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Registered nurses made up 30 percent of hospital employment in May 2019
April 27, 2020
Hospital employees are on the front lines of any health crisis. Registered nurses was by far the largest occupation in hospitals in May 2019, with over 1.8 million jobs, which was 30 percent of total hospital employment. After registered nurses, clinical laboratory technologists and technicians (with employment of 159,580) and radiologic technologists and technicians (125,310) were among the largest healthcare practitioners and technical occupations in hospitals.
Employment and annual mean wages for the largest occupations in hospitals, May 2019
Occupation
Employment
Annual mean wage
Management occupations
Medical and health services managers
136,030
$123,930
Business and financial operations occupations
Project management specialists and business operations specialists, all other
29,140
70,290
Computer and mathematical occupations
Computer systems analysts
24,620
87,110
Life, physical, and social science occupations
Medical scientists, except epidemiologists
22,760
87,680
Community and social service occupations
Substance abuse, behavioral disorder, and mental health counselors
30,380
51,130
Healthcare social workers
50,430
65,600
Healthcare practitioners and technical occupations
Dietitians and nutritionists
21,920
63,450
Pharmacists
82,050
127,210
Physician assistants
31,300
113,420
Occupational therapists
35,780
86,140
Physical therapists
64,840
91,250
Respiratory therapists
108,420
64,190
Registered nurses
1,816,170
79,400
Nurse practitioners
51,120
115,770
Physicians, all other; and ophthalmologists, except pediatric
121,370
176,830
Clinical laboratory technologists and technicians
159,580
56,840
Cardiovascular technologists and technicians
44,060
58,390
Diagnostic medical sonographers
44,420
75,930
Radiologic technologists and technicians
125,310
63,980
Magnetic resonance imaging technologists
23,100
73,470
Emergency medical technicians and paramedics
48,680
39,760
Pharmacy technicians
69,270
40,000
Psychiatric technicians
44,190
38,730
Surgical technologists
79,720
49,810
Licensed practical and licensed vocational nurses
102,570
46,790
Medical dosimetrists, medical records specialists, and health technologists and technicians, all other
122,000
49,330
Healthcare support occupations
Home health and personal care aides
21,910
29,680
Nursing assistants
406,350
32,550
Orderlies
38,690
30,740
Psychiatric aides
26,560
35,080
Medical assistants
107,780
37,170
Medical equipment preparers
40,680
39,620
Phlebotomists
48,820
35,300
Healthcare support workers, all other
25,910
37,650
Protective service occupations
Security guards
43,640
37,880
Food preparation and serving related occupations
Cooks, institution and cafeteria
34,700
32,990
Food servers, nonrestaurant
46,460
29,940
Building and grounds cleaning and maintenance occupations
Janitors and cleaners, except maids and housekeeping cleaners
77,890
30,690
Maids and housekeeping cleaners
101,080
30,390
Office and administrative support occupations
First-line supervisors of office and administrative support workers
48,990
65,170
Billing and posting clerks
42,870
40,840
Customer service representatives
67,880
37,070
Interviewers, except eligibility and loan
76,310
36,700
Receptionists and information clerks
44,820
33,370
Executive secretaries and executive administrative assistants
23,080
59,080
Medical secretaries and administrative assistants
163,510
38,770
Secretaries and administrative assistants, except legal, medical, and executive
58,960
41,310
Office clerks, general
65,670
37,340
Installation, maintenance, and repair occupations
Maintenance and repair workers, general
33,580
46,670
Transportation and material moving occupations
Stockers and order fillers
23,970
35,880
Registered nurses had an annual mean wage of $79,400 in hospitals. Annual mean wages in hospitals were $56,840 for clinical laboratory technologists and technicians and $63,980 for radiologic technologists and technicians.
The largest healthcare support occupations in hospitals were nursing assistants (406,350) and medical assistants (107,780). These occupations had annual mean wages in hospitals of $32,550 and $37,170, respectively.
Of the nearly 6.1 million hospital jobs in May 2019, 56 percent were in healthcare practitioners and technical occupations, and an additional 13 percent were in healthcare support occupations.
The remaining 32 percent of hospital jobs were in occupations outside of the healthcare occupational groups. Some of these jobs had duties directly related to providing healthcare services, while others provided support services, such as building cleaning or food service.
These data are from the Occupational Employment Statistics program. To learn more, see data for hospitals. Estimates of occupational employment and wages for hospitals are available for private sector, state government, and local government ownership. For these and other data see OES Data.
United States Department of Labor
