Report: 5 Million Home Health Jobs Will Need To Be Filled By 2040

Home health employment is expected to rise steadily.

The industry will eventually have to fill an estimated 5 million jobs by 2040, according to a new report.

Those numbers are according to a new study that took a closer look at the steady growth of the senior care industry and what the job market will look like as demand continues to rise.

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From Argentum, “The Workforce Projections for Senior Care” uses forecasts from the Bureau of Labor Statistics. It found that total employment in the senior care industry is projected to reach 8.3 million by 2040. That’s a more than 42% increase from where it is today.

Home health care specifically is projected to hit 2.2 million by 2040, a 45.7% increase from 1.5 million in 2021. Home health represents the largest projected rise of all the senior care industries – more than senior living, skilled nursing and services for the elderly with disabilities.

The report points out that the 45.7% increase is just in new jobs. In addition to the new jobs, there will be an estimated 4.4 million open jobs by 2040 due to employees leaving the industry, either by retiring or transferring to a new line of work.

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“In total, the home health care industry will need to fill more than 5 million occupational openings between 2021 and 2040,” the report found.

Looking at a more near-term growth projection, employment growth is expected to be at nearly 20% from 2021 to 2030. That would mean the home health industry would see more than 297,000 new jobs and an additional 1.9 million job openings.

Source: Argentum

Elsewhere in the report, Argentum makes the case that while the senior population grows, the workforce is not keeping pace, particularly in the senior care industry.

“The senior population is increasing by 10,000 per day — more than at any other time in history — and the need for senior living and the socialization and care we provide in our communities will never be greater,” the report read. “We are facing a significant worker shortage across the economy generally but within senior care, in particular.”

Among the positions needed, home health and personal care aides top the list, followed by nursing assistants and registered nurses.

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