How is the job market for nursing where you live?

nurseprnRN, BSN, RN · May 24, 2012

i get the daily and sunday paper from the big northeast urban city nearby, and just for giggles i check out the ads every sunday. last week, five rn positions open, three supervisory (no new grads there), one requiring experience in psych for a locked unit, and one requiring cardiovascular-thoracic icu experience. nope, and nope. and this was the most i've seen in months. usually there are only one or two.

now, if i got the north dakota rural weekly, different story. i hear there're even hiring bonuses out there.

Double-Helix, BSN, RN · May 24, 2012

I live in northern New Jersey- an area that is saturated with nurses due to the high volume of nursing schools and the recent closures of several area hospitals.

When I was applying for positions as a new RN graduate, I sent out probably close to 100 applications. I received two interviews. Fortunately, I was offered the position at one of those interviews. (I had worked as a CNA for two years perviously.) The hospital where I work (one of the largest in the state) does not hire nurses with an Associates degree. A BSN is required. This is true for many area hospitals as well.

One large and reputable hospital in NJ specifically states on their website: Unfortunately, we currently do not have positions appropriate for new graduate nurses or nurses interested in re-entering or changing their career path to an acute care setting.

So they are stating plainly that they will not hire new graduate nurses or nurses without acute care experience.

It's not uncommon to hear stories from nurses in New Jersey who have been searching for jobs for months with not even one interview. There simply are too many nurses to go around.

I'd suggest looking in the state forum where you are living. The posts there will give you a better understanding of what the job market currently looks like for nurses in your specific location. Remember, though, that the job market and economy can change a lot in the four years it takes for you to graduate, so the way the market looks now is not necessarily what it will be like for you.

whitecat5000 · May 24, 2012

I think that they will always have need in rural areas.

I'm in Arizona and there are a significant number of new grad nursing jobs out here. You just have to know where/how to look. It's hard to get them because they are competitive.

There's also plenty of experienced positions available.

Thunda · May 25, 2012

i'm in mn, recent graduate, hired on the floor i did my intern hours on. i have worked as a cna for a few years there as well and was hired in a acute care floor, but i think the nurses i interned with went to bat for me so that's why i got the job

rn undisclosed name · May 25, 2012

I'm asking because I was just accepted into nursing school and I start in the fall. It will be for a BSN. I'm nervous because I have been reading numerous posts about how tough it has been for new grads to find nursing jobs. Every now and then there will be a lucky few who get several offers, but for most, it's a struggle.
So I'm curious
1. how tough is it/ was it to find a nursing job?
2. what kind of nurse are you? (CNA, PCT, LPN, RN 2 yr, RN 4 yr, ect)
3. which state do you live in?
I'm from Minnesota.

I've been a nurse for 6 years and things were so different when I graduated. I got offers everywhere I interviewed. It was really crazy. I've been in my current position for a little over a year. I didn't have a super hard time finding this job but it wasn't super easy either. I probably applied for 10 different positions and interviewed for 3 of them. 1 position I wasn't picked. Another position I was told in the interview an offer would be forthcoming. It took me over 1 month to get that offer. In the meantime I received an offer for my current position. Even though I had to take a cut in hours. I went from a 0.9 to 0.5 becuase they didn't have any full time positions. It was worth it because my previous place of employment was a very toxic environment. I am an RN and have my ADN and am currently working on my BSN. I live in Illinois. New grads are having a very hard time getting positions in this area. Many hospitals won't hire if you don't have BSN. They are in the process of doing restructuring in my deparment so some nurses are losing their current positions. There are less patients in the hospitals so it's really rough for hospital nurses.

allnurses Guide · May 25, 2012

It should be noted that CNAs and PCTs are not nurses. However, the job market for those positions is also very tight due to the tightness of the job market overall and the number of nursing students hoping to get a foot in the door prior to graduation.

In DFW the new graduate job market remains quite tight. There are jobs available that will take new grads and often pay moving expenses and/or sign on bonus in Texas in the rural areas (more than 1.5 hours outside of more dense population centers) and along the Texas/Mexico border. In other words, in places that are not considered by most to be a desirable place to live.

Best of luck.

allnurses Guide · May 25, 2012

I'm in Kentucky, and it's pretty bad here unless you want to run

for the hills! In other words, work in rural Eastern KY, another

rather undesirable location.

UTVOL3 · May 25, 2012

From what I've seen here, where I am temporarily (SW GA near Savannah) and home (NE TN) the larger hospitals have many openings posted almost every day. Smaller hospitals that are independent and not tied to a system, not much open and even doing some layoffs. I could find a job here pretty easily if I wanted to drive an hour to work. The more popular specialties, also, it seems are harder to break into. I was hired directly into NICU 7 years ago. It seems like now those more highly coveted positions are going to current employees seeking a transfer.

prettymica, ASN, BSN, MSN, LPN, RN, APRN, NP · May 25, 2012

1. Ga

2. LPN, doing 2 year RN bridge

3. So-so Depends on the area in Ga. Lots of places require experience and want BSN only applicants to apply. But with that being said I know of nurses with 30 years plus and cant find a job as well as new grads. I also noted that lots of rural areas here that have plenty of openings that are willing to train new grad, no so much in the city where I live.

exmil77 · May 25, 2012

1. Kansas City area.

2. LPN, working on bridge (slowly)

3. There are tons of jobs here. I see alot of open RN jobs when Im looking for PT LPN work. I have yet to apply for PT work and not hear back from every single place. I have 2 yrs of experience.

classicdame, MSN, EdD · May 25, 2012

TX

MSN

we are hiring some new grads, but not as many as are in the market. If you are willing to relocate you will have more opportunity

Also, by the time you finish school some of my age group (baby boomers) will be retiring.