How was the job market in 08 recession

[Bro Jenkins]

If anyone here was even working back then

Is this job really recession proof

We saw what happened in early COVID…hours got cut people lost jobs new grads took rural jobs to get an income

Will it happen again?

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[CliveStaples]

The demand for emergency medical care is not going away. The population is aging, people are living with more chronic disease and experiencing the problems associated with living with chronic disease, etc. I do not expect the current political climate to keep people from wanting to seek emergency medical care the way COVID transiently kept people at home that would have otherwise sought medical attention.

Now, that doesn't mean anything for compensation. The reality is that huge cuts to federal spending programs on healthcare will only serve to put more financial stress on hospitals and more stress on physician practices. The government can arbitrarily set whatever they want to pay for Medicare and Medicaid services and EMTALA mandates that we cannot refuse to treat patients based upon how little compensation you'll receive for treating them.

 

[JacobMcCandles]

COVID was a bigger threat to your job than an economic recession is, however, a recession will mean less people with health insurance which means your collections will almost assuredly fall.

 

[emergentmd]

The field, like every, has ups and downs. But there always will be jobs. Currently the market is wide open and jobs everywhere.

 

[Rekt]

The field, like every, has ups and downs. But there always will be jobs. Currently the market is wide open and jobs everywhere.

Why you even here? You’re not an ER doc anymore.

 

[TooMuchResearch]

Why you even here? You’re not an ER doc anymore.

That's at least 25% of the active posters here.

 

[TooMuchResearch]

COVID was a bigger threat to your job than an economic recession is, however, a recession will mean less people with health insurance which means your collections will almost assuredly fall.

This is definitely the biggest risk.

 

[Rekt]

That's at least 25% of the active posters here.

There’s a difference between him who pretends to be, gives constant false info, pretends to know everything about active EM and all the others retired/luckily doing something else.

 

[Arcan57]

There's no monolithic EM job market. This isn't tech where jobs in one city can be moved to another city and so it makes sense to talk about supply and demand on a national level. I came out in '08 and people were still being hired in pretty much every market that wasn't Denver. But the salary/hourly had major regional variations. The above posters are absolutely correct that you'll always have sick patients needing emergency care so there will always be a certain number of jobs per unit of population. What those jobs pay will change, but they'll be there. Recessions affect other elements of your life more profoundly than the job hunt. Housing tends to get cheaper during recessions (although '08 was before PE was as big a force in the real estate market) which makes it a great time to buy and a miserable time to sell. One thing to consider is that while recessions are an instantaneous cataclysm on a personal level if you're laid off, it can take years before the negative effects are fully felt throughout society and the effects aren't evenly distributed.

 

[EctopicFetus]

I graduated in 09.. So not quite 08 but close.. I took a job with a group and out of nowhere one day got a call from the president which was in effect, “our volumes are down and we thought about pulling your offer but you have a job so dont worry.” This hit me out of the blue since I didn’t know my job was in jeopardy.

That being said I could have easily found another job. I moonlit during 08 and there wasnt a shortage of options. The thing is COVID was different because volumes tanked. Im an old fart but I worked then and work now. Hope this is helpful.

I dont think jobs today are ubiquitous but you can find work somewhere. The issue is good jobs are near impossible to find.

 

[Arcan57]

As an addendum to my previous post, I think being in a recession changes the calculus are home ownership (or at least how much home you buy) in that the pool of buyers who have the money to buy your bigger homes is going to contract and stay contracted for years. Given that many EM docs are going to leave their first job in the first 2-3 years, buying a house at the beginning of a recession using traditional income to price formulas may leave you stuck with a house you can't move on from when you're looking for greener pastures.