Experts and researchers in the healthcare staffing industry are forecasting increased needs and tremendous market growth in the coming years. The forecast is good news for healthcare workers and staffing agencies, but skilled labor shortfalls still leave hospitals wondering how to find the PRN healthcare clinicians they need. Amid the increasing demand for more healthcare workers, the industry is adding new platforms, such as per diem nurse staffing apps, and other types of healthcare staffing technology to meet that need.
New Reports on Healthcare Staffing Market Trends
An in-depth analysis of the global healthcare staffing market was released in November 2021. It includes a regional forecast for the U.S. and North America for 2021-20252015. The projections take into account previous drivers of growth, as well as future trends.
According to the report, the global healthcare staffing market is expected to increase in the coming years. This growth follows an equally significant increase in staffing needs from 2019 to 2020. The forecasted growth will be fueled by several ongoing factors, including an aging population, rising rates of chronic disease, increased health spending, the ongoing nursing shortage, and a rise in temporary staffing needs. In fact, travel nurse revenue is expected to see a median growth of 40% this year. Similar growth is currently happening industry-wide.
Nurses are Burnout and Leaving Staff Jobs in Droves
The COVID-19 pandemic has also impacted hospital staffing. Burnout and high turnover rates among nurses and physicians correspond to a drop in employment levels; there are 200,000 more available jobs each month than new hires. The shortage of caregivers can be harmful to both staff morale and patient health.
Changes in healthcare spending during the pandemic have affected staffing as well. In fact, healthcare staffing has been more volatile than other employment sectors since 2020.
The Future Looks Bright With Solutions Such as PRN Apps
For healthcare workers and those in the healthcare staffing industry, the future looks bright. That was the overall message of Barry Asin, president of Staffing Industry Analysts (SIA), in his November 3 keynote address at the 2021 Healthcare Staffing Summit.
Asin noted that the industry expects to see healthcare staffing revenue grow to nearly $25 billion this year—an increase of nearly 300% over the last 10 years. Further, the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics projects a 9% job growth for registered nurses (RNs) through 2030, which is as fast as average. They also predict job growth for advanced practice nurses will be 45% through 2030.
Long-term healthcare trends indicate a continued need for staffing, as well as solutions to match healthcare workers and the hospitals who hire them. The worker shortage has increased the need for temporary healthcare staffing, fueling market growth for staffing services. US staffing revenue is projected to see a 24% year-over-year growth in 2021, according to a September 2021 report from SIA.
While all healthcare sectors are experiencing year-over-year growth this year, not every sector will see that same growth in 2022. “We do think that crisis pay can’t go on forever,” Asin said in his keynote address. SIA’s projections indicate a decline in growth for per diem and travel nurses in 2022, based mostly on slowing responses to the pandemic and on fewer instances of crisis pay. The firm expects continued, but slower, growth for locum tenens and allied healthcare staffing as well.
A Digital Transformation Continues
Asin also spoke to the reality that the COVID-19 pandemic has changed—and will continue to change—society as a whole in ways we may not be able to predict. Indeed, it has changed the way many people go to work nationwide. The healthcare industry is no different. Even though many healthcare jobs require in-person work at hospitals, clinics, offices, etc., 31% of clinical jobs can be done remotely.
Further transformations are evident in the rising use of healthcare staffing apps or Managed Service Provider (MSP) platforms that connect healthcare workers—particularly nurses—to those who need to hire them. Data from the travel nursing firm Aya Healthcare indicate it had 7,508 travel nurses on assignment from April to June of 2020. By September 2021, fueled in part by the release of its online platform, the number of the firm’s travel nurses on assignment rose to 27,513.
For healthcare workers, these services provide advantages like travel, flexibility, short-term assignments, experience at varied locations, etc. For hospitals and others, these services allow for faster recruiting and a more diverse candidate pool.
This digital transformation in the healthcare staffing market is relatively young. The rising role of MSPs to connect workers to jobs through healthcare staffing agencies should continue to add growth and technological innovation to the industry. Curious about trends in healthcare? Find out which are the best water bottles for nurses and what brands of scrubs are most popular for men and women.
