Number of Pinoy nurses seeking US jobs fell by 42% in 2011

The number of Filipino nurses who sought employment in the United States fell by 42 percent last year — from 9,789 in 2010 to only 5,630 in 2011 , LPG-MA Rep. Arnel Ty said on Sunday.   Citing statistics from America’s National Council of State Boards of Nursing, Ty noted that the number of Filipino nurses who sought US jobs last year was only about one-fourth of the figure in 2007. He said  21,499 examinees took the National Council Licensure Examination (NCLEX) at the height of the nursing boom in 2007. The NCLEX is a licensing examination for nurses in the US. There are two types of NCLEX: one for registered nurses (NCLEX-RN) and another for practical nurses (NCLEX-PN). “In 2011, we had the fewest number of Filipino nurses taking the NCLEX (for the first time) since 2001, when only 4,456 took the exam,” Ty said.   Ty said 145,081 Filipino nurses have taken the NCLEX since 1995, without counting repeaters. Ty stressed the need for the Philippine government to push for the opening of new foreign labor markets for Filipino nurses.   The US labor market for foreign nurses is getting overcrowded, he said.   NCLEX statistics suggest that around six out of every 10 Filipino nurses who take the exam eventually pass, if not on their first attempt, on their second take.   Ty has been pushing for new legislation that would establish a special local jobs plan for the growing number of unemployed Filipino nurses. “US demand for foreign nurses is slowing down, with hospitals and nursing homes there still staggering from subsidy cutbacks. America is also producing more nurses. In 2011 alone, a total of 172,041 US-educated nurses took the NCLEX for the first time,” he added.   The Professional Regulation Commission estimates the number of jobless Filipino nurses to hit 298,000 this year, to include the 68,000 who took the local licensure exam in December. - VVP, GMA News