The National Center for Health Workforce Analysis published a March 2018 report focusing on occupations in long-term services and supports (LTSS) including nursing assistants, home health aides, personal care aides and psychiatric assistants/aides, which represent 71 percent of the LTSS workforce.

By 2030, it is estimated that 3.4 million direct care workers will be needed to work in LTSS settings, which is a 48 percent increase from 2015 when 2.3 million workers were needed. The large increase is due to the aging U.S. population, longer life expectancy and rising burden of disease.