Nurses in Demand Despite Struggling Economy (713 hits)
By: Care2Learn
According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS), the U.S. unemployment rate as of September 2011 was 9.1 percent—a number that has remained relatively steady since April and represents roughly 14 million out-of-work Americans. Yet, despite a struggling economy the BLS data noted significant job gains in a small number of industries nationwide. One of those is the health care sector, and a recent analysis from online job search site Indeed.com confirms nurses in particular are still in high demand.
RNs Top the List of Job Postings
Experts at Indeed compiled a list of the top ten occupations for which employers are hiring right now, and the results were encouraging for nursing professionals in every field. In fact, since September 2010 health care job postings have increased 22 percent to more than 985,000, and job postings for registered nurses were among the highest. According to a recent Forbes.com article spotlighting the Indeed report’s findings, “Registered nurses top the list, with 132,283 job postings at the moment. They include registered nurses (RN), staff RNs, operating room RNs, oncology RNs, and others.”
In line with the information gathered by Indeed.com, the BLS predicts employment of registered nurses will grow by 22 percent by 2018—much faster than the average for all occupations. BLS analysts expect RN job growth to driven by “technological advances in patient care, which permit a greater number of health problems to be treated, and by an increasing emphasis on preventive care.” The rising need for nursing jobs is also attributed to a growing population of seniors likely to require nursing care as they age.
The Next Generation of Nursing CE
With the increased demand for nurses comes the need for quality nursing continuing education. Nowadays online CE options have replaced the hassle and high costs of traditional classroom training, and many CE providers offer the convenience of 24/7 online access and full reporting to state licensing bodies. Online courses are also an excellent way to keep up with the latest advancements in patient care and stay abreast of important issues such as infection control and HIPAA privacy standards.
