Economic Trends | Senior Housing
By: Beth Mace | April 05, 2021
The first Friday of the month at 8:30 ET is widely anticipated as the Labor Department presents a fresh gauge of the most recent economic performance in its release of the labor report for the prior month. Today’s number was even more closely watched since it indicates how quickly the economy is bouncing back from the year-long pandemic. In its release, the Labor Department reported that nonfarm payrolls rose by 916,000 in March and that the unemployment rate edged lower to 6.0% from 6.2% in February. The jobless rate remains 2.5 percentage points above the pre-pandemic level of 3.5% seen in February 2020, but well below the 14.7% peak seen in April. Despite the February increase, job levels are 8.4 million (5.5%) below the pre-pandemic levels of February 2020. The consensus estimates for February had been for a gain of 660,000. Private service-producing jobs increased by 780,000, led by a rise of 280,000 jobs in leisure and hospitality payrolls as pandemic-related restrictions began to be relaxed and restaurants re-openings occurred. The resumption of in-person learning translated into a combined 190,000 increase in state, local government, and private education employment. Health care added 11,500 jobs in March. Within healthcare, nursing care facilities gained 1,700 jobs in March.
COVID-19 | Skilled Nursing | Skilled Nursing Tracker
By: Omar Zahraoui | April 01, 2021
New cases of COVID-19 in skilled nursing facilities account for just a quarter of 1% of U.S. cases overall, down from over 5% of cases in June 2020. NIC’s new interactive data visualization tool shows a divergence as case counts among the general population rise in some parts of the U.S., while those in skilled nursing facilities continue to decline. U.S. weekly COVID-19 infections are rising again across several states despite ongoing vaccination efforts. Although we are on the road to herd immunity and case count data in skilled nursing facilities (SNFs) suggest that vaccines are indeed effective, the recent uptick in U.S. cases indicates that it is still important to remain vigilant and continue to be cautious regarding enthusiasm about beating the pandemic. It is too early to let our guards down.
COVID-19 | Market Trends | NIC MAP Vision | Senior Housing
By: Beth Burnham Mace and Anne Standish | March 31, 2021
A lot of attention has been paid to the occupancy challenges that seniors housing operators have faced since the COVID-19 pandemic began in early 2020. This blog focuses on the impact of the pandemic on occupancy by operator size. We conclude that single-property operators generally saw smaller occupancy declines during 2020 than very large operators. New supply, as well as pandemic-related changes in the rates of move-ins and move-outs, contributed to this disparity.
Ideas and Discussion | Senior Housing | healthcare
By: NIC | March 29, 2021
The pandemic has thrust healthcare for seniors into the spotlight. The latest NIC Leadership Huddle event, titled, “Value-Based Care: What's in It for Me?” explored how operators and their partners are navigating what is likely to become a new normal: bringing healthcare to seniors where they live. The webinar and discussion explored the argument that–with or without COVID-19–every seniors housing organization must understand how providing access to healthcare services is now a part of their value proposition for both residents and investors.
