Changes in the job market for interventional radiology as detected through a help-wanted index of job advertisements

Abstract

The purpose of this study was to study trends in the job market in interventional radiology. Each job advertisement for a diagnostic radiologist in the American Journal of Roentgenology and Radiology between January 1991 and December 1999 was coded by practice type (academic vs private), location, and subspecialty. Positions for interventional radiologists were compared with positions for noninterventional radiologists. Data from the first 48 months (January 1991 through December 1994) were compared with data from the second 48 months (January 1995 through December 1998). Data from 1999 were grouped separately. The nadir for all noninterventional and interventional radiology positions was seen in July 1995, and both areas have experienced great recovery since then. In December 1999, the last month of data collection, the absolute peak number of advertisements for interventional radiologists was reached. In fact, during the last half of the decade, an increasing percentage of jobs advertised for diagnostic radiologists was specifically for interventional radiologists. Statistically significant trends also occurred toward the private sector and toward positions in the Midwest and California. With a help-wanted index, dramatic shifts toward the private sector and toward jobs in the Midwest and California were demonstrated in the interventional radiology job market.