Average weekly travel nurse pay in January in the U.S. varied across states compared to the month prior, according to a report shared with Becker's from Vivian Health, a national healthcare hiring marketplace.    

The average weekly travel nurse pay in January in the U.S. was $3,077, down 20.49 percent from $3,870 during the same month in 2022, according to a report from Vivian Health, a national healthcare hiring marketplace.    

Mount Airy, N.C.-based Northern Regional Hospital is experimenting with on-demand pay benefits for employees as part of its recruitment and retention efforts. 

After two years of exponential rises in average pay for travel nurses due to workforce shortages exacerbated by the COVID-19 pandemic and an increase in patients hospitalized from the virus and its subsequent variants, average travel pay trends declined last year and then stabilized nationally, according to a new report from Vivian Health, a national healthcare hiring marketplace.    

January brought numerous headlines of pay cuts for CEOs at America's largest companies, a call for which has intensified in healthcare.

Many hospitals and health systems are raising their minimum wage for employees to recognize their team's contributions and remain competitive in a high-demand market.

Winston, Salem, N.C.-based Novant Health will raise its minimum wage from $15 per hour to $17 per hour, effective March 3. 

Nurses and other workers at hospitals and health systems have secured large raises recently amid contract negotiations with unions. Others have also secured raises through minimum wage increases. Below is a breakdown of the raises, reported by Becker's since Dec. 14. 

Members of the National Union of Healthcare Workers at Providence Cedars-Sinai Tarzana (Calif.) Medical Center have approved a contract that will raise wages by an average 40 percent, according to hospital and union statements shared with Becker's. 

The California Department of Health Care Services anticipates issuing retention bonuses for hospital and skilled nursing facility workers in February, according to its website.  

Inflation, nurse contracts opening up and a decrease in contract worker utilization are among the factors behind a spate of recent pay raises across hospitals and health systems. But such raises are hardly enough to remain competitive and improve retention in today's market, experts say.

Pittsburgh-based UPMC has made plans to raise minimum wage to $18 per hour, more than double the minimum wage in Pennsylvania. 

DuBois, Pa.-based Penn Highlands Healthcare is offering hefty sign-on bonuses up to $15,000. 

Average weekly travel nurse pay in December in the U.S. varied across states compared to the month prior, with some seeking increases and others seeing decreases, according to a report shared with Becker's from Vivian Health, a national healthcare hiring marketplace.    

The average weekly travel nurse pay in December in the U.S. was $3,177, down 16 percent from $3,782 during the same month in 2021, according to a report from Vivian Health, a national healthcare hiring marketplace.    

Lancaster (Pa.) General Health System, part of Philadelphia-based Penn Medicine, canceled employee holiday bonuses because of rising costs, inflation and "radical changes" in healthcare, according to LNP | Lancaster Online.

According to the "2022 Review of Physician and Advanced Practitioner Recruiting Incentives" provided by AMN Healthcare's physician recruiting firm Merritt Hawkins, orthopedic surgery offers the highest average base salary while pediatrics offers the lowest. Noninvasive cardiology offers the highest overall base salary earning potential, with the high end of its base salary at $1 million.

Upper Allegheny Health System is boosting employee wages across the Olean, N.Y.-based organization. 

The total amount of cash compensation paid to physician assistants and nurse practitioners can vary significantly by region, according to a survey released Dec. 7 by consulting firm SullivanCotter.

Twenty-seven states will raise their minimum wage this year — some already have.