Occupational Snapshot Report: Registered Nurses

A MESSAGE FROM OUR CEO A MESSAGE FROM OUR CEO

Our economic landscape is dynamic and our region is experiencing a number of challenges that contribute to significant workforce shortages now and for the foreseeable future The demographic shifts in our population as the baby boomers exit the labor force and smaller generations enter mean that we need to work more effectively to engage all workers in our community – including young adults, women, individuals with disabilities, BIPOC, veterans, refugees, and immigrants – to ensure they have the skills and credentials to meet business needs and advance in their careers

Companies are finding success with talent acquisition and retention strategies that adapt to post-pandemic norms Workers are seeking jobs that align with their values and an inclusive workplace culture, as well as flexibility, professional development opportunities, and clear pathways for career development Businesses that figure out this new environment and meet the needs of their workforce will have a distinct competitive advantage

Reports like this one help us understand some of the trends we are seeing and chart courses to improve talent pipelines for business But this work requires the efforts of our entire community, and we are fortunate that Spokane has a deeply rooted culture of collaboration between our partners in business, education, community-based organizations, and government. We will continue to work together to identify barriers and develop solutions that create more economic opportunity for all of our residents.

ABOUT US

The Spokane Workforce Council is a business-led board that works to identify and fill gaps in our local workforce. We make strategic investments in education and training to ensure a robust talent pipeline that meets the needs of our business community and supports a vibrant economy.

We are a non-profit organization whose mission is to elevate local workforce efforts with critical insights, researched guidance, innovative funding, and strategic partnership – so that we can cultivate a flourishing Spokane, together.

CONTACT US

For industry reports including labor market data, trends, and projections specific to your business, please contact:

MICHAEL MCBRIDE Business & Industry Analyst

mmcbride@spokaneworkforce.org

For business-specific support including hiring events, workforce reduction strategies, or layoff services, please contact:

TALENT SOLUTIONS BY WORKSOURCE SPOKANE talentsolutions@esd.wa.gov

spokaneworkforce.org

6,492

REGISTERED NURSE: REGISTERED NURSE: THE MOST THE MOST IN-DEMAND ROLE IN SPOKANE IN-DEMAND ROLE IN SPOKANE

As measured by monthly job postings, a registered nurse (RN) has the highest demand for any occupation in Spokane County, with 5,655 unique online job postings over the last 12 months

Occupation employment levels have grown by 32% over the past five years, from 4,931 employed in 2017 to 6,492 employed in 2022 This high level of demand and job growth has been acutely felt by local healthcare employers who have also been managing the turbulence caused by the COVID-19 pandemic.

$95,175

Compensation

Wage growth for RNs has been very strong, with w reaching $95,175. The een driven up by the hich has led to the being used to fill gaps in ng the pandemic. Travel acts, command much result in 2-3 times higher N.

471

institutions awarded ees in 2021. Washington ted for over 50% of all 2021 with 403 degrees nal levels. Gonzaga es, and at the community munity College awarded orth Idaho College ees. Eastern Washington niversity were also RN degree awarding institutions, with 45 and 18 respectively. As Eastern Washington University expands its registered nursing program in the 2023 Fall quarter, there will be more inland strong talent produced locally as qualified candidates to meet the high demand for RNs.

HIRING

OVER A DEEP SUPPLY OF REGIONAL TALENT

Spokane County is a

hotspot for this kind of talent. The national average for an area this size is 4,808* employees, while there are 6,492 in the region

Demand (Job Postings)

Supply (Jobs)

SPOKANE COUNTY'S SUPPLY IS HIGHER THAN THE NATIONAL AVERAGE

SPOKANE COUNTY'S SUPPLY IS HIGHER THAN THE NATIONAL AVERAGE

The regional-to-national comparison of average employment in the graph below provides an understanding of the strength or weakness of the RN supply in Spokane County and how it is changing relative to the nation. An average area similar to Spokane County in size would have 4,808* employees compared to 6,492, the current number of employees in the region.

This higher-than-expected supply may make it easier to find candidates The gap between expected and actual employment is expected to remain roughly the same over the next five years

32% PAST GROWTH (2017 - 2022) • 5% PROJECTED GROWTH (2022 - 2027)

*NationalaveragevaluesarederivedbytakingthenationalvalueforRegisteredNursesandscalingitdowntoaccountforthedifferenceinoverall workforcesizebetweenthenationandSpokaneCounty,WA Inotherwords,thevaluesrepresentthenationalaverageadjustedforregionsize

REGISTERED NURSE OCCUPATIONAL DATA REGISTERED OCCUPATIONAL DATA

The location quotient for RNs is 1.35 in Spokane County. This means that Spokane County has an approximately 35% higher concentration of nursing jobs locally when compared to the national average for the concentration of those jobs. Typically, a location quotient over 1.25 is considered a competitive advantage for a region.

