Two government reports this week point to a familiar theme: healthcare employment is the backbone of the U.S. civilian workforce:
- The Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) reported that May job growth was 139,000—62,000 were healthcare jobs—more than any other industry at 17 million. In fact, healthcare now accounts for 11% of the entire civilian workforce.
- The Congressional Budget Office reported that the House budget bill will knock up to 15 million off their health insurance via work requirements for Medicaid and cessation of marketplace subsidies. Most have household incomes below 200% of the federal poverty level ($31,300 for indivduals/$64,300 for a household of 4).
And Wednesday, BLS will release its Consumer Price Index (CPI) report for May. Last month, it reported that the All-Items Index was up 0.2% pushing prices up 2.3% before seasonal adjustment for the last 12 months. But in the same period, food prices increased 2.8%, housing costs increased 4.0% and medical care services prices were up 3.1%. Only energy prices went down.
The common theme in these reports is household finances and healthcare where fits: in 2023 (the latest data available), average household income before taxes increased 8.3% and household spending increased 5.9%. Housing accounted for the largest share of total expenditures (32.9%), followed by transportation (17.0%), food (12.9%), personal insurance and pensions (12.4%), healthcare (8.0%) and entertainment (4.7%). Thus, healthcare spending is a relatively small share of household spending and has stayed in sync with overall spending patterns in recent years. (+5.9% for total expenditures, +5.4% for health insurance and +5.7% health services including hospitals, physicians et al. No harm no foul.
Healthcare can legitimately claim its spending for its products and services have stayed in line over time with overall household spending trends sans wild swings like food and energy. But these data mask 2 problems unique to healthcare:
- Disproportionate cost burden in lower-income populations: While healthcare spending represents a relatively small share of median household spending (8%) but it can be as high as 20% in low and lower-middle income households who are also hardest hit for housing, food and energy increases. Healthcare is increasingly unaffordable: 41% of the working age population is currently paying off a medical debt—double the percentage in 2005. And the average debt in that period has tripled.
- Lower income workers are a significant population in the healthcare workforce: A quarter of the healthcare workforce are hourly-wage workers who are increasingly hard pressed to make ends meet. Aides, transcriptionists, analysts, coders, call center staff et al pay low wages–often less than $40,000/year. Three-fourths (76%) of clinical technicians, nurses, therapists and para-professionals carry loan obligations that range from $25,000 to $80,000 or more. And many have been forced to drop out of the workforce to take care of a family member/friend—part of the unpaid caregiver workforce.
Mercer observed: “The alarms that have been ringing in the healthcare workforce are getting harder to ignore…sentiment among healthcare workers remains concerningly low — and declining fast. Especially among hourly workers earning less than $60,000 per year, confidence in career growth and trust in leadership have dropped by double digits. These workers — the backbone of the healthcare system by any measure — are approaching a breaking point…”
And in its 2025 Health on Demand Report, it notes that “nearly 50% of employees are concerned about financial stressors or job security as they grapple with the changing world at work, technology disruptions and the rapid adoption of AI…. and 29% reported they had skipped/delayed care for themselves in the past year due to costs.”
My take:
Reviewing academic research and trade industry reports, four themes emerge relative to the concerns of the hourly workforce in healthcare:
1-Job security: Key question: “Will I be replaced by AI or laid off by DOGE?”
2-Pay: Key question: “Why do I work so hard, make so little and our CEO makes so much?”
3-Recognition: Key questions: “Remember me? Am I a number or a person?”
4-Uncertainty: Key questions “What’s the future for healthcare, my organization and my role?”
Arguably, their questions aren’t unique to hourly workers in healthcare: lower- and low-middle income employee cohorts in other industries feel the same. What’s unique to healthcare is the context: new technologies, new regulations, new transparency requirements, new ways of staffing and constant pressure to do more with less. Tension between workers and leaders in provider organizations is palpable—arguably more widespread than other industries in the economy. And human resource functions in these settings are understaffed and underfunded despite the mounting urgency of workforce issues since the pandemic.
In most provider settings, the well-being of the hourly workforce is secondary to shortages and staffing efficiency. In most, attentiveness to the needs and wants of physicians, nurses and skilled professionals is higher than what’s directed to the hourly staff who support them. In most, hourly workers think the organization cares more about its finances than patient care. In most, senior managers thank the mood of the hourly workforce is more positive than in reality. In most, hourly workers think being part of a bigger organization (multi hospital systems, ASK/diagnostic center chains, nursing home operators et al) carries more baggage than benefit. In most organizations, hourly workers think they’re expendable through no fault of their own.
