Healthcare Unemployment Hits Lowest Level in 9 Years — What it Means for Healthcare Hiring

[morris]

By Bill Thomson On Mar 4, 2017

Looking for top healthcare talent? Find it on Health eCareers!
In the last six months, healthcare employers have been asking why it’s become more difficult — and why it takes longer — to find talent to join the practice, hospital or faculty.

This chart from the Bureau of Labor Statistics gives a snapshot as to where the healthcare labor force is hiding. The fact is, most are already employed. The healthcare unemployment rate hit 2.6 percent in January, the lowest level in nearly nine years. If you google “Economists Full Employment Rate,” you'll find that economists agree the “full employment rate” is 3–4 percent. Meaning that, in economic terms, healthcare is already at full employment!

At the same time, healthcare employers have been busy adding jobs to address the growing need for medical care for the aging population and newly insured patients as a result of the Affordable Care Act. Last month, healthcare added 18,000 new jobs, and the industray has added 374,000 jobs over the past year.

What does this mean for healthcare hiring?

• Competition for quality candidates is fierce.
• Retention is the first line of defense, so employers have to get serious about keeping their existing staff in place.
• Employers need a recruiting strategy to connect with potential candidates whenever and wherever there's an opening.
• Branding is vital — employers have to stand out from the crowd of competing healthcare organizations.
• Employers have to be willing to fund their retention and recruiting efforts in order to save time and money in the long run.

What can employers do?

• Set up alerts in Health eCareers' resume database, so you get alerts when candidates are looking for jobs that match your open positions.
• Keep branding yourself on Association-specific career sites.
• Be sure your social media pages and website are up to date and accurately reflect your organization's value to job seekers. Health eCareers' Spotlight products also let you brand your job listings right on the site.
• Have your team constantly make connections with professionals so that when there is a sudden departure, you have someone ready to join the team.
• Count on posting your open positions for longer than it took two years ago, when there were many more candidates searching for jobs.
• And don't forget to focus on retention by recognizing and rewarding the employees you already have.

 

[Skooby]

I wonder how long this trend will continue...?

 

[DamienWayne]

my stem brehs eating

 

[blackzeus]

I wonder how long this trend will continue...?

Baby boomers era ended in the 50s-60s, median life expectancy is 80 years, so that means that until around 2030-2040 healthcare brehs and brehettes will Old people will NOT go for robot nurses, they are safe.

 

[iceberg_is_on_fire]

Being back out in the hunt has been an interesting one. This is my background
BA - Marketing
MBA - Healthcare Management
BA - Accounting, I should be finished with this by the end of the year.

Anyways, since my positions applied for are generally director level and higher, it hasn't been slim pickings but it's not like these jobs are plentiful either. However, I don't know or think that in any other type of unemployment state, it'd be any different. Lesser amount of available jobs the higher you go. That's reality. However, I can say on LinkedIn, I've had way more recruiters hit me up than in the past. They are hawking and since I work out of Chicago, I get a lot more eyeballs on my stuff. I don't anticipate looking for too long, but you never know. That's why I'm up now at damn near 1:30 in the morning, grinding to find the next gig.

 

[TLR Is Mental Poison]

Being back out in the hunt has been an interesting one. This is my background
BA - Marketing
MBA - Healthcare Management
BA - Accounting, I should be finished with this by the end of the year.

Anyways, since my positions applied for are generally director level and higher, it hasn't been slim pickings but it's not like these jobs are plentiful either. However, I don't know or think that in any other type of unemployment state, it'd be any different. Lesser amount of available jobs the higher you go. That's reality. However, I can say on LinkedIn, I've had way more recruiters hit me up than in the past. They are hawking and since I work out of Chicago, I get a lot more eyeballs on my stuff. I don't anticipate looking for too long, but you never know. That's why I'm up now at damn near 1:30 in the morning, grinding to find the next gig.

How is all this ACA repeal shyt shaking out for you? Whats the temperature in the industry at your level?

 

[iceberg_is_on_fire]

How is all this ACA repeal shyt shaking out for you? Whats the temperature in the industry at your level?

Given that I work with PP intimately of all companies, pretty high, anxieties are high. Thankfully we are solvent or rather, solvent enough to give me enough time to ride out. However, we have been following closely and it looks as if everyone gets to see another day. On the patient side, it's devastating because there are so many people from low income communities that for the first time in years, decades or the first time period, their visit to a medical facility is not through the ER. The mission is the be a caretaker for the community, it looks as if we will continue to be able to do that to our full capacity. Cautious, but pleased.

