Dive Brief:
- The healthcare sector added 55,000 jobs in December, according to preliminary data out Friday from the Bureau of Labor Statistics.
- Ambulatory healthcare services accounted for about 30,000 of those new jobs. Hospitals and nursing and residential care facilities also saw gains, adding about 16,000 and 9,000 new jobs, respectively.
- Meanwhile, offices of physicians added about 10,000 new jobs in December, according to the BLS.
Dive Insight:
The healthcare industry added jobs much more robustly throughout 2022 than in the year prior as the country continued recovering from the COVID-19 pandemic.
In 2021, the sector added about 9,000 jobs on average each month, compared to 49,000 each month in 2022, according to the BLS.
It remains to be seen whether the strong job gains will continue through this year, though ambulatory services and hospitals in particular saw consistent job growth last year. Despite the employment growth, healthcare systems have struggled with staffing shortages and high labor costs, in addition to pandemic-driven burnout that has led some to leave the profession altogether.
Hospital jobs bounced back in 2022
Since December 2021, hospitals have added over 150,000 jobs, while ambulatory services have added over 330,000 jobs.
Ambulatory service jobs rebounded steadily through pandemic
Ultimately the sector added 55,000 jobs in December after adding about 50,000 jobs in November.