Registered nurses made up 30 percent of hospital employment in May 2019

Hospital employees are on the front lines of any health crisis. Registered nurses was by far the largest occupation in hospitals in May 2019, with over 1.8 million jobs, which was 30 percent of total hospital employment. After registered nurses, clinical laboratory technologists and technicians (with employment of 159,580) and radiologic technologists and technicians (125,310) were among the largest healthcare practitioners and technical occupations in hospitals.

Chart Image

Chart Data Employment and annual mean wages for the largest occupations in hospitals, May 2019 Occupation Employment Annual mean wage Management occupations Medical and health services managers 136,030 $123,930 Business and financial operations occupations Project management specialists and business operations specialists, all other 29,140 70,290 Computer and mathematical occupations Computer systems analysts 24,620 87,110 Life, physical, and social science occupations Medical scientists, except epidemiologists 22,760 87,680 Community and social service occupations Substance abuse, behavioral disorder, and mental health counselors 30,380 51,130 Healthcare social workers 50,430 65,600 Healthcare practitioners and technical occupations Dietitians and nutritionists 21,920 63,450 Pharmacists 82,050 127,210 Physician assistants 31,300 113,420 Occupational therapists 35,780 86,140 Physical therapists 64,840 91,250 Respiratory therapists 108,420 64,190 Registered nurses 1,816,170 79,400 Nurse practitioners 51,120 115,770 Physicians, all other; and ophthalmologists, except pediatric 121,370 176,830 Clinical laboratory technologists and technicians 159,580 56,840 Cardiovascular technologists and technicians 44,060 58,390 Diagnostic medical sonographers 44,420 75,930 Radiologic technologists and technicians 125,310 63,980 Magnetic resonance imaging technologists 23,100 73,470 Emergency medical technicians and paramedics 48,680 39,760 Pharmacy technicians 69,270 40,000 Psychiatric technicians 44,190 38,730 Surgical technologists 79,720 49,810 Licensed practical and licensed vocational nurses 102,570 46,790 Medical dosimetrists, medical records specialists, and health technologists and technicians, all other 122,000 49,330 Healthcare support occupations Home health and personal care aides 21,910 29,680 Nursing assistants 406,350 32,550 Orderlies 38,690 30,740 Psychiatric aides 26,560 35,080 Medical assistants 107,780 37,170 Medical equipment preparers 40,680 39,620 Phlebotomists 48,820 35,300 Healthcare support workers, all other 25,910 37,650 Protective service occupations Security guards 43,640 37,880 Food preparation and serving related occupations Cooks, institution and cafeteria 34,700 32,990 Food servers, nonrestaurant 46,460 29,940 Building and grounds cleaning and maintenance occupations Janitors and cleaners, except maids and housekeeping cleaners 77,890 30,690 Maids and housekeeping cleaners 101,080 30,390 Office and administrative support occupations First-line supervisors of office and administrative support workers 48,990 65,170 Billing and posting clerks 42,870 40,840 Customer service representatives 67,880 37,070 Interviewers, except eligibility and loan 76,310 36,700 Receptionists and information clerks 44,820 33,370 Executive secretaries and executive administrative assistants 23,080 59,080 Medical secretaries and administrative assistants 163,510 38,770 Secretaries and administrative assistants, except legal, medical, and executive 58,960 41,310 Office clerks, general 65,670 37,340 Installation, maintenance, and repair occupations Maintenance and repair workers, general 33,580 46,670 Transportation and material moving occupations Stockers and order fillers 23,970 35,880

Registered nurses had an annual mean wage of $79,400 in hospitals. Annual mean wages in hospitals were $56,840 for clinical laboratory technologists and technicians and $63,980 for radiologic technologists and technicians.

The largest healthcare support occupations in hospitals were nursing assistants (406,350) and medical assistants (107,780). These occupations had annual mean wages in hospitals of $32,550 and $37,170, respectively.

Of the nearly 6.1 million hospital jobs in May 2019, 56 percent were in healthcare practitioners and technical occupations, and an additional 13 percent were in healthcare support occupations.

The remaining 32 percent of hospital jobs were in occupations outside of the healthcare occupational groups. Some of these jobs had duties directly related to providing healthcare services, while others provided support services, such as building cleaning or food service.

These data are from the Occupational Employment Statistics program. To learn more, see data for hospitals. Estimates of occupational employment and wages for hospitals are available for private sector, state government, and local government ownership. For these and other data see OES Data.