Locum Tenens Staffing Market Size, Share, and Trends 2024 to 2034

Locum Tenens Staffing Market Size to Surpass USD 19.74 Bn by 2034

The global locum tenens staffing market size was USD 8.83 billion in 2023, calculated at USD 9.5 billion in 2024 and is expected to reach around USD 19.74 billion by 2034, expanding at a CAGR of 7.59% from 2024 to 2034. The North America locum tenens staffing market size reached USD 4.68 billion in 2023. The shortage of healthcare professionals compared to healthcare facilities is driving the growth of the market.

Locum Tenens Staffing Market Key Takeaways

• North America dominated the market with the largest revenue share of 53% in 2023.
• Asia Pacific is expected to grow at the fastest rate during the forecast period.
• By type, the physician segment dominated the market with the largest share of the market in 2023.
• By specialty, the primary care segment dominated the market in 2023.
• By end-use, the hospital segment has generated the largest revenue share of 41% in 2023.

U.S. Locum Tenens Staffing Market Size and Growth 2024 to 2034

The U.S. locum tenens staffing market size was exhibited at USD 3.51 billion in 2023 and is projected to be worth around USD 7.97 billion by 2034, poised to grow at a CAGR of 7.74% from 2024 to 2034.

North America dominated the locum tenens staffing market fwith the largest share in 2023. The growth of the market in the region is attributed to the presence of the well-developed healthcare infrastructure that drives the demand for healthcare professionals, which drives the demand for locum tenens staffing solutions to fulfill the demand for healthcare workers in hospitals and other healthcare facilities temporarily. The increasing number of the elderly population and the disease rate in regional countries like the United States and Canada drive the demand for medical professionals like general physicians, specialty doctors, nurses, and other hospital staff, which majorly contributes to the expansion of the locum tenens market across the regional healthcare industry.

• As per the United States Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS), the employment rate of physicians increased by 3% between 2022 and 2032. The number of employees was at 757,400 in 2022, which is anticipated to increase to 780,900 in 2032.
• According to the latest reports published by the United States Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS), healthcare employment increased by 40,900 jobs in August 2023.

Asia Pacific is expected to have significant growth during the forecast period. The growth of the market in the region is rapidly evolving due to the continuously rising population in regional countries like India and China, which are one of the most densely populated countries in the world. The rising population and geriatric population are anticipated to contribute to the growth rate of several diseases and drive the demand for healthcare facilities and professionals. The higher presence of the underserved areas in terms of healthcare and the shortage of skilled healthcare professionals in the hospital are driving the growth of the locum tenens staffing market in the region.

Market Overview

Locum tenens staffing is one of the staffing solutions acquired by the healthcare industry. This is an efficient method of filling the temporary position of regular healthcare professionals in hospitals. The locum tenens staffing was mainly developed to fulfill the demand for healthcare professionals in remote and underserved areas; the method fulfills the gap of a wide range of temporary staffing solutions in the healthcare industry.

The hourly wages of temporary healthcare professionals are comparatively higher than those of full-time employees. These types of temporary roles can range from a few days to months, depending on the requirements and flexibility. Locum tenens have some benefits, such as schedule flexibility and travel opportunities to various cities as per the demand, and they help with wide networking and professional growth. The rising shortage of healthcare professionals is boosting the growth of the locum tenens staffing market.

Locum Tenens Staffing Market Growth Factors

• The rising global population tends to the rising penetration of several disease and illnesses among the population drives the demand for healthcare institutes and healthcare professionals like doctors, nursing staff, and others, which is anticipated to drive the growth of the market.
• The rising development in healthcare institutes like multispecialty hospitals, clinics, and other healthcare institutes drives the demand for healthcare professionals, and there is a shortage of skilled and trained healthcare professionals that is driving the growth of the market.
• The rising geriatric population in regions like Asia Pacific, Europe, and North America is more likely to be affected by the number of chronic diseases and the requirement for urgent treatment and care, which drives the demand for locum tenens staffing market.
• Locum tenens are gaining traction in the healthcare industry due to their beneficial properties, such as allowing to fulfill the vacant position of healthcare professionals on a temporary basis in the place of regular staff members who are on leave, enables to work, and due to other priorities.
• These staffing processes streamline the workflow of healthcare institutes like hospitals, clinics, and others in the absence of regular staff of the hospitals or regular healthcare professionals, drive the adoption of the locum tenens staffing solution by the healthcare industry, and drive the growth of the locum tenens staffing market.

Market Scope

Market Dynamics

Drivers

The rise in the healthcare industry

The rising global population and the rising geriatric population around the world are driving the demand for an efficient healthcare industry and healthcare professionals to cater to the demand for medical services. The rise in chronic illnesses and diseases in the population is driving the demand for specialized healthcare professionals to diagnose and treat diseases.

The rising investment in the healthcare infrastructure and specialized clinics and hospitals cater to the demand for healthcare services to the rising number of patients. The rising healthcare development is driving the demand for medical professionals. Locum staffing helps fill the gap between expert professionals and medical institutes and helps in the smooth staffing and recruitment process. Thus, the rising number of healthcare facilities is contributing to the growth of the locum tenens staffing market.

The rise in telemedicine

The increasing demand for healthcare professionals in underserved areas and the integration of digitization into the healthcare industry are contributing to the evolution of telemedicine. Telemedicine and locum tenens are recent advancements that cater to the rising demand of the healthcare industry. Telemedicine is beneficial to providing healthcare or medical facilities in remote areas. This allows healthcare workers to have flexible working hours to treat patients from anywhere.

