indeed nursing jobs 2023

Nursing Job Market Remains Competitive, Even as Demand Cools Slightly 

In recognition of the American Nurses Association’s National Nurses Month, the Indeed Hiring Lab examined the latest trends in nursing job postings. Our economists analyzed overall job posting trends, prevalence of salary transparency, and the advertisement of signing bonuses in nursing postings.

Key Points 

• Demand for nurses is cooling off slightly. As of May 5th, 2023, nursing job postings were down 2.1% from the same time last month. 
• Salary transparency is on the rise. As of February 2023, 40.2% of nursing job postings featured a wage or salary provided by the employer, up substantially from 22.8% in February of 2022. 
• As of March 2023, 15.8% of nursing job postings mentioned a signing bonus, down from 20% in the same month last year, but more than three times the average for all Indeed jobs mentioning a bonus.

Demand for nurses edges down

While overall job postings on Indeed declined for most of this year, nursing and other healthcare categories held up relatively well. As of May 5th, 2023, all job postings on the Indeed site were down 15.3% from the same time last year, while nursing job postings were down just 6.4%. 

The chart below, showing month-over-month change in nursing job postings, gives a more detailed look at how this trend has changed in recent months. Nursing job postings declined month-over-month since mid-January 2023. As of May 5th, nursing job postings were down 2.1% from the same time last month, however, the month-over-month rate of decline has leveled off. 

Despite this recent slowdown, demand for nurses remains elevated. Nursing job postings registered a 153 on the Indeed job postings index on May 5th, meaning there are still 53% more nursing job postings on the site compared to the pre-pandemic baseline of February 1, 2020.  

Employers are more likely to show candidates the money 

Recent research from the Indeed Hiring Lab found salary transparency in job postings has more than doubled since 2020, and in February 2023, 43.7% of job postings in the US featured an employer-provided wage or salary. 

This increase in transparency reflects the competitive nature of the labor market for nurses, where in February 2023, 40.2% of job postings included a salary — up from 22.8% in February 2022.

The chart below shows how the increased emphasis on salary transparency looks across healthcare categories. Nursing job postings experienced one of the largest gains of any job category in the share of job postings that listed a salary. 

While states and cities across the US have enacted salary transparency requirements, the dramatic rise in nursing job postings including salary information is further evidence employers are looking at ways to attract talent in a competitive field. 

Signing bonuses are becoming less common

As employers struggled to find workers in the recovery from the pandemic, signing bonuses became more common in job postings. In recent months, however, their popularity has waned. But it should be noted that signing bonuses for nursing jobs in March 2023 are still more than three times higher than the average for all jobs on Indeed, reflecting the real challenge for employers to fill these positions. 

The chart below shows the share of nursing job postings that list a signing bonus in the job description. As of March 2023, 15.8% mentioned a signing bonus, down from 20% in the same month last year. The high share of nursing postings with a signing bonus speaks to the relative difficulty in recruiting nurses, as only 4.9% of job postings for all jobs featured a bonus in the same month. 

Conclusion 

Aging demographics and shifting pandemic-related factors will likely keep demand for nurses relatively high, and recruiting competitive, for the foreseeable future. The growing emphasis on salary transparency and the elevated use of signing bonuses show a few of the ways employers are attracting talent in a notoriously difficult labor market.

Methodology 

We calculate pay transparency share in US job postings by dividing the number of unique job postings with a salary into a total count of unique advertisements in a given month. Pay information is extracted from postings published on Indeed.com. Salaries advertised as being paid daily or weekly are omitted from the analysis. 

Signing bonus job postings are defined as those that include terms like “signing bonus,” “sign-on bonus,” “signing incentive,” or “bonus for signing-on” in the job description.

Data on seasonally-adjusted Indeed job postings are an index of the number of seasonally-adjusted job postings on a given day, using a seven-day trailing average. February 1, 2020, is our pre-pandemic baseline, so the index is set to 100 on that day. We seasonally-adjust each series based on historical patterns in 2017, 2018, and 2019. We adopted this methodology in January 2021. Data for several dates in 2021 and 2022 are missing and were interpolated. Non-seasonally-adjusted data are calculated in a similar manner except that the data are not adjusted to historical patterns.

