CareJobs.Now Weekly

Welcome to CareJobs.Now Weekly, a short briefing on the American healthcare job market, for nurses, nursing assistants, therapists, techs, doctors and everyone who works in care. This is the episode for the week of October twentieth, 2026.

Every number in this show comes from the job boards of the hospitals, health systems, clinics and care companies that CareJobs.Now reads every day, with the pay each posting states.

First, the size of the market. As of this morning there are 320,522 healthcare jobs open across the employers we track, posted by 2,025 employers that are hiring right now. In the last week alone, since October fourteenth, 42,342 new jobs were added.

Nursing is still the biggest share by far. Registered nurses and licensed practical nurses account for 101,125 open jobs. Physical, occupational, speech and respiratory therapy come next with 41,318. Then mental health and social work with 21,598, radiology and imaging with 21,296, and physicians and surgeons with 21,091. Nursing assistants and patient care techs have 16,994 openings, and nurse practitioners and physician assistants have 15,190.

Now, pay. Across all of these jobs, the typical posted hourly pay runs from 25 to 75 dollars, and the median posted rate is 40 dollars an hour. That comes from 66,515 distinct hourly rates posted by 1,406 employers.

Here is how that breaks down for a few of the most common jobs. For registered nurses and LPNs, the typical posted range is 40 to 80 dollars an hour, with a median of 45. Therapists also sit at a median of 45 dollars. Imaging techs, 45 as well. Nurse practitioners and physician assistants post a median of 75 dollars an hour. Nursing assistants and patient care techs post a median of 20 dollars, medical assistants 25, and caregivers and home health aides 19.

One thing to keep in mind: these are the base rates employers put in the posting, before shift differentials, overtime and bonuses. And most jobs still do not say what they pay. Only about 30 percent of postings state a rate. Among nursing jobs, 72,412 of the 101,125 open right now give no hourly pay at all. If you are comparing offers, the jobs that do post pay are a useful benchmark when you negotiate the ones that do not.

That is the market this week. You can search every one of these jobs by job type, place, shift and pay at carejobs dot now, and you can sign up there for a free weekly email of new jobs that match what you do.

Thanks for listening to CareJobs.Now Weekly. We will be back next week with fresh numbers.