Apparently when the economy turns nasty, you don’t need a Superman cape, claws of adamantium, or even a Master’s Degree to protect yourself from unemployment and disaster. What you need, if you’re looking to get or keep a job, are nurse’s scrubs.

When you’re searching for a job following high school, nursing always comes up, and for a good reason: we’ll always need nurses. It’s that simple. Until a robot can adequately find a vein, soothe a patient, and crack a joke while holding a sick basin, nurses will continue to be needed.

St. Louis is a prime example. With the economy so tough, nursing—which often has a high turnover rate, causing shortages in areas all across the country—is a pretty steady job these days. Largely due to fear of not finding employment elsewhere, nurses are being retained pretty well these days.

And just in time for flu season, too.

From middle-age nurses putting their retirement on hold to part-time nurses working longer hours to support their families, people are definitely getting the care they need this year.

The reverse side is that this fulfillment makes it harder to find a job, and a once in-demand profession—still in demand, but largely filled these days—doesn’t hold prospects as high as it once did for graduating students. Fewer and fewer openings are available for new nurses.

That said, many are still trying to get into the profession, especially people who, after working in other industries, are looking for good, steady employment.

Other drawbacks include employers using the rough economy as a way to limit worker pay and benefits, according to Nurse Union representatives.

St. Louis used to have a vacancy rate between 11 to 22% for registered nurses statewide; now that number has drooped to under 6%. At Barnes Jewish Hospital alone, the rate is below 4%; a similar number is present at St. Anthony’s Medical Center.

Job opportunities, of course, are still available for nurses statewide. Special areas, particularly those in behavioral health and cardiac intensive care, are often still in great need of nurses. And nurses unable to find positions in a traditional setting may be able to find opportunities as health coaches.

Some are also predicting that, if enacted, United States healthcare reform will also increase the demand for nurses nationwide. It makes sense; more people going to the doctor means more nurses needed on board.