Travel Jobs: Top 10 States for June, July Market Predictions
In our June traveler job market predictions, we talked about the “summer stall”—less new job postings, more competition for every job and more interest in atypical summer job states. Based on StaffDNA job board data, two of our predictions were on target. Job application volume increase by nearly 20 percent from May to June, marking the most active month since January. What we didn’t expect was for supply to match pace with demand. Hospital systems in many states, including popular summer destinations like California and Virginia, bounced back after the late-May and early-June slump. Part of this can be linked to vacation plans for permanent hospital staff, according to travel agency sales staff sources. As the regular staff takes off for the summer or cuts back on hours, that provides opportunities for travelers to fill the gaps. We expect for this market momentum to stay strong in July, as travelers who took time off in June will be planning ahead for the start of the school season in August or to find a fall contract in September. The back-to-school rush marks a yearly milestone for many travelers with children or grandchildren. They will typically take a break during the summer for childcare, and return to hospitals once the kids are back in school. “The experienced travelers know it can take four to six weeks to find and start a job, so they start the search for an agency and position mid-summer,” said Kate Quinn of LiquidAgents Healthcare. Let’s take a look at what we learned from our top markets for June. Rankings barely shift as travelers settle in for the summer While April and May saw a lot of “movement” in terms of where healthcare travelers applied across the country, ranking shifts were much more conservative in June, despite the high application volume. Most states moved up or down the list by 5 ranks or less, and five states—North Carolina, Pennsylvania, Nevada, Wisconsin and Washington—didn’t move at all. We expect the list to remain mostly stable for July, August and potentially in early fall, as traveler won’t start making big moves until we get closer to the holiday season. Michigan, Missouri, Virginia enter the Top 10 For the first time this year, Missouri joined the likes of Texas, California and Florida in the top 10, moving up two spots from May to No. 9. Virginia moved back up as anticipated, jumping up five ranks to No. 10 on the list. The state is both a top travel destination for summer 2018 and one of the top five highest paying travel nurse states in the U.S. Montana, Wyoming climb the charts; Connecticut drops to dead last Montana and Wyoming both moved up seven ranks to take the No. 41 and 42 slots, respectively, while Connecticut dropped 16 spots to the bottom of our list. Connecticut has consistently ranked in the bottom half of the list for job board applications. It’s also one of the most expensive states to work in as a traveler because of the high regional cost of living and low average pay packages. Interest in Maine uncertain as Medicaid expansion remains in flux Enrollment for the voter-approved Medicaid expansion was supposed to roll out on July 2, which would have provided a $500 million shot in the arm for healthcare funding in the state and coverage for more than 70,000 eligible recipients. Pending litigation surrounding the expansion has left the issue in limbo. A Maine judge forced Gov. Paul LePage to submit an expansion plan to the federal government by June 11, but LePage’s administration submitted an appeal for the ruling. While the appeal is pending, LePage also vetoed the expansion bill this week. Because of the political turmoil, it’s uncertain whether the expansion will have an impact on the Maine traveler job market as expected. June’s Top Markets Florida California Texas North Carolina Georgia South Carolina Michigan Pennsylvania Missouri Virginia Illinois Indiana Kentucky Tennessee Arkansas Arizona Nevada Idaho Oklahoma Iowa Wisconsin West Virginia New Mexico Maine Oregon Colorado Washington Hawaii Ohio Alabama Louisiana Maryland Mississippi New Jersey Alaska Utah Kansas Montana Wyoming Minnesota Massachusetts North Dakota New York District of Columbia Delaware Nebraska New Hampshire Rhode Island South Dakota Vermont Connecticut
Compact License Update: Kansas Makes Progress; Low Demand for Wyoming Licenses
