In September 2020, the Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) released new employment projections—and once again, the outlook on the direct care workforce is daunting.
From 2019 to 2029, this workforce is projected to add nearly 1.3 million new direct care jobs, including one million home care jobs, 163,000 residential care jobs, and 119,000 direct care jobs in other industries, like hospitals, vocational rehabilitation services, and more. This dramatic workforce growth will be offset slightly by the loss of 10,000 nursing assistant jobs in nursing homes.
While the projected number of new jobs is astoundingly high, these figures alone offer an incomplete picture of the nation’s full direct care workforce needs. The long-term care sector will also need to fill an additional 6.2 million direct care job openings between 2019 and 2029 as workers leave the field for a new occupation or leave the labor force altogether due to retirement, disability, or some other reason. Combining these departures and new jobs, there will be a projected 7.4 million total direct care job openings in the decade ahead. Read the entire article from PHI.
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