An analysis of health physics employee recruitment activity: 1977-82

Monthly listings of the Health Physics Society Placement Center from 8/77 to 6/82 were tabulated and analyzed for the temporal and regional trends in various areas of health physics. Almost half of listing employers advertised only a single position in 5 yr. Civilian nuclear power and its associated industrial support accounted for approximately half of the total positions available. Total annual employer and position listings increased sharply several months after the Three Mile Island incident. Activity has remained elevated since that time, and appears to have reached a plateau within the past year. A wide variety of professional positions were advertised in each region of the U.S. Recent data on numbers of graduating health physicists, plus a reasonable estimate of the number of new positions made available in recent years, imply current regional shortages of adequately trained personnel, particularly in the Far West, Rocky Mountain and South Central regions, but possibly also nationwide.