The hourly workforce in healthcare is important to its future. But most are worried about how to pay their bills at home and do a job with an uncertain future. These issues deserve attention.
Paul
P.S. I started my healthcare career working in Central Sterile Supply in the basement of Erlanger Hospital in Chattanooga. I was 14 years old. My Supervisor, Willis, worked there her entire career. I saw then, and see even more today, the significance of the support teams–the hourly employees that make care accessible for patients and life easier for frontline care teams. I recall 30-minute breaks for lunch in the Erlanger cafeteria and the nearby doctors’ dining lounge where their meals were free and parking close by. And I remember never questioning this “natural order” since I presumed it the status quo everywhere. The new natural order will be decidedly different because the old order simply cost too much and hasn’t delivered adequate value. And every employee in every sector of healthcare is unclear about what that will mean for their work and livelihood.
Resources
- Survey: 79 Million Americans Have Problems with Medical Bills or Debt | Commonwealth Fund
- Mercer Health on Demand 2025: survey report
- State of the U.S. Health Care Workforce HRSA November 2024
Sections in today’s report:
- Quotables
- Economy
- Hospitals
- Insurers
- Policy
- Polling
- Population Health
- Prescription Drugs
- Technology
- Workforce
Quotables
Musk on Budget Bill: “I’m sorry, but I just can’t stand it anymore. This massive, outrageous, pork-filled Congressional spending bill is a disgusting abomination. Shame on those who voted for it: you know you did wrong. You know it. Congress is making America bankrupt.”
Elon Muck on X June 3, 2025 Musk blasts Trump’s agenda bill as a ‘disgusting abomination,’ catching White House officials off guard | CNN Politics
Pearl on AI-enabled primary care: “According to a 2022 study published in The Journal of General Internal Medicine, a primary care physician would need 26.7 hours a day to deliver all the preventive, chronic and acute care recommended for their panel of patients. That’s more than a full day’s work – even before documentation, inbox management or follow-ups begin.
It’s absurd, impossible and unsustainable. And it’s no wonder so many primary care doctors feel overwhelmed and burned out…
To date, the most common use of generative AI in healthcare has been administrative. Applications that feature ambient listening and transcription, note-writing, referral drafting and prior authorization support can reduce documentation time and offer modest relief. But as the chronic disease epidemic intensifies, today’s problems will continue to grow. To prevent that, generative AI can’t be viewed as a glorified scribe. It must be relied on as a clinical partner.”
PCC Conference 2025: The future of primary care & generative AI
STAT on MAHA Report omission: “In the first major report from the president’s Make America Healthy Again Commission, disordered eating is mentioned just once, in passing, in connection with the benefits of family meals. Amid dozens of references to obesity and a major focus on what foods American children consume, there are zero mentions of specific conditions like anorexia nervosa, bulimia nervosa, or binge-eating disorder.
It’s a notable omission in a document purporting to explain how today’s children are the “sickest generation…Eating disorder research has always been underfunded — about $55 million in NIH categorical grants went to eating disorder research in 2023… That encompasses everything from investigating biological underpinnings, tracking epidemiology, and testing new treatments for anorexia, bulimia, binge-eating, and other eating disorders. The grants also included studies on obesity and weight loss.”
Eating disorder research cut amid MAHA focus on chronic conditions
Economy
BLS: Jobs report: Total nonfarm payroll employment increased by 139,000 in May, and the unemployment rate was unchanged at 4.2%…continued to trend up in health care, leisure and hospitality, and social assistance. Federal government continued to lose jobs.
Health care added 62,000 jobs in May, higher than the average monthly gain of 44,000 over the prior 12 months. In May, job gains occurred in hospitals (+30,000), ambulatory health care services (+29,000), and skilled nursing care facilities (+6,000
Employment Situation Summary – 2025 M05 Results
CBO: Proposed budget impact: “Per the CBO review, the House Republicans’ tax bill would lead to nearly 11 million people losing health insurance, another 5.1 million people would become uninsured from a combination of expiring Affordable Care Act subsidies and new ACA rules that Trump’s health department proposed.
