MONTGOMERY, Ala. — Open positions for registered nurses dominated online job postings throughout the month of November according to a new report from the Alabama Department of Labor, as state leaders and officials continue to work to address a nationwide nurse shortage.
Of the 77,956 job ads posted online in November, 4,006 of them were for registered nurses, the highest advertised position of the month. The next-highest job ads were for retail salespersons, 3,422, and retail supervisors, 2,055.
Nurses have dominated Alabama online job ads for years and the state’s nursing shortage is not unique. As the median age in the United States continues to increase, so too has the demand for health care and health care workers.
A survey conducted in late 2023 by the Alabama Board of Nursing found that more than 38,000 nurses in the state indicated that they intended on leaving the profession within five years, growing the state’s then-shortage of nurses from 5,422 to as high as 14,000 by 2027.
State leaders and officials hope to help offset the potential decrease in nurses in the coming years.
A proposed health care high school in Demopolis designed to help train and retain health care workers was approved by lawmakers over the summer. The project’s projected cost, however, increased in December from $65 million to $80 million. With the project currently funded to the tune of $41.4 million, the project’s board of trustees are hoping for lawmakers to help cover the difference in the 2025 budgeting process.
The Alabama Board of Nursing is also working to implement a new process for certifying nursing support technicians, a process the board hopes will ease workloads for nurses, with work burnout among the most-frequently cited causes for nurses leaving the profession. The new process went into effect in October after the passage of Senate Bill 25, sponsored by Sen. April Weaver, R-Brierfield, a nurse.
As of September, Alabama nurses are paid the lowest median salary in the nation at $55,660, tied with South Dakota, Iowa and Mississippi. Of the 84,779 nurses that participated in the Nursing Board’s 2023 survey, about 58,000 held a second job, 37,000 of which spent at least 32 hours a week at their second job.
While the Nursing Board has no authority to increase nurse pay across the state, its members have remained hopeful legislative changes, such as the new nursing support technician certification process, will potentially ease workloads for nurses, and in turn, reduce the number of nurses leaving the profession.
The Alabama employer with the highest number of job ads in November was Huntsville Hospital with 1,089, followed by Walmart at 923, and UAB Medicine at 788. Huntsville Hospital, which has experienced nurse shortages in recent years, currently has 1,038 active job ads listed on its website. As of Thursday, UAB Medicine had 794 job ads listed on its website.