The increasing adoption of locum tenens in telemedicine is significantly impacting the future potential in the growth of the healthcare industry with the reduced cost of services, flexible working hours, and accessible services. Thus, the integration of telemedicine in the locum tenens is fueling the growth of the locum tenens staffing market.

Restraint

Employment risk

The uncertainty and the job risk are always associated with the locum tenens staffing solution due to its temporary filling of vacant places for regular healthcare professionals. These will limit the growth of the locum tenens staffing market. Additionally, locum tenens staffing employees are low paid as compared to the regular employees, so they are paid as per the working hours, which may fluctuate the income as per the demand or shift every month. The irregular working schedule hampers healthcare professionals' work-life balance and financial regularities and hampers the growth of the locum tenens staffing market.

Opportunities

Technological integration in the locum tenens staffing process

The technological adoption of locum tenens is driving advancements in the growth of the locum tenens staffing market. Technologies are helping in revolutionizing the staffing and hiring process. Emerging opportunities like digital job platforms for locum tenants help simplify the staffing process. Additionally, there are advancements like remote work and telehealth, electronic health records (EHRs), mobile health apps and remote monitoring, virtual reality training and simulation, AI in clinical decision support, cloud-based collaboration platforms, and patient engagement and communication tools. These are some of the technological advancements in the locum tenens staffing solutions that are fueling the growth of the locum tenens staffing market.

Expanding global opportunities for healthcare professionals

The locum tenens staffing solutions, expanding their services worldwide by presenting global opportunities for healthcare workers to work with different working cultures, healthcare systems, and settings. It also helps in catering to global health challenges, such as assisting medical services in underdeveloped countries and regions. With the services in the underserved areas, locum tenens professionals contributed to enhancing their healthcare facilities and quality of life.

Type Insights

The physician segment dominated the market with the largest share of the locum tenens staffing market in 2023. The locum tenens are preferably staffing the skilled and trained physicians due to the higher demand for specialty and general physicians in the healthcare facilities by the patients for treatment and diagnosis. Physicians are the most educated, trained, and specialized in the various areas of specialized skills that makes them highly preferable and demanded professionals in the healthcare industry.

The physicians are able to perform the various complexities in the treatment, diagnostics, and patient outcomes. Physicians are allowed to practice in a wide range of healthcare facilities, such as emergency medicine, primary care, specialty care, and psychiatry, which makes them highly demanded in healthcare settings.

Specialty Insights

The primary care segment dominated the locum tenens staffing market in 2023. The growth of primary care in the locum tenens staffing is owing to the increased flexibility in working hours and increased work-life balance. Primary care locum tenens enable practitioners and physicians to choose their own work schedules. Locum tenens primarily focuses on the staffing of healthcare professionals for primary care. Locum tenens staffing and fills the gap between healthcare professionals in healthcare settings. Additionally, the rising development of primary care healthcare facilities drives the demand for physicians and practitioners, which drives the growth of the locum tenens staffing market.

The rising demand for primary care providers by healthcare institutes due to the rising penetration of chronic illness into the population, especially the rising elderly population that is more likely to get affected by chronic diseases, is driving the demand for primary care practitioners for better healthcare management. The primary care provider is efficient for better disease management, a high level of satisfaction, and lower overall health costs. Primary care providers generally include family practices, internal medicine, gynecology, pediatrics, and obstetrics.

• Instances: In 2022, there are about 270,660 NPs (Nurse Professionals) delivering primary care and 26,455 PAs (physician assistants) working on primary care in the United States. It is anticipated that there will be a shortage of 68,020 full-time equivalent (FTE) primary care physicians by 2036, majorly in the non-metro areas of the United States.

End-Use Insights

The hospitals segment dominated the locum tenens staffing market in 2023. The rising demand for locum tenens staffing solutions in a wide range of hospital settings is boosting the growth of the market.

The hospitals provide a number of healthcare facilities such as specialty care, general treatment, surgeries, and others that drive the demand for the specialized workforce. Locum Tenens staffing provides specialized trained professionals to provide care for the complexities of intensive care units, emergency medicines, and surgeries. Locum tenens staffing solution is one of the most efficient methods of staffing in hospitals.

Locum Tenens Staffing Market Companies

• AMN Healthcare
• Aya Healthcare, Inc.
• CHG Management, Inc.
• Locumpedia
• locumTenens.com
• Maxim Healthcare Group
• Medicus Healthcare Solutions
• The Delta Companies
• ViSTA Staffing Solutions
• Weatherby Healthcare

Recent Developments

• In May 2024, SHG Healthcare, commonly known as SHG Health, a leading player in healthcare staffing, revolutionalized the landscape of locum tenens with the launch of innovative solutions that strongly focus on filling the gap between the specialized physicians or healthcare professionals and major healthcare institutes.
• In November 2023, Aya Healthcare, a leading digital staffing company, acquired Winnow AI to enhance its physician recruitment capabilities in the shortage of physicians in the healthcare industry.
• In January 2023, Sigrid Boring, Healthcare staffing industry veteran launched the ConTemporary Locums, LLC. The platform offering the solutions to the physician and hospitals who facing challenges in staffing and recruitments. It helps in enhancing the physician staffing experience and provides a wide range of expert physicians to the clients.

Segments Covered in the Report

By Type

• Physicians
• Surgeons
• Nurses
• Anesthesiologist
• Radiologist
• Others

By Specialty

• Primary Care
• Anesthesiology
• Radiology
• Emergency Medicine
• Surgery
• Nurse Practitioners
• Behavioral Health
• Others

By End-Use

• Hospitals
• Ambulatory Facilities
• Others

By Geography

• North America
• Asia Pacific
• Europe
• Latin America
• Middle East & Africa