2. News Room

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DWD Releases Nursing Workforce Forecast Through 2050

The Wisconsin Department of Workforce Development (DWD) has released the 2024-2050 Registered Nurse Workforce Projections Report, the latest supply and demand forecast for Registered Nurses (RNs) in the state. The report, published by DWD's Bureau of Workforce Information and Technical Support, offers insight into the challenges and opportunities facing the nursing workforce. Because RNs are the largest health care occupation, it also is a barometer for the broader outlook for the health care workforce in the state.

Since 2010, a comprehensive survey of RNs in Wisconsin has been administered every even-numbered year. Those results are used by DWD to produce supply and demand projections.

While the latest report incorporates new population projections from the Wisconsin Department of Administration into the projection model, the general outlook for the nursing workforce has remained consistent since the first iteration of the RN forecast – flat supply and growing demand for nurses. The report finds the shortage of nurses is projected to peak between 9,500 and 13,800 people, a 13% to 20% gap between supply and demand, in the 2040s if current trends continue.

The updated projections highlight the unique pressures facing the RN workforce. As nurses retire or leave the profession, there are not enough new nurses following behind to fill job openings. Meanwhile, demand for highly skilled, qualified health care professionals will rise and the state’s population ages. DWD, together with partners across the state, is identifying solutions to nursing workforce shortages including training more nursing educators, expanding the capacity of nursing schools to teach more students, and exploring alternative educational pathways to bring more people into the nursing workforce.

The 2024-2050 Registered Nurse Workforce Projections Report and other labor market information is available on DWD's WisConomy.com website.

Bolstering the health care workforce

Making up 15.3% of the state's employment, the health care and health sciences sectors are an integral component of Wisconsin's workforce that is projected to grow in the coming years.

"Ensuring our health care workforce is equipped to provide quality care to Wisconsinites is critical to state's future and economy," said DWD Secretary Amy Pechacek. "DWD is advancing initiatives that bring people into the health care field and supporting the skilling-up of current health care workers to fill in-demand jobs while increasing their earnings."

Under the leadership of Governor Tony Evers, DWD is investing millions of dollars into bolstering the health care workforce across the state, including in initiatives and programs outlined in the recommendations of the Governor’s Task Force on the Healthcare Workforce, to advance regional collaboration to help employers, schools, and other partners address local workforce challenges.

The initiatives include:

• Wisconsin Fast Forward – Launched in 2013, this grant program has helped employers attract, train and retain 31,000 workers. Governor Evers secured $500,000 over the biennium for health care sector employers to help train workers through the Fast Forward program in the 2025-27 biennial budget. Fast Forward grant projects that serve the health care sector have included over $8 million for training for positions at hospitals, senior living communities, diagnostic firms, ambulance services, and a medical coding business.
• Youth and Registered Apprenticeship – Since the launch of Wisconsin’s first health care Registered Apprenticeship (RA) pathway in 2018, DWD has introduced new RA programs such as registered nurse, respiratory therapist, and surgical technologist apprenticeships – all first of their kind, degree-granting programs. Other new programs include caregiver, dental assistant, interventional cardiovascular technologist, medical assistant, MRI technologist, ophthalmic assistant, pharmacy technician, and sterilization technician.
  During the 2025-26 school year, Youth Apprenticeship (YA) experienced the fifth consecutive record participation by high school students and employers, and Health Science is the career pathway with the highest participation. The YA program, the first in the country and the largest of its kind, has grown so that more than 99% of public school districts that have a high school offered YA during 2025-26.
• Career Pathways Advancement – DWD's Division of Vocational Rehabilitation helps people with disabilities find a job, keep a job, or get a better job through individualized support services. Of the 1,071 individuals who enrolled in the Career Pathways Advancement initiative, 56% are pursuing careers in health care.
• Project Search - A business-led collaboration that enables young adults with disabilities to gain and maintain employment through training and career exploration, 68% of Project SEARCH participants in the last 10 years have found career opportunities in the health care field.
• Workforece Innovation Grant (WIG) Program – $14.6 million in Workforce Innovation Grants, were used to implement innovative solutions to build career pipelines to help ease the shortage of workers in health care. Part of the groundbreaking $168 million Workforce Solutions Initiative, the WIG program is a collaboration between DWD and the Wisconsin Economic Development Corporation (WEDC) that awarded 26 grants across Wisconsin to improve workforce training, including:
  • UW-Eau Claire collaborated with the Mayo Clinic to make innovative changes to its undergraduate nursing program, expanding capacity by 60%. WIG funding also helped launch six new academic tracks to align with regional health care needs, including a doctor of nursing practice (DNP) program focused on preparing academic nurse educators. The program also sparked an initiative to improve rural health in northwest Wisconsin.
  • The Wisconsin Community Action Program Association (WISCAP), a network of 10 Wisconsin poverty-fighting agencies across the state, used WIG funding to increase access to entry-level careers in health care, and provide pathways into careers including RN, CNA, licensed practical nurse, medical assistant, and associate-level degree nurse. WISCAP provided ongoing coaching as students progressed through their programs at 24 educational institutions while also removing individual participation barriers.
  • UW-Green Bay used WIG funding to increase the number of nursing students it could admit to its program by addressing nursing faculty and clinical instructor capacity. The program worked with local hospitals and built capacity for clinical training to 140 nursing students over the 2½-year project period. The program is also intended to sustain an annual capacity of 80 students, contributing more new nurses to the workforce than before the WIG program was launched.
• Worker Advancement Initiative, also part of the Workforce Solutions Initiative, offered subsidized employment and skills training opportunities with local employers via Wisconsin's workforce development boards. Several boards have used funds to support the local health care workforce, such as training for certified nursing assistants (CNAs), nursing aides, and an associate-level degree nursing program.

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ABOUT DWD

Wisconsin's Department of Workforce Development efficiently delivers effective and inclusive services to meet Wisconsin's diverse workforce needs now and for the future. The department advocates for and invests in the protection and economic advancement of all Wisconsin workers, employers, and job seekers through six divisions – Employment and Training, Vocational Rehabilitation, Unemployment Insurance, Equal Rights, Worker's Compensation, and Administrative Services. To keep up with DWD announcements and information, sign up for news releases and follow us on LinkedIn, Facebook, Instagram, X, and YouTube.