Dive Brief:
- Healthcare employment increased by 31,000 positions during October, according to new stats from the Bureau of Labor Statistics.
- U.S. employment was up by 161,000 jobs overall for he month, with other gains occurring in professional and business services, and financial activities.
- The changes left the nation's overall unemployment rate "little changed" at 4.9%, the BLS said.
Dive Insight:
Healthcare hiring has been on an upward swing with no particular end in sight – but with an unclear future as the fate of healthcare reform hangs in the balance of the upcoming presidential election.
Broken down across the industry, October's gains were made in ambulatory healthcare services, which added 19,000 jobs, and in hospitals, which added 13,000 jobs. During the last 12 months, healthcare has grown by 415,000 jobs, the BLS noted.
Broken down even further, from September to October, all segments of the healthcare industry saw increases except for small dips in "other ambulatory healthcare services," "nursing and residential care facilities," and "nursing care facilities."
The month's overall national gains were a bit modest compared to the monthly average for 2016 so far of 181,000 per month and the 2015 monthly average increase of 229,000.
The New York Times took an optimistic view from the stats, noting unemployment is as low as it has been since 2008 and that hourly wages are up 2.8% compared to this time last year, marking the largest gain in more than seven years. The employment situation is improving, albeit slowly, presenting economic arguments for both candidates. Of note, the ACA was passed in 2009.