HWS Labor Market Pulse Index Shows Stagnation In The US Health Care Labor Markets During Q2

July 15, 2011 - PRLog -- HWS LABOR MARKET PULSE INDEX SHOWS STAGNATION IN THE U.S. HEALTH CARE LABOR MARKETS DURING SECOND QUARTER
Phoenix, Seattle and Las Vegas are top three markets for Q2 2011; Atlanta, Cleveland and Minneapolis found to be most sluggish.

San Francisco, CA July 15, 2011  – The Q2 HWS Labor Market Pulse® Index (LMPI), a quarterly barometer of local market healthcare workforce fluctuations released today, shows the near-term demand for health care workers the strongest in Phoenix, Seattle and Las Vegas for the second quarter of 2011.  The Atlanta, Cleveland, and Minneapolis markets ranked at the bottom of the 30 markets tracked.  

Among the findings for the first quarter of 2011:

•   Mirroring the broader economy, the strength of the national health care labor market remained stagnant across a number of major metropolitan areas in the second quarter as measured by the HWS Labor Market Pulse Index® (LMPI), a leading indicator of near-term demand.

•   The LMPI composite index, a representative basket of the 30 largest markets, posted a 3% decline in the second quarter of 2011 from the 1st quarter, after a 4% increase from the prior quarter (Q4 2010).

•   For the 2nd quarter ended 6/30/11, 9 markets of the 30 tracked by the LMPI showed signs of accelerated expansion (vs. 18 in the prior quarter).

“While last quarter brought some optimism it is clear that the health care labor markets are not yet in full recovery,” said David Cherner, Managing Partner of Health Workforce Solutions LLC, the company that publishes the HWS Labor Market Pulse® Index. “That said, given the wave of retirements expected in the near future, and the number of stalled expansion projects that seem to be getting renewed attention, we remain bullish on the outlook for the rest of the year and into next year.”  

In response to demands for local workforce data that provides actionable information, HWS launched Labor Market Pulse® in 2008, a first of-its-kind, centralized and local workforce planning tool for health care employers in a number of key major markets.  

The launch of the HWS Labor Market Pulse® Index (LMPI) in 2009 expanded the footprint of Labor Market Pulse into 30 markets and now enables meaningful comparison, by tracking elements including temporary health workforce shortages and surpluses, facility and bed closures, announced layoffs and expansions, and local economic trends.  Going forward, the HWS LMPI will be expanded to 60 markets and continue to be tracked on a quarterly basis both individually and in composite indices.

For more information on the HWS Labor Market Pulse® Index, visit www.healthws.com or call 1-877-892-2430 x805.

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Health Workforce Solutions LLC (HWS) is a leading research and advisory firm focused on workforce issues in health care. Founded in 2004, the clients of HWS include hospitals and health systems, health plans, professional practice groups and associations, educational and training institutions, foundations and government agencies. For more information, visit www.healthws.com or call 1-877-892-2430 x805.