In this week’s graphic, we analyze the state of the nursing workforce four years after the acute staffing shortages induced by the pandemic began. The nursing labor crisis has largely subsided at most hospitals. After peaking in 2021, the average hospital’s registered nurse (RN) turnover and vacancy rates in 2023 have nearly returned to 2019 levels, at 18 percent and 10 percent respectively. Provider organizations of all types have attracted nursing talent through wage increases. Hospital-employed RNs saw a nearly 22 percent pay increase between 2019 and 2023, setting a higher floor for hospital labor costs. Although there were more employed RNs in hospital settings in 2023 than there were in 2019, 84-percent of net RN employment gains over that time period have been to non-hospital settings. This increase is likely a result of the pandemic accelerating the ongoing outpatient shift. While some individual hospitals and certain regions of the country may still be experiencing RN shortages, many organizations are now shifting their focus to longer-term labor strategy rather than short-term staffing challenges.
