May 10, 2021 - Health

U.S. nursing home employment is way down

Tina Reed

Illustration of a medical reflex hammer bent into the shape of a downward turning trend line — Illustration: Annelise Capossela/Axios

Health care employment in the U.S. remained sluggish last month, with a drop of about 19,500 nursing and residential care facility jobs, according to the latest labor report.

Why it matters: It's the latest sign of the lingering economic hardship the COVID-19 pandemic wreaked on health care and, in particular, on the nursing home industry.

It looks like there's a long road ahead for health care with employment in the industry still down by 542,000 jobs since February 2020. There was a net drop of about 4,100 jobs between March and April 2021.

Nursing homes are facing a reckoning, with more families reconsidering alternatives after infections spread like wildfire in many facilities, the New York Times reports.
More than 132,000 U.S. nursing home residents and about 1,900 nursing home staff died from COVID-19 infections.

Hospitals also reported drops in employment, posting a job loss of 5,800 jobs between March and April.

Yes, but: About 21,000 new ambulatory care jobs were added in April. That included 11,300 jobs added in physician's offices.

That news comes as health systems report a recovery of some revenue, largely driven by a rebound in outpatient business.

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U.S. nursing home employment is way down

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