The nursing assistant shortage is expected to be severe by 2028, Mercer, a financial services company, said in a recent report.
To understand what the healthcare labor market could look like in four years, Mercer analyzed the supply, demand and potential shortages of several healthcare occupations; and it examined variabilities in geography and compensation to view migration trends.
In 2023, nursing assistants accounted for 8% of the total U.S. healthcare workforce and 40% of the healthcare support occupations, according to the report.
"Supply of NAs is expected to fall short of projected national demand at a total deficit of over 73,000," Mercer said. "In fact, only 13 states are expected to meet or exceed future demand. Given that NAs work closely with nurses in providing direct patient care, these projected shortages warrant close attention."
Ten states projected to have more demand than supply:
|
State |
Supply |
Demand |
Gap percentage |
|
Mississippi |
8,969 |
11,438 |
-27.53% |
|
New Mexico |
4,411 |
5,399 |
-22.4% |
|
Texas |
84,375 |
96,118 |
-13.92% |
|
New York |
82,986 |
94,424 |
-13.78% |
|
California |
109,045 |
123,463 |
-13.22% |
|
Arizona |
18,036 |
20,266 |
-12.36% |
|
Missouri |
26,865 |
30,181 |
-12.34% |
|
Idaho |
6,736 |
7,519 |
-11.62% |
|
Alaska |
1,918 |
2,145 |
-11.84% |
|
New Jersey |
34,343 |
38,306 |
-11.54% |
Ten states projected to have more supply than demand:
|
State |
Supply |
Demand |
Gap percentage |
|
North Carolina |
63,900 |
57,387 |
10.19% |
|
North Dakota |
8,159 |
7,533 |
7.68% |
|
Washington |
32,657 |
30,574 |
6.38% |
|
Rhode Island |
9,175 |
8,819 |
3.88% |
|
Nebraska |
16,283 |
15,794 |
3% |
|
Kansas |
22,800 |
22,162 |
2.8% |
|
Colorado |
24,086 |
23,512 |
2.38% |
|
Maine |
7,792 |
7,610 |
2.33% |
|
District of Columbia |
3,561 |
3,479 |
2.3% |
|
Nevada |
9,598 |
9,415 |
1.9% |