Dive Brief:
- The healthcare sector added 43,000 jobs last month, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics.
- The sector has continued to trend up and outpace others in job creation with ambulatory services gaining 19,000 jobs while hospitals gained 17,000, Healthcare IT News noted.
- Overall, jobs were also added in the sectors of financial activities as well as professional and business services but the country's unemployment rate remained at 4.9%.
Dive Insight:
The BLS' last employment report showed employment in healthcare jumped by 39,000 in June. Ambulatory services and hospitals led hiring during this month and in July. Nursing and residential facilities added 7,000 jobs last month.
Healthcare has added a total of 477,000 jobs over the past year, the BLS reports. Its occupational handbook predicts healthcare employment will increase 19% by 2024 and at "much faster" than hiring in other industries.
Within the healthcare industry, medical and diagnostic laboratories and residential mental health facilities were the only ones that saw a decrease in employment - a loss of 300 and 200 jobs, respectively.
As noted by Politico Pulse reporter Dan Diamond on Twitter Friday, the current hiring pace means healthcare will become the country's biggest sector in less than three years. He posted the image below to the social media platform:
