Outplacement for healthcare layoffs
Healthcare is growing overall while systems cut administrative, IT and leadership roles. Reemployment data, where clinical and non-clinical staff land, and the licensure issues a healthcare reduction in force raises.
Ian Schrup, IAR, Director of Operations · Published
What should outplacement for a healthcare layoff include?
Two tracks. Healthcare employment keeps growing, up 371,800 jobs in the year to September 2026, but cuts concentrate in administrative, IT, revenue-cycle and leadership roles, according to Becker's Hospital Review. Clinicians usually move to another care setting quickly; administrators often have to move outward. Health services outside hospitals had the highest reemployment rate of any industry in the latest BLS survey, 84.5%. For clinicians, the plan has to account for state licensure.
What healthcare layoffs look like now
- 37,417 announced cuts at health care and products companies in January to September 2026, down 6% from 39,917 a year earlier; 50,325 in 2025. Pharmaceutical companies, tracked separately, announced 15,472. (Challenger, Gray & Christmas)
- Healthcare employment grew from 18.18 million in September 2025 to 18.55 million in September 2026 (preliminary). Hospitals added 108,100. (US Bureau of Labor Statistics)
- Layoffs and discharges in health care and social assistance were 199,000 in August 2026 (preliminary), a 0.8% rate, below the 1.2% private-sector rate. (US Bureau of Labor Statistics)
- Becker's Hospital Review counted 45 hospitals and health systems announcing workforce reductions in January to July 2026, against 59 a year earlier, mostly in leadership, administrative and back-office roles. (Becker's Hospital Review)
Announced cuts are employers' plans, not completed layoffs. Payroll and turnover figures for the latest months are preliminary and get revised.
How many displaced healthcare workers find new jobs?
| Industry of the lost job | Reemployed | Unemployed | Reemployed, Jan 2024 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Health care and social assistance | 77.1% | 14.5% | 69.2% |
| Health services except hospitals | 84.5% | 12.5% | Not published |
| All industries | 66.1% | 18.3% | 65.7% |
BLS doesn't publish a hospital-only rate; the sample was too small. Source: BLS Displaced Workers Survey, January 2026 and January 2024. Industry samples are small, so read the rates as approximate.
Where healthcare skills transfer
- Registered nurses. About 3.5 million jobs. Hospitals employ 59%, ambulatory care 19%, nursing and residential care 6% and government 5%: a hospital nurse has outpatient settings to move to. Projected growth 6% over 2025 to 2035. (US Bureau of Labor Statistics)
- Clinical growth. Healthcare and social assistance is projected to add more than 2.2 million jobs, about 37% of all new US jobs, over 2025 to 2035. Nurse practitioners are the fastest-growing detailed occupation, at 41.0%. (US Bureau of Labor Statistics)
What makes a healthcare reduction in force different
Licenses are issued by states
Registered nurses need a license from the state where they work. The Nurse Licensure Compact lists 43 member jurisdictions, but advanced practice nurses and most other clinicians still need state-by-state licenses. A search across state lines starts with the license. (National Council of State Boards of Nursing)
Clinicians and administrators need different searches
Cuts fall mostly on administrative and IT roles while clinical demand grows. An outplacement program built for one group fits the other badly. (Becker's Hospital Review)
Non-competes for physicians vary by state
Minnesota voids non-competes in employment agreements (Minn. Stat. 181.988). Other states limit them for physicians or allow them. Check before the separation agreement references one. (Minnesota Office of the Revisor of Statutes)
How we run outplacement for healthcare
- Separate coaching tracks for clinical and non-clinical staff.
- Licensure and credentialing timing built into the search plan for clinicians moving states or settings.
- For administrators and IT staff, target lists that reach payers, health tech and other industries.
- Programs running within 48 hours, coaching across the US, and live reporting for HR.
For the reduction itself, see planning a reduction in force, the WARN notice check and the total cost calculator. For how long support should run, see program length by level. For choosing a provider, see the questions to ask every provider.
Questions HR leaders ask
Are hospitals laying off workers in 2026?
Fewer than in 2025. Becker's Hospital Review counted 45 hospitals and health systems announcing reductions in January to July 2026, against 59 a year earlier, mostly in leadership, administrative and back-office roles. Total healthcare employment grew by 371,800 jobs in the year to September 2026 (BLS, preliminary).
How quickly do laid-off healthcare workers find new jobs?
Faster than most. In the BLS January 2026 survey, 77.1% of long-tenured displaced workers from health care and social assistance were working again, and 84.5% from health services outside hospitals, against 66.1% across all industries.
General information, not legal advice. Confirm legal points with employment and immigration counsel.
Sources
- Job Cut Announcement Report, September 2026, Challenger, Gray & Christmas. Accessed October 30, 2026.
- Job Cut Announcement Report, December 2025 and year-end, Challenger, Gray & Christmas. Accessed October 30, 2026.
- Employment Situation, Table B-1: employees on nonfarm payrolls by industry (September 2026, preliminary), US Bureau of Labor Statistics. Accessed October 30, 2026.
- Job Openings and Labor Turnover, Table 5: layoffs and discharges by industry (August 2026, preliminary), US Bureau of Labor Statistics. Accessed October 30, 2026.
- 2026 hospital layoffs: less frequent, not as deep, Becker's Hospital Review. Accessed October 30, 2026.
- Worker Displacement: 2023-2025, Table 4 (released August 27, 2026), US Bureau of Labor Statistics. Accessed October 30, 2026.
- Worker Displacement: 2021-2023 (released August 29, 2024), US Bureau of Labor Statistics. Accessed October 30, 2026.
- Occupational Outlook Handbook: Registered Nurses, US Bureau of Labor Statistics. Accessed October 30, 2026.
- Employment Projections 2025-2035 (released August 27, 2026), US Bureau of Labor Statistics. Accessed October 30, 2026.
- Nurse Licensure Compact, National Council of State Boards of Nursing. Accessed October 30, 2026.
- Minnesota Statutes, section 181.988, Covenants not to compete void, Minnesota Office of the Revisor of Statutes. Accessed October 30, 2026.
Planning a healthcare reduction in force?
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