Hoping to switch jobs soon? You may have fewer options than you think.
Healthcare went on a hiring spree after the Covid-19 pandemic began. Today, there are still more healthcare job openings than pre-pandemic, but the number of job postings is decreasing, according to a new report from the job listing and hiring platform Indeed.
The report, which analyzes Q2 2025 job postings through July 11, found nursing had the largest decline: Job postings are down 10% YoY, though still up 15.1% compared to Feb. 1, 2020.
The trend isn’t exclusive to healthcare, either. Many industries have slowed or plan to slow hiring, Daniel Culbertson, senior economist with the Indeed Hiring Lab and the report’s author, told us.
“Healthcare was generally thought of as recession-proof, or downturn-proof, before the pandemic. But the pandemic taught us that healthcare can be impacted just like the rest of the labor market, and so it’s probably better thought of as recession-resistant,” Culbertson said.
Healthcare is unique. The downturn in nursing openings in particular is likely due in part to more healthcare facilities bringing nurses back in-house for full-time employment rather than relying on temporary staffing prone to frequent turnover, like travel nurses, Culbertson said.
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A 2022 analysis in journal Health Affairs found the nation’s total number of registered nurses fell by more than 100,000 in 2021—the largest single-year drop in four decades. Over 300,000 people left the healthcare workforce overall that year, sending employers on a temporary hiring spree.
While the recent decline in postings could be a sign of “the overall labor market slowdown,” it’s likely also “healthcare returning to its long-term [pre-pandemic] trend,” Culbertson said.
Job postings also declined for personal care and home health positions by 8.8% and medical technicians by 8.4%.
Fear not, job seekers! It’s not necessarily bad news for healthcare professionals looking for a new employer, though.
Demand for healthcare workers is still high. There were 1.5+ million healthcare and social assistance job openings in May 2025, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics. Though that’s the lowest since 2021, it’s 25.5%higher than the 1.2+ million from the same month in 2019, before the pandemic began.
And not all healthcare roles are seeing openings shrink.
For instance, there was a 3.7% increase in postings for physicians and surgeons and a 2% increase in postings within the pharmacy industry through July 11, according to Indeed’s report.