Why Is There A Shortage In Healthcare Workers?

Why Is There A Shortage In Healthcare Workers
Why Are There Staffing Shortages in Healthcare? – The reasons for the US healthcare staffing shortages are complex and varied. A major factor is demographics: People are living longer, requiring more medical attention as they do, while members of the aging healthcare workforce are starting to retire faster than they can be replaced.

Other reasons include burnout (overworked employees are leaving the profession at an accelerating rate); the rise in chronic conditions such as diabetes, heart disease, cancer, and Alzheimer’s disease (leading to overextended staff at hospitals and long-term care facilities); and the nation’s inability to produce enough doctors and nurses to meet growing demand (partly because of faculty shortages at nursing and medical schools).

Shortages of certain kinds of healthcare practitioners, such as nurses and certified nursing assistants, are also due to the relatively low compensation levels and relatively high job demands and education requirements in those fields. Key Takeaways

All types of healthcare professionals are in short supply—including doctors, nurses, techs, and aides. The reasons for the shortages vary and are often interrelated. They include burnout, changing demographics, a limited talent pipeline, and the rigors of the medical profession. Steps employers can take to alleviate the crisis include implementing new operating models, investing in technology-driven HR best practices, and partnering with schools and training institutes.

Why is there a shortage of healthcare workers in the UK?

What’s Causing The Shortage of Healthcare Staff? – A few factors are contributing to the shortage of healthcare staff.

The Pandemic – Most figures indicate that there were already staff shortages even before the pandemic begun. But Covid-19 compounded things, leading to an immense backlog of care, There may simply be more patients and more procedures than the workforce can manage. Working conditions – Low pay, high pressure, and burnout from heavy workloads is causing many healthcare workers to quit. This is also why UK healthcare has seen industrial action in late 2022 and early 2023. Recruitment – Regular news stories about the dire conditions healthcare workers face may discourage many from starting a career in healthcare, Brexit also contributed to a substantial drop in healthcare workers coming to the UK from EU countries. Policies and Management – The government removed the nursing bursary in 2015. The Royal College of Nursing claim this was a key reason why nurse numbers dropped in the years leading up to the pandemic. Though the government would later partially reverse this policy, the damage may already be done.

Why is there a shortage of workers?

The pandemic caused a major disruption in America’s labor force—something many have referred to as The Great Resignation. In 2022, more than 50 million workers quit their jobs, many of whom were in search of an improved work-life balance and flexibility, increased compensation, and a strong company culture.

But a closer look at what has happened to the labor force can be better described as ‘The Great Reshuffle ‘ because hiring rates have outpaced quit rates since November of 2020. So, many workers are quitting their jobs—but many are getting re-hired elsewhere. The U.S. Chamber is capturing the trends on job openings, labor force participation, quit rates, and more, for a quick understanding of the state of the workforce in our America Works Data Center,

Read on for an analysis of which industries have been impacted the most. An in-depth look at how the worker shortage is impacting the nation is here. An interactive map tracking the worker shortage across the states is here, Food service and hospitality struggle to retain workers During the pandemic reshuffling, jobs that require in-person attendance and traditionally have lower wages, have had a more difficult time retaining workers.

For example, the Accommodation and Food Services industry has had the highest quit rate since July 2021, consistently above 4.9 percent. The quit rate for the retail trade industry isn’t far behind, with rates hovering around 3.3 percent so far in 2023. Both industries continue to face quit rates that are higher than the falling national average of 2.6 percent for March 2023.

The hiring rate has continuously outpaced quit rates. Leisure and hospitality lost 1 million workers in March 2023, but 1.1 million people were hired into the industry that same month. In fact, leisure and hospitality has maintained the highest hiring rate of all industries since November 2020 fluctuating between 6.7 to 9 percent.

This is very high compared to the national hiring rate which was 4.1% this past January.
When taking a look at the labor shortage across different industries, the transportation, health care and social assistance, and the accommodation and food sectors have had the highest numbers of job openings.
Yet despite the high number of job openings, the health care and social assistance sector has maintained relatively a low quit rate.