Overall, the bill increases the federal deficit by $2.4 trillion over a decade: Extending lower tax rates alone costs $2.2 trillion over a decade and the bill includes cuts to federal spending on health coverage of more than $1 trillion.
CBO estimated that as is, the bill would lead to 10.9 million people losing coverage, with 7.8 million of those losing Medicaid coverage. The analysis also found that the bill would cost the healthcare sector $1 trillion through 2034. These estimated coverage losses are separate from other CBO analyses, which found that about another 4.2 million people would lose coverage if enhanced Affordable Care Act (ACA) subsidies are not extended and 900,000 more people would lose coverage if the exchange enrollment window is shortened, as proposed by the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid (CMS) earlier this year.”
Trump tax bill: Health care impact revealed in CBO report | STAT
Milliman: Cost of care: “The cost to cover a family of four through workplace insurance now exceeds $35,000, nearly triple what it cost 20 years ago as annual growth in health costs have far outpaced wages. Growing pharmacy and outpatient facility costs drove most of the increase, which includes employee and employer shares. ..
The 20-year cumulative gain of 188% outpaced the 84% growth in wages over the same time. Health costs have increased about 6% per year on average over the past two decades… with an average inflation rate of 2.5% over that time.
Employers in 2025 still shoulder 58% of employee health care costs, but their share has shrunk since 2005, when it was more than 60%.: “The cost to cover a family of four through workplace insurance now exceeds $35,000, nearly triple what it cost 20 years ago as annual growth in health costs have far outpaced wages.”
Equilar Report: Executive Compensation: “The impact of current economic conditions and the ongoing trade war on CEO compensation remains unclear. However, CEO pay is typically influenced by broader market trends, and in 2024, the U.S. economy remained relatively strong. The median total compensation* for S&P 500 CEOs was $17.1 million in 2024, marking a 9.7% increase from the previous year. While the uptick in compensation is substantial, it is a decline from 12.6% recorded in last year’s study.
Stock awards remain the largest component of CEO compensation, accounting for 71.6% of the median pay package in this year’s study. In 2024, the median value of stock awards rose 14.7% to $10.3 million. Notably, the sharpest increase among all pay components was in perks, which surged 21.5% to a median of $286,343.”
In 2024, the median CEO Pay Ratio among S&P 500 companies rose to 192:1, up 3.2% from 186:1 in 2023. The median employee earned $85,419, reflecting a 1.7% increase year over year. CEO compensation growth continues to outpace median employee pay, a trend that shows no signs of slowing.”
2025 Equilar | Associated Press CEO Pay Study
Bain on PE: “Private equity began 2025 on solid footing, with strong dealmaking—but momentum faded fast. New tariffs and geopolitical uncertainty triggered a sharp Q2 slowdown, intensifying pressure on liquidity, fund-raising, and valuations.
- Early signs indicate that tariff turmoil has held back deals and exits while investors digest the implications, both short and long term.
- The second-quarter slowdown has exacerbated the urgent need to improve liquidity by accelerating full exits, refreshing value-creation plans where necessary.
- Amid lingering volatility, PE firms can regain momentum through proactive dealmaking, clear-eyed due diligence, and a renewed focus on revenue and profit growth.
Tariff turbulence has shaken the world, but it hasn’t broken the private equity market. However, the pressure within the industry—to find exits, distribute funds, source fresh capital and then put it to work—continues to mount.
Leaning Into the Turbulence: Private Equity Midyear Report 2025 | Bain & Company
Hospitals
Kaufman Hall: April 2025 Hospital Report:
- “Hospital financial performance improved between January and April. On a year-to-date basis, hospital performance in the first four months of 2025 compared favorably to the same time period in 2024.
- Average length of stay decreased and adjusted discharges per calendar day increased compared to the prior year period. This reflects improved patient throughput and a higher demand for hospital services.
- Measures of patient volume showed improvement. Inpatient revenue, discharges, ED visits and operating room minutes all increased compared to the prior year period.”
Note: The average median operating margins for May 2024-December 2024 was 1.46% including all allocations and median without allocations was 5.06%. In 2025 YTD, both increased: median including allocations to 3.15% and median without allocations to 6.75%
National Hospital Flash Report: April 2025 Data | Kaufman Hall
STAT study: non-profit hospital system profitability: “STAT examined the financial documents of 50 nonprofit hospital systems that were filed to bondholders within the past several weeks. The documents cover the first three months of 2025. The organizations range from single-state hospitals with $1 billion of annual revenue to multistate systems of hospitals, medical groups, and health plans with more than $20 billion of annual revenue. Combined, the sample systems generate more than $600 billion annually.
A majority, roughly four out of five, had positive operating margins in the first quarter of this year. President Trump’s tariff proclamations created drops in the stock market, but the threat of tariffs didn’t sap hospitals’ investments, yet…
The latest survey data suggests this volume of care may not be waning. Investment firm TD Cowen surveyed 164 hospitals and reported their revenue grew 6.3% on a year-over-year, adjusted calendar basis…”
Hospitals thrive in Q1, but Medicaid cuts, policy shifts cloud future | STAT
AHA Report: The cost of workplace and community violence: Last Monday, AHA released results of its study conducted on its behalf by the University of Washington (UW) Harborview Injury Prevention and Research Center (HIPRC). Highlights:
- The total annual financial cost of violence to hospitals in 2023 is estimated at $18.27 billion U.S. dollars (USD).
- Pre-event costs associated with violence in the community and within facilities are estimated at $3.62 billion (USD), primarily for prevention measures.
- Post-event costs for health care, work loss costs, case management, staffing, and infrastructure repair are estimated at $14.65 billion (USD).
- The largest contributor to total annual costs came from post-event health care expenses to treat violent injuries.
- Additional impacts, like public perception, staff recruitment and retention, legal concerns, job satisfaction, and psychological harm to health care workers, are significant but difficult to quantify due to limited data
The Burden of Violence to U.S. Hospitals | AHA June 2, 2025
Lown Institute study: medical debt collection policies in hospitals: “The Lown Institute reviewed data from the financial assistance and collections policies of 2,500 hospitals across the United States, to better understand how these policies differ across hospital type and location. In most states, hospitals set their own policies around who is eligible for free or discounted care and the actions they may take to collect debt, which leads to considerable variation among hospitals. Findings:
- Many middle-class people may qualify for free or discounted care and not know it. Most hospitals offer discounted care for families making under 400% of federal guidelines, about $100,000 for a family of three.
- The most common income threshold for free care is 200% of federal guidelines, about $50,000 for a family of three.
- Free care thresholds vary widely, from 100% of federal guidelines ($25,000 for a family of three) to 600% ($150,000).
- Similar types of hospitals in the same cities can have very different policies.
- Most hospitals (59%) allow at least one extraordinary collection action, like wage garnishments, selling debt to a third party, or denying non-emergency care.”
REPORT: Hospital financial assistance and debt collection policies June 2, 2025
Essential Hospitals’ disproportionate burden of cuts: “Although essential hospitals account for just 5% of hospitals nationally, we estimate that they would bear approximately 25% of the added hospital unpaid costs of care. This would amount to an additional $10.7 billion in cuts to essential hospitals in 2034. In 2022, essential hospitals reported $22.7 billion in unpaid costs of care, which included $10.4 billion in uncompensated care for uninsured individuals and $12.4 billion in under-reimbursed care from government payers, such as Medicaid. As a result of these costs, essential hospitals reported operating margins of negative 9%.4 With cuts of the magnitude proposed by H.R. 1, essential hospitals face even more financial challenges, threatening their ability to provide access to life-saving services in their communities.”
Estimated Effects of H.R. 1 on Hospital Uncompensated Care Costs
Insurance
Medicaid work requirement study: how childless non-disabled adult Medicaid enrollees use their time: “In a previous analysis, I found that between 40% and 56% of childless non-disabled Medicaid recipients age 19–64 would not have been in compliance in 2022.
“For Medicaid recipients who do not report working, the most common activity after sleeping is watching television and playing video games. They spend 4.2 hours per day watching television and playing video games, or 125 hours during a 30-day month… They spend on average 6.1 hours per day, or 184 hours per month on all socializing, relaxing and leisure activities (including television and video games). In the average day they spend about 0.36 hours (i.e., 22 minutes) looking for work, 4.0 hours doing housework and errands, and 0.47 hours (i.e., 28 minutes) caring for others.
For Medicaid recipients who report working, the most common activity after sleeping is work. They work an average of 4.2 hours per day, or 126 hours per month… Working Medicaid recipients spend a lower 2.7 hours per day watching television and playing video games, and a total of 4.5 hours on all socializing, relaxing and leisure activities.
