Total healthcare staffing revenue will fall 25% in 2009 to $8.5 billion but remain flat in 2010, according to Staffing Industry Analysts' latest forecast presented by Chief Analyst Barry Asin during his keynote speech Tuesday at the 2009 Staffing Industry Analysts' Healthcare Staffing Summit in Washington DC.

Locum tenens will be the only segment of healthcare staffing to post revenue growth, and it will see estimated increases of 2% in 2009 and 10% in 2010.

Travel nursing revenue will decline by 40% in 2009 and decline by 10% in 2010. Allied healthcare staffing revenue will fall 25% in 2009, but will be flat in 2010. Per diem nursing revenue will decrease by 30% in 2009 and be flat in 2010.

Healthcare staffing was at one time thought to be relatively immune from economic downturns but not anymore, Asin said. Fewer healthcare workers are leaving their jobs during this downturn, and many more nurses are willing to work on the payrolls of hospitals, he said.

On a more positive note, a survey of staffing buyers found that buyers of healthcare staffing said their costs would rise 9% if they did not use contingent labor.

Healthcare also remains a good place to be in the long run with the population of people 65 years old or older estimated to grow 79% by 2029 while those aged 64 and under to grow by just 12%.

The Healthcare Staffing Summit, which opened Tuesday, drew some 400 attendees. Other speakers Tuesday included Tom Daschle, the former U.S. Senate majority and minority leader, and Alan Beaulieu, senior economist at the Institute for Trend Research.