The accommodation and food services sector, on the other hand, struggles to retain workers and has experienced consistently higher than average quit rates. Meanwhile, in more stable, higher paying industries, the number of employees quitting has been lower. A closer look at labor force participation To further understand shifts in the labor force, it is interesting to look at labor force participation across different industries. Some have a shortage of labor, while others have a surplus of workers. For example, durable goods manufacturing, wholesale and retail trade, and education and health services have a labor shortage—these industries have more unfilled job openings than unemployed workers with experience in their respective industry.

Even if every unemployed person with experience in the durable goods manufacturing industry were employed, the industry would fill 44% of the vacant jobs. Conversely, in the construction industry, there is a labor surplus. There are more unemployed workers with experience in their respective industry than there are open jobs.

The manufacturing industry faced a major setback after  losing roughly 1.4 million jobs  at the onset of the pandemic. Since then, the industry has struggled to fill job vacancies. As of March 2023, there were 693,000 open manufacturing jobs. Remote work has changed the game Some industries have been less impacted by labor shortages but are grappling with how to deal with the rise of remote work. For example, the rise of remote work might explain why there has been less “reshuffling” in business and professional services.

Gallop found that 91% of U.S. workers hoped they could continue working some of their hours from home, and three in 10 workers signaled they would seek new employment if they were recalled to the office. Since February 2020, the Financial Activities industry has experienced an unemployment rate that was lower than the national average.

And yet, the industry has maintained below average hiring rates. One million people were hired into the industry between October 2022 and March 2023. This is a stark difference compared to the Business and Professional Services and Transportation and Utilities industries. Two years ago, finance, management, professional services, and IT/telecommunication jobs were expected to have the highest potential for remote work, That was true throughout the greater part of the Pandemic as more than half of traditionally white-collar workers were still working from home part at least part time in spring of 2021.

This number has been trending downward recently, due in-part to the labor market tightening and employers asking to see employees in the office more often. Employers must still remain competitive to attract and retain talent. Many businesses have embraced remote or hybrid work models and flexible scheduling.

Others are helping their workforce navigate childcare, and some are offering innovative benefits, No one solution to industry labor shortages or employee retention exists. Nor are any solutions appropriate for all industries or employers. The U.S. Chamber of Commerce is proud to lead the business community in identifying the actions employers can take to offer good jobs to Americans.

Is there a shortage of health workers around the world?

There will be an estimated shortfall of 10 million healthcare workers worldwide by 2030, primarily in low- and middle-income countries. Urgent and extreme action is needed now to improve recruitment and retention of the global healthcare workforce.

Which country has most shortage of workers?

South Korea and russia. of all the asian economies analyzed, south korea faces the most significant labor shortages. If its 20-year historic gdp and productivity averages persist, it will suffer the second- greatest shortfall of the 25 countries.

Which country has the best health workforce?

Human resources for health and national wealth – In general, countries with higher per capita GDP and incomes have more health workers ( Figure 1 ). Norway and the United States of America are among the countries with the highest per capita income and the greatest density of health workers per 1000 population.

Most countries in sub-Saharan Africa have the lowest per capita income as well as the lowest health worker density.
However, some exceptions exist where countries with abundant material resources and high income (e.g.
Gabon and Equatorial Guinea) still have relatively inadequate numbers of health workers.

Inequities also exist within countries, with urban, wealthier areas having greater proportions of all trained health workers than rural and poorer areas of countries. Higher income—more health workers Source: WHR 2006

Is UK short of doctors?

Brexit has worsened shortage of NHS doctors, analysis shows Brexit has worsened the UK’s acute shortage of doctors in key areas of care and led to more than 4,000 European doctors choosing not to work in the NHS, research reveals. The disclosure comes as growing numbers of medics quit in disillusionment at their relentlessly busy working lives in the increasingly overstretched health service.