Dual eligible enrollment: Share of Medicare Beneficiaries with and Without Medicaid Coverage,
Overall and by Age Group, 2024
| Age group | Medicare beneficiaries w/o Medicaid coverage | Medicare beneficiaries with Medicaid coverage |
Total enrollment: Medicare + Medicaid |
| Overall | 82% | 18% | 12.2 million |
| Under 65 | 45% | 55% | 4.4 million |
| 65-84 | 87% | 13% | 6.6 million |
| 85 and older | 83% | 17% | 1.2 million |
KFF, 5 Key Facts About Medicaid Coverage for People with Medicare, March 2025
Policy
Price transparency compliance status: “Although hospitals and health plans are posting a massive amount of health care price data in response to these rules, actionable information on prices is not readily and widely available, partly due to ongoing issues with the accessibility and quality of the data. Status of compliance:
Hospitals: “Despite these steps, recent reports show that data quality and hospital compliance remain ongoing issues….”
Plans: “Health plans appear to have complied more readily with MRF requirements than hospitals, though oversight is challenging, and compliance remains inconsistent. “
Federal Officials Announce Steps to Strengthen Health Care Price Transparency | Health Affairs
Study: site neutral payment impact: “Medicare pays hospital outpatient departments higher rates than ambulatory surgical centers and physician offices for providing similar health services. Policy makers are considering aligning payments across sites of care, but concerns have arisen about the potential disproportionate impacts of “site-neutral” payments on vulnerable providers and beneficiaries. We assessed the effects of three policy options on types of hospitals and beneficiaries. We found annual Medicare payment reductions ranging from $212 million to $7.36 billion across these options; variation was due to the scopes of services and types of. Hospital outpatient departments included. Small and rural hospitals paid under Medicare’s outpatient prospective payment system would absorb the smallest shares of proposed cuts across the options, commensurate with their outpatient volumes. The effects of the policy options varied little by hospital type; more comprehensive options would yield larger payment reductions from all hospital types. Site-neutral payments would not have substantially different effects on beneficiary groups defined by dual-eligibility status or age…
Medicare Site-Neutral Payment Policies: Effects of Proposals on Hospitals and Beneficiary Groups June 2025
Polling
Gallup, Economist polling: Public mood in May, 2025: “Overall, 38% of Americans are satisfied with the way things are going in the country, according to a May 1-18 Gallup poll. That number, which sat at just 20% in January, has climbed — thanks to a massive surge in Republican satisfaction.79% of Republicans say they’re satisfied, near the record high for the party. In January, that number was just 10%. The outlook for Dems is bleak, with just 4% satisfaction.
The Economist-YouGov polling of U.S. adults between May 30 and June 2 showed that 57% of Republicans believe the economy is getting better, compared to just 8% of Democrats. Among those who voted for Trump in 2024, 61% think the economy is on the rise. Only 6% of Harris voters agree.”
Republicans and Democrats see starkly different U.S. realities
Realtor poll: Millennial home-buying: “The survey, conducted between April 10 and 11, sampled 2,203 U.S. adults and found that only the millennial generation reported an increased likelihood of purchasing a home in the next six months.
The proportion of millennial respondents planning to purchase a home within the next six months increased to 23%, up from 15% in September 2024. In comparison, overall intent among other generations—and among Americans at large—remained flat or declined.
High mortgage rates continue to weigh heavily on Americans’ homebuying plans. A majority of Americans, 69%, do not plan to engage in a real estate transaction within the next six months.”.
Millennials Buck Generational Housing Market Trend – Newsweek
Population Health
Study: cannabis use among seniors: Researchers analyzed cannabis use among seniors. Findings:
“The study included 15 689 adults (54% female [weighted]). Prevalence of past-month cannabis use among older adults increased significantly from 4.8%in 2021 to 7.0% in 2023… increased prevalence in past-month cannabis use was associated with several conditions, particularly chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) (6.4% to 13.5%). Trends in increased prevalence were also associated with heart conditions, diabetes, hypertension, cancer, and 2 or more chronic medical conditions.”
