Trends in pharmacist participation in the workforce, 2009 to 2014

To examine changes from 2009 to 2014 in variables related to whether, how much, and where licensed pharmacists worked as pharmacists. Comparisons were made separately for men and women pharmacists.

Data were obtained from 2 cross-sectional, descriptive surveys of licensed pharmacists and represented 1394 pharmacists in 2009 and 2446 pharmacists in 2014. The useable response rates to the surveys were 52.3% and 48.2%, respectively.

United States.

We examined the work status, the work setting, work position, and age distribution of actively practicing pharmacists. We studied the proportion of pharmacists working part-time overall and by age group and determined full-time equivalents (FTEs) by age group.

From 2009 to 2014, the proportion of licensed pharmacists that reported actively practicing pharmacy decreased for both men and women pharmacists. A significantly larger proportion of men pharmacists reported being retired in 2014 compared with 2009. In 2014, women represented a majority of actively practicing pharmacists and pharmacists in management positions. The proportion of actively practicing women pharmacists that worked part-time decreased from 2009 to 2014, and the FTE contribution of women pharmacists was approximately equal to men pharmacists in 2014. The proportion of pharmacists working in community practice settings decreased from 2009 to 2014.

The period 2009 to 2014 appears to have been a time of great change in the pharmacist workforce and for work participation by pharmacists, reinforcing the need to continue to monitor changes that affect work participation by pharmacists.