The mass exodus of workers recorded at the beginning of the COVID-19 pandemic sloganed as "The Great Resignation" once applied to hospitals. But not anymore, according to an analysis published in NEJM Catalyst.

To compare healthcare employment trends and wages in a systematic way, Amitabh Chandra, PhD, director of health policy research at the Harvard Kennedy School of Government and professors of business administration at Harvard Business School in Cambridge, Mass., and Louis-Jonas Heizlsperger, doctoral student in economics at University of California, Berkeley, explored healthcare employment, hours and wages from March 2006 to June 2023.

Their analysis of Bureau of Labor Statistics data shows employment in hospitals (including occupations of physicians, physician assistants, registered nurses, licensed practical nurses, medical technicians, and non-clinical workers) is now slightly higher than what it was at the start of the pandemic and substantially higher in physician offices.