Survey: Registered nurse workforce climbs between 2004 and 2008

A new survey from the Health Resources and Services Administration found that the number of licensed registered nurses in the U.S. increased by more than 5% between 2004 and 2008. 

As of March 2008, there were an estimated 3,063,162 licensed registered nurses living in the United States, according to the HRSA report. This represents a 5.3% increase compared to 2004. More than 2.5 million nurses—roughly 84.8% of the nation's nurse population—were employed during 2008. That is the highest rate of nursing employment since HRSA began its survey in 1977.

Among the more than 33,000 nurses who responded to the survey, only 3.8% worked in a nursing home. Nursing home nurses tend to be older. A total of 10.7% of nurses over the age of 65 work in a nursing home. Roughly 40.5% of nursing home nurses carry management or administration job titles, according to the report.