New York Nursing Wages
Maurice Hughes
Healthcare in America is dependent on many types of workers. From doctors to receptionists, many different employees are necessary for healthcare to be successful. But the healthcare system depends on one employee more than any other, nurses. As the healthcare system increases in America, the number of nurses decreases. Also, the number of nurses employed today will significantly decrease as many nurses employed today will retire within the next 10 years. As the healthcare system faces a shortage of nurses, one major question remains. How will the shortage affect the wages of the healthcare industry’s foundational employee?
“If employment markets operated perfectly, according to economic theory, the level of employment and prevailing wage at a given moment would be determined by supply and demand” (IWPR, 2006). One of the major factors of determining the wages o employees is the tradeoff principle. In order to gain something a person must sacrifice something. There is a compromise between two parties. Hospitals in New York would like to hire nurses at lower wages, but not enough nurses are willing to accept low wages. Hospitals also cannot afford to hire more nurses than is needed. A compromise is reached to pay nurses a wage that is acceptable to both sides.
In order for this principle to be maintained, supply must also meet the demand for nurses. Currently the demand is higher than the supply causing the market to be unbalanced. Theoretically, as the demand for nurses outweighs the supply, wages for nurses will rise in order to be competitive in the market. The reality is that the hospitals in New York are currently paying the maximum wage rate ...