Most of the agencies discussed here stated the economy and stock market had an impact on their markets and even drops in locum tenens placements were down, though not as low. Some stated a recent small spike but overall the numbers have been down from last year. There’s a lot of elective type surgeries that are also being put off. With approximately 55% of the hospitals in the US operating in the “red” today you can almost bet those 
numbers are being watched closely with budgets and staffing. BD
Recently released third-quarter results from a handful of publicly traded companies that provide physicians, nurses and other staff for hospitals and other medical facilities indicate that business is down.
"The unprecedented market contraction experienced by the health care staffing industry over the past year is a direct reflection of the rapid rise to historically high levels of general unemployment," said Susan R. Nowakowski, president and chief executive officer of AMN Healthcare Services Inc., in a statement announcing the financials for that company.
AMN experienced a 47% drop in revenue in the third quarter of 2009 compared with the third quarter of 2008, down to $167 million from $315 million. This translated to a net loss of $2 million, compared with a $9.5 million gain during the same quarter of 2008.
In the first nine months of 2009, the company had total losses of $119 million.
Revenue from providing nurses and other health care professionals was down 62%, and revenue from locum tenens physicians was down 12%. Money earned from placing physicians decreased by 31%.
On Assignment Inc., which provides nurses and physicians as well as engineers and scientists, announced a 39% revenue drop to $98.1 million. Health care staffing revenues fell 9.6% from the second quarter of 2009 to the third quarter. This was primarily a result of a 23.6% drop in demand for traveling nurses, because cash-strapped hospitals put a hold on bringing in temporary staff.
The company said reduced demand for its services was behind the losses.
amednews: Fewer temporary physicians needed :: Nov. 16, 2009 ... American Medical News
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