Summary of June Healthcare BLS Numbers
American employment numbers are continuing on the path to recovery, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics June report. Although we are still far from pre-pandemic employment numbers, the US saw an increase of 850,000 employees on nonfarm payrolls last month.
Unemployment sits at 5.9%, almost unchanged from May. May ended and June began with fewer than 400,000 Americans filling out unemployment claims. That’s the lowest number of claims we’ve seen in over a year.
Of those who are experiencing unemployment, 42.1% have been jobless for at least 27 weeks. These long-term unemployment numbers rose in the past month, but short-term unemployment statistics remained unchanged.
The number of employees who vacated their positions voluntarily increased by 164,000 across all industries. In June, 942,000 people chose to leave their jobs.
Healthcare Employment at a Glance
Healthcare experienced little change in overall employment in June, says the BLS report. What change did exist was a net dip of 12,200 healthcare roles. This included minor losses in hospital and skilled nursing facility employment, and a slight increase in ambulatory care.
Employment in physician offices rose modestly (4,100), as did employment in dentist offices (1,900) and outpatient care (1,800). Meanwhile, there were employment losses in diagnostic laboratories (-1,800), home health (-3,300), hospitals (-5,500), and skilled nursing facilities (-9,600).
What Healthcare Organizations Should Prioritize in the Coming Months
As we keep on the path to post-pandemic recovery, healthcare HR should be prepared to hire large numbers of new staff. Drawing from the Bureau of Labor Statistics June report, we have three topics to consider as you build and retain your workforce.
Effective Onboarding
The number of people who reported they were both unemployed and unable to find work due to the pandemic decreased between May and June, from 2.5 million to 1.6 million. This indicates that more people are actively seeking employment—and healthcare is looking for staff.
To manage new employees and set them up for success, make sure you have a strong onboarding process in place. Avoid overtaxing your HR team by automating some parts of onboarding. Where possible, get necessary paperwork out of the way in advance of the first day. A platform like Apploi can help you onboard efficiently by verifying licenses before your new hire starts work.
Give new employees the confidence that comes with strong training and communication. Encourage retention by discussing career paths early on, and making it clear that you care about opportunities for internal growth.
Speed Up Recruitment
An increase in the number of people who are actively seeking jobs is good news—but with employment levels still down overall, there’s a lot of competition to fill vacant roles. The best way to reach qualified candidates is to act fast.
Leverage digital recruitment tools to speed up your hiring process. Develop a visible recruitment marketing strategy to make it easier for candidates to gauge your company culture and make a decision quickly. Maximize your job post reach with social media or a platform like Apploi that distributes jobs automatically.
If appropriate to your organization, consider doing outreach with CNA schools directly. Encourage staff to spread the word about openings by offering rewards for candidate referrals, like bonuses or paid time off.
Revisit Telehealth Training
Telehealth appointments decreased between April and June as more people began to seek care in person. At the same time, the availability of telehealth services has increased. In 2019, only 43% of health centers offered telemedicine, but during the pandemic, that number went up to 95%.
Home health services became more popular during the pandemic, and that popularity might be here to stay. More seniors than ever are hoping to age in place, and it’s likely that many patients are still finding great value in new telehealth services.
To make the most of telehealth’s advances, review your telemedicine capabilities. Search for technological inefficiencies or potential privacy hazards, and address any ongoing issues. Run a refresher training on telehealth best practices to make sure your staff feels confident with your technology policies.
Conclusion
Apploi brings the healthcare HR process online, from recruitment to staff documentation management. Interested in learning more? Contact us today for a free demo of our end-to-end solution.
