From shortages to job growth, here are six predictions made in 2021 regarding the future healthcare workforce, reported by Becker's Hospital Review.
1. Healthcare employment is projected to grow 16 percent from 2020 to 2030, according to the latest estimates from the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics.
2. The bureau predicts that healthcare will add about 2.6 million new jobs by 2030, primarily because of "an aging population, leading to greater demand for healthcare services."
3. The need for lower-wage healthcare occupations, such as medical assistants, home health aides and nursing assistants, will grow to about 10.7 million over the next five years, according to Mercer's "2021 External Healthcare Labor Market Analysis."
4. Mercer's analysis also found that New York and California will have the largest shortages of lower-wage healthcare workers, each state projected to fall short by 500,000 by 2026.
5. The U.S. could face a shortage of 37,800 to 124,000 physicians by 2034, according to new data released June 11 from the Association of American Medical Colleges.
6. The Association of American Medical Colleges also accounted for the potential influence of physician retirement in its physician shortage projections. More than two of five active physicians will be older than 65 in the next decade.