WASHINGTON, D.C. – New employment data released last week by the Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) shows the nursing home workforce has exceeded employment levels for the first time since February 2020, the start of the COVID-19 pandemic. According to the BLS, nursing homes gained 3,300 jobs in June, bringing the total number of workers to 1,586,600. The American Health Care Association (AHCA), which represents more than 15,000 nursing homes and other long-term care facilities across the country, celebrated the news.
"There is no magic number when it comes to staffing our nursing homes. But today's milestone is a testament to the relentless efforts of long-term care providers who have never stopped investing in their people,"
said Clif Porter, president and CEO of AHCA. “Supporting our caregivers means supporting our residents, and strengthening our workforce will remain at the forefront for America’s nursing homes.”
Compared to other health care sectors, nursing homes were the hardest hit by the nation’s worker exodus during the COVID-19 pandemic and were the slowest to recover. After hitting a low in 2022 and losing 14 percent of its workforce, nursing home employment levels took four years to recover to pre-pandemic numbers, just as AHCA
predicted.
Despite limited government resources and labor shortages, nursing home providers have worked tirelessly on staff recruitment and retention.
Federal data also shows that the nursing home workforce continues to stabilize, as both nursing staff turnover and temporary staff agency use has declined since 2022.
"We're proud to have regained the jobs lost during the pandemic, but recovering our workforce is not the same as solving the workforce crisis,"
Porter continued. "The demand for caregivers is growing faster than the available labor pool, and providers across the country continue to face recruitment and retention challenges every day. That's why we must build on this momentum in partnership with policymakers by investing in the caregiver workforce of tomorrow through innovative, commonsense solutions."
By 2030, all 73 million Baby Boomers will be at least 65 years old, straining the entire health care sector and widening the care gap. Meanwhile, government data anticipates a
growing caregiver shortage of registered nurses (RNs) and licensed practical nurses through at least 2038.
Through its
Caregivers for Tomorrow initiative, AHCA and its sister organization, the National Center for Assisted Living, advocates for policies that strengthen the long-term care workforce. AHCA/NCAL supports multiple pieces of legislation that would help train more certified nursing assistants and RNs, as well as expand legal pathways for international caregivers to work in long-term care in the U.S., among other bills.