U.S. Registered Nurse Workforce Trends During COVID-19 Pandemic

United States registered nurse workforce data from the Current Population Survey, extended through 2021. The dataset likely contains monthly demographic and employment metrics, showing a plateau and subsequent decline in RN supply during the pandemic. The analysis indicates a decrease of over 100,000 RNs in one year, a drop not observed in the previous four decades.

Use Cases

• Modeling RN workforce supply trends based on monthly Current Population Survey data
• Analyzing the impact of pandemic stress on nurse retention based on the described plateau and decline
• Forecasting healthcare staffing needs based on observed demographic shifts in the RN workforce

Strengths

• Data spans a long-term period, referencing trends over four decades
• Analysis extends through 2021, providing post-pandemic insights
• Based on the Current Population Survey, a known federal data source

Limitations

• Column-level documentation is absent; field semantics must be inferred after download
• Row count is unknown, which may limit suitability assessment
• Last update date is unknown; freshness unverified

Provenance

Source

Current Population Survey

Collection Method

Monthly survey data collection and analysis

Time Range

1970s through 2021

Geography

United States