Spritzler gets into the nursing home racket.

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Nursing homes' staffing rebound

By Maya Goldman, Axios News

June 17, 2026

A line chart that tracks monthly U.S. nursing home and residential facility staffing from January 2016 to May 2026. Staffing rose from 3.3 million in January 2016 to 3.49 million in May 2026. It fell to about 2.97 million in November 2021, then climbed steadily through 2026.

Data: Bureau of Labor Statistics;

Nursing home staffing levels have mostly bounced back to pre-pandemic levels after cratering during the health emergency.

Why it matters: The nursing home industry pointed to staffing shortages and difficulty hiring new workers in its successful fight against the Biden administration's first-ever minimum staffing requirements.

But aging baby boomers and Trump administration immigration policies could soon reverse the tide and leave the industry dealing with more demand for care than it can handle.

State of play: Nursing and residential care facilities across the country employed about 3.49 million people as of May, according to preliminary federal data, up from 2.96 million at the industry's lowest point in January 2022.

More granular federal data shows that among nursing homes specifically there are only 1,400 fewer staff employed today than in February 2020.

Nursing homes lost more staff during the pandemic than any other health sector, and staffing shortages also contributed to the loss of available beds between 2019 and 2024.

Zoom in: The industry has doubled down on developing incentive programs and career ladders to attract people to long-term care work.

"I'm super excited when I go around the country and see the improvement not only on recruitment but on retention," said Clif Porter, CEO of the nursing home trade group American Health Care Association/National Center for Assisted Living.

Case in point: Arkansas' state nursing home association has opened its own accredited educational programs for nursing home staff to earn higher certifications and degrees that are tuition-free. It's allowing enrollees to work while attending school.

The intrigue: AI's effects on the labor market may also be boosting interest in nursing home jobs. Algorithms can't replace a live caregiver lifting a patient and moving them from the bed to the shower, Porter told Axios.