Covid-19 has brought sudden and massive change to the healthcare staffing market, and the landscape continues to shift. Orders for travel nurses are at record levels while assignments associated with non-critical procedures have experienced a spike in cancellations. As many elective procedures have been cancelled, anesthesiologists have been moved to overwhelmed ICUs. Within allied health staffing, the virus has driven a sudden shift in demand from PT/OT/SLT to respiratory therapy.

Not to downplay the challenges, but this is also an opportunity for the healthcare staffing industry to show how useful it can be amid a pandemic causing wide fluctuations in demand for labor. Also, such a shifting landscape gives individual staffing companies opportunities to build relationships with new clients and new candidates.

In this highly fluid environment, recent research can help staffing companies stay on top of the latest information. One resource available is our latest US Staffing Forecast, released April 7, which projects 2020 and 2021 revenue growth for healthcare staffing and the other major segments. We will also be conducting frequent pulse surveys, which will survey staffing firms on revenue growth, gross margin, bill rates, unfilled orders, new orders and recruiting orders, and information will be provided specific to certain segments such as healthcare. Another source of information is our Covid-19 Resource Center, which contains the latest information on economic impacts, regulatory changes, government stimulus and other developments related to Covid-19.

Once the pandemic abates, the landscape may shift back, releasing pent-up demand for elective appointments and procedures, but the trust gained by clients in staffing companies that delivered in this critical time will last.