After applying weights to each response, the total number of licensed RNs living and working in the United States was estimated to be 2,909,467 [1] as of March 2004 (the latest available data), an increase of 7.9 percent or 212,927 above the 2,696,540 licensed RNs estimated in 2000. This increase is higher than the 5.2 percent increase reported between 1996 and 2000 when the RN population increased by 137,666, but lower than the estimated 14.2 percent or 319,058 increase between 1992 and 1996, which was the highest rate of growth since 1980.

The Registered Nurse Workforce
Of the total licensed RN population in March 2004, 83.2 percent (an estimated 2,421,461) were employed in nursing in 2004 and 16.8 percent were not employed in nursing in 2004. This estimate of the number employed in nursing represents an increase of 219,647 RNs (10 percent) over the projected 2,201,813 RNs employed in nursing in 2000.


Of the total estimated population of nurses in 2004, 58.3 percent (1,696,916) were working full-time, almost 25 percent (724,544) were working part-time in 2004, and 16.8 percent were not employed in nursing. Although the number of nurses working full-time has increased from 1,510,318 in 1996 to 1,696,916 in 2004, the change in the number and percent of nurses working full-time from 2000 to 2004 was slight (120,241 more nurses working full-time in 2004, a decrease from 58.5 to 58.3 percent in the number of full-time nurses). From 2000 to 2004 there was a slight increase in the number of nurses working part-time (an estimated increase of 95,141 part-time nurses or an increase from 23.2 to 24.8 percent). The change in the number of nurses not employed in nursing was negligible.

Read the report with details on education preparation, employment settings and other details at: http://bhpr.hrsa.gov/healthworkforce/reports/rnpopulation/preliminaryfindings.htm

Back to HCB News