Workers confidence poll offers another positive sign for healthcare sector

Although healthcare employment growth has remained small due to the impact of reductions in government spending and increased regulatory burdens, the sector may be turning around. Along with increased popularity in hospital stocks by investors, a Harris Poll conducted on behalf of staffing firm Randstad Healthcare finds U.S. healthcare workers' confidence levels rebounded in the first quarter of 2014, rising 2.9 points to 58.0.

The Randstad Healthcare Employee Confidence Index is a survey done on a quarterly basis and is admittedly rather limited by its sample size. This survey included just 158 healthcare employees of all types — physicians, nurses, healthcare administrators and other healthcare professionals.

However, it correlates with some other economic factors, such as the uptick in healthcare spending by consumers and the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) most recent job numbers. According to the BLS, the healthcare sector added 18,700 jobs in March, an increase of 0.1 percent, to total 14.7 million jobs. This was despite the fact that hospital hiring was essentially flat. Hospitals added just 1,700 new jobs in March. By comparison hospitals had hired 6,600 more workers in March of 2013.

In the poll, job security was rated particularly highly by the survey respondents. Nearly three-quarters were confident they would not lose their jobs in the next year. In addition, 61 percent believed they could find a job in the next 12 months if they left their current position. However, few were looking around for new jobs. Only 33 percent, of the healthcare workers surveyed said they were likely to look for a new job.

"Human capital is the backbone of the healthcare industry, and is arguably even more crucial in the post-healthcare reform environment," stated Steve McMahan, President of Randstad Healthcare, one of the largest healthcare staffing firms in the U.S. "The ability to deliver quality healthcare is quite simply labor intensive. As a result, recruiting and retaining a skilled, sufficient workforce is critical to ensuring positive patient experiences and outcomes. The opportunities for healthcare workers are growing, a trend that is reflected in the rising confidence levels found in our study."

Healthcare worker confidence had dipped in the previous Randstad Healthcare Employee Confidence Index poll, which covered the fourth quarter of 2013.