Nursing Assistants
Job Outlook and Earnings
Overall employment of nursing, psychiatric, and home health aides
is projected
to grow faster than the average through the year 2010, although
individual
occupational growth rates vary. Home health aides are expected
to grow
the fastest, as a result of growing demand for home healthcare from an
aging
population and efforts to contain healthcare costs by moving patients
out of
hospitals and nursing facilities as quickly as possible. Consumer
preference for
care in the home and improvements in medical technologies for in-home
treatment also will contribute to much faster than average employment
growth
for home health aides.
Nursing aide employment will not grow as fast as home health
aide employment,
largely because nursing aides are concentrated in the relatively
slower-growing
nursing home sector. Nevertheless, employment of nursing aides is
expected
to grow faster than the average for all occupations in response to
increasing
emphasis on rehabilitation and the long-term care needs of a rapidly
growing
elderly population. Financial pressure on hospitals to discharge
patients as
soon as possible should produce more nursing home admissions. Modern
medical technology will also increase the employment of nursing aides.
This
technology, while saving and extending more lives, increases the need
for
long-term care provided by aides.
Employment of psychiatric aides--the smallest of the three
occupations--is
expected to grow as fast as the average. The number of jobs for
psychiatric
aides in hospitals, where one-half of psychiatric aides work, will
decline due
to attempts to contain costs by limiting inpatient psychiatric
treatment.
Employment in other sectors will rise in response to growth in the
number of
older persons—many of whom will require mental health services,
increasing
public acceptance of formal treatment for drug abuse and alcoholism,
and a
lessening of the stigma attached to those receiving mental health
care.
Numerous openings for nursing and home health aides will arise from
a
combination of fast growth and high replacement needs for these large
occupations. Turnover is high, a reflection of modest entry
requirements, low
pay, high physical and emotional demands, and lack of advancement
opportunities.
For these same reasons, many people are unwilling to perform this kind
of work. Therefore, persons who are interested in this work and suited
for it should have
excellent job opportunities.
Median hourly earnings of nursing aides, orderlies, and attendants
were $8.89
in 2000. The middle 50 percent earned between $7.51 and $10.59 an
hour.
The lowest 10 percent earned less than $6.48, and the highest 10
percent
earned more than $12.69 an hour. Median hourly earnings in the
industries
employing the largest numbers of nursing aides, orderlies, and
attendants in
2000 were as follows:
| Local government |
$9.66 |
| Hospitals |
9.42 |
| Personnel supply services |
9.82 |
| Nursing and personal care facilities |
8.61 |
| Residential Care |
7.96 |
Median hourly earnings of psychiatric aides were $10.45 in 2000. The
middle
50 percent earned between $8.38 and $13.02 an hour. The lowest 10
percent
earned less than $7.10, and the highest 10 percent earned more than
$15.50
an hour. Median hourly earnings of psychiatric aides in 2000 were
$12.61
in State government and $10.50 in hospitals.
Nursing and psychiatric aides in hospitals generally receive at
least 1 week's
paid vacation after 1 year of service. Paid holidays and sick leave,
hospital and
medical benefits, extra pay for late-shift work, and pension plans
also are
available to many hospital and some nursing home employees.
Median hourly earnings of home health aides were $8.23 in 2000. The
middle
50 percent earned between $7.13 and $9.88 an hour. The lowest 10
percent
earned less than $6.14, and the highest 10 percent earned more than
$11.93
an hour.
Home health aides receive slight pay increases with experience and
added
responsibility. They usually are paid only for the time worked in the
home;
they normally are not paid for travel time between jobs. Most
employers
hire only on-call hourly workers and provide no benefits.
PLEASE NOTE: The material in this
publication is within the public domain and has been reprinted here
from the Occupational Outlook Handbook (Division of Occupational
Outlook, Bureau of Labor Statistics, U.S. Department of Labor,
Washington, DC 20212. Phone: (202) 691-5700. Fax: (202) 691-5745.
E-mail: oohinfo@bls.gov. To view other articles from the Occupational
Outlook Handbook, please visit the BLS.