 

[TLR Is Mental Poison]

Given that I work with PP intimately of all companies, pretty high, anxieties are high. Thankfully we are solvent or rather, solvent enough to give me enough time to ride out. However, we have been following closely and it looks as if everyone gets to see another day. On the patient side, it's devastating because there are so many people from low income communities that for the first time in years, decades or the first time period, their visit to a medical facility is not through the ER. The mission is the be a caretaker for the community, it looks as if we will continue to be able to do that to our full capacity. Cautious, but pleased.

It fukks me up because people's fear of medical care costs make whatever problems they have worse, which drives up costs, which feeds back into the fear, which keeps them away, making it worse etc. It's a death spiral

Same time though we spend 20% of GDP on healthcare. That's higher than most people's tax rate. So we gotta get people into the doctor and also drive costs down at the same time, while maintaining quality of care. shyt is crazy

I have seen some promising things with medical counselors and more aggressive approaches to proactive/preventative care but we'll see.

 

[iceberg_is_on_fire]

It fukks me up because people's fear of medical care costs make whatever problems they have worse, which drives up costs, which feeds back into the fear, which keeps them away, making it worse etc. It's a death spiral

Same time though we spend 20% of GDP on healthcare. That's higher than most people's tax rate. So we gotta get people into the doctor and also drive costs down at the same time, while maintaining quality of care. shyt is crazy

I have seen some promising things with medical counselors and more aggressive approaches to proactive/preventative care but we'll see.

This is what people don't understand anyways or at least chooses to ignore.

We as a society are going to be burdened with the cost regardless. Think of our bodies as cars. If you get proper maintenance every 6 months, detection for threatening illnesses and conditions are found soon, spending a lesser amount of money than if you wait to go to the hospital you have the lump the size of a golf ball in your body and the amount of chemo needed is 6x times what the cost of care would be if they had regular checkups. Honestly, I think the GOPs end goal is to bar the uninsured from going to the ER. Basically telling them to stop being poor.

 

[TLR Is Mental Poison]

This is what people don't understand anyways or at least chooses to ignore.

We as a society are going to be burdened with the cost regardless. Think of our bodies as cars. If you get proper maintenance every 6 months, detection for threatening illnesses and conditions are found soon, spending a lesser amount of money than if you wait to go to the hospital you have the lump the size of a golf ball in your body and the amount of chemo needed is 6x times what the cost of care would be if they had regular checkups. Honestly, I think the GOPs end goal is to bar the uninsured from going to the ER. Basically telling them to stop being poor.

I mean on the flip side though you gotta understand people's financial issues..... getting time off and then paying a copay is a struggle for a lot of people

It would be ill if for example they just had doctors come to your job to do annual checkups, rather than making you go in. shyt's a hassle and a lot of people don't have paid time off.

So I get the patient side.... I haven't been to a doctor in years aside from when I got a cold or something.... but there are logistic and cost burdens of healthcare too, which are often biggest for the poorest + sickest + highest cost patients in the system. Something like a mobile checkup lab would work really well. We have to really rethink healthcare

 

[iceberg_is_on_fire]

I mean on the flip side though you gotta understand people's financial issues..... getting time off and then paying a copay is a struggle for a lot of people

It would be ill if for example they just had doctors come to your job to do annual checkups, rather than making you go in. shyt's a hassle and a lot of people don't have paid time off.

So I get the patient side.... I haven't been to a doctor in years aside from when I got a cold or something.... but there are logistic and cost burdens of healthcare too, which are often biggest for the poorest + sickest + highest cost patients in the system. Something like a mobile checkup lab would work really well. We have to really rethink healthcare

That is my argument for keeping the ACA or expanding it. If we know we are going to pay that cost, we should be responsible about it.

 

[TLR Is Mental Poison]

That is my argument for keeping the ACA or expanding it. If we know we are going to pay that cost, we should be responsible about it.

Them premiums though

Me and wifey are paying $900/mo... BCBS is the only insurance provider out here. They gotta make some fixes

 

[iceberg_is_on_fire]

Applied to some jobs this week, two phone interviews have led to next steps, will keep posted brehs.

 

[Hard Times Nakamura]

Basically telling them to stop being poor.

Yep and the reality is with automation people are just gonna get poorer and poorer on average in this country so the only solution is to lower costs.

Me and wifey are paying $900/mo

This is insanity....And it discourages people from moving to certain locations/states. In NYC the most you are paying is $500 for family plan $750 for some deluxe BS even if you make $150k combined.

 

[iceberg_is_on_fire]

Had a physical interview in a prestigious Chicago Hospital yesterday, with the executive director and his manager. Position is in finance and analysis. Anyways, talking talking budget, the head guy stopped the interview and was showing me figures and shyt that they use on the daily. Great interview and of course, I send the email of courtesy for the email. Both people replied too. I'm not putting too much into it but nice nonetheless.