Hospital wage inflation slows

Editor's Note

Data from Fitch Ratings indicates hospital wage inflation is “leveling off,” Becker’s Hospital Review reported September 9, calling the report “good news” amid continued payroll increases and labor shortages.

According to Becker's, key takeaways of the data include:

• Year-over-year average hourly earnings growth for hospital employees dropped 3% this year.
• For ambulatory healthcare services employees, year-over-year wages grew 3.4%.
• Hospital payrolls have increased for 32 consecutive months, by 6.7% since February 2020.
• Hospital job growth averaged 18,650 per month from September 2023 to August 2024.
• The number of healthcare workers quitting dropped to 2.4% from a high point of 2.9% in May 2023.