Impact of COVID-19 on Healthcare Labor Market in the United States: Lower Paid Workers Experienced Higher Vulnerability and Slower Recovery

Neeraj Bhandari, Kavita Batra, Soumya Upadhyay and Christopher Cochran
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Neeraj Bhandari: Department of Healthcare Administration and Policy, School of Public Health, University of Nevada, Las Vegas, NV 89119, USA
Kavita Batra: Office of Research, School of Medicine, University of Nevada, Las Vegas, NV 89102, USA
Soumya Upadhyay: Department of Healthcare Administration and Policy, School of Public Health, University of Nevada, Las Vegas, NV 89119, USA
Christopher Cochran: Department of Healthcare Administration and Policy, School of Public Health, University of Nevada, Las Vegas, NV 89119, USA

IJERPH, 2021, vol. 18, issue 8, 1-17

Abstract: The resilience of the healthcare industry, often considered recession-proof, is being tested by the COVID-19 induced reductions in physical mobility and restrictions on elective and non-emergent medical procedures. We assess early COVID-19 effects on the dynamics of decline and recovery in healthcare labor markets in the United States. Descriptive analyses with monthly cross-sectional data on unemployment rates, employment, labor market entry/exit, and weekly work hours among healthcare workers in each healthcare industry and occupation, using the Current Population Survey from July 2019−2020 were performed. We found that unemployment rates increased dramatically for all healthcare industries, with the strongest early impacts on dentists’ offices (41.3%), outpatient centers (10.5%), physician offices (9.5%), and home health (7.8%). Lower paid workers such as technologists/technicians (10.5%) and healthcare aides (12.6%) were hit hardest and faced persistently high unemployment, while nurses (4%), physicians/surgeons (1.4%), and pharmacists (0.7%) were spared major disruptions. Unique economic vulnerabilities faced by low-income healthcare workers may need to be addressed to avoid serious disruptions from future events similar to COVID-19.

Keywords: COVID-19; healthcare employment; current population survey; labor market (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: I I1 I3 Q Q5 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2021
References: View references in EconPapers View complete reference list from CitEc
Citations: View citations in EconPapers (3)

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