Numbers are exactly what they are, numbers. They don’t always reflect a complete picture of what is happening in any given situation and circumstance. When it comes to how many people are working in nursing homes across the U.S. of late, the numbers are positive in that the sector gained workers in 2025.

According to the recently released Nursing Home Workforce Report by the American Health Care Association (AHCA), the exact number is 40,700 more people working in the sector in 2025 than the year before.

This shows the sector still clawing back the staff lost during pandemic but increasingly doing so at regular clips. One look at monthly jobs data from the federal government will also show that while other sectors are up and down in adding workers, the advances for skilled nursing facilities (SNFs) are consistent even if the December 2025 levels declined slightly.

The Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) last month said jobs in SNFs declined by 3,900 in December of last year when compared to the prior month of November 2025. Year-to-year, BLS said SNFs employed some 45,000 more people last month when compared to December 2024 at 1.56 million workers vs. 1.515 million workers, respectively.

Darlene Rencher, director of recruiting and talent acquisition for Healthcare Services Group, Inc. (HCSG), said after the BLS report that the calendar played a role in the dip. “There is a seasonality that happens in the fourth quarter because of holidays and that results in a slowdown in hiring. You have hiring managers on vacation and other groups looking to reset budgets and hold off on hiring until January when we typically see a bump in jobs filled,” she said.

HCSG is a leader in the long-term care space in providing housekeeping, dining, and nutritional services for residents across the care spectrum. The group tracks employment trends closely, especially for job openings and applications in SNFs, as it acquires talents for its many provider clients.  

Journey Offers Real-Life View

The data flow is impressive, but what is happening on the ground? To help fill in the picture, Journey President and CEO Bernie McGuinness offered his take.

“I think the trend is we’ve seen less agency staff and more willingness of staff to come onboard. These people are looking for permanent and predictable hours,” he said. “More and more people are coming back to the space who left during the pandemic timeline.”

That being said, the staffing needs are uneven, with the traditional rural v. urban split rearing its head, and overall, at all of its facilities there is a real
challenge in finding RNs, which is a sector-wide issue, McGuinness said.

“It’s really tough to find RNs for the SNF sector, especially in certain markets,” he said. There is also a dynamic in play where large hospital systems are now on the hunt for RNs in large volumes, whereas during the pandemic years it was LPNs that these systems sought.

Geography is always a factor, too. Metro Atlanta, where the provider has a presence, is a lot easier to find talent than the rural locations Journey calls home. “Atlanta, it is not as hard to find an RN, but down in a rural building like in Dublin [Georgia], not so much. But we have found a lot of success and eliminated agency in all of our locations within 90 days of being acquired,” McGuinness said.

It’s not magic as to how Journey is finding more success in recruiting and retaining workers: it is a more robust compensation package and demonstrating to potential and current workers that the company is serious about staffing its buildings with top talent and keeping them there.

He said the packages are full of different items like tuition reimbursement, weekly or even daily pay, perfect attendance awards, all of which are part of the Journey AdvantEDGE program. “The don’t really believe it until they see how we follow through on these incentives,” McGuinness said.

Journey’s portfolio includes 37 facilities in six states, 24 of which are in Georgia, Of the 24, he said 19 are rural.

AHCA Issues Report

Back to the ACHA report. The trade group cited the aforementioned job gains in 2025 as a positive trend, but said continued support from policymakers is needed to accelerate workforce efforts and keep pace with the growing aging population.

“We are incredibly encouraged by the positive trends in the nursing home workforce in 2025,” said Clif Porter, AHCA president and CEO. “Our profession is only as strong as the great individuals providing care to our residents, so we’re excited by the significant workforce growth in 2025.”

He added that facilities are taking initiative to reduce turnover and agency use, ensuring more consistent care.

Highlights from the workforce report demonstrates include:

• ​​In 2025, nursing facilities increased their workforce by 40,700 total jobs, an average of about 3,400 workers each month.

• Sixty-two percent of providers say their overall workforce situation has improved over the past year.

​​​AHCA said facilities are focused on investing in a stable workforce and supporting career advancement:

• Temporary staff agency usage has decreased by about 44 percent since Q4 2022.

• Nursing staff turnover has been declining since 2022.

• Wages continued to increase for nurses and direct caregivers by more than 3.4 percent.

• Sixty percent of providers say they have provided new or additional training and 55 percent have expanded promotional and career paths for employees.

  
  

Challenges Being Tracked

AHCA said the workforce picture is not all rosy, noting the following trends that offer challenges to the sector:

• ​While other healthcare settings have gained new jobs compared to early 2020, the nursing home workforce is 1.7 percent below pre-pandemic levels.

• Ninety percent of providers say staff recruitment remains difficult.

The report, the group stressed, illustrates the need for a unified effort among providers and policymakers to continue workforce development efforts and prepare to meet the needs of an aging nation.

In 2025, AHCA and the National Center for Assisted Living launched “Caregivers for Tomorrow,” an initiative designed to advance policy solutions that strengthen and sustain the long-term care workforce. The plan calls on federal and state policymakers to invest in the caregiver pipeline, recruitment efforts, and career development.

View the full Nursing Home Workforce Report HERE

Questions or comments? Contact Patrick Connole at pconnole@parkplacelive.com.