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 (2)

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