Healthcare Staffing Market By Service Type (Temporary, Permanent, Locum Tenens, Travel Healthcare, Per Diem, and Part-time), By Workforce Type (Nursing Staff, Physician Staffing, Pharmacists, Allied Health Professionals, and Administrative & Support Staff), By End-user (Hospitals, Clinics, Home Healthcare, and Nursing Homes), Global Market Size, Segmental analysis, Regional Overview, Company share analysis, Leading Company Profiles And Market Forecast, 2025 – 2035

Industry Outlook

The Healthcare Staffing market accounted for USD 42.8 Billion in 2024 and is expected to reach USD 88.25 Billion by 2035, growing at a CAGR of around 6.8% between 2025 and 2035.  Healthcare staffing involves the recruitment, placement, and management of nurses, physicians, allied health professionals, and administrative staff to ensure adequate provision in the healthcare sector. A hospital, clinic, and other health facilities require an appropriate level of staffing in the healthcare provision process to be able to offer quality services.

Many demands are witnessed in healthcare staffing due to the aging population, increase in chronic conditions, and inadequate numbers of people in the healthcare sectors. Agencification, direct hiring, and temporary placements are avenues of staffing. Healthcare policies, the economy, and changes in healthcare delivery systems are some of the factors influencing the market. 

Report Scope:

Market Dynamics

Rising Emphasis on Preventive Care Drives Demand for Specialized Healthcare Professionals

With a focus on wellness, preventive health, and services being rendered in outpatient centers, there is a rise in demand for specialized public health professionals and preventative care specialists. The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, for example, has documented an increased concern over preventive care as one strategy to decrease healthcare costs while also ensuring long-term health, and in particular, focusing efforts on services such as screenings, vaccinations, and chronic disease management.

As more people focus on well-being and disease prevention, healthcare providers are hiring specialists like public health nurses and preventive care physicians in effort to meet these needs and lessen the burden on acute services. This trend towards preventative care is likely to grow even larger as healthcare systems globally recognize the long-term savings that can be obtained through focusing on prevention over treatment.

Surge in Healthcare Staffing Demand during Global Health Crises and Pandemics

Global health crises, including the pandemic caused by the COVID-19 virus, have been known to severely impact the demand for healthcare staffing, this tends to be very sudden and wide-ranging in its influence. During the pandemic, temporary healthcare workers' demand significantly increased, mainly in hospitals and emergency care units. This wave was motivated by the need to immediately deploy infectious disease specialists, medical scientists, and epidemiologists to handle and contain the virus's spread.

The rapid inflow of patients and the complexities of dealing with a health crisis made it imperative to quickly increase staff levels, which highlighted the critical role of temporary and specialized healthcare professionals in the management of epidemics and pandemics.

Geographical Disparities in Healthcare Staffing Create Challenges in Rural and Underserved Areas

Geographical disparities in workforce distribution are one of the major challenges in the healthcare staffing market since rural and underserved areas are unable to attract and retain quality healthcare professionals. The reasons include lower salaries, limited professional development opportunities, and fewer amenities compared to urban centers. Consequently, such service locations are bound to lack staff in key positions and overload other staff, reducing levels of care.

There is even an issue with specialized experts within these areas. Innovative solutions, including telemedicine and incentives for rural practice, are being pursued to address these challenges and enhance access to care in these regions.

Growing Need for Specialized Healthcare Professionals Creates Opportunities for Niche Staffing

The demand for special care healthcare professionals such as geriatric care nurses, specialists in palliative care, or genetic counselors is growing on a large scale, thus depicting huge niche staffing opportunities. The growth of the older population makes the demand more imperative for geriatric care, and now healthcare providers are looking for professionals who can manage the unique needs of older patients. Some new trends that have arisen also include the increasing demand for genetic testing and personalized medicine, which requires the professionals of genetic counselors who significantly advise patients on their genetic risk toward health.

These trends should be an opportunity for recruitment agencies to focus on selecting and placing highly skilled experts in these specialized fields by aligning with the needs being seen in the healthcare system. As healthcare expands to be more customized and patient-centered, specialty services will continue to grow to meet that need, creating an area for niche staffing solutions.

Rising Need for Healthcare Consulting and Management Staffing Amid Growing System Complexity

With the complexity of the healthcare system, there comes a growing need for management consultants, healthcare administrators, and strategic advisors. This niche but highly essential segment in the market is required by healthcare organizations to navigate regulatory changes and improve operational efficiency and service delivery amidst financial constraints and the evolution in patient needs. However, this need also poses a constraint as recruiting professionals with the requisite expertise in healthcare management and strategic planning is challenging.

In addition, the need for specialized knowledge in areas such as compliance, process improvement, and healthcare IT further complicates recruitment. Moreover, high salaries and competition for the best talent in this field will raise costs for healthcare organizations. As a consequence, healthcare providers need to attract and retain skilled healthcare consultants and managers to optimize their operations.

Industry Experts Opinion

“The future of healthcare staffing lies in embracing whole-house technologies that elevate operational efficiency, reduce costs, and enhance security. By integrating advanced digital platforms, we can unify every aspect of workforce management, providing real-time data insights that drive smarter decision-making. This transformation is not just about filling positions—it's about building a resilient, adaptive workforce that positions healthcare providers to thrive in an increasingly complex environment. At Cross Country, we're leading this evolution, empowering healthcare systems to operate at their highest potential."