Study: MMR vaccination rates: A JAMA study released last week found that of 2,237 counties across the U.S., 78% reported declines in vaccination rates for measles, mumps and rubella from 2019 through 2024. The study said that measles is likely to return to endemic levels in the U.S. if MMR vaccination rates continue to decline. Note: As of May 29, there have been 1,088 confirmed cases of measles in the U.S. this year, according to CDC data. There were 285 in 2024. So far in 2025, cases have been reported by 32 states. The vaccination status of 96% of all cases is classified as “unvaccinated or unknown.”
Study: Social Determinants of Health and Injury Among Children: In this case-control study of 59 295 participants, rural area, protective care, being born to a teen mother, parent justice system involvement, and receipt of income assistance were associated with increased odds of pediatric injury; the other measured SDoCH were not.
McKinsey: the wellness market: Wellness is more important to consumers than ever. In the United States alone, we estimate that it represents more than $500 billion in annual spend, growing at 4 to 5% each year…
Younger generations especially are increasingly prioritizing wellness. Nearly 30% of Gen Zer’s (people born between 1997 and 2012) and millennials (born between 1981 and 1996) in the United States report prioritizing wellness “a lot more” compared with one year ago, versus up to 23% of older generations. This may be due to several factors: Younger generations self-report higher levels of burnout and worse overall health compared with older people but are also more exposed to health-related content on social media (where they are more likely to be influenced to make a wellness-related purchase than older generations are).
The $2 trillion global wellness market gets a millennial and Gen Z glow-up | McKinsey
Prescription drugs
PBMs challenge Arkansas in court: “Drug price middlemen are going to court to fight a first-in-the-nation effort to police their ownership of retail pharmacies as more state legislatures and Congress crank up scrutiny of their influence on the cost of medicines. Large pharmacy benefit managers like CVS Caremark, Express Scripts and Optum Rx are increasingly being blamed for higher drug prices and the outsize role they play in the pharmaceutical supply chain…
CVS Health and Cigna, which owns Express Scripts, filed lawsuits last week seeking to stop Arkansas from enforcing a new law that largely prohibits them from owning retail pharmacies in the state. Both lawsuits argue that the Arkansas policy violates the Constitution’s Dormant Commerce Clause. CVS Health argues that the law improperly leverages the state’s licensing power…”
PBMs fight back against state restrictions
Technology
EPIC announces TEFCA milestone: “More than 1,000 hospitals and 22,000 clinics using Epic are now live on the Trusted Exchange Framework and Common Agreement™ (TEFCA™), marking a significant milestone in making health information seamlessly and securely available wherever care happens.
TEFCA, established under the bipartisan 21st Century Cures Act, provides a standardized, nationwide framework for the secure exchange of health information. Epic community members connect to TEFCA through Epic Nexus, a federally designated Qualified Health Information Network® (QHIN ™) that launched in December 2023…”
Over 1,000 Hospitals Connect to TEFCA with Epic Nexus | Epic
Study: Accuracy of Artificial Intelligence for Gatekeeping Referrals for Specialized Care: In this diagnostic study of an AI model for gatekeeping that was developed, tested, and validated sequentially, the model differentiated between referrals that warranted immediate authorization and additional information with moderate accuracy and outperformed human gatekeepers by nearly 20%, primarily due to increased specificity.
Pitchbook: AI in mental health: “Since 2020, AI mental health startups have raised $2.5 billion in VC funding as these solutions have proven complementary to the previous generation of mental health tech startups focused on connecting patients to affordable care… the reality is that professional mental health services remain out of reach for many due to a lack of access and high out-of-pocket costs. In this context, clinical-grade AI tools offer a preferable alternative to general-purpose chatbots that may lack scientific validation or oversight. A landmark study from Dartmouth recently found that the use of mental health AI chatbots meaningfully reduced symptoms of depression, anxiety, and eating disorders. In our view, platforms that combine clinician-led services, such as patient engagement, with chatbot-style mental health support between sessions, are likely to see the fastest adoption among providers. At the same time, access challenges will continue to be addressed by an earlier generation of mental health tech startups focused on connecting patients to therapists and expanding insurance-covered care.”
Q2_2025_Innovation_Spotlight_AI_in_Mental_Health_Preview.pdf
Workforce
Bureau of Labor: May jobs report:
- “U.S. job growth slowed in May to 139,000, above expectations, but signals employer caution amid tariff uncertainty.
- Unemployment remained steady at 4.2% despite White House efforts to cut federal jobs and spending.
