In a thoughtful post on LinkedIn.com this week, Dr. Matt Salois, economist and president of Veterinary Study Groups, raised the question: “Are we quietly headed for a veterinarian oversupply problem?” He points out that the number of students enrolling in veterinary schools, and the subsequent number of graduates 4 years later, have grown by about 90% since the 1980’s, with much of the expansion occurring in the last 10 years. Yet, except for the pandemic years (2020-2023), demand for veterinary services has not really kept pace.
It’s hard to think about a possible “oversupply” when we’ve seen a very tight veterinarian labor market the past few years and some are clamoring for more and more veterinary schools.
But is Salois onto something? Over the last 15 years we’ve experienced both a very soft (2011-2013) and a very tight (2020-23) labor market for veterinarians. A labor market study conducted by Brakke Consulting last year on behalf of AVMA projected that the current number of veterinary colleges was adequate to meet demand for at least the next 10 years. Those projections were based on continued growth in the number of pets and veterinary demand, both of which have dipped in the past two years.
What does the future hold? We’ll have fresh new data on this topic to share in our upcoming Brakke Industry Overview at VMX and WVC. Please join us for more insights into veterinary supply and demand trends. Hope to see you there.
John Volk, Senior Consultant
Chicago
English 
Portuguese 
Japanese 
Chinese