HWS Labor Market Pulse Index Shows Rebound In U.S. Health Care Labor Markets During Second Quarter

July 13, 2012 - PRLog -- HWS LABOR MARKET PULSE INDEX SHOWS REBOUND IN U.S. HEALTH CARE LABOR MARKETS DURING SECOND QUARTER
San Jose, Portland and Charlotte are top three markets for Q2 2012; Cleveland, Las Vegas and New York found to be most sluggish

San Francisco, CA July 13, 2012  – The 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 San Jose, Portland and Charlotte for the second quarter of 2012.  The Cleveland, Las Vegas and New York markets ranked at the bottom of the 30 markets tracked.  

Among the findings for the second quarter of 2012:

•   Near-term demand for health care workers continues to grow the fastest in the West, although certain markets such as Dallas and Charlotte have consistently outperformed much of the rest of the country over the last few quarters.

•   The LMPI composite index, a representative basket of the 30 largest markets, posted a 9% increase in the second quarter of 2012, after an 8% decline the prior quarter.  The index is now at its highest level since mid-2010.

•   For the 2nd quarter ended 6/30/12, 17 markets of the 30 tracked by the LMPI showed signs of accelerated expansion (vs. 14 in the prior quarter).

“Our hunch that our first quarter LMPI results may have been skewed by several unusually large layoffs has been confirmed, “ said David Cherner, Managing Partner of Health Workforce Solutions LLC, the company that publishes the HWS Labor Market Pulse® Index. He added, “it is now much clearer to us that we are beginning to see a more consistent broad-based recovery in the health care labor markets nationwide.  With the uncertainty of health care reform finally behind us, we expect the growth to continue through the rest of 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.