Healthcare salaries on the rise

KANSAS CITY, KS – Healthcare salaries are increasing – at least for many of the most in-demand positions in the industry.

 

The recently released 2011 Compensation Data Healthcare survey focused on 250 industry-specific job titles and more than 350 benchmark titles ranging from entry-level to top executives. The results provide a comprehensive summary of pay data, benefit information and pay practices in 2011.

 

"While many industries are struggling to bring employment levels back to pre-recession numbers, the Bureau of Labor Statistics projects the number of jobs in the healthcare industry will increase by 22 percent between 2008 and 2018," said Amy Kaminski, director of marketing for Compdata Surveys, the organization that performed the survey. "With this kind of growth projected within the industry, employers are not only going to have to ensure compensation packages are competitive enough to attract new talent, but also ensure they are competitive enough to hold onto existing talent as well."

 

Compdata collected information from more than 1,100 healthcare employers reporting on nearly 5,300 locations across the country. Some of the findings were revelatory.

 

For instance, the average base salary for occupational therapists has increased from $65,600 in 2009 to $69,700 in 2011. This represents an increase of 6.3 percent. Physical therapy assistants have seen salary increases of nearly 6 percent since 2009, while EMTs have seen a spike in pay of 5.3 percent.

 

The pay for staff nurses has increase steadily, going from $55,300 in 2009 to $57,600 in 2011. Staff pharmacist salaries have risen from $106,200 to $111,400, an increase of 4.9 percent. Medical assistants, though in high demand, have seen pay increases of less than 1 percent since 2009.

 

Experience is key when it comes to the salary that a newly hired nurse receives, as well as the rate at which those salaries have increased. The average minimum hire-on pay for a staff nurse with five years of experience is $51,300, an increase of 1.2 percent since 2009. A nurse with 15 years of experience can expect to be hired on at a minimum of $60,900, up from $59,500 in 2009.

 

The minimum starting salary for a staff nurse with 25 years of experience increased from $62,300 in 2009 to $65,300 in 2011, an increase of 4.8 percent.