MHA To Release 2025 Workforce Report

Staff Contact: Jill Williams

Tomorrow, MHA will release the 2025 Workforce Report. The report finds that vacancy and turnover rates among registered nurses — and within the hospital workforce broadly — continued to ease last year.

In 2024, nearly 4,200 R.N. positions, or 10.1%, were vacant for lack of qualified applicants. However, between 2023 and 2024, R.N. vacancies declined by 5.5% — a significant year-to-year decline. Nurse turnover remains high, with more than 5,900 nurses, or 16.1%, leaving their hospital in 2024. This was a slight decrease from 16.3% in 2023.

Several surveyed positions continued to experience high rates of turnover. Licensed Practical Nurses and Nurse Assistants — the latter of which include Patient Care Technicians, Certified Nurse Assistants and unlicensed assistive personnel — had similar or slightly higher vacancy rates than R.N.s. However, turnover rates for these positions were much higher, with Nurse Assistants at nearly 41%. Vacancy and turnover rates in these positions increase the pressure on the R.N. workforce. Similarly, environmental services and food service workers continue to have low vacancy rates and high turnover.

The report and associated assets are embargoed until 10 a.m. Tuesday, July 8. The report includes statewide and regional data from 127 hospitals and vacancy and turnover rates for 34 hospital- and clinic-based positions.

Information about the resources and programs MHA and partners are engaged in to attract, train and retain the workforce are available on MoHospitals.org. Questions about the report should be directed to Jill Williams, MHA's vice president of workforce development.