MOST JOBS ARE FOUND IN THE GENERAL AND SURGICAL HOSPITALS

MOST JOBS ARE FOUND IN THE GENERAL AND SURGICAL HOSPITALS INDUSTRY SECTOR INDUSTRY SECTOR

RETIREMENT RISK IS AVERAGE - OVERALL DIVERSITY IS LOW RETIREMENT RISK AVERAGE - DIVERSITY IS

1,790

Retiring Soon

Retirement risk is about average in Spokane County. The national average for an area this size is 1,684* employees 55 or older, while there are 1,790 in the region.

865

Racial Diversity

Racial diversity is low in Spokane County. The national average for a area this size is 2,161* racially diverse employees, while there are 865 in the region.

5,737

Gender Diversity

Gender diversity is about average in Spokane County. The national average for a area this size is 5,808* female employees, while there are 5,737 in the region.

*NationalaveragevaluesaredeliveredbytakingthenationalvalueforRegisteredNursesandscalingitdowntoaccountforthedifferenceinoverall workforcesizebetweenthenationandSpokaneCounty,WA Inotherwords,thevaluesrepresentthenationalaverageadjustedforregionsize

OCCUPATION AGE BREAKDOWN OCCUPATION AGE

The age stratification across the RN workforce is fairly even, with the largest group in the 35–44 year old demographic. More than 5% of local RNs are older than 65, and another 22.3% are within 10 years of age 65. While retirements are affecting every job and industry across the economy, the local RN workforce is not at a heightened level of retirement risk, compared to the national average.

OCCUPATION RACE/ETHNICITY BREAKDOWN OCCUPATION RACE/ETHNICITY

Spokane County’s population lacks racial diversity compared to national figures. The racial demographics of the local RN workforce generally follow the Spokane population demographics; however, both White and Asian workers are more highly represented in the RN workforce as compared to local population demographics, while Hispanic or Latino, two or more races, and American Indians have a relatively lower representation in the position.

OCCUPATION GENDER BREAKDOWN OCCUPATION

The gender breakdown of RN employment is highly skewed towards female workers, accounting for approximately 88.4% of local employment. This wide gender gap is not significantly different from national trends but does provide an opportunity to intentionally target male students to pursue nursing educational tracks, which offer immense employment opportunities after graduation.

NATIONAL EDUCATIONAL ATTAINMENT NATIONAL EDUCATIONAL ATTAINMENT

Looking at national educational attainment rates, approximately 30% of RNs hold an associate's degree and 52 5% of nurses have a bachelor’s degree In the greater region’s educational institutions, which include multiple community colleges and university-level nursing programs, approximately 19% of all RN degrees were issued at the associate's degree level in 2021

TALENT IS 23% MORE EXPENSIVE - COST OF LIVING MAKES

TALENT 23% MORE EXPENSIVEATTRACTION EASIER ATTRACTION EASIER

In 2021, the median compensation for RNs in Spokane County is $95,175. Based on the national median wage, which is $77,543, a business will spend approximately 23% more to employ RNs. However, their actual purchasing power will be 10% greater than the national median after adjustments are made to the regional cost of living (11% higher than average). For this reason, attracting talent to the region may be easier to help Spokane County's economy grow.

REGISTERED NURSE OCCUPATIONAL WAGE DATA BY PERCENTILE REGISTERED NURSE OCCUPATIONAL WAGE DATA BY PERCENTILE

The stratification of wages by percentile can be wide in Spokane County Entry-level nurses are likely to make wages in the lower 25th percentile, which is less than $77,800 annually, while more experienced nurses can expect to earn more than $100,000 annually

The following demand section provides a review of the past 12 months (April 2022 – March 2023) of online job postings for RNs in Spokane County.

532

Competing Employers

All employers in the region who posted for this job over the last 12 months.

JOB POSTINGS VS. HIRES JOB POSTINGS VS.

5,655 Unique Job Postings

The number of unique job postings for this job over the last 12 months.

26 Day Median Duration

Posting duration is 3 days shorter than what is typical in the region.

471

Average Monthly Postings (April 2022 - March 2023)

132

Average Monthly Hires (April 2022 - March 2023)

AVERTISED SALARY AVERTISED SALARY

Not every job posting contains wage information. But for the postings that advertised their wage scale, the median advertised salary for RNs was published at $49.60/hour.

Note: In 2023, Washington State law has changed requiring employers with 15 or more employees to advertise their anticipated wage scale in job postings This legal change should give more insight into occupational wages

There are 2,070 advertised salary observations (37% of the 5,655 matching postings.

$49.60 per hour

Median Advertised Salary

This is $3 84 per hour above the government recorded median salary for RNs in Spokane County.