- Tariff volatility has hurt profits, and businesses’ ability to plan, with economists expecting impacts later in the year.
“Healthcare, a sector that tends to hold up no matter how the economy is doing, posted the strongest gains, with employment rising by 62,000 jobs from the previous month. Employment in leisure and hospitality and social assistance also climbed.”
Hiring Slowed in May, With 139,000 New Jobs – WSJ
Report: workforce AI readiness: The Kyndryl People Readiness Report surveyed 1,100 business and technology leaders in 8 markets to uncover how organizations are managing the pace of change related to AI, Findings:
“Despite widespread implementation, 71% of leaders admit their workforces are not yet ready to harness AI’s full potential. More than half report their organizations lack the skilled talent to manage AI, and yet CEOs and their tech leaders aren’t aligned on how to solve the challenge. Even more telling: 45% of CEOs say their employees still actively resist the technology. This dissonance reveals critical fault lines in the AI transformation narrative — ones that sit not in code or compute, but in the culture and capabilities of the workforce.”
Note: In healthcare, 81% of workers are unprepared for AI—the highest all of all industry groups.
Nearly half of CEOs say employees are resistant or even hostile to AI | HR Dive
Mercer: hourly workforce issues: Chief among them is a persistent labor shortage. Mercer projects a shortfall of 100,000 healthcare providers over the next five years, a gap that stretches already-thin teams and accelerates burnout. As job openings outpace hiring, remaining staff are expected to do more with less, leading to chronic overload…Root causes: gaps in pay, purpose, and progress:
- Low Pay, Inadequate Benefits, and Unequal Rewards: While 78% of salaried employees across industries feel they are compensated fairly, that number dropped to just 65% for salaried healthcare workers…
- Career Stagnation and Lack of Advancement Paths: Only 58% of hourly healthcare workers believe they can achieve their career goals where they currently work, and only 44% of those paid less than $60,000 agree…
- Fractured Well-Being and a Growing Mental Load: Only 50% of all healthcare employees say they have access to tools and resources that help them manage stress…
- Declining Trust: Only 51% of all healthcare workers believe their senior leaders’ actions align with what they say. With 27% expressing unfavorable views, the message is clear: trust is fraying, and the credibility gap is growing.
Healthcare workforce warning signs are flashing red
Workforce issues: technicians, nurses: “Technicians are over 30% of the healthcare workforce and cover all aspects of care, from radiology to phlebotomy to surgical care… 61% of technicians say the shortages in their field are directly impacting their work. This, in turn, leads to increased stress (32%), fewer teammates to rely on (13%), and added responsibility without sufficient support (12%).
- 71% of technicians say they are not fairly compensated. 32% say a 6–10% raise would help them feel adequately paid.
- Only a quarter (25%) of technicians rate their mental health as “very good.”
- Nearly half (48%) report they can barely meet their basic financial needs, and 76% say it’s harder to find a job than in past years.
- Among surgical technologists, 68% report increased demand for surgical care—a signal that technician workloads may continue to rise without sufficient staffing.
- Almost a third of technicians (28%) say they plan to leave their role by the end of 2025, with 42% citing pay and benefits as the key factor
As healthcare employers navigate staffing challenges and care demands, nurses and technicians are also contending with growing political and economic pressures. From budget cuts to housing hurdles, the broader climate is reshaping career decisions and daily realities on the job.
- 88% of nurses and technicians anticipate that potential Medicaid and Medicare cuts will negatively impact health systems.
- 63% of nurses believe the current political environment will affect their job or workplace.
- 55% of nurses and 78% of technicians say the housing market and interest rates have limited their ability to consider roles in other cities.
- 66% of nurses and technicians overall report that the macroeconomic climate has influenced their career choices or trajectory.”
Study: nurses’ views about impediments to patient care for disadvantaged populations: This qualitative, directed content analysis of open-text responses from 1084 hospital nurses
Six themes described what helped or hindered quality care: (1) profits over patients, (2) care continuity and hospital-community partnerships, (3) insufficient staffing and time constraints, (4) technology to address language barriers, (5) patients’ determinants of health, and (6) individual nurses’ beliefs and backgrounds. Nurses proposed improving health care workforce diversity, strengthening community resources for patients, and advancing tailored cultural competency education as solutions to improve care for socially disadvantaged patients.
