Healthcare Hiring Remains Strong, but Workforce Growth Is Starting to Slow

Healthcare Demand Remains Strong

Healthcare occupations continue to attract strong employer demand.

According to SHRM's latest analysis, demand increased by approximately 8.1% for healthcare support occupations over the latest year analyzed.

Demand for healthcare practitioner and technical occupations increased by approximately 7.2% during the same period.

These figures place healthcare among the areas of the U.S. labor market where employers continue to compete actively for workers.

Healthcare support occupations include a broad range of positions that help hospitals, clinics, long-term care facilities and other organizations maintain day-to-day operations.

Practitioner and technical occupations include many specialized clinical roles requiring professional education, licensing or technical training.

The continued demand across both groups demonstrates that workforce needs extend throughout the healthcare system rather than being concentrated in one occupation.

Workforce Growth Is Beginning to Moderate

Although healthcare hiring remains strong, SHRM's analysis indicates that the pace of growth has begun to slow compared with earlier periods.

A moderation in hiring growth does not necessarily mean that healthcare employers no longer need workers.

Instead, it can indicate a change in hiring strategy.

Organizations that previously focused heavily on expanding headcount may increasingly be concentrating on maintaining staffing levels, replacing employees who leave and filling positions that require particularly difficult-to-find skills.

This creates a more targeted hiring environment.

Healthcare organizations may continue advertising a significant number of positions while becoming more selective about which positions they prioritize and which candidates they ultimately hire.

Healthcare Jobs Remain Difficult to Fill

One of the important findings from the latest labor-market data is that healthcare employers continue to report difficulty filling positions.

Healthcare practitioner and technical occupations remain among the groups with relatively high shares of job postings that are difficult to fill because available candidates do not meet employer requirements.

The issue is therefore not simply the number of people looking for work.

Employers may need candidates with specific combinations of:

• Professional licenses and certifications
• Clinical experience
• Specialty expertise
• Relevant workplace experience
• Technical skills
• Patient-care experience
• Ability to work in particular healthcare settings

When employers cannot find candidates with these qualifications, vacancies can remain open even when the broader labor market contains a substantial number of job seekers.

Experience Is Becoming an Important Recruiting Challenge

The difficulty of finding experienced healthcare professionals is particularly visible among advanced practice providers (APPs).

A September 23 survey from Acuvance Coker found a substantial difference between organizations recruiting less-experienced and more-experienced APP candidates.

Only 7% of healthcare organizations reported difficulty recruiting APPs with fewer than five years of experience.

By comparison, 69% reported difficulty recruiting APPs with five or more years of experience.

The difference highlights an important challenge for healthcare employers.

Organizations may be able to recruit newer professionals more easily than candidates who already have several years of clinical experience.

Why Experienced APPs Are in Demand

Advanced practice providers have become an increasingly important component of healthcare delivery.

The category includes vital professionals such as certified Nurse Practitioners (NP) and physician assistants, whose roles can vary depending on state regulations, specialty and healthcare setting.

As organizations expand their use of APPs, they also need professionals capable of handling more complex clinical responsibilities.

Experienced APPs can bring knowledge of clinical workflows, patient management, specialty-specific care and organizational processes.

That combination of experience and specialized skills can make these candidates more difficult to recruit than early-career professionals.

The Experience Gap Creates a Recruitment Challenge

The difference between recruiting candidates with fewer than five years of experience and those with five or more years illustrates a broader workforce issue.

Healthcare organizations need experienced professionals to fill current vacancies, but the number of workers with substantial experience is naturally smaller than the overall pool of people entering the profession.

This can create competition among employers for a relatively limited group of candidates.

Hospitals and healthcare systems may therefore need to compete through compensation, benefits, scheduling flexibility, professional development and career advancement opportunities.

Retention Becomes More Important

As recruitment becomes more difficult, retaining existing employees becomes an increasingly important part of workforce strategy.

Healthcare organizations can reduce some recruiting pressure by keeping experienced workers within their existing workforce.

Retention can also help organizations preserve institutional knowledge and reduce the disruption associated with turnover.

For this reason, hiring strategy in 2026 increasingly involves both sides of the workforce equation:

Recruit new employees while retaining experienced staff.

This is particularly important for occupations where replacing an experienced worker can take significantly longer than filling an entry-level position.

Compensation Is Only One Retention Tool

Competitive compensation remains an important component of healthcare recruitment and retention.

However, employers also need to consider other aspects of the employment relationship.

These can include:

• Work schedules and shift flexibility
• Staffing levels and patient-to-provider ratios
• Career development and continuing education support
• Professional autonomy in clinical decision-making
• Comprehensive medical and retirement benefits
• Specialized clinical training opportunities
• Transparent advancement pathways
• Supportive workplace culture
• Administrative workload reduction

An organization may be able to attract candidates with higher compensation, but long-term retention can also depend on working conditions and opportunities for professional development.

The Labor Market Remains Competitive

SHRM's analysis also points to continued competition for qualified workers across the U.S. labor market.

During several periods analyzed in 2026, the number of available job openings remained above the number of unemployed workers.

This creates a labor market in which employers compete for candidates rather than simply choosing from a large surplus of available workers.

Healthcare organizations face an additional challenge because many positions require specialized education, licensing or certification.

A candidate who meets the basic requirements for employment may still not have the specific experience required for a particular role.

Healthcare Hiring Is Becoming More Targeted

The combination of strong demand and slower workforce growth suggests a shift toward more targeted recruitment.

Healthcare organizations may increasingly prioritize positions where vacancies have the greatest operational impact.

For example, an organization may focus recruiting efforts on specialized clinical positions, experienced APPs, nursing roles or technical occupations that are difficult to fill.

