Ann Arbor Times

The health care workforce in the United States has largely recovered from the significant job losses experienced in early 2020 due to the COVID-19 pandemic. According to a study by the University of Michigan, employment levels have returned to pre-pandemic projections. However, recovery varies across different sectors within the health care industry.

Doctors' offices have seen employment growth exceeding pre-pandemic trends since 2023. In contrast, skilled nursing facilities and intensive behavioral health centers continue to face severe staffing shortages that began during the pandemic.

The research, led by Thuy Nguyen from the School of Public Health, analyzed employment data from 2016 through 2024. It highlights that office-based behavioral health practitioners like therapists and counselors in private practice settings experienced an 84% increase in employment numbers from 2019 to 2024. Meanwhile, intensive behavioral health facilities struggle with workforce rebuilding.

Nguyen emphasized that "the findings on behavioral health practitioners are significant and can guide policy changes." The shift towards office-based mental health services may be attributed to their perceived lower risk for COVID-19 transmission and less stressful working conditions compared to hospitals and nursing homes. Increased demand for these services through traditional and telehealth platforms also played a role.

Kosali Simon of Indiana University noted, "For patients and families, these employment patterns have real-world implications," especially regarding access to care in nursing homes and intensive mental health facilities still facing staffing challenges.

In the second quarter of 2020, health care employment dropped nearly 7% due to pandemic-related shutdowns but had rebounded by 2024 to over 24 million jobs as of September last year. Nonhealth care sectors experienced a more dramatic fall of over 11%, with recovery lagging behind at 3% below expected levels in 2024.

The study used U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics data to compare actual employment numbers against expected trends if not disrupted by the pandemic. This research builds on Nguyen's previous work highlighting that nursing homes were severely impacted during the pandemic, with long-term care facilities operating with staffing levels more than 10% below pre-pandemic numbers as found in her earlier study.

Co-authors include Christopher Whaley from Brown University School of Public Health and Jonathan Cantor from RAND.