Show the NHS in England alone has vacancies for 10,582 physicians.
Britain has 4,285 fewer European doctors than if the rising numbers who were coming before the Brexit vote in 2016 had been maintained since then, according to which it has shared with the Guardian.
In 2021, a total of 37,035 medics from the EU and European free trade area (EFTA) were working in the UK.

However, there would have been 41,320 – or 4,285 more – if the decision to leave the EU had not triggered a “slowdown” in medical recruitment from the EU and the EFTA quartet of Norway, Iceland, Switzerland and Lichtenstein. The dropoff has left four major types of medical specialities that have longstanding doctor shortages – anaesthetics, children, psychiatry, and heart and lung treatment – failing to keep up with a demand for care heightened by Covid and an ageing population.

Just one example of how the slowdown is affecting day-to-day NHS care is the limit on the amount of surgery that can take place, said the Nuffield Trust researcher Martha McCarey, the lead author of the analysis.
The UK has 394 fewer EU/EFTA anaesthetists than if pre-Brexit numbers had continued, she found.

“The has struggled to recruit vital specialists such as anaesthetists at home, and Brexit looks to be worsening longstanding workforce shortages in some professional groups. Without anaesthetists, many operations cannot happen,” she said. The findings come amid calls from business leaders for ministers to rethink how immigration into Britain works to help overcome economy-wide labour shortages.

These have deepened in recent years, partly as a result of the UK ending automatic free movement for EU nationals. The Confederation of British Industry has been particularly vocal in that demand. The Nuffield Trust blamed the dropoff in doctors on the fact that EU-trained medics seeking to work in the UK now face extra bureaucracy and higher costs as a direct result of Brexit.

“Since the referendum campaign, greater costs, more paperwork and uncertainty over visas because of Brexit have been among the biggest barriers to recruiting and keeping EU and EFTA doctors,” said McCarey. The NHS has 369 fewer cardiothoracic surgeons, 288 fewer paediatricians and 165 fewer psychiatrists if recruitment patterns seen before the 2016 vote had been maintained.

Daisy Cooper, the Liberal Democrat health spokesperson and deputy leader, said the non-arrival of 4,285 EU/EFTA medics was “shocking”. She added: “From absurd pension rules to expensive visas, the Conservatives are strangling our pipeline of NHS staff with red tape. The NHS is on its knees after years of the Conservative government running the service into the ground.

“These figures are shocking and yet more evidence if any was needed of the Conservatives’ incompetence.” Brexit has had a far more damaging effect on the NHS’s from the EU. While 9,389 nurses and midwives who had trained in the bloc came to work in Britain in 2015-16, only 663 did so in 2021-22, data released by the Nursing and Midwifery Council (NMC) in May showed.

However, that dramatic drop has been offset by a huge rise in the number of those professionals coming from the rest of the world, notably India and the Philippines, the regulator said. A report due this week from the NMC is expected to confirm the trends have continued in recent months. Sign up to First Edition Archie Bland and Nimo Omer take you through the top stories and what they mean, free every weekday morning Privacy Notice: Newsletters may contain info about charities, online ads, and content funded by outside parties.

For more information see our, We use Google reCaptcha to protect our website and the Google and apply. after newsletter promotion The UK has 58,000 fewer nurses than if the numbers arriving pre-Brexit had continued. “Nursing saw a far more dramatic collapse in EU and EFTA migration around the time of the referendum, as mass recruitment ended and a new language test came in,” the NMC analysis said.

The British Medical Association (BMA), the main doctors’ union, lamented the smaller than expected number of European doctors deciding to work in the UK since Brexit.”Whilst we have such severe staffing shortages in the NHS, including nearly 11,000 medical vacancies in English hospitals alone, it’s deeply disappointing that Brexit has meant we’re losing out on more than 4,000 EU doctors who could be caring for patients,” said Dr Kitty Mohan, the chair of the BMA’s international doctors committee.”Even with efforts to increase domestic supply of doctors, given the length of time it takes to train these specialists, we will still find ourselves short without recruiting and retaining our EU and international colleagues.”Research found Brexit had left many European doctors already in the UK feeling unwelcome, alienated and insecure about their future working lives in Britain.

