Healthcare Technology Featured Article

September 18, 2013

Healthcare Employment Predicted to Pick Up Due to Aging Population and Affordable Care Act


The healthcare sector is often touted as “recession proof.” There’s a reason for this: while consumers may put buying a new car or remodeling a home on hold thanks to a sluggish economy, people can’t exactly put off getting sick. As the oldest of the Baby Boomers reache retirement age, more and more people are seeking treatment for chronic, age-related conditions. Add to this ageing population the promise of the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act (PPACA or “Obamacare”), which will create millions of newly insured Americans, and analysts felt safe to proclaim the healthcare sector as the place where the jobs will be.

In response to these predictions, enrollment in healthcare education programs – particularly nursing school – surged. But many graduates left school to find that the jobs simply weren’t there. Some say the reason for this is healthcare facilities trying to keep hiring down due to freezes or budget cuts. Another reason is that healthcare professionals who had been predicted to retire and make room for new hires have been holding on, unable to afford retirement.


Image via Shutterstock

According to recent reports, however, the healthcare industry may be about the turn the corner when it comes to jobs. A (slowly) improving economy is allowing more nurses and other healthcare workers to retire, creating new openings, and budgets have loosened up.

According to a recent report by Puget Sound’s KUOW.org, there is another reason demand for nurses may pick up: the rise in outpatient and ambulatory surgery centers. These are facilities that perform minor to moderate surgical procedures that don’t require an overnight stay at a hospital. Soaring healthcare costs are leading to greater usage of these ambulatory surgery centers as insurance companies and employers fight to keep premiums down.

The U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics is now predicting that employment of registered nurses is expected to grow 26 percent from 2010 to 2020, faster than the average for all occupations. For the nation’s glut of nursing graduates, this is very good news.




Edited by Alisen Downey
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