Healthcare job postings hover just above COVID-era baseline: 7 notes

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 analyzed job postings and wage data for U.S. healthcare roles on the employment site. Here are seven things to know:

1. Overall healthcare job postings were 2.4% above their February 2020 baseline, seasonally adjusted, as of Oct. 10.

2. Physician and surgeon job postings declined 1.3% year over year but remained 84.9% above their pre-pandemic baseline. Nursing job postings fell 8.4% in the past year but were still 13% higher than February 2020.

3. Pharmacy roles saw the largest annual decline in postings at 10.1%, followed by medical technician roles at 9.1%. Both categories, however, remained above 2020 levels — up 25.1% and 27.1%, respectively.

4. Three healthcare job categories exceeded the labor market’s average wage growth of 2.6% in September: personal care and home care (3.2%), medical technician (3%) and childcare (2.8%). 

5. Nursing wages rose 1.6% in September, trailing behind dental (2.2%) and therapy (2.1%) roles.

6. All healthcare job categories in the report — except for childcare — saw declining wage growth over the past six months.

7. While financial challenges at hospitals and health systems have affected hiring at some organizations, many leaders are also seeing workforce growth through the addition of new facilities and expansions. Widespread shortages and baby boomer retirements are also shaping healthcare hiring, leaders told Becker’s in August.

“Being able to attract those early in their career is really important, and then recognize that there is a lot of experience that’s being lost as well,” Mike Wukitsch, PhD, chief people officer of Fort Myers, Fla.-based Lee Health, said in August. “Demographically, there’s tremendous competition for healthcare talent, pretty much across the board — nursing, technologists and those in diagnostic areas.”

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