Healthcare Employers Plan to Increase Headcount Through the Second Half of 2008, According to CareerBuilder.com Midyear Employment Forecast

     - Industry Continues to Boast High Demand for Qualified Workers -



    CHICAGO, July 15 /EMWNews/ -- The hiring outlook for healthcare

employees remains positive for the second half of 2008, as 26 percent of

large healthcare employers (50 or more employees) are planning to increase

the number of full-time, permanent employees from July to December. This is

according to the CareerBuilder.com Midyear Employment Forecast conducted

from May 22 through June 13, 2008.



    Recognizing the rising demand for qualified workers in an industry that

adds north of 300,000 jobs annually, healthcare employees are keeping their

options open. While 16 percent of employees reported they were actively

looking for a new job, 86 percent of those who aren't say they would be

open to a switching to a new position if they came across the right

opportunity.



    "Attracting and retaining skilled workers in the healthcare industry

continues to pose serious challenges as an aging population fuels continued

job growth in key areas," said Jason Ferrara, vice president of Corporate

Marketing for CareerBuilder.com. "Sixty percent of healthcare employers,

the highest among all industries surveyed, report that they have open

positions for which they cannot find qualified talent."



    Due to this shortage of qualified healthcare workers, some employers

are hanging on to employees that may not be performing at optimal levels in

order to keep jobs occupied. In fact, 40 percent of healthcare employers

said they are retaining employees whom they normally wouldn't.



    In contrast, some healthcare employers are using the hiring slowdown to

enhance their workforce. Thirty-four percent of healthcare employers are

taking advantage of the tightened economy as an opportunity to replace

lower-performing employees with new top tier talent.



    One of the ways healthcare employers are appealing to in-demand workers

is by increasing employee salaries, as 63 percent of healthcare employers

say they plan on raising salaries in the second half of 2008 compared to

the first half.



    While increases in salaries by healthcare employers is a step in the

right direction (47 percent of healthcare workers say they are satisfied or

very satisfied with their pay), there are other areas that are of concern

to healthcare workers. They include:



    -- 55 percent of healthcare workers describe the workload as heavy or

too heavy



    -- 18 percent of healthcare workers are dissatisfied with their career

progress



    -- 22 percent of healthcare workers are dissatisfied with their

work/life balance



    CareerBuilder.com garners more than 12 million healthcare job searches

per month.



    Survey Methodology



    This survey was conducted online within the U.S. by Harris Interactive

on behalf of CareerBuilder.com among 257 healthcare hiring managers and

human resource professionals (employed full-time; not self-employed; with

at least significant involvement in hiring decisions; at companies with 50

or more employees); and 794 U.S. healthcare employees (employed full-time;

not self-employed; at companies with 50 or more employees); ages 18 and

over between May 22 and June 13, 2008, respectively (percentages for some

questions are based on a subset US Employers or Employees, based on their

responses to certain questions). With a pure probability sample of 257 and

794 one could say with a 95 percent probability that the overall results

have a sampling error of +/- 6.11 percentage points and +/- 3.48 percentage

points, respectively. Sampling error for data from sub-samples is higher

and varies.

    About CareerBuilder.com



    CareerBuilder.com is the nation's largest online job site with more

than 23 million unique visitors and over 1.6 million jobs. Owned by Gannett

Co., Inc. (NYSE: GCI), Tribune Company, The McClatchy Company (NYSE: MNI)

and Microsoft Corp. (Nasdaq: MSFT), the company offers a vast online and

print network to help job seekers connect with employers. CareerBuilder.com

powers the career centers for more than 1,600 partners, including 140

newspapers and leading portals such as America Online and MSN. More than

300,000 employers take advantage of CareerBuilder.com's easy job postings,

26 million-plus resumes, Diversity Channel and more. CareerBuilder.com and

its subsidiaries operate in the U.S., Europe, Canada and Asia. For more

information, visit http://www.careerbuilder.com.






     Media Contact:

     Allison Nawoj

     773-527-2437

     [email protected]