Michelle ThompsonThe once-thriving U.S. job market has cooled, with unemployment now at its highest since October 2021. However, one industry remains robust.
Health care workers across the nation still find abundant job opportunities and enjoy higher wage growth than the broader private sector. Employers in this field hire swiftly and often provide attractive perks, like hefty sign-on bonuses and tuition reimbursement.
Health care leads as America’s top job creator, adding an average of 59,000 jobs per month in 2024 through July, per Labor Department data. This sector, including roles like nurses and EMTs, saw the highest job openings rate of 7.6% in June, far above the overall 5.5%.
“Health care is a major engine of growth, with immense demand for workers,” said Julia Pollak, ZipRecruiter’s chief economist.
This demand has resulted in higher pay for health care employees, with a 4.5% wage growth in the second quarter compared to 4% in the private sector, according to the Employment Cost Index.
David Mafe of UCHealth notes that an aging population and ongoing recovery from COVID-19 continue to strain resources, fueling long-term hiring challenges in health care. The sector also remains resilient during economic downturns, as essential medical services are always needed.
Increased wage growth and strong benefits.
The intense competition for health care workers is driving employers to offer more attractive packages.
UCHealth, with a workforce of 33,000, typically has around 2,700 job openings. Hiring for roles like respiratory therapists and imaging specialists has been especially tough, according to Mafe.
“We’ve had to increase salaries more aggressively over the past 18 months,” Mafe noted. “We regularly review our benefits to ensure they meet the needs of our staff and their families.”
UCHealth offers employees working 20+ hours per week full coverage for tuition, books, and fees for certain degrees, helping entry-level workers advance into higher-paying roles.
Faster to hire.
Novant Health, a North Carolina-based health care provider with around 40,000 employees, has been aggressively hiring, offering substantial sign-on bonuses, according to Sebastien Girard, the company’s chief people and belonging officer.
The company increased nurse hires by 46% from 2022 to 2023 and is expected to surpass 2023 recruitment numbers this year. Nurses in high-demand specialties receive sign-on bonuses of up to $30,000.
Recently, Novant Health has sped up its hiring process, cutting the time to fill positions by 91%, now hiring nurses in just 10 days. “Virtually every nurse or health care tech in the country has a job,” Girard said, noting their nationwide recruitment efforts.
How to pivot to health care?
Mafe and Girard mentioned that many newcomers to healthcare quickly find work after transitioning. The duration of retraining varies: becoming a certified phlebotomist takes under a year, while a registered nurse requires two to four years. Due to high demand, many students secure jobs before completing their training.
Pollak shared a success story about a personal trainer who, facing financial challenges during the pandemic, pursued nursing school with borrowed money. She is now a neonatal ICU nurse, enjoying significant flexibility and was hired before graduation without an interview.