Are there staff shortages in Europe?

EURES Report on labour shortages and surpluses 2022, by the European Labour Authority launched on 29 March. Where are the shortages, where are the workers? The drivers behind labour shortages in Europe and how to tackle them is a hot topic at the centre of two reports produced by the European Labour Authority (ELA) and by the European Foundation for the Improvement of Living and Working Conditions (Eurofound), to be launched on 29 March 2023 in Brussels.

The EURES Report on labour shortages and surpluses 2022, by the European Labour Authority provides details on labour shortages and surpluses such as their extent and severity in the EU27 plus Norway and Switzerland.
Furthermore, the report contains insights on the drivers of shortages and surpluses, such as new technologies, the transition to a climate-neutral economy, the ageing of the workforce and conditions of work and employment.

The most widespread shortages occupations are in software, healthcare, construction and engineering crafts, whereas the greatest surpluses occur in clerical related occupations, elementary and professional occupations in the humanities and in the arts.

Top 10 shortages occupations	Top 10 surpluses occupations
Bricklayers and related workers	Graphic and multi-media designers
Carpenters and joiners	Administrative and executive secretaries
Heavy truck and lorry drivers	General office clerks
Metal working machine tool setters and operators	Shop sales assistants
Nursing professionals	Secretaries
Plumbers and pipe fitters	Interior designers and decorators
Building and related electricians	Journalists
Welders and flame cutters	Elementary workers not elsewhere classified
Concrete placers, concrete finishers and related workers	Car, taxi and van drivers
Sheet metal workers	Photographers

Source: Analysis of data submitted by EURES National Coordination Offices Background for the 2022 labour market trend A series of shocks have shaken the European economy over a short period between 2008 and 2020. After a prolonged growth, following the financial crisis in 2008, Europe’s economy and labour market suffered in 2020 a precipitous fall, with Covid-19.

The real GDP fell by 6.1% in just one year, as a result of the economic lockdowns happening during the pandemic. Inactivity rates rose slightly during the pandemic, indicating that some people may have withdrawn from the labour market during the pandemic but inactivity rates have returned to their pre-pandemic levels during 2022.

One of the most striking findings from the report is the magnitude of the current imbalance between labour demand and labour supply in Europe. Almost 400 different occupations were classified by at least one country as a shortage, while 321 different occupations were identified by at least one country as a surplus.

There are 38 specific occupations which are classified in the report as widespread shortages.
The 38 shortage occupations were dominated by three groups of occupations; craft occupations; healthcare occupations, and occupations related to software.
There were 37 specific occupations which were classified in the report as widespread surplus occupations.

Why the report? In its role of the European Coordination Office of EURES, ELA has a legal mandate to facilitate the provision of information on labour shortages and surpluses and so produces this report on annual basis. The current 2022 report goes beyond previous editions, by including a more intensive focus on the impact of labour imbalances in Europe on vulnerable groups, and by providing an exploration of the factors which give rise to labour imbalances in Europe.

The quantitative analysis is based on a questionnaire circulated to EURES National Coordination Offices (NCO) of all 31 EURES network participating countries, to obtain the primary source for labour imbalances as presented in this report. Additional sources used are data extracted from the European Labour Force (LFS) database; CEDEFOP forecasts and national data sources.

The qualitative analysis, which explores the context in which labour imbalances emerge, consisted of a literature review focused on the causes of labour imbalances. Information was then triangulated with findings derived from three focus group meetings targeted to NCOs.

Download the report | pdf Browse data on EURES dashboard Where are the shortages, where are the workers? | Launch event 29th March EURES Report on labour shortages and surpluses 2022 | Report webpage

Does Europe have a labor shortage?

