Economic insecurity during the COVID-19 pandemic among healthcare workers by educational attainment

Prior to the COVID-19 pandemic, healthcare workers with less formal education (eg, nursing assistants and home care aides) vs more formal education (eg, physicians and nurses) were more likely to experience economic insecurity, the real and/or perceived risk of financial losses. Given the unprecedented impact of COVID-19 on healthcare workers, we sought to describe economic insecurity among these workers during the pandemic. Using data from the U.S. Census Bureau's Household Pulse Survey from July 2021 to July 2023, we examined economic insecurity among healthcare workers by educational attainment. Higher proportions of healthcare workers with an associate degree or below reported difficulty paying usual expenses, food insufficiency, and being behind on rent/mortgage payments compared to healthcare workers with a bachelor's degree or higher. Accounting for other sociodemographic characteristics, higher educational attainment was associated with significantly lower odds of economic insecurity. Since the public health emergency has ended and temporary policies to support low-wage workers during the pandemic have sunsetted, targeted policies to promote economic security among financially vulnerable low-wage workers are critical to enable recruitment and retention of these essential healthcare workers.