Department of Economics, Fordham University, 113 West 60th Street, New York, NY, 10023, USA.
Hum Resour Health. 2021 Aug 28;19(1):105. doi: 10.1186/s12960-021-00647-3.
Healthcare has been identified as a job engine during recent recessions in the U.S. Whether the healthcare sector provides better than average pay remains a question. This study investigates if wages grew with the expanding demand for healthcare workers between 2001 and 2017. Wage growth in the (1) physicians and surgeons, (2) nurse, (3) healthcare practitioner and technical, (4) healthcare support, and (5) direct patient care jobs are examined. The gender pay gap in each occupation is investigated.
The American Community Survey (ACS) public use microdata sample (PUMS) for 2001, 2004, 2008, 2013, and 2017 were used to derive hourly wages for full-time, full-year workers aged 18-75. The cumulative percent change in unadjusted, median hourly wages between 2001 and 2017 was calculated for each occupation. Quantile regression estimates predicted a median hourly wage for men and women by year and job after adjusting for differences in demographics, industry, and hours worked.
Unadjusted median wage growth was 9.92% for nurses, 5.68% for healthcare practitioners, and 37.6% for physicians between 2001 and 2017. These rates are roughly above the estimated national rate of wage growth at the 50th wage percentile. In healthcare support and direct patient care occupations, workers experienced either stagnant or negative wage growth. Women had lower occupational wages than men.
The slow or negative median wage growth in all but the physician occupation between 2004-2008 and 2008-2013 confirms that healthcare wages in the U.S. are not recession-proof, unlike healthcare employment. Generally, women's earnings grew at rates that were higher or less negative than rates for men. This trend contributed to narrowing the gender pay gap in every occupation except for nurse.
在美国最近的经济衰退期间，医疗保健被认为是就业引擎。医疗保健部门的薪酬是否高于平均水平仍是一个问题。本研究调查了 2001 年至 2017 年间，随着对医疗保健工作者需求的扩大，工资是否有所增长。调查了（1）医生和外科医生、（2）护士、（3）医疗保健从业者和技术人员、（4）医疗保健支持人员和（5）直接病人护理人员的工资增长情况。调查了每个职业的性别薪酬差距。
使用 2001 年、2004 年、2008 年、2013 年和 2017 年的美国社区调查（ACS）公共使用微数据样本（PUMS），得出了 18-75 岁全职、全职工人的小时工资。计算了每个职业在 2001 年至 2017 年期间未经调整的中位数小时工资的累计百分比变化。在调整了人口统计、行业和工作时间差异后，使用分位数回归估计预测了男性和女性的中位数小时工资。
2001 年至 2017 年期间，护士的未经调整的中位数工资增长率为 9.92%，医疗保健从业者为 5.68%，医生为 37.6%。这些增长率略高于第 50 个工资百分位的全国工资增长率估计值。在医疗保健支持和直接病人护理职业中，工人的工资要么停滞不前，要么负增长。女性的职业工资低于男性。
2004-2008 年和 2008-2013 年期间，除医生职业外，所有职业的中位数工资增长都较为缓慢或为负，这证实了与医疗保健就业不同，美国的医疗保健工资并非在经济衰退期间有保障。一般来说，女性的收入增长速度高于或低于男性，这一趋势缩小了除护士以外的所有职业的性别薪酬差距。
