Fitch Ratings-Austin-15 November 2022: Staff shortages continue to plague U.S. Not-For-Profit (NFP) hospitals with job openings now at all-time highs, according to Fitch Ratings in its labor dashboard for the sector.
Health care and social assistance job openings increased by 115,000 to an all-time high of 9.2% as of September. However, the number of quits in the health care and social assistance sector is still high at 2.5% in September with little change in the hires rate (3.6% in September). “Hospital staff shortages are a predicament that could worsen come the winter months if COVID infection rates increase again,” said Director Richard Park.
Against a dearth of hospital jobs being filled, average hourly earnings of hospital employees declined to $39.59 from $39.85 (-0.65%), ending a 17-month streak of consecutive increases. Meanwhile, ambulatory health care services employees’ average hourly earnings grew to $36.62 from $36.57 (+0.14%) from August to September.
In addition to hospital staffing challenges, 18.5% of nursing homes are reporting a shortage of nurses and 19.3% are reporting a shortage of aides according to Oct. 23, 2022 data. “Without appropriate staffing at nursing homes, hospitals will continue to face length of stay/discharge challenges resulting in a greater need for nurses at hospitals,” said Park.
Fitch’s latest ‘Hospitals and Healthcare Systems Labor Dashboard: November 2022’ is available at ‘www.fitchratings.com’.
Contact:
Richard Park
Director
+1-512-813-5704
Fitch Ratings, Inc.
2600 Via Fortuna, Suite 330
Austin, TX 78746
Kevin Holloran
Senior Director
+1-512-813-5700
Media Relations: Sandro Scenga, New York, Tel: +1 212 908 0278, Email: [email protected]
Additional information is available on www.fitchratings.com