the nursing shortage in america
is in tandem with the
shortage of nurses aides

Over the next several years, even before the baby boomers begin retiring, nurse aide jobs are expected to be among the fastest growing in the workforce.

The 40-percent increase in nurse aide employment from 1988 to 1998 is in contrast to the 19-percent increase in the number of persons employed in the overall labor market. From 1998 to 2008, the overall number of nurse aide jobs is projected to grow an additional 36 percent from 2.1 million to 2.9 million jobscompared to the 14-percent projected growth in all jobs. Jobs for nurse aides working in home health care are projected to increase even faster, namely by 58 percent, from 746,000 in 1998 to 1.2 million in 2008.

Recruitment and Retention of Nurse Aides Is Widely Reported To Be a Problem Numerous reports and media accounts in recent years have described the inability of a range of providers to hire and retain adequate numbers of nurse aides. However, little analytical work has been conducted to assess the nature or overall magnitude of the paraprofessional nursing staff shortage.

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