Job seekers have had the upper hand when it comes to hiring in the home health and home care markets. However, new data suggests that is changing.
In the past, home health and home care agencies have struggled to hire enough workers to meet the demand for their services. These services continue to grow as the USA’s population ages. The difficult, often low-wage work has also prompted in-home care professionals to move from one agency to the next, constantly looking for better pay, and benefits overall.
To make things more complicated, home health home care agencies have constantly had to fight against non-health care employers on the hiring front, particularly as the country’s retail and fast-food chains have employed competitive minimum wage policies of $15 per hour or more.
According to Indeed Hiring Lab, economist Ann Elizabeth Konkel “prior to the COVID-19 pandemic, the healthcare market was a job seeker’s market.”
In 2019 the turnover rate was 64% for the home care industry, and it was even higher in 2018 with a high of 82%. However, turnover rates for the home health industry are much lower at about 25% according to the Hospital & Healthcare Compensation Service. It is important to keep turnover rates low to ensure that the care between in-home professionals and their clients are stable.
Drop in Job Postings
By the end of August 2020, job listings for home health and home care were 14% lower than last year. These job listings were holding up better compared to the rest of the job market. However, all job listings are down from last year as well by 20%. In short: home health and home care agencies simply aren’t looking to fill many positions, which could benefit each market in the long-term. A lack of job listings maybe linked to coronavirus. The pandemic has led to higher unemployment creating a larger selection of job seekers. Because of this, agencies are able to quickly fill openings.
Home care Agencies are Still Hiring
Data may show that home health and home care job listings are decreasing, but many home care agencies have been persistent about their hiring plans. For agencies a strong staff is critical when caring for patients and clients during the current public health crisis. Home care/home health agencies agree that staffing is both their number one challenge and their number one priority.
English
Spanish