This approach can result in fewer broad-based hiring initiatives while maintaining strong demand for specific categories of healthcare professionals.

Nursing Remains an Important Hiring Area

Nursing continues to represent a major component of healthcare workforce demand.

Hospitals, outpatient facilities, long-term care providers and other organizations depend on nurses across a wide range of clinical settings.

The need to replace retiring workers and employees who leave the profession adds to ongoing recruitment requirements.

At the same time, healthcare organizations increasingly need experienced nurses with specialty knowledge, creating additional competition for candidates who have several years of clinical experience.

To manage fluctuating patient volumes and relieve acute floor shortages while permanent searches are underway, hospital systems regularly deploy credentialed Registered Nurses (RN) / Travel Nursing to sustain safe nurse-to-patient staffing ratios and maintain critical bed capacity.

Allied Health and Technical Roles Also Face Demand

The hiring challenge extends beyond physicians and nurses.

While health systems actively seek licensed Physicians / MD-DO to anchor medical departments and subspecialty practices, healthcare employers also urgently need medical technicians, imaging professionals, laboratory workers, therapists and other allied health specialists.

These roles often require specialized training and certification.

As healthcare organizations expand services, the availability of appropriately trained technical professionals can become a limiting factor in workforce expansion.

In some cases, an employer may have the financial resources to add a position but still be unable to fill it because qualified candidates are difficult to find.

Rural and Underserved Markets Face Additional Challenges

Recruitment conditions can be particularly difficult in rural and underserved communities.

These areas may have smaller local labor pools and fewer healthcare professionals available for recruitment.

Employers in these markets may need to compete with larger healthcare systems for the same specialized workers.

Recruitment packages can therefore include additional incentives designed to attract professionals to locations where staffing shortages are more persistent.

The challenge is not necessarily limited to attracting candidates. Retaining them after relocation can also be difficult if professionals have limited access to career advancement or specialized professional networks.

Technology Does Not Eliminate the Need for Healthcare Workers

The growing use of technology and digital healthcare services is changing healthcare jobs, but it has not eliminated the need for clinical professionals.

Electronic health records, telehealth, digital scheduling systems and other technologies can change how workers perform their responsibilities.

At the same time, healthcare organizations continue to need professionals capable of providing direct patient care, making clinical decisions and operating specialized medical equipment.

Furthermore, the rapid normalization of digital care models has created expanding opportunities in flexible Telehealth / Remote / Virtual Jobs, enabling clinicians to balance patient triage, virtual monitoring, and outpatient visits without demanding commute or in-hospital shift constraints.

As technology becomes more integrated into healthcare, employers may increasingly seek workers who combine clinical expertise with technological skills.

What the Current Hiring Data Shows

The latest labor-market information points to several important trends.

First, healthcare demand remains strong, with demand increasing approximately 8.1% for healthcare support occupations and 7.2% for healthcare practitioner and technical occupations in SHRM's analysis.

Second, workforce growth is beginning to moderate. Employers are increasingly balancing expansion with replacement hiring and workforce stability.

Third, experience matters. The Acuvance Coker survey found that only 7% of organizations reported difficulty recruiting APPs with fewer than five years of experience, compared with 69% reporting difficulty recruiting APPs with five or more years of experience.

Finally, retention is becoming a larger part of hiring strategy as healthcare organizations compete for qualified workers in a labor market where available talent remains limited in many specialized fields.

What This Means for Healthcare Employers

For healthcare employers, the current environment requires a broader workforce strategy.

Simply increasing the number of job advertisements may not solve shortages when candidates with the required experience or credentials are limited.

Organizations may need to focus on identifying the positions that are most difficult to fill and developing targeted recruitment strategies for those roles.

At the same time, retaining existing employees can reduce the number of vacancies that need to be filled.

Career development, competitive compensation, manageable workloads and opportunities for advancement can all contribute to retention.

What This Means for Healthcare Professionals

For healthcare professionals, the continued demand creates employment opportunities across nursing, advanced practice, allied health, technical and specialized clinical occupations.

Professionals with several years of experience may be particularly relevant to organizations seeking candidates who can assume responsibilities with less training and supervision.

However, employment conditions can vary significantly by specialty, geographic location and healthcare setting.

Candidates may therefore want to consider not only salary but also scheduling, benefits, professional development, workload and opportunities for advancement when evaluating positions.

Healthcare Hiring Outlook for the Remainder of 2026

Healthcare hiring is expected to remain active through the remainder of 2026, although the pattern of hiring may continue to change.

Rather than pursuing rapid workforce expansion across every department, organizations may increasingly focus on:

• Replacing workers who leave or retire
• Recruiting experienced clinical professionals
• Filling specialized positions
• Retaining high-performing employees
• Improving workforce stability
• Addressing difficult-to-fill vacancies

This represents a shift from simply expanding headcount toward managing the quality, stability and experience of the existing workforce.

Outlook

The U.S. healthcare labor market remains active, but the latest data suggests that employers are entering a more selective phase of workforce management.

Demand for healthcare support workers and practitioner and technical professionals remains strong, while the growth rate is beginning to moderate.

At the same time, the difficulty of recruiting experienced APPs demonstrates that the most significant workforce challenges may increasingly involve finding the right candidates rather than simply finding more candidates.

For healthcare organizations, recruitment and retention are therefore becoming increasingly interconnected. Employers need to compete for new workers while also creating conditions that encourage experienced professionals to remain in their organizations.

For the remainder of 2026, healthcare hiring is likely to remain an important source of U.S. employment activity, with nursing, advanced practice, allied health, technical and specialized clinical occupations continuing to generate demand.

The central workforce challenge, however, is increasingly shifting from the number of available positions to the availability of qualified and experienced professionals capable of filling them.