The Kansas legislature has moved quickly on HB 2496 in the past two weeks, meaning Kansas could join the 29 other states in the enhanced Nursing Licensure Compact as early as next year. The bill was introduced to the House on Jan. 17 and promptly moved to the Committee on Health and Human Services the next day. After a small amendment bumping up the implementation date, the bill passed the House with almost unanimous support last Thursday. The Senate pushed the bill to the Committee on Public Health and Welfare this week, and legislators will resume session after the weekend. If the bill passes, Kansas nurses could potentially obtain new compact nursing licenses by January 1, 2019, according to the bill supplement. Kansas is one of seven states attempting to pass legislation to join the eNLC, which went into effect on Jan. 19 this year. The other states are Illinois, Michigan, Massachusetts, New York, New Jersey, Rhode Island and Vermont. Wyoming: Low demand makes for easy eNLC transition Wyoming’s had an easier time addressing multi-state license demand compared to the others as one of the five new states to join the compact, Jennifer Burns, practice and education consultant for the Wyoming State Board of Nursing, said there have been less than 100 applications for new compact nursing licenses or upgrades from normal licenses. There are approximately 13,000 registered nurses and 1,100 licensed professional nurses in the state as of December 2017. “We’re a small state in number of licensees,” Burns said. “We’re not seeing any delays in processing applications. We were well prepared. To be honest, most of our home-state nurses like to live in the communities where they work.” Despite the low numbers, Burns said the state still sees traffic from travelers on a fairly consistent basis. Wyoming jumped significantly in the rankings for most applications submitted from travelers by state for February, moving from the 45th most popular state to the 37th, according to StaffDNA data. “I don’t know if there will be an increase in opportunity for travel nurses, but it will certainly decrease the time it takes for travelers (with compact nursing licenses) to come here,” Burns said. “A lot of travelers come to our state, so there’s the benefit of that for us being a part of the eNLC.”
The eNLC: How To Get A New Compact Nursing License
The National Council of State Boards of Nursing implemented the enhanced Nursing Licensure Compact on January 19 this year. On that day, five new states joined the compact. For those who already had compact nursing licenses that means you now have five more states where you can practice without having to get an in-state license: Florida, Georgia, Oklahoma, West Virginia, and Wyoming. For nurses with single state licenses in those five states, compact nursing licenses are now available. In almost every state, acquiring one starts with the same two things. The nurse must meet the new uniform licensure requirements (including completing a criminal background check) and have a proof of residency. Florida Florida is charging nurses with current active licenses $100 to convert to a multi-state license, a fee that seems to be middle of the road. The board will accept fingerprints done within the last 90 days when applying for a license upgrade. Fingerprints older than that will have to be redone. Florida nurses ready to apply can do so online through the state board’s website. The state board has also created a list of frequently asked questions for Florida nurses who want to know more. Georgia In addition to requiring proof of residency, Georgia requires applicants for a multi-state license to be fingerprinted for a background check through the COGENT Systems at least 48 hours before applying. The state board also reminds applicants that they can not leave fields on the application blank, that they need to download and complete the GBON Criminal Background Check Release Form to submit with their application, that they should enroll in e-Notify at nursys.com, and to include an accurate email address so that they can communicate with the board about their application. More information is available on the Georgia Board of Nursing website. Oklahoma Oklahoma is charging nurses with an existing license a $150 fee to transition to a new multi-state license. You can download the forms needed to verify Oklahoma as your state of residence from the state board website. You can also apply for a multi-state license online. West Virginia West Virginia has been accepting applications for a multi-state license since November. The process for West Virginia nurses is four steps and explained in more detail in a flow chart on the state nursing board’s website. West Virginia has by far the lowest fee for transitioning a license, approximately just $7, assuming the nurse has already paid for a license renewal for this year. After the fee has been paid, nurses should save their receipt. It indicates their application is pending board approval. Nurses interested in applying for a multi-state license must schedule an appointment to submit fingerprints for a state and federal background check with identtogo.com. An application for a multi-state license can be completed on the state board website. Since West Virginia has two separate nursing boards for registered and licensed practical nurses, LPNs need to visit a different website. Wyoming Wyoming nurses will need to pay $85 in fees to transition their license to a multi-state. Like the other states, an application is available on the state board website.