Across most advanced economies, demand for health and care workers is expected to continue rising for decades. This is not simply a short-term labour shortage, but a structural workforce challenge driven by demographic change, chronic disease, and how health systems are evolving. (WHO)
Countries such as Australia, New Zealand, the United States, the United Kingdom, and Canada are experiencing these pressures as their populations age and health services expand beyond acute hospital care. (OECD)
Demographic Shifts Are Expanding Care Needs
As life expectancy rises, more people are living longer with multiple chronic conditions requiring ongoing support in homes, communities, and residential care — not only hospitals. This rise in chronic conditions and long-term care needs tends to increase demand for a wide range of health and care workers. (OECD)
At the same time, many practising health workers themselves are aging, meaning a larger share of the workforce will approach retirement age in coming years — a factor that, in some countries, compounds workforce pressure and contributes to continued hiring needs. (OECD) (WHO)
The combination of more people needing care and a workforce with ageing cohorts creates sustained demand for both clinical and support roles across health systems. (OECD)
Healthcare Is Expanding Beyond Hospitals
Health systems in many countries are shifting focus from exclusively hospital-based treatment toward:
Preventive care and early intervention
Community-based services and integrated care
Home care, aged care and long-term support
Mental health and rehabilitation services
This reflects broader policy priorities for improving health outcomes and managing costs, and expands workforce demand beyond traditional roles such as hospital-based doctors and nurses. (OECD)
These shifts create demand for workers across settings, including residential aged care, community health services, and home-based support. (OECD)
Technology Is Expanding Roles in Health Care
Advances in digital health, telehealth, diagnostics, electronic records, and data systems are expanding how care is delivered and creating new roles that require a mix of clinical, technical, and administrative skills. OECD analysis indicates that, in health care, technological change is more often linked to new tasks and skills than to reductions in workforce demand. (OECD)
Workforce Policies Are Expanding Capacity
Many governments are introducing policies aimed at strengthening the health workforce in response to persistent shortages. These commonly include:
Training incentives and expanded education pathways
Migration pathways and faster credential recognition for internationally trained workers
Programs to improve retention, working conditions, and workforce participation
These actions form part of broader international efforts to build longer-term workforce capacity where gaps are already affecting service delivery.
(OECD) (International Labour Organization)
Which Roles Are Seeing the Strongest Growth?
High-Skill Health Professionals
There continues to be strong ongoing demand for highly skilled clinical roles, including:
Nurses and midwives
Medical doctors and specialists
Allied health professionals (e.g. physical therapists/physiotherapists, occupational therapists, speech pathologists)
Mental health professionals
These roles are central to managing ageing populations, chronic disease, and expanded preventive and rehabilitative services in most health systems. (OECD)
Technical, Administrative and Support Health Roles
Employment in many technical and health support occupations has grown as systems expand services:
Medical and laboratory technicians
Imaging and pharmacy technicians
Health administrators and case managers
Community health workers
Growth in these roles supports broader care delivery, data flow, system management, and patient-facing diagnostic and treatment services. (OECD) (bhw)
Care and Support Workers
Some of the fastest growth in absolute numbers is seen in care and support roles, particularly in long-term and home care:
Aged care workers
Home care aides and personal care assistants
Patient support and care coordination staff
This aligns with rising needs for assistance outside hospital settings, especially among older adults and people living with chronic conditions. (OECD)
Where Is Demand Strongest?
Demand for health and care workers is often especially high in:
Rural and regional areas with workforce shortages
Underserved or vulnerable communities
Countries with rapidly ageing populations
Regions actively supporting skilled migration for health professionals
Locations expanding health infrastructure and services
In many systems, opportunities are expanding beyond major metropolitan hospitals into community-based and primary care delivery settings. (OECD) (WHO)
The Key Takeaway
Ageing populations, rising chronic disease, workforce retirements, and the expansion of community, preventive, and long-term care services are contributing to ongoing job opportunities for health and care workers across many countries.
Continued demand for workers across professional, technical, and support roles throughout the health and care system is expected over the long term, prompting targeted workforce policies, expanded training pathways, and strategies to strengthen retention and working conditions. (OECD).
