Dive Brief:
- Montana's Gov. Steve Bullock recently met with industry leaders to discuss the potential healthcare labor shortage and how to address it, Modern Healthcare reports.
- Although the number of graduates with healthcare degrees has been increasing, it is not enough to meet industry growth, the Helena Independent Record noted.
- The healthcare industry in Montana will add an estimated 1,300 jobs every year until 2024, according to analysis from the Montana Department of Labor & Industry.
Dive Insight:
The U.S. will face a physician shortage ranging between 61,700 and 94,700 over the next decade due to an aging population and retiring baby boomers.
Montana, which currently has 74,000 healthcare workers, expects to have a healthcare professional shortage within the next 10 years of such magnitude that even with its current grow rate of 1.8% a year, or 1,300 jobs, it will not be enough to handle the 130,000 retirees in the next decade, according to Modern Healthcare.
The state's labor department has established an apprenticeship program with two-year colleges for prospective healthcare workers in rural areas.
“Our state’s economy continues to expand, requiring more workers than ever before,” Montana Department of Labor & Industry Commissioner Pam Bucy said in a statement.
“With future unemployment rates expected to decline below normal unemployment levels, it becomes even more important for the public and private sector to work together and deploy efficient and effective worker training programs to meet the changing needs of Montana businesses,” Bucy added.