Healthcare Workforce Trends
Recent healthcare workforce dynamics and trends
April 2026
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Healthcare Labor Market Trends – March 2026 Summary
Statistic
Implication
Job openings down 4% MoM, -12% YoY; 2.1x openings/hires is above long-term normal
Job creation is slowing though not as much as hiring is coming down
Hiring numbers are down, but low attrition suggests hiring should be even slower
Hiring 10% above separations over last 3 months
Hospital RN wage inflation disappeared in Q4 2025 Perm nurses’ benefits fell sharply at year end
Travel nurse rates remain competitive with permanent nurse compensation Hours worked at med-surg hospitals ticked up in recent months, off longtime lows
Cost parity may indicate need to revisit staffing strategy and talent mix With hiring numbers down, hospitals may have stopped reducing average hours
2
Healthcare Employment Update
*January ‘26 Job Openings and Labor Turnover Survey (JOLTS) data by the US Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS).
Voluntary Quits
Job Vacancy Rate
Openings
Hires
Healthcare sector job openings fell 4% MoM in February ‘26; down 12%YoY. The total, 1.279M, is the lowest since January ‘21.
416K healthcare workers voluntarily quit their jobs in February ‘26 (2% decrease MoM, down 6% YoY). The down trend is likely driven by lower permanent hiring.
Healthcare three-month average job vacancy rate was 5.1% in February ‘26. The vacancy rate was in line with the pre-pandemic normal average (2015-19).
Healthcare sector hiring totaled 620K workers in February ‘26, down 13% YoY and -14% MoM. Hiring averaged 741K/month from 2021-25.
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Healthcare Labor Market KPIs
Source: Calculated from data series in the Job Openings and Labor Turnover Survey, US Bureau of Labor Statistics
MONTHLY AVERAGES
2025
Last 3Mo
2015-19
2021-22
2023-24
Openings % of jobs
5.1% 8.2% 7.0% 5.7% 5.2%
Hires % of openings
55%
40%
47%
51%
54%
Quits % of hires
63%
73%
66%
65%
63%
Voluntary quit rate (annualized)
23%
31%
28%
24%
21%
Involuntary attrition (annualized)
10%
7%
8%
9%
9%
Retirements/other % of jobs (annualized)
2.4% 2.0% 2.1% 1.8% 1.8%
Hires % of separations
108% 106%
111%
109%
110%
Net job growth rate (YoY)
2.5% 2.6% 4.4% 3.7% 2.9%
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Source: Employer Costs for Employee Compensation Survey, US Census Bureau and Bureau of Labor Statistics
Nurse Pay Surprises with Sudden Deceleration
Rate of change
Q4 2019
Q4 2024
Q4 2025
2019-25
CAGR
YoY
Healthcare Sector Hourly wages
$ 38.68 $ 50.21 $ 51.27
32.5% 4.8% 2.1% 67.9% 9.0% -0.2% 24.2% 3.7% -1.7% 18.8% 2.9% -1.4% 28.3% 4.2% 0.9% 27.5% 4.1% 0.8% 60.6% 8.2% -2.2% 18.3% 2.8% -1.1% 11.7% 1.9% -3.3% 24.6% 3.7% -0.4%
Supplemental pay
$ 2.43 $ 5.99 $ 12.40 $ 60.40
$ 4.09 $ 7.57 $ 14.94 $ 76.80
$ 4.08 $ 7.44 $ 14.73 $ 77.52
Paid leave
Wage inflation disappeared in the
Other benefits
Total compensation
Hospital Industry Hourly wages
latest numbers, coinciding with slower hiring
$ 40.38 $ 51.09
$ 51.49 $ 4.53 $ 7.82 $ 15.36
Supplemental pay
$ 2.82 $ 6.61 $ 13.75 $ 63.56
$ 4.63 $ 7.91 $ 15.89
Paid leave
Other benefits
Total compensation
$ 79.53 $ 79.20
The BLS also said full-time RN payrolls were flat YoY in 2025, suggesting greater use of part- time nurses
• Registered nurse compensation had its weakest quarter-over-quarter comparison since Q4 2020, with softness concentrated in hospitals
• The drop in hospital RN compensation was concentrated in paid leave and other benefits, which fell (4-5%) from Q3 to Q4
• Impaired quality of data collection might have affected these results
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Source: Current Employment Statistics, US Bureau of Labor Statistics
GENERAL MEDICAL-SURGICAL HOSPITALS AVERAGE WEEKLY HOURS WORKED
Average Hours Worked Tick Up
36.9
36.8 36.8
36.6
36.6
36.4
36.4
36.2
36.1
35.8
35.7
– Average hours worked at US medical-surgical hospitals had hit levels last seen in 2003 – The downtrend bottomed at 34.4 hours/week in July and September
34.7 34.8
2014 2015 2016 2017 2018 2019 2020 2021 2022 2023 2024 2025 2026
AVERAGE WEEKLY HOURS WORKED – BY MONTH
37.0
36.0
– October, November and
January showed increases, reaching the highest level since April 2025
35.0
34.0
Jan Feb Mar
Apr
May Jun Jul
Aug Sep Oct
Nov Dec
2023 2024 2025 2026
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Employee Attrition in Healthcare Suggests Caution
ANNUAL EMPLOYEE ATTRITION BY TYPE
TOTAL 40.1%
TOTAL 38.5%
2.0%
TOTAL 35.0%
2.1%
TOTAL 34.7%
7.3%
TOTAL 31.6%
1.8%
2.4%
8.3%
– In the three months ended February 2026, total attrition was 340 bp below pre-pandemic average – Voluntary quits dropped sharply at the beginning of the year as hiring slowed – Involuntary attrition (layoffs and terminations) has declined while retirements are very low
1.8%
8.7%
10.0%
8.5%
Retirements/Other Involuntary Voluntary
30.9%
28.0%
24.2%
22.6%
21.3%
2015-19
2021-22
2023-24
2025
2026
Monthly Averages, Annualized
Last 3 Mo
Figures are calculated from Job Openings and Labor Turnover Survey data, Bureau of Labor Statistics
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