Healthcare Workers Personally Confident; Uncertain About the Job Market

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Nov 29, 2012, 04:07 ET

BOSTON, Nov. 29, 2012 /PRNewswire/ -- U.S. healthcare workers are more cautious when asked if they're likely to look for new jobs, but more confident in their ability to secure them if they had to, according to third quarter findings from the Randstad Healthcare Employee Confidence Index.

The online survey conducted by Harris Interactive on behalf of Randstad Healthcare showed that overall employee confidence declined by 0.5 points to 53.4 in the third quarter. The survey of 275 workers included physicians, healthcare administrators and other healthcare professionals.

"Despite a slight decrease among a few of the confidence measures, such as intentions to seek new employment and overall strength of the economy, the healthcare industry remains one of the fastest growing sectors," said Steve McMahan, executive vice president of Randstad US, Professionals. "The reality is that healthcare jobs will be in high demand for many years to come, due to an aging population, healthcare reform and technological advances. We believe the moderate dampening of confidence levels this quarter may be largely attributed to recent economic headlines looming around the potential fiscal cliff and stock market volatility."

In fact, according to a recent study released by Georgetown University's Center on Education and Workforce, the nation's overall number of healthcare workers will need to grow by nearly 30 percent by 2020 in order to meet demand – representing the biggest growth for any sector in the United States over the next 10 years. The report states that many economists predict the demand for healthcare employees will grow nearly twice as fast as the national economy. Also, more than 80 percent of these new healthcare jobs will require specialized training and post-secondary education, according to the report.

Q3, 2012 Survey Highlights

Fewer Healthcare Workers Believe More Jobs Are Available

The number of healthcare workers who believe there are more jobs available decreased to 13 percent, a decline of 11 percentage points from the second quarter. Meanwhile, half of healthcare workers surveyed (54 percent) believe there are fewer job opportunities available, a slight uptick compared to the previous quarter.

Number of Healthcare Workers Likely to Job Search Shrinks

Only 23 percent of healthcare workers say they are likely to look for a new job in the next 12 months. This represents a drop of 14 percentage points from Q2 2012.

More Than Half of Healthcare Workers Surveyed Believe They Can Find a New Job

More than half of healthcare works surveyed (55 percent) indicated they are confident they could find a job in the next 12 months (versus 51 percent in Q2 2012).

Boost in Employer Confidence Among Healthcare Workers

A majority of healthcare workers (68 percent) feel confident in the future of their company. This number rose by 10 percentage points from the previous quarter.

Confidence in the Economy's Strength Remains Steady

Forty-four percent of healthcare workers believe the economy is weakening, an increase of one percentage point from second quarter 2012. Only 20 percent of healthcare workers believe the economy is getting stronger, showing no change from September's readings.

To view the latest quarterly trends report, click here.

Survey Methodology

This survey was conducted online within the United States by Harris Interactive on behalf of Randstad Healthcare from July 10-12, August 14-16 and September 11-13, 2012, among 3,960 adults ages 18 and older of which 275 are employed in healthcare, which included physicians, healthcare administrators, as well as other healthcare professionals. This online survey is not based on a probability sample and therefore no estimate of theoretical sampling error can be calculated. For complete survey methodology, including weighting variables, please contact [email protected].

About Randstad Healthcare

Randstad Healthcare is one of the largest healthcare staffing firms in the U.S. and offers market leading, all-inclusive healthcare staffing solutions. Randstad Healthcare has been matching healthcare professionals with career opportunities at America's top healthcare facilities for over 25 years. From large hospital systems and rural medical centers, to physician groups, insurance companies, clinics, and Fortune 500 companies, Randstad Healthcare offers full-service staffing capabilities, including physicians, nurses, advanced practice, case management, allied health, and vendor managed services. For more information, please visit www.randstadhealthcare.com

About Randstad

Randstad is a $22.5 billion global provider of HR services and the second largest staffing organization in the world. From temporary staffing to permanent placement to inhouse, professionals, search & selection, and HR Solutions, Randstad holds top positions around the world and has approximately 28,700 corporate employees working from its nearly 4,700 branches and inhouse locations in 40 countries. Founded in 1960 and headquartered in Diemen, the Netherlands, Randstad Holding nv is listed on the NYSE Euronext Amsterdam.

Learn more at www.randstad.com.

SOURCE Randstad