Pharmacist job market improves

Following a disappointing November report indicating the nationwide supply of pharmacists had exceeded available jobs, the Pharmacy Workforce Center (PWC) this week released analysis showing an improved job market in both December and January.

PWC reported an Aggregate Demand Index (ADI) of 3.09 in December 2015 and 3.05 in January 2016. An ADI below 3 indicates more pharmacists than jobs, while an ADI above 3 indicates more jobs than pharmacists.

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PWC’s January 2016 Report showed a slight unmet need for pharmacists in the Midwest, South, and West regions. However, the Northeast continues to show an oversupply of pharmacists.

“All regions except the Northeast had average ratings slightly above balance (3.00 rating) reflecting some degree of unmet demand,” the January report stated. The average ratings for the ratings suggest that there was a slight decrease in demand in the South and slight increase in demand in the Northeast.”

While the nationwide ADI improved, the report showed that 17 states and the District of Columbia had an oversupply of pharmacists in January.

Those states were Connecticut, Illinois, Maine, Michigan, Nevada, New Jersey, New York, North Carolina, South Carolina, West Virginia, Florida, North Dakota, Rhode Island, Utah, Virginia, Hawaii, and Massachusetts.

The states with the highest demand for pharmacists in January were Alaska, Arkansas, Mississippi, Kansas, and Louisiana.

“In the Middle Atlantic, East South Central, and Mountain divisions, demand increased a bit. In the New England and South Atlantic divisions, the average ratings reflect that demand decreased the most, and the West South Central also saw a slight decrease in demand,” the report stated.

The November 2015 report found an ADI of 2.96. It was the first time in more than a decade that the report found an oversupply of pharmacists. PWC’s monthly reports are not an objective gauge or quantification of demand, but they do offer a month-to-month analysis of the pharmacist job market.