• John A. Martins, President & CEO of Cross Country

“As our nation continues to address the healthcare talent shortage, we are confident that Ben and Michael will strengthen our position as part of the solution and support health systems nationwide in delivering excellent care to their communities.”

• Jeremy Lynch, Partner at Trilantic North America

Segment Analysis

Based on the service type, the Healthcare Staffing market has been classified into temporary, permanent, locum tenens, travel healthcare, per diem, and part-time. Temporary staffing is the leading service type in the healthcare staffing market because it makes it easier to fill short-term, urgent staffing needs that have arisen. Healthcare entities use temporary workers to cover unexpected fluctuations during the seasons, spikes from unanticipated increases in volumes, or shortages of staff during specific periods. 

Based on the workforce type, the Healthcare Staffing market has been classified into nursing staff, physician staffing, pharmacists, allied health professionals, and administrative & support staff. Nursing staff is the most dominant form of workforce in this market because there is a growing demand for health care services due to an aging population, prevalent chronic diseases, and continued patient care. Nurses are necessary for almost every healthcare setting from hospitals to long-term care facilities making them indispensable.

Regional Analysis

The North American Healthcare Staffing market is the largest within the global healthcare staffing industry. This region is mainly driven by the demand for healthcare professionals, an aging population, rising chronic diseases, and advanced medical treatments. The United States has a huge healthcare infrastructure and thus requires many diversified roles in health care such as nursing staff, physicians, and allied health professionals.

The second reason is that the requirement for temporary staffing solutions has also risen, especially in crises such as locum tenens and travel healthcare professionals like those occurring with the COVID-19 pandemic. Additionally, with advanced healthcare technology and a more robust healthcare system, the North American market is considered the biggest in healthcare staffing services globally.

The Asia-Pacific Healthcare Staffing market is growing the fastest. There has been rapid development of economies, increased expenditure on healthcare, and a rising population, leading to a peak demand for healthcare services in this geographical area. There has been an extreme rise in investments in infrastructures, particularly concerning healthcare, in all the countries of this region, and the need for healthcare practitioners has risen in those regions.

Furthermore, the aging population of Japan and other countries requires more specialized healthcare professionals, such as geriatric care personnel and nurses. The rapid growth of healthcare technologies, together with the increasing development of medical tourism in the region, also propels the high growth of the healthcare staffing market.  

Competitive Landscape

The healthcare staffing market has several major players present, such as AMN Healthcare Services, Cross Country Healthcare, Aya Healthcare, and CHG Healthcare Services, which have large networking and service offerings. Through these, they have come to dominate the market because they offer various forms of placements, such as locum tenens placements and permanent and temporary placements, to fill growing demands for healthcare professionals.

Recently, Cross Country Healthcare has launched digital platforms to streamline the recruitment process, thereby making the process more efficient. Aya Healthcare is also growing in services to cater to the increased demand for healthcare workers. With the continuous struggle of healthcare systems to maintain an adequate workforce, the leading players are utilizing technology, increasing their service portfolios, and making strategic alliances to maintain a competitive position in the growing market.

Healthcare Staffing Market, Company Shares Analysis, 2024

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Recent Developments:

• In November 2024, Bullhorn, the global leader in software for the staffing and recruitment industry, announced that they have joined Salesforce's Agentforce Partner Network, a global ecosystem of partners building new third-party agents and agent actions for Agentforce accessible through the Salesforce AppExchange.
• In November 2024, Conexus MedStaff, a leading international healthcare recruitment company, partnered with Taimaka, an organization that provided critical malnutrition care to children in Gombe state, Nigeria.
• In September 2024, Jackson Healthcare® officially announced the launch of Jackson HealthPros™, one of its newest businesses to the family of highly specialized healthcare staffing, search, and technology companies.

Report Coverage:

By Service Type

• Temporary
• Permanent
• Locum Tenens
• Travel Healthcare
• Per Diem
• Part-time

By Workforce Type

• Nursing Staff
• Physician Staffing
• Pharmacists
• Allied Health Professionals
• Administrative and Support Staff

By End-user

• Hospitals
• Clinics
• Home Healthcare
• Nursing Homes

By Region

North America

• U.S.
• Canada

Europe

• U.K.
• France
• Germany
• Italy
• Spain
• Rest of Europe

Asia Pacific

• China
• Japan
• India
• Australia
• South Korea
• Singapore
• Rest of Asia Pacific

Latin America

• Brazil
• Argentina
• Mexico
• Rest of Latin America

Middle East & Africa

• GCC Countries
• South Africa
• Rest of the Middle East & Africa

List of Companies:

• AMN Healthcare Services, Inc.
• Cross Country Healthcare, Inc.
• CHG Healthcare Services
• Aya Healthcare
• Maxim Healthcare Services, Inc.
• Staffing 360 Solutions, Inc.
• Randstad Healthcare
• ManpowerGroup
• Soliant Health
• HealthTrust Workforce Solutions
• Kforce Inc.
• CompHealth
• MediQuest Staffing
• TeamHealth
• Jackson & Coker

Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs)