Navigating the Current Labor Supply/Demand Imbalance

Client, Healthcare Staffing

Good news, the United States has reached an all-time low in new COVID cases. But, the affect it has had on our global supply chain can still be felt seemingly everywhere, including healthcare staffing.

When demand increases and supply remains the same, the higher demand leads to a higher price. That applies to labor markets. While the supply of clinicians has stayed the same compared to pre-pandemic, demand has increased greatly. For instance, registered nurse job openings have increased 250% year over year. No doubt, that as affected the bill rates for those RNs.

Faced with this challenging supply/demand curve, hospitals must work more strategically with their staffing partners to find solutions.

Creating working relationships with more staffing agencies can help expand the reach of the hospital when looking for the “needle in the haystack”. Also asking staffing agencies for the data behind the bill rates requested (number of jobs locally/regionally, bill rates of those jobs, recently filled jobs and associated bill rates). This will hold everyone accountable to make sure there is not an imbalance in the partnership with the hospital paying more or less than what the market is dictating.

One way to work more strategically in this dynamic market is to partner with a Managed Services Provider (MSP). With an MSP, you will have not only a more efficient staffing process, but also the additional bandwidth of potentially hundreds of staffing agencies working on your open job requisitions. The basic function of all MSPs is to sub vend out open job orders to their network of staffing agencies ideally finding a candidate quicker and often cheaper than working directly with staffing agencies.

There are many MSP options to choose from when looking to solve your staffing challenges. My advice would be to not focus too much on the features of the MSPs, but the overall value that you can achieve through their solutions. It not only about quantity. The MSP you chose needs to have the processes in place to screen for quality candidates who are the right clinical and cultural fit.

Learn more about Medical Solutions’ MSP service and contact us with any questions. It’s our mission to help you find the best clinicians, regardless of the current market conditions.


Blake Sorrell

With more than 9 years of experience in the healthcare staffing industry, Blake has had the pleasure of working with hospitals and health systems across the country manage their contract staffing process. As a National Account Executive, he educates potential MSP Clients on Medical Solutions’ existing services and provides customized staffing solutions to current MSP Clients. Outside of work he likes to spend time cooking when he is not busy chasing his 13-month-old daughter around the house or singing Baby Shark with her.