need. To cope with the growing shortages of quality healthcare professionals, providers are going to need the help of workforce experts. The need for help will grow greater as the gap between healthcare job openings and hires continues to widen.
See also:
• 21st Century Sourcing: Solving the Healthcare Supply-Demand Crunch
• Recruitment Process Outsourcing (RPO): Helping Healthcare Organizations Stay Focused on Patient Care
• How to Succeed in the War for Talent
The views, opinions and positions expressed within these guest posts are those of the author alone and do not represent those of Becker’s Hospital Review/Becker’s Healthcare. The accuracy, completeness and validity of any statements made within this article are not guaranteed. We accept no liability for any errors, omissions or representations. The copyright of this content belongs to the author and any liability with regards to infringement of intellectual property rights remains with them.
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