Dental Hygiene Job Market and Employment Survey Results

Dental Hygiene Job Market and Employment Survey Results

Results have been compiled from the 2009 Dental Hygiene Job Market and Employment Survey, administered by the American Dental Hygienists’ Association. Highlights from the survey follow:

Demographics

Of the respondents to the survey, 55% are age 40 to 59 and 35% are age 39 or younger.

Survey respondents were 98% female, and 87% were White (non-Hispanic).

65% of the respondents are members of the ADHA.

Education

Of the respondents, 52% indicated that they have an associate’s degree and 38% have a bachelor’s degree.

10% are currently enrolled in academic education program in pursuit of a higher degree, with 49% of those respondents interested in pursuing a bachelor’s degree and 40% pursuing a master’s degree.

51% of the respondents expect to pursue further education in the future and of those, 54% are more likely to do so via an online program.

Current Employment

86% of all respondents indicated they are currently employed as a dental hygienist.

For those who are currently employed, 42% work 31 or more hours per week, while 27% work 21 to 30 hours per week, and 30% work 20 or fewer hours per week. Of those who are employed approximately half receive some employment benefits.

Of the 14% who are not currently working as a hygienist, 62% have been unable to find a hygiene position in the area where they live, 8% are working in another field, and 5% took another job that provided benefits.

Job Market

56% of all respondents have searched for full and/or part-time employment.

67% of the respondents indicated that there were fewer employment opportunities for hygienists in their state.

While 68% of respondents find that securing employment as a dental hygienist is somewhat or very difficult in their geographic area, 80% of those same respondents feel there are too many hygienists living in the area, and 56% feel there are too many educational programs for dental hygienists in the geographical area.

A full report of the survey data is available upon request from the ADHA.

Source: ADHA