New data reveals the industry is experiencing the third-most reductions in 2023.
Jobs are being cut at the highest rate since the height of the COVID-19 pandemic and healthcare is one of the sectors suffering the most, according to a report by Challenger, Gray & Christmas.
Healthcare/products, including hospitals and manufacturers, announced 57,758 cuts from January to November, marking a 99% increase over the 29,031 jobs cut during the same period in 2022. The reductions are coming as hospital and health system leaders attempt to scale back on labor costs and find new ways to solve workforce challenges.
The only industries that have cut more jobs than healthcare this year are technology, which slashed 163,562 jobs, and retailers, which scaled back 78,730 jobs.
Across all sectors, companies announced plans to cut 686,860 jobs, a significant jump from the 320,173 cuts over the same period last year for a 115% increase. It is the highest figure since January to November 2020, when 2,227,725 jobs were lost in large part due to the pandemic. Pre-COVID, this year's total is the highest since 2009, when 1,242,936 jobs were cut during the Great Recession.
For healthcare, November did bring an upswing in job growth as the industry added 77,000 jobs, well above the 54,000 average monthly again over the past 12 months, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics. Within that total, ambulatory care services accounted for 36,000 new jobs, hospitals accounted for 24,000, and nursing and residential care accounted for 17,000.
Keeping the workforce strong is arguably the primary focus for decision-makers right now, but labor expenses are making that difficult to achieve. Heading into 2024, CEOs and CFOs will continue to have costs on their mind as they shape their approach to retain and supplement their workers.
Whether it's investing in technology to bring more automation into operations, or strategically utilizing attrition to make the workforce leaner and more efficient, leaders must weigh where and how to slim down.
Jay Asser is the contributing editor for strategy at HealthLeaders.
KEY TAKEAWAYS
Healthcare/products, including hospitals and manufacturers, slashed 57,758 jobs this year through November, representing a 99% increase over the same period in 2022, based on a report by executive coaching firm Challenger, Gray & Christmas.
Only technology and retailers announced more job cuts this year and the total number of jobs reduced across all industries was the highest since 2020.
With labor costs forcing hospital and health system leaders to slim down their workforce, CEOs must find ways to keep operations running efficiently.