The report examined healthcare labor statistics during the next five to 10 years in every state and at county, state, regional and national levels.
Four main findings:
1.There will be a shortage of labor at the low end of the wage spectrum, limiting access to home care.
- About 9.7 million individuals currently work in lower-wage healthcare positions with the need in the next five years rising to 10.7 million.
- Trends project 6.5 million employees will permanently leave their positions by 2026 with 1.9 million people replacing them.
- New York and California will have the largest labor shortages, each projected to fall short by 500,000 by 2026.
2. Primary care will increasingly be provided by non-physicians.
- Twenty-one percent of family medicine, pediatric, OB/GYN and other primary care physicians are expected to retire.
- Demand for primary care physicians is projected to grow by 4 percent during the same time period, causing a shift toward other clinicians providing the care.
3. There will be shortages of nurses in the majority of the states, but surplus in some areas of the South and Southwest.
- Demand for nurses is set to grow 5 percent in the next five years.
- More than 900,000 nurses will leave, causing employers to need to hire 1.1 million more by 2026.
- The report projects 29 will be unable to fill demands.
4. There will be a six-figure hiring rush for mental health professionals by 2026.
- A 10 percent increase in demand for mental health workers by 2026 is projected.
- The report projects 27 will be unable to fill hiring demands.
You can read the full report here.