Labour shortage prompts EU appeal for non-EU workers The European Commission is hoping to mitigate regional and industry-specific labour shortages with the launch of a new mechanism to encourage migration from third countries to the European Union. The commissioners for home affairs and employment and social rights announced on Tuesday (10 January) a Labour Migration Platform, which will bring together experts in both policies to build bridges between migration and employment to address this challenge faced by European economies.

“Many companies in the EU struggle to find workers with the skills they need,” commissioner Nicolas Schmit said on Tuesday. The shows that four-out-of-10 adults who work in Europe lack basic digital skills. Moreover, in 2021, 28 occupations, ranging from construction and healthcare to engineering and information technology, suffered from shortages ().

“Labour shortages have a catastrophic cost. Of course an economic cost. In Germany alone, €86bn per year in lost output,” home affairs commissioner Ylva Johansson said in her speech at the launch. The EU is working to reduce the unfilled vacancy rate among the 27 member states, and combat the working-age labour force, which is projected to fall from 70 percent to 56-54 percent by 2070, according to the latest Eurostat figures.

Today, two working people support somebody who doesn’t work.
But in 2070 it will be one-to-one, if we don’t do anything about it,” Johansson said.
The Labour Migration Platform aims to ensure that Europe does not lag behind in the battle to attract and retain talent, by improving recognition of qualifications, encouraging circular migration, and by designing an EU talent pool where European companies could find their skilled candidates.

“The new Labour Migration Platform allows us to build on member states’ experiences and best practices in labour migration and make use of the expertise of the migration and employment sectors,” added Johansson. The discussion platform meets on a regular basis, exchanging views and best practices.

The platform pools the efforts of the Commission and migration and employment policy experts from EU member states to foster mutual and close cooperation between these areas, aiming to make progress in reducing worker shortages.
The platform also supports initiatives such as the future EU Talent Pool, which is designed to match European employers who are unable to fill their vacancies with jobseekers from third countries, or the EU Talent Partnership.

The latter would focus on countries such as Tunisia or Egypt, where the initiative would offer these jobseekers language courses or vocational training before they even arrive in the EU. While not the only measure proposed on Tuesday, channeling legal migration to regions and occupations suffering skills shortages is key to maintaining the competitiveness of European economies in the future.

What industry has the biggest labor shortage?

COMMENTARY | Lawmakers and government officials need to seek out solutions now and build their workforce development strategies around them. –

Workforce Transportation

Nearly three years into the pandemic, America is still experiencing a labor shortage. About 3.5 million workers are “missing” from the workforce, according to Federal Reserve Chairman Jerome Powell, That is how much bigger the labor force would be if the number of people working or looking for work returned to pre-pandemic levels.

But as it is, there are more openings than job seekers. Retirements are largely to blame for this gap.The Federal Reserve found that retirements in the last two years account for “nearly all of the shortfall” in the labor force. Other factors include child care and automation. Workforce development has become a key priority for state and local governments amid the shortage of workers.

Policymakers in several states have turned to new workforce-oriented initiatives, from tuition incentives and paid apprenticeships to boot camps to solve the missing worker problem. Indeed, lawmakers and government officials need to seek out solutions now and build their workforce development strategies around them.

The reduction in the labor force has affected some industries more than others.
These, the U.S.
Chamber of Commerce recently reported, are the key sectors to watch: Transportation Labor shortages are plaguing the transportation industry nationwide, disrupting one of the economy’s most critical support systems.

The sector is struggling to hire truck drivers, warehouse personnel, couriers, skilled technicians and public transit workers. The most recent report from the Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS), for example, details the downward trend in warehousing and storage personnel and in couriers and messengers.

These logistics positions are down between 3,000 and 4,000 jobs this time last year. Public transit is facing similar shortages. The American Public Transportation Association released a report indicating that 96% of the agencies surveyed reported a workforce shortage, and 84% of those said it was affecting their ability to provide service.

