The latest trends shaping healthcare hiring in the US
The US labor market slowed slightly in 2025, but healthcare remained the exception, continuing to generate jobs even as other sectors contracted. December’s jobs report showed just 50,000 new positions nationally, yet healthcare and social assistance accounted for the majority of gains. Without healthcare, net job creation would have been minimal or negative.
Below is a 2026 ready analysis of the most important hiring trends, from workforce shortages to wage dynamics and the evolving role of technology.
Healthcare is the engine of job growth, but concentration brings risk
Healthcare is the engine of job growth, but concentration brings risk
Throughout 2025, healthcare delivered the bulk of job growth while many goodsproducing industries faced declines. Analysts reported that healthcare added more than 400,000 jobs over the year, while other sectors remained stagnant, leaving the economy heavily dependent on healthcare hiring.
Hospitals also continued expanding, adding approximately 163,000 roles in 2025, though at a slower monthly pace than the prior year. This reflects strategic rebalancing: organizations trimmed nonclinical roles but expanded patient facing teams to meet demand.
What this means: Healthcare candidates will continue to see abundant opportunities. Employers must compete on culture, flexibility, and career development, not only compensation.
Persistent structural shortages: physicians, nurses, and direct care workers
The physician shortage remains one of the most impactful constraints on the US healthcare system. The Association of American Medical Colleges projects a deficit of up to 86,000 physicians by 2036, with primary care and surgical specialties most affected. Drivers include retirement trends, residency caps, and uneven distribution between rural and urban regions.
Nursing presents an equally pressing challenge. Federal and academic analyses predict hundreds of thousands of annual Registered Nurse openings through 2032, driven by retirements, educator shortages, and high burnout rates. States across the West and Southeast face the heaviest deficits.
In long-term care and homebased settings, direct care workers, including Home Health Aides, Personal Care Aides, and Nursing Assistants, are in unprecedented demand. National projections show a 39% increase in required longterm services and supports (LTSS) workforce between 2022 and 2037.
What this means: Employers must treat pipeline development and retention as strategic imperatives, not short-term fixes.
Advanced practice providers are closing growing clinical gaps
Advanced practice providers (APPs), including Nurse Practitioners, Physician Assistants, Certified Registered Nurse Anesthetists, and Clinical Nurse Specialists, play an expanding role amid physician shortages. More states are granting full practice authority, and APP workforces are growing faster than physician workforces nationwide.
What this means: Talent acquisition teams should strengthen sourcing for APPs, create clear team-based care models, and ensure compensation and scope of practice strategies reflect state regulations.
Telehealth and virtual care are growing despite policy uncertainty
Telehealth has become a stable component of care delivery, but regulatory instability complicates longterm planning. Temporary federal telehealth flexibilities have been extended in short cycles, creating uncertainty for systemwide investment. Legislation such as the CONNECT for Health Act aims to create permanence but has not yet fully resolved instability.
Meanwhile, virtual care models, including remote patient monitoring, telesitting, and hybrid clinical roles, continue expanding as technology advances and patient preferences shift. These models are reshaping workforce needs, emphasizing digital fluency and multisite licensure.
What this means: Recruiters should cultivate clinician talent comfortable with virtual modalities while preparing for policy driven fluctuations.
Wages are rising, but financial pressure is real
Wage growth continued in 2025, with median healthcare staff pay rising 4.3%, up from 2.7% in 2024, with the strongest increases among hard to fill clinical technician roles. Registered Nurses also saw pay growth, but high-cost regions like New York and Los Angeles remain far above national medians.
At the same time, hospitals face rising nonlabor costs, reimbursement pressures, and increased payer denials. Nearly 60% of health systems report nonlabor expense growth of 6–10%, forcing leaders to optimize staffing and introduce targeted incentives (e.g., signing bonuses, wage adjustments).
What this means: Compensation will continue evolving, but systems will scrutinize incentives carefully. Employers who pair competitive pay with flexibility and development will outperform.
Hospital hiring slowed but didn’t stop, roles are shifting
Despite highvisibility layoffs in 2025, most job cuts occurred in administrative and revenuecycle departments, not clinical care. Hospitals still added an average of 13,600 jobs per month, driven by patient demand and the need to rebalance teams for efficiency. AI and automation are replacing some clerical tasks, enabling reallocation of staff into higher value roles.
What this means: Clinical job seekers will continue to find steady demand, while nonclinical professionals may need to adapt to augmented workflows.
Travel nursing and locum tenens are stabilising at new normal levels
The travel nursing boom has settled, with 2024–2025 showing lower bill rates and fewer orders compared to pandemic peaks. Yet the segment remains far larger than pre2020 levels. Travel demand persists in high acuity units such as ICU, Emergency Department, and telemetry, where shortages remain severe. Locum tenens roles also remain strong due to the physician shortfall.,
The healthcare staffing market is increasingly shifting toward per diem and local “gig style” assignments, improving cost efficiency while meeting fluctuating demand.
What this means: Employers should diversify staffing strategies with a mix of local per diem, short-term contracts, and strategic travel placements.
Aging demographics are driving hiring beyond the hospital
As America ages, care continues shifting toward outpatient, homebased, and behavioral health settings. Demand for ambulatory surgery centers, specialty pharmacy, home health, and behavioral health services is rising sharply. LTSS demand alone is expected to grow 39% by 2037, with direct care workers representing the bulk of staffing needs.
What this means: Recruitment strategies must expand beyond hospital nursing to include homebased care, aging services roles, and behavioral health positions.
Burnout, newgrad readiness, and safety culture are crucial to retention
Burnout remains a critical risk factor for turnover, particularly among early career clinicians. Leaders report concerns about new graduates’ readiness for bedside practice due to pandemic era training disruptions. Mentorship, residency programs, and team-based care models are essential to stabilising early career performance.
Encouragingly, multiyear data show improvements in workforce engagement, resilience, and safety culture since pandemic lows, suggesting organisations that invest in culture of safety initiatives see measurable gains.
What this means: Hiring leaders should integrate wellbeing, professional development, and clinical mentorship into their workforce strategy from day one.
AI is shifting from experimentation to daily workforce enablement
Healthcare organisations are rapidly adopting AI to streamline hiring, credentialing, scheduling, and workforce planning. Clinically, AI is reducing documentation burden, supporting decision making, and enabling virtual monitoring. Enterprise wide, AI adoption is expanding in supply chain optimisation and performance analytics.
What this means: HR teams should adopt AI tools to speed recruitment while maintaining strict governance to reduce bias and ensure compliance.
The 2026 bottom line
Even as the broader labor market cools, healthcare hiring will remain structurally strong into 2026 because of demographics, chronic disease burden, and shifting care settings. Financial pressure will continue, but demand for clinicians and support staff will not slow. Organisations that combine competitive compensation with flexible scheduling, strong early career support, expanded APP utilisation, and strategic use of contingent labor will be best positioned to thrive.
How SR Staffing can help you with hiring healthcare professionals
SR Staffing can help you hire healthcare professionals by combining industry specific expertise with a proactive, people first approach to recruitment. Their team focuses on understanding your organisation’s unique clinical and operational needs, then quickly delivering qualified candidates across roles such as Registered Nurses, Nurse Practitioners, Physician Assistants and allied health specialists.
With streamlined screening, flexible staffing models and a commitment to long-term retention, SR Staffing reduces hiring delays, improves workforce stability and ensures you have the skilled professionals needed to maintain high quality patient care.
Get in touch with one of our recruitment experts today.
