New data shows healthcare hiring cooling in the second quarter, with sharp drops in nursing and technician roles opposing modest gains in physician and pharmacy jobs.
Healthcare job postings slowed in the second quarter of 2025, with notable declines in nursing and technician roles, according to the latest Hiring Lab report from Indeed.
Overall, U.S. job postings are down 8% year-over-year but remain 4% higher than before the pandemic, and healthcare is following that pattern as some occupations experience growth while others face steep drop-offs.
Physicians and surgeons, along with pharmacy roles, are among the few positions still posting gains. Nursing jobs, by contrast, have seen a sharp decline, reversing the long-standing trend of strong demand.
- Physicians & surgeons: +3.7% year-over-year
- Pharmacy: +2.0%
- Therapy: –1.4%
- Dental: –4.9%
- Medical technician: –8.4%
- Personal care & home health: –8.8%
- Nursing: –10.0%
For hospital and health system leaders, the slowdown in nursing, as well as in personal care and home health, could be indicative of tighter budgets or shifting care models. At the same time, steady demand for physicians highlights where recruitment efforts may need to focus and signals a rebalancing in how organizations allocate their workforce.
Meanwhile, wage growth in healthcare continues to decelerate to mirror broader economic trends, though some areas retain momentum.
Wage increases for childcare, personal care and home health, and medical technician roles outpaced the overall labor market average of 2.9% in July.
However, personal care and home health is the only subsector to see wages tick up over the past six months, with medical technician remaining flat.
- Childcare: –0.3 percentage point change (ppt) in past six months
- Personal care & home health: +0.2 ppt
- Medical technician: 0% ppt
- Dental: –1.4 ppt
- Therapy: –0.2 ppt
- Nursing: –0.4 ppt
Even with the healthcare labor market softening in the second quarter, it continued to drive broader job growth. In July, the industry accounted for a staggering 76% of all U.S. job gains, adding 55,400 of the 73,000 new positions reported for the month, according to data from Bureau of Labor Statistics.
Healthcare’s performance comes against the backdrop of downward revisions to prior months’ figures, which revealed a much weaker labor market than originally believed. As other sectors like manufacturing and government shed jobs, healthcare’s consistent hiring amid financial pressures highlighted its role as a reliable stabilizer for overall employment.
Jay Asser is the CEO editor for HealthLeaders.
KEY TAKEAWAYS
Healthcare job postings fell in the second quarter, led by a 10% drop in nursing year-over-year and an 8.4% decline in technician roles.
Physician and pharmacy jobs remain among the few healthcare positions still showing growth.
Wage growth is also stagnating, though personal care and home health stood out as the only subsector with pay gains over the past six months.