Despite job eliminations due to financial woes, the healthcare sector saw the most added monthly jobs so far this year in July compared to the prior six months.
Recently, the healthcare sector has seen the elimination of non-clinical jobs due to financial strains while also facing dangerous levels of vacant clinical care roles. Due to stressful patient/nurse ratios and what they've deemed as unfair wages, nurses have also called on strikes across the country.
But, despite these hardships, the sector experienced significant job growth last month, bringing a new monthly high to the year.
According to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, the healthcare sector added 63,000 jobs in July, an increase from the monthly average gain of 51,000 jobs in the past 12 months. This is also the highest job growth the sector has seen so far in 2023, with January being the second largest with 58,000 jobs added during the month.
Significant job growth was experienced in the ambulatory healthcare services sector, which added 35,000 jobs. Additionally, hospitals added 16,000 jobs and nursing and residential care facilities added 12,000 jobs during the month.
A breakdown of the monthly added jobs in the healthcare sector teases promising job additions in the coming months. Is the July increase just a fluke, or will we continue to see those numbers rise? We'll have to wait and see where job growth is experienced during the third and fourth quarters of the year.
- 58,000 jobs were added in January
- 44,000 in February
- 34,000 in March
- 40,000 jobs in April
- 52,000 in May
- 41,000 in June
- 63,000 in July
Across all sectors, total nonfarm payroll employment added 187,000 jobs in July, according to the BLS. This is less than the average monthly gain of 312,000 jobs added during the past 12 months.
In addition to the healthcare sector, significant job gains occurred in the social assistance, financial activities, and wholesale trade sectors.
The unemployment rate changed little during the month, going from 3.6% in June to 3.5% in July. Since March 2022, the unemployment rate has increased from 3.4% to 3.7% since March 2022, according to the BLS.
Melanie Blackman is a contributing editor for strategy, marketing, and human resources at HealthLeaders, an HCPro brand.