Posted by Chris Lindstrom, MBA – Marketing Manager for Medical Staffing Consultants, Inc.

As I am sure you know, the 'Nurse Staffing' business has been in decline as a result of the economic downturn. That said, it is also true that certain areas of the "Allied Health Staffing” business are still doing extremely well. Healthcare facilities are still struggling to meet demand for key positions including medical assistants, pharmacy technicians, physician’s assistants and many other positions.

In the past 10 years or so, the healthcare industry has fared much better than the overall economy. While total U.S. employment dropped by over 2% between 2000 and 2010, health care employment grew by more than 25% during the same period!

The strong growth in healthcare and social assistance is being driven largely by projected shifts in US demographics in the upcoming decades. People aged 65 years and older will grow from 13.0 % of the US population in 2010 (40.2MM) to 23.6% in 2030 (71.5MM).

Looking forward, the US Bureau of Labor Statistics projects that between 2010 & 2020 employment in the “Healthcare and Social Assistance” sector will generate the largest number of jobs (5.6 million) and have the fastest growth rate (3.0% annual) of all major industrial sectors.  To put that in perspective, this sector is projected to grow at more than twice the average of all major industrial sectors (1.3% annual). By 2020, it is projected that almost 1 in every 9 nine jobs in the US will be in the health sector.

This trend is reflected in the projected growth in healthcare occupations. 16 of the 30 projected fastest growing occupations are related to health care, reflecting the expected increases in demand as the population ages and the health care and social assistance industry grows. The fastest growing health occupations are projected to include:


These new healthcare jobs will be located in various settings, highlighted in the graph below:

Projected % of Healthcare Jobs by Setting: 2020

These numbers, and all other related projections, indicate that the healthcare field is growing and will continue to grow into the foreseeable future, however the real growth areas are in specific disciplines in Allied Health.

Demand For Medical Staffing Services - The need for flexibility and access to qualified talent drives the demand for healthcare staffing services. Many health care facilities turn first to temporary and contract workers to help them meet growing demand, effectively smoothing out labor needs, as utilizing temporary staff helps them keep their offices fully staffed during busy times.

Because of this increased overall demand and the wide-spread reliance on temporary staffing, healthcare staffing still represents a long-term growth business that allows healthy profit margins, recession resistance and growth opportunities.

For additional information on the growth of allied health staffing business, click here to read a recent article on emerging trends in healthcare placement:

For more information about any of Medical Staffing Consultants Inc. services, contact Dr. Jason Meyer at the information below.

Sources: U.S. Department of Labor, Bureau of Labor Statistics: Employment Outlook 2010 – 2010, 2008 – 2018, 2006 – 2016,

2004 – 2014, Employment Outlook, 2002 – 2012, and 2000 – 2010; Employment and Output by Industry, Table 2.7; Current

Employment Survey, 2000 – 2010, bls.gov website, Employment Outlook: 2010 – 2020. US Census data; http://www.census.gov/