Where the Nurses Are 2007

In honor of National Nurses Week (May 6 to May 12), Monster surveyed HR professionals and hiring managers to uncover the latest facts on nursing recruiter activity and best practices within the United States.

According to Monster’s study, here are the top-10 states to find nursing candidates. (Note the first number following the state is the percentage of 2006 nursing resumes, compared to the percentage of year-over-year growth in resumes.)

Texas (9.9/72.6)
California (8.9/69.3)
Florida (6.4/71.5)
New York (6.1/80.3)
Pennsylvania (5.9/93.3)
Illinois (4.9/54.4)
Ohio (4.6/107.1)
Michigan (4.2/95.4)
Georgia (4.1/76.2)
North Carolina (3.4/78.0)

Monster says its analysis of the recruiting activity for nursing professionals echoes a growing trend over a dwindling number of healthcare professionals. For example, the Bureau of Labor Statistics reports that by the year 2020, there will be a shortfall of more than 800,000 nurses in the United States.

Monster says key takeaways of the report include the following:

Recruiting continues to be competitive. Job postings for nurses at Monster.com increased by 55% in late 2006 compared with the same period a year earlier. Monster says this growth makes for a more challenging recruiting environment, with healthcare facilities needing to look beyond their usual recruiting area for viable candidates.
Healthcare facilities are working harder to find qualified candidates. Nearly 54% of recruiters feel their hiring needs will increase this year and consider many of their job openings as “difficult to fill.”
The Internet has become the preferred information hub for nursing recruitment. On the whole, nursing job seekers are using online job boards to look for new job opportunities. Meanwhile, traditional forms of advertising are taking a backseat, with just 17% using newspaper ads, and under one-tenth using college recruiting.
Cost per hire. The cost per hire for registered nurses is $3,175 and $1,289 for licensed practical nurses and about $802 for certified nursing assistants.
Time to fill. The majority of recruiters find it takes less than 40 days to fill a licensed practical nurse or licensed vocational nurse position.