Healthcare Staffing Report: June 4, 2015

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Bullish signs for healthcare staffing: Low unemployment, healthy turnover

Data from the US Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) shows that even as the national unemployment rate improved last year, unemployment in healthcare and technical occupations remains well below the national average.

Below are selected healthcare and technical occupations along with their respective unemployment rates for 2014. Notably, several occupations (pharmacists, physicians and surgeons, occupational therapists, physical therapists, and nurse practitioners) had less than 2% unemployment in 2014, indicating supply shortages.

In addition to low unemployment, we are also seeing a healthy level of churn in the healthcare workforce once again. The BLS Job Openings and Labor Turnover Survey (JOLTS), which measures the number of “quits” on a monthly basis in the Healthcare and Social Assistance industry, shows the quit rate has recovered to near pre-recession levels. The graph below shows the quit rate from December 2000 to February 2015.

Low unemployment and a healthy level of turnover are bullish signs for the healthcare staffing industry, signaling that clients will continue to need staffing firms to help recruit scarce candidates. This conclusion is substantiated by results seen in Staffing Industry Analysts’ recent Pulse Surveys and Staffing Industry Benchmarking Consortium survey for corporate members. To learn about other recent trends in healthcare staffing, corporate members can see our latest Healthcare Staffing Assessment report.