Nurse Employment |
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| The most current data from the U.S. Department of Labor lists registered nursing as the largest healthcare occupation. In 2003, there were more than 2.4 million registered nurse jobs in the U.S.
Based on the most recent Survey of Registered Nurses in California done in 2004, the RN workforce can be characterized as a maturing, middle-aged work force with an average age of 47.7 years. The average age of newly licensed nurses has also increased from 28.7 years in 1990 to 30.9 years in 2004.
Nurse jobs in the U.S. are typically found in hospitals, with three out of five RN jobs occurring in hospital settings. However, there are many employment opportunities outside of medical centers, including public health, home health, school health, academia, convalescent centers and prison nurse jobs. In addition to a wide spectrum of employment locations, nurse jobs in the U.S. also encompass a variety of specialty occupations, such as oncology, dermatology and pediatric nursing, among many others. |
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Salary of a Registered Nurse |
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The good news about nurse employment is that salaries have increased significantly. The average salary of a registered nurse does vary from state to state, as well as from region to region. However, the salary of a registered nurse is uniformly higher than the salaries of certified nurse aides, licensed practical/vocational nurses and nursing assistants. The chart below compares average salaries for various nursing professions in two California metropolitan areas, and nationwide. These averages include part-time workers (as many as one-fourth of all nursing professionals in the nation).
Certification |
Los Angeles |
San Francisco |
National |
Certified Nurse Aid (CNA) |
$27,380 |
$28,679 |
$24,022 |
Licensed Practical Nurse (LPN) |
n/a |
n/a |
$36,911 |
Licensed Vocational Nurse (LVN) |
$42,070 |
$44,066 |
n/a |
Registered Nurse (RN) |
$66,522 |
$69,675 |
$58,356 |
Nurse Practitioners (NP) |
$84,923 |
$88,949 |
$74,509 |
Nursing Assistant (NA) |
$28,744 |
$30,109 |
$25,219 |
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Registered Nursing Jobs |
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| According to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS), registered nursing jobs are expected to show the largest numeric growth of all professions between now and 2012, with a 27.3 percent increase. The BLS also predicts that by 2012, there will be 1.1 million registered nursing jobs available due to growth and vacancy rates.
In California, nurse to patient ratios have been implemented, meaning that there must be 1 licensed nurse (RN) for every 5 patients in an acute care hospital setting. While there has been some fear that hospitals would replace registered nursing jobs with less experienced (and therefore lower paid) LVNs, there continues to be an abundance of RN positions available throughout the state. |
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