The number of job postings on Indeed.com, whether related to paid or unpaid job solicitations, is not indicative of potential revenue or earnings of Indeed, which comprises a significant percentage of the HR Technology segment of its parent company, Recruit Holdings Co., Ltd. Job posting numbers are provided for information purposes only and should not be viewed as an indicator of performance of Indeed or Recruit. Please refer to the Recruit Holdings investor relations website and regulatory filings in Japan for more detailed information on revenue generation by Recruit’s HR Technology segment.

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2,000 Nurses Reveal The Realities of Nursing in 2023

• Nurse.org's new 2023 State of Nursing report revealed that while 60% of nurses love being a nurse, 62% are concerned about the future of nursing
• Overall, nurses are doing better than in 2021, but they're still reporting high levels of burnout, mental health suffering, and lack of support
• 39% of nurses feel dissatisfied with their current job, but this varied based on education level and specialty
•  91% of nurses believe the nursing shortage is getting worse, and 79% report that their units are inadequately staffed
• 55% of nurses saw a pay increase in the past year; however, 75% of nurses still feel underpaid

Nurse.org first released the  State of Nursing report in 2022,  with the aim to understand the true state of the nursing profession – from how nurses are being treated to their feelings about the future of nursing to what nurses think needs to change. The report revealed some harsh truths about the profession, but also spoke to the strength, perseverance, and passion that nurses have for their work. We're proud it was also recognized with a Gold award in the Digital Health Awards, Best Media/Publications Article.

In late 2022, we relaunched an updated survey, asking more than 2,100 nurses about the real issues they were facing every day, then had a panel of nurses from different specialties and backgrounds peer review it. We’ve published the results in our  2023 State of Nursing report . 

The findings have shown that while nurses are still struggling in many ways, they are doing slightly better than they were in 2021, and the industry is not without hope. 

>> Download the 2023 State of Nursing Report

The 2023 State of Nursing Findings

The survey revealed that nurses continue to feel burnt out, overwhelmed with continued staffing shortages, and uncertain about the future. 

The survey looked at five key issues in nursing including: 

• Why nurses do what they do
• How nurses are feeling
• Job (dis)satisfaction
• Nursing shortage
• Nurse salaries

Overall, the majority of nurses still love being a nurse but a large percentage are concerned about the future of nursing. There are endless possibilities and career opportunities for nurses, especially those with a BSN but a significant number of respondents are not optimistic about the future of nursing.

Nurses have mixed responses on how they feel about choosing nursing as their career. Only 36% of respondents are happy they chose the profession, while 40% are not. Unfortunately, it’s not surprising that a larger number of nurses are unhappy about choosing the profession, especially as more and more are leaving traditional bedside nursing for non-traditional roles. 

Compared to 2021, the 2022 survey found that a larger percentage of nurses are “thinking about changing jobs within the nursing profession” as well as “thinking about staying in healthcare but getting away from the bedside.” Interestingly, slightly more nurses said they were happier in their current positions in 2022 (16%) than in 2021 (12%).

There is a lot to unpack in the new survey. Let’s take a deeper look at some of the key aspects of the 2023 State of Nursing. 

1. Nurses Love What They Do, But Have Some Concerns About the Future of Nursing

Despite everything that's happened this past year, nurses still love what they do. In fact, 60% of nurses still love being a nurse. 

Why Nurses Became Nurses

When asked why nurses got into nursing in the first place, the most popular answer by far was to help others. Some of the other popular reasons were due to the large number of career and specialty options to choose from, and because a friend or family member was a nurse. 

