Not So Bad to Be Employed in Healthcare in this Economy

By Clive Riddle, August 17, 2012

Randstad Healthcare, one of the nation’s largest healthcare staffing firms, now maintains a “Healthcare Employee Confidence Index, a measure of overall confidence among U.S. healthcare workers” which they state “declined 4.5 points to 53.9 in the second quarter of 2012” according to the Harris Interactive quarterly survey they commissioned.

The company states “the quarterly survey of 232 workers currently employed in the healthcare industry, which included physicians, healthcare administrators, as well as other healthcare professionals, reflects a sizeable increase in those who believe the economy is getting weaker. At the same time, that sentiment did not damper workers' personal confidence, as more stated that they believe more jobs are available and they are likely to look for one in the next 12 months. “

Steve McMahan, an  executive vice president with Randstad tells us "understandably, healthcare workers are concerned about the overall economy, but at the same time, this does not seem to be hampering their personal confidence in their own abilities and attractiveness to other potential employers. In fact, when it comes to their own employability, half of healthcare workers surveyed still remain confident that they could find alternative employment if they chose to.”

Here’s some of their survey findings:

• 43% believe the strength of the economy is weakening, an increase from 27% in first quarter 2012
• 20% of healthcare workers believe the economy is strengthening.
• 24% report that more jobs are available, but 49% of healthcare workers believe there are fewer opportunities available
• 51% indicate that they are confident they could find a job (versus 58%in Q1 2012)
• 58% of healthcare workers feel confident in the future of their company
• 37% of healthcare workers are likely to look for a new job in the next 12 months (rising six percentage points from Q1 2012)

It’s interesting of course, to contrast the US healthcare employment picture from the economy as a whole, since the onset of the Great Recession. Here’s Bureau of Labor Statistics graphics from their Current Employment Statistics Highlights, July 2012 issued on August 3^rd.

Maybe its not so bad to be employed in healthcare.