UNIQUE POSTING TREND UNIQUE POSTING TREND

MINIMUM EDUCATION BACKGROUND MINIMUM EDUCATION BACKGROUND

Job postings for RNs do not always contain a required educational level because a required occupational license typically demonstrates competency. But for the job postings that ask for a specific educational

MINIMUM EXPERIENCE BACKGROUND MINIMUM EXPERIENCE BACKGROUND

Most RN job postings in Spokane County did not list a required experience level or indicated that minimal experience was required This bodes very well for new graduates looking to enter the workforce with minimal or no experience

TOP POSTED JOB BY TITLES TOP POSTED JOB BY TITLES

Registered Nurse is the official occupational title in the SOC (Standard Occupational Classification) code system, but employers may label the occupation by many different titles. Below are the most commonly

Lightcast2023Q2DataSet

IN-DEMAND SKILLS IN-DEMAND SKILLS

The graphs provided in the three pages offer insights into the supply and demand of relevant skills by comparing the frequency of skills present in job postings against skills present in today's workforce. Along with Lightcast's job posting analytics, this comparison leverages Lightcast's dataset of more than 100M online résumés and profiles. All résumés and profiles used in these comparisons have been updated within the last three years. The skills associated with workforce profiles represent workers of all education and experience levels

A nursing license is required to work as an RN in Washington State; however, other certifications can be found in job postings locally, and having these certifications may set a candidate apart from the field of candidates.

SKILLS CHANGE OVER TIME SKILLS CHANGE OVER TIME

The skills found in online job postings for RNs have changed over the past year, with acute care, nursing practices, care coordination, medicine administration, and pediatrics increasing in demand since January 2022. Patient evaluation and nurse licensure compact have both become less often listed as skills asked for in job postings over the same period.

REGIONAL GRADUATE PIPELINE REGIONAL GRADUATE PIPELINE

Looking at a wider region for educational completions, the chart below includes colleges and universities from Spokane, WA, Whitman, WA, and Kootenai, ID counties.

In an average month, there are 471 newly posted job postings for RNs with 132 job offers. This results in approximately one hire for every four unique job postings for RNs.

DEGREE MARKET SHARE BY INSTITUTION TYPE DEGREE MARKET SHARE BY INSTITUTION TYPE

Three-quarters of all regional RN degrees are issued by public colleges and universities. Gonzaga University and Whitworth University represent the regional private institutions that awarded a quarter of the regional RN degrees.

DEGREE MARKET SHARE BY AWARD LEVEL DEGREE MARKET SHARE BY AWARD LEVEL

Most RN degrees are awarded at the bachelor’s degree level, with 493 degrees representing 61.5% of all regional RN awards in 2021. Two regional community colleges accounted for 19% of all RN awards with 152 associate's degrees. Advanced degrees accounted for 19.5% of regional awards in 2021.

Registered Nurse is the occupation with the highest level of demand in Spokane County, based on monthly job postings, and healthcare employers have indicated difficulty in finding enough workers to staff RN roles locally. The extremely high local demand has elevated the median annual salary of an RN above $95,000 in Spokane County, which is nearly $18,000 more than the national median annual salary for nurses. Currently, there are 6,492 RNs employed in Spokane County and strong local demand is expected to continue with 5% employment growth projected over the next five years.

Continuing to expand the RN graduate pipeline in the region beyond the 801 total awards across all degree levels in 2021 will be necessary to keep up with demand. Eastern Washington University will be expanding its RN bachelor’s degree program beginning in the fall of 2023. This will help the local supply of graduates, but assuring there are enough clinical rotation slots to appropriately accommodate students will also be a primary concern. Creative solutions like sim labs have been implemented for students to receive hours of hands-on practice, and continuing to be nimble in adapting methods of teaching and learning will be a necessary strategy. Recruiting master’s degree-level RNs out of direct practice and into teaching represents another potential funnel point that may limit the ability to grow the regional educational supply, as wage levels for practicing RNs have grown well beyond teaching salaries.

Retention of healthcare workers has also been difficult during the COVID-19 pandemic. Workers have been stressed at high-than-normal levels for prolonged time periods. This has led to high turnover rates. The occupation group of Healthcare Practitioners and Technical Occupations (SOC 29-0000) in Spokane County, which includes RNs, saw a 28% turnover rate in 2022 alone. In the same year, Healthcare Support Occupations (SOC 31-0000) saw a 73% turnover rate. The overall turnover within the healthcare industry has made building teams of workers especially difficult and the poaching of workers between employers more commonplace. The prevalence of highly paid travel nurses being utilized to fill workforce gaps skyrocketed during the pandemic, which has caused very wide wage inequality among nursing staff. This strategy naturally caused contention with existing employees. Many local healthcare employers have implemented signing and retention bonuses to try and combat high turnover.

Lastly, the existing workforce demographics of RNs in Spokane County skews heavily towards white women An expansion of recruiting strategies for both the educational pipeline and employment is necessary to create more inclusive workplaces White and Asian workers are the only racial groups that are overrepresented as compared to the overall Spokane County racial demographic, which reveals the need to better expose the RN career pathway to recruit students of all races to the most in-demand occupation in the region While the wide gender gap is observed nationally, 88 4% of local RNs are women and this provides an opportunity to recruit more men into nursing educational tracks Men more often pursue healthcare roles that require the highest levels of education, and typically the highest levels of educational debt, such as physicians and dentists

The Spokane Workforce Council is committed to helping expand the local educational pipeline to supply workers in the hardest-to-fill jobs locally and to keep our workforce talent in Spokane

Please refer to page two of this report for contact information to reach us to meet your business' needs