One responded by saying, “I became a nurse because I saw my grandmother care for so many people growing up.”  - Joelin

Another said, “I’ve always wanted to help people so I wanted to enter the health sector. While researching, I found out that nurses were the heart of the hospital. So, I decided to become a nurse to be the patient’s helping hand.” - Clare

The Majority of Nurses Have Concerns About the Future of Nursing

But even with all this love for their career, when asked "Do you agree or disagree with the statement, 'I'm optimistic about the future of nursing'?" 62% answered "Disagree" with only 18% replying "Agree."

2. Nurses Are Dealing With Slightly Less Burnout, Mental Health Issues, Lack of Support, and Workplace Violence Than in 2021

Rates of burnout, mental health suffering, and lack of support have all improved since 2021, but only marginally. 

45% of nurses have felt unsafe at work in the past year, which is down from 56% in 2021. Despite the fact that there have been numerous reports of violence against nurses this past year. 

• A study done by Press Ganey’s National Database of Nursing Quality Indicators® (NDNQI®) for the second quarter of 2022 revealed a sobering statistic: on average, two nurses are assaulted every hour in the U.S. 
• Some states, including Louisiana, created the Healthcare Workplace Violence Tasks Force led by Ahnyel Jones-Burkes, DNP to help make changes to the conversation regarding violence against healthcare workers.

Are Nurses Happy With Their Chosen Profession?

Nursing is an honorable profession and one that most are proud to be a part of. Unfortunately, this past year – in fact, the past several years – has been rough. And as a result, nurses have mixed feelings about choosing the profession: 

• 36% are happy they chose it
• 40% are not
• 24% felt neither

3. 39% of Nurses Are Dissatisfied With Their Current Job, But Satisfaction Is Impacted by Education Level and Specialty

When asked how satisfied nurses are with their current job, 39% of nurses reported feeling dissatisfied, while only 28% are actually satisfied with their current job. 

Job Satisfaction Varies Based on Level of Education and Specialty

Not all nurses are equally dissatisfied. In fact, nurses with higher levels of education reported higher satisfaction ratings. 

Nurses with a post-grad certificate or diploma had the highest levels of satisfaction 55%, followed by doctoral degree holders 35%, nurses with a master’s degree 34%, and bachelor’s degree-educated nurses 28%. 

The least satisfied nurses were those with a nursing certificate or diploma, with just 22% of them reporting they were satisfied with their jobs. 

When it comes to satisfaction rates by specialties, Non-bedside nurses are the most satisfied out of any nursing professionals. This is not surprising as more nurses left the bedside during the COVID-19 pandemic and found less traditional nursing professions. 

What is surprising is that  obstetric nurses found their position the least satisfying. The list ranges from acute care to emergency medicine. The full list from most satisfied to least satisfied are: 

• Non-bedside - 48% satisfied
• Community Health - 43%
• Ambulatory setting - 39%
• Surgical - 31%
• Pediatrics - 31%
• Critical Care - 26%
• Emergency - 23%
• Acute Care - 23%
• Long-term Care - 23%
• Float Nurse - 23%
• Obstetrics - 15%

4. Nurses Are Slightly Less Likely to Want to Change Careers in 2022, But More Likely to Want to Leave the Bedside 

When asked about their career plans, 16% of nurses reported being happy where they are versus 12% in 2021. But more nurses want to leave the bedside, 35% in 2022 vs. 29% in 2021. 

Nurses are leaving for a variety of positions away from the bedside. Some of the most popular responses for leaving the bedside were:

• Nurse Educator
• Back to School
• Clinic/Outpatient
• Case Management
• Administration/Management
• Self Employed
• Home Health
• Informatics

What Is the Impact of All These Nurses Leaving the Bedside?

Nursing is already seeing a significant shortage, especially in bedside positions. So, the fact that “retired” was the top reason for nurses leaving the bedside is a concerning finding.

The Baby Boomer generation is retiring and causing a further increase in the need for bedside nurses. According to the  U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS), employment of registered nurses is projected to grow 6% from 2021 to 2031 and there is an expected need for an additional 195,400 nurses by 2031.

5. Nurses Think That the Nursing Shortage Has Gotten Worse

91% of nurses believe the nursing shortage is getting worse and that nurse burnout , poor working conditions, and inadequate pay are the primary causes.