The public transportation shortage negatively impacts the entire economy as residents who use public transit for work have found it to become increasingly unreliable despite ongoing efforts, and private transport is too cost prohibitive. A 2018 Politico report demonstrated an individual’s reliance on public transportation to get to work: “87% of public transportation trips directly benefit the economy by getting people to work and connecting them to local businesses.” Accommodation and Food While the leisure and hospitality sector added an average of 82,000 jobs monthly in 2022, according to BLS, industry employment is still below pre-pandemic levels by 5.8%,

The American Hotel & Lodging Association’s most recent survey of hotels across America found that 87% of respondents were experiencing a labor shortage, with 36% reporting the need as severe. The biggest challenge they noted was finding housekeeping staff, which directly led to a reduction in rooms available to rent.

Other parts of the hotel were also affected, with some hotels closing their restaurants and limiting other services previously provided. Some hotels have even replaced front desk clerks with self-service kiosks. The stats in the restaurant industry are equally alarming.

According to the National Restaurant Association’s 2022 State of the Restaurant Industry Report, 96% of their restaurant operators reported supply chain delays or shortages.
Finding the staff to prepare and serve the food has also been challenging, even with employers increasing the minimum wage to entice applicants.

Health Care Unsurprisingly, the pandemic has been a considerable factor in worker shortages in health care. AMN Healthcare, which provides staff to hospitals and other health-care facilities, recently found that 85% of the facilities they surveyed are still experiencing a shortage of allied health-care professionals.

This group, which includes radiology technicians, sonographers, dental hygienists and physical therapists, are critical to the continued function of the health-care system. Roughly 46% of the surveyed facilities reported that burnout was a massive factor in staffing losses. This has led to an increase in temporary workers and a huge demand for newly graduated health-care professionals.

Many worry that these challenges have decreased the quality of health care that patients receive due to the lack of experience. Retail Trade Retail employment has fallen by 62,000 employees since August, according to the BLS. Although 4% retail exits were due to resignations last year, the vast majority are because of layoffs.

How do nurses fix short staffing?

How to Fix Short Staffing in Nursing – In addition to handling understaffing issues as they arise, you can also make some changes to your operations to help prevent short staffing in the future.

Talk to your team: The best way to find out what your team needs or how many nurses should be working during a shift is to talk to the people who experience the effects of understaffing — your employees. Ask your nursing staff what they think an ideal nurse-to-patient ratio is. Remember, lower ratios equal less nurse burnout and harm to residents, while improving quality of care. Empower your nursing staff: In addition to asking your team what they need, give them tools to maximize their schedules. Employee engagement software lets your nursing staff enter time-off requests, claim shifts as necessary, and communicate with you. Giving people a sense of being in control of their schedule and work lives can help them feel more like part of a team, leading to higher levels of engagement and investment in their jobs. Establish a clear call-out policy: Almost every nurse will need to call out from a shift on occasion. They might be ill or need to take a mental health day. While you can’t avoid call-outs, you can minimize their impact on your staffing numbers. Implement a policy defining acceptable call-out reasons and establishes a time limit for calling out, such as no later than two hours before a shift, except in emergencies. Hire more nurses: If possible, hire more nurses to provide adequate cover for each shift. Another option is to work with a staffing agency to bring on nurses as needed. If your facility has a large enough pool, it’s unlikely you’ll have difficulty getting enough people to work each shift.

What are the problems with staff shortage?

Poor performance. – Your entire business can suffer from poor performance during staff shortages. Shortages often lead to missed deadlines, because staff do not have enough time to do their allotted amount of work – even with overtime hours. Or they must rush to finish their work, reducing its overall quality.

What causes shortage of nurses in the UK?

This includes: a lack of long-term workforce planning by the government and the NHS; Brexit leading to a loss of staff coming from the EU; concerns over pay; and job pressures due to increasing staff shortages.

What are the challenges of UK healthcare system?

Characteristic	Share of respondents
Not enough staff	56%
Access to treatment/long waiting times	46%
Ageing population	27%
Bureaucracy	21%