Portrait of a young female doctor in scrubs and a protective face mask preparing an anesthesia machine before an operation
The Wisconsin Hospital Association says the state’s health care workforce is growing, just not fast enough.
In its annual Wisconsin Health Care Workforce Report, the WHA noted that the health care sector is still struggling to keep pace with surging demand driven by Wisconsin’s aging population and a shrinking labor pool. The rep
ort shows hospital employment has increased 23 percent over the last decade, and vacancy rates have improved from a pandemic peak of 10 percent in 2022 to 7.2 percent in 2024.
Yet, these gains still leave Wisconsin hospitals with vacancy rates more than double pre-pandemic levels, and demographic trends suggest the pressure will only intensify.
Ann Zenk, WHA Senior Vice President of Workforce and Clinical Practice, noted, “Health care demand is projected to rise 10 percent by 2040 while our working-age population continues to shrink. We’re growing the workforce, but not fast enough to meet the needs of an aging population.”
The full report can be found at WHA.org.