Interestingly, the greater number of patients due to an aging population, changes to the medicare/healthcare system, and lack of nursing school educators/faculty got the least amount of responses; however, those factors directly impact the top responses chosen by nurses. 

Staffing Remains an Issue

Staffing remains one of the biggest issues for respondents. 79% of nurses say their units are inadequately staffed, which is down just 1% from 2021. It seems that staffing will not get much better as the shortage only worsens. 

The nursing job that has seen the biggest staffing shortages was float nurses (90%). Float nurses typically work in multiple units throughout a hospital or healthcare system. This answer is slightly alarming because float nurses illustrate the overall shortage of a hospital and not just a specific unit. Other specialties that reported high levels of inadequate staffing are:

• Long-Term Care Nurses - 88% replied “disagree” to feeling adequately staffed
• Emergency Nurses - 87%
• Acute-Care Nurses - 84%
• Obstetrics Nurses - 83%

What Would Help the Nursing Shortage? Better Staffing Ratios, Better Pay, and Better Working Conditions

When asked to choose the factors that would make the biggest impact on the nursing shortage, the top responses were improved staffing ratios (71%), better pay (64%), and better working conditions (41%). 

The factors that got the least amount of votes were efforts to reduce workplace violence (11%), mental health support (10%), and efforts to increase the number of nurse educators and faculty (7%).  

6. Nurses Want Better Pay

Confirming nurses' reports that better pay would help the nursing shortage, the survey found that even though 55% of nurses saw a pay increase in the past year, 75% of nurses still feel underpaid. Additionally,  52% of nurses believe that their hospital does not pay nurses with similar experiences equally.  

How Much Do Nurses Make?

On average, nurses in 2023 earned between $61-80K a year. 

The list of nurses that feel underpaid is long and each of the positions had over 50% responding that they feel underpaid.

% of Nurses That Feel Underpaid by Job

• Emergency - 83% feel underpaid
• Long-term care - 80%
• Obstetrics - 79%
• Surgical - 78%
• Pediatrics - 77%
• Acute care - 77%
• Critical care - 74%
• Community health - 74%
• Ambulatory setting - 70%
• Float Nurse - 61%
• Non-bedside - 60%

So, What Now?

Nursing has long been an admirable and trustworthy profession –  ranked as the most honest profession 21 times . But nurses need help, now more than ever. 

Nurses need support from administrators, coworkers, and overall healthcare systems to help get them things like:  

• Improved staffing ratios
• Better working conditions
• More support staff
• Better treatment by hospital administration

Regardless of what path your nursing career is headed, know that you are not alone. While you may be currently working long shifts in the ICU or overseeing hundreds of school students as a school nurse, your nursing trajectory might change. 

Nursing can open endless doors and possibilities. Always be ready for what could come next and along the way just know that you are doing enough for your patients, your families, and yourself. 

“Nurses, we need you. Nursing has always been the glue that holds healthcare together, and with continued strains on the profession, it's vital that we lean on our resilience, our community, and our ingenuity to  work towards change.  The Covid-19 pandemic exposed problems not only in our healthcare system, but the unsettling work conditions that nurses face everyday. While there is still much work to do, we are starting to see some light at the end of the tunnel.   We must not give up. We are being heard and must push forward to see the action through. Progress can, and is, being made, but we need everyone, so please hang in there and let's fight the good fight in unity.” 

-  Nurse Alice Benjamin, MSN, APRN, ACNS-BC, FNP-C, CCRN, CEN, CV-BC

Kathleen Gaines (nee Colduvell) is a nationally published writer turned Pediatric ICU nurse from Philadelphia with over 13 years of ICU experience. She has an extensive ICU background having formerly worked in the CICU and NICU at several major hospitals in the Philadelphia region. After earning her MSN in Education from Loyola University of New Orleans, she currently also teaches for several prominent Universities making sure the next generation is ready for the bedside. As a certified breastfeeding counselor and trauma certified nurse, she is always ready for the next nursing challenge.

