The workforce is top of mind for hospitals and health systems across the U.S., particularly as they focus on recruitment and retention amid today’s industry pressures.
Here are 12 numbers to know about the workforce today, per reports recently covered by Becker’s:
1. The Bureau of Labor Statistics released its September jobs report Nov. 20 — the agency’s first since the 43-day government shutdown from Oct. 1 to Nov. 12. Healthcare added 42,800 jobs for the month, roughly in line with the 12-month average of 42,000, according to the report. Ambulatory healthcare services contributed the most to September’s healthcare job gains, adding 23,300 positions, followed by hospitals, which added 16,400.
2. A recent Mercer study based on responses from 2,010 employers predicts a 6.7% increase in total health benefit costs for employers in 2026 — the steepest in 15 years.
3. Healthcare job postings have declined 8.5% year over year as of Oct. 10, according to a third-quarter report from Indeed’s Hiring Lab. The report examined job postings and wage data for U.S. healthcare roles on the employment site. Overall healthcare job postings were 2.4% above their February 2020 baseline, seasonally adjusted, as of Oct. 10.
4. U.S. healthcare wage disparities modestly narrowed during the COVID-19 pandemic, according to an analysis of wage data. Researchers from Minneapolis-based University of Minnesota and Seattle-based University of Washington found that workers in the lowest-earning healthcare occupations experienced wage increases of approximately 13% between 2015 and 2024 — significantly more than higher-earning groups.
5. In 2025, 2 in 5 healthcare workers report feeling working conditions in their role is unsustainable, and 1 in 4 said they were considering leaving the industry altogether, according to an Indeed survey of 924 U.S. healthcare workers ages 18-65 conducted July 23 and Aug. 6. Participants included 197 prescribing providers — physicians, nurse practitioners and physician assistants — 75 registered nurses and 74 dental hygienists. Other roles included therapists, dentists, imaging technologists and mental health practitioners.
6. Employment in the nation’s private sector climbed by 42,000 jobs in October, with 26,000 added in the education and health services sector, according to an ADP Research report released Nov. 5. The October national employment report, produced in collaboration with the Stanford Digital Economy Lab, examined anonymized weekly payroll data from more than 26 million private-sector employees in the U.S.
7. Healthcare recorded 4,339 cuts in October, up from 3,022 year over year, according to a Nov. 6 report from executive coaching firm Challenger, Gray & Christmas. The firm overall found that from January through October, U.S. employers cut 1,099,500 jobs — up from 664,839 during the same period in 2024.
