Healthcare: HWS Labor Market Pulse Index Shows Accelerating Demand Across U.S. Health Care Labor Markets
Leading indicator of health care labor demand finds increasing strength in Sacramento,
Riverside/San Bernardino, Pittsburgh, Cleveland and Dallas for Q4 2009
San Francisco, CA January 12, 2010 – The Q4 HWS Labor Market Pulse® Index (LMPI), a quarterly barometer of local market healthcare workforce fluctuations released today, shows broadening demand for health care workers across a number of regions and growing fastest in Sacramento, Riverside/San Bernardino, Pittsburgh, Cleveland and
Dallas for the fourth quarter of 2009. The New York/Northern New Jersey area ranked at the bottom of the 30 markets tracked.
• Near-term demand for health care workers is growing fastest in Sacramento,
Riverside/San Bernardino, Pittsburgh, Cleveland and Dallas, indicating broadening
strength across a number of regions.
• Much of the growth is being fueled by newly announced expansion plans and larger
facility openings at organizations including Mercy San Juan Medical Center in
Sacramento, the University of Pittsburgh Medical Center, the Cleveland Clinic and
University Hospitals in Cleveland, and Texas Health Resources in Dallas.
• Of the 30 major markets tracked by the HWS Labor Market Pulse Index® (LMPI),
the slowest area for the quarter, the New York metro/Northern New Jersey area,
remained relatively flat, dropping just 4% from the prior quarter.
• The LMPI composite index, a representative basket of the 30 largest markets, posted
a robust 19.5% increase in the fourth quarter of 2009 from the third quarter of 2009
and was up 17.3% compared to the fourth quarter of 2008.
• For the fourth quarter ended 12/31/09, 21 markets of the 30 tracked by the LMPI
showed signs of accelerated demand (vs. 16 in the prior quarter)
“After several slow quarters, we are now seeing notable movement across a number of
markets as healthcare employers begin to ramp up again,” said David Cherner, Managing
Partner of Health Workforce Solutions LLC, the company that publishes the HWS Labor
Market Pulse® Index. “With the health care reform picture finally becoming clearer,”
Cherner added, “many forward-thinking organizations appear to be refocusing back on
their hiring needs at an opportune time before the competition for key clinical and
ancillary personnel undoubtedly returns.”
In response to demands for local workforce data that provides actionable information,
HWS launched Labor Market Pulse® in 2008, a first of-its-kind, centralized and local
workforce planning tool for health care employers in several key major markets.
The launch of the HWS Labor Market Pulse® Index (LMPI) in 2009 expanded the
footprint of Labor Market Pulse into 30 markets and now enables meaningful
comparison, by tracking elements including temporary health workforce shortages and
surpluses, facility and bed closures, announced layoffs and expansions, and local
economic trends. Going forward, the HWS LMPI will be expanded to 36 markets and
continue to be tracked on a quarterly basis both individually and in composite indices.
For more information on the HWS Labor Market Pulse® Index, visit www.healthws.com
or call 1-877-892-2430 x805.
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About Health Workforce Solutions LLC (HWS)
Health Workforce Solutions LLC (HWS) is a leading research and advisory firm focused
on workforce issues in health care. Founded in 2004, the clients of HWS include
hospitals and health systems, health plans, professional practice groups and associations,
educational and training institutions, foundations and government agencies. For more
information, visit www.healthws.com or call 1-877-892-2430 x805.
About the HWS Labor Market Pulse® Index (LMPI)
The HWS Labor Market Pulse™ Index (LMPI) provides a quarterly barometer of local
market healthcare workforce expansion and contraction. Patterned loosely after the Case-
Shiller home index, the LMPI identifies and enables comparison of 30 health care labor
markets by tracking elements including temporary health workforce shortages and
surpluses, facility and bed closures, announced layoffs and expansions, and local
economic trends. The LMPI will be published quarterly as part of Labor Market Pulse®
and distributed nationally to health care executives, the media and other interested
parties. For more information, visit www.labormarketpulse.com.
For more information, contact:
David Cherner, Managing Partner, HWS at 415.981.4300 x801, david@healthws.com