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Job scams surged 118% in 2023, aided by AI. Here's how to stop them.

Employment scams surged last year, as criminals leveraged  artificial intelligence  to steal money and personal information from unsuspecting job seekers, experts said.

Consumer reports of  job scams  jumped 118% in 2023 from the prior year, according to a  recent report  by the Identity Theft Resource Center.

Thieves generally pose as recruiters and post fake job listings to entice applicants, then steal valuable information during the “interview” process.

Often, they put these phony listings on reputable websites like LinkedIn and other job search platforms, ITRC said, making it tough to disentangle truth from fiction.

The typical victim loses about $2,000

A chief danger is divulging information about financial accounts or sensitive personal data (like a Social Security number) that criminals can then use to steal a job seeker’s identity.

Consumers  reported losing  $367 million to job and business opportunity scams in 2022, up 76% year over year, according to the Federal Trade Commission.

The typical victim lost a “whopping” $2,000, the FTC said.

Job scams aren’t the most prevalent fraud: They accounted for only 9% of total identity scams in 2023, second to  Google Voice scams , which totaled 60%, ITRC said. (Google Voice scams trick people into sharing a Google verification code, which scammers can use for nefarious ends. They often target people on Craigslist and Facebook Marketplace.)

However, employment scams are an “emerging” threat, said ITRC president and CEO Eva Velasquez.

“Job scams have been around since there were jobs,” Velasquez said. ”[But] they’ll continue to grow because of a number of external factors that are occurring.”

AI and remote work fuel job-scam growth

AI advancements are one of those factors: They allow scammers to generate job listings and recruitment messages that look and feel more legitimate, experts said.

“AI tools help refine the ‘pitch’ to make it more believable as well as compensate for cultural and grammar differences in language usage,” according to the ITRC report.

What’s more, the  rise of remote work  during the pandemic era have made workers and job seekers more comfortable with digital-only transactions, Velasquez said.

Job seekers may never see a physical person during a phony hiring or interview process: They may interact with a supposed recruiter only via text or WhatsApp message, Velasquez said, which amounts to a “big red flag.”

Recent college grads, immigrants or other people new to the U.S. workforce may think such digital-only hiring normal, especially for fully remote jobs, she said. But hiring generally doesn’t work this way, she added.

How job scams can rip you off

Con artists will “ push you for money ” during the hiring process, the FTC said.

They may send an invoice for advance payment of on-the-job equipment (like a computer ) or job training. They promise to reimburse you, but won’t, according to the federal agency.

Scammers may also ask for your personal information — like a driver’s license, Social Security number or bank account details — upfront in order to fill out “employment paperwork,” the FTC said.

“Scammers will promise you a great job, but what they really want is your money and your personal information,” New York Secretary of State Robert Rodriguez said in a  consumer alert  this year.

Job seekers should not expect to have to hand over personal information until after they’ve received and accepted a job offer, Velasquez said. (While this is a good screen for legitimacy, it may not provide a safety guarantee in all cases, she said.)

How to protect yourself from job scams

Ultimately, “there’s no sure-fire way to detect” job opportunity scams,  according  to the FTC.

Here’s what you should know and how you can better protect yourself, according to Velasquez and the FTC: 

Don’t have a false sense of security on well-known job search platforms.

Independently verify the company exists and is hiring. Don’t accept a job offer until you’ve done your own research.

Be wary if you didn’t initiate contact with a prospective employer or recruiter. Instead, reach out to the company directly using contact information you know is legit.

Only limited personal information is generally required during the application process: name, phone number, job and education history, and perhaps email and home address, Velasquez said.

Digital-only interactions are a red flag. However, phone calls are also not a guarantee of security.

Honest employers won’t send you a check to buy supplies or anything else, then ask you to send back the leftover money. This is a fake check scam.

Be wary of something that sounds too good to be true. For example, a job ad for 100% remote work that requires few skills and a huge salary “is not realistic,” Velasquez said.

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