Healthcare adds 44,000 jobs in April, hospitals lead in hiring
Ambulatory services added 19,300 jobs.
Healthcare businesses added 44,000 jobs in April, another big surge for the industry and representing more than a quarter of the 160,000 jobs created that month among all hiring sectors, according to data released Friday by the U.S. Department of Labor's Bureau of Labor Statistics.
Overall, the U.S. unemployment rate held steady at 5 percent.
[Also: Healthcare adds 37,000 jobs in March]
Hospitals lead the hiring for the month, adding 22,900 jobs in the month. Meanwhile, ambulatory services added 19,300 jobs.
Among ambulatory services, outpatient care centers added the most at 6,400 new jobs while physicians offices added 2,000 jobs.
Only residential mental health facilities shed jobs in the month, losing 1,600 positions.
Healthcare has added 502,000 jobs over the past 12 months, the Labor Department said.
Here's the seasonally adjusted breakdown for healthcare sector hiring in April. All numbers are in thousands:
| Industry | April 2015 | Feb. 2015 | March 2015 | April 2016 | Change |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Industry | April 2015 | Feb. 2015 | March 2015 | April 2016 | Change |
| Healthcare | 14,962.40 | 15,387.30 | 15,420.20 | 15,464.40 | 44.2 |
| Ambulatory healthcare | 6,807.60 | 7,036.10 | 7,059.10 | 7,078.40 | 19.3 |
| Physicians offices | 2,515.90 | 2,581.90 | 2,588.00 | 2,590.00 | 2 |
| Dentists offices | 904.4 | 928.5 | 929.4 | 931.2 | 1.8 |
| Other healthcare offices | 804.1 | 838.4 | 842.2 | 846.2 | 4 |
| Outpatient care centers | 738.2 | 764.8 | 767.1 | 773.5 | 6.4 |
| Medical and diagnostic laboratories | 255.6 | 257.2 | 259.1 | 260.3 | 1.2 |
| Home healthcare services | 1,303.40 | 1,372.40 | 1,379.80 | 1,383.30 | 3.5 |
| Other ambulatory healthcare | 286.2 | 293.1 | 293.5 | 293.9 | 0.4 |
| Hospitals | 4,871.00 | 5,033.30 | 5,042.50 | 5,065.40 | 22.9 |
| Nursing and residential care facilities | 3,283.80 | 3,317.90 | 3,318.60 | 3,320.60 | 2 |
| Nursing care facilities | 1,647.90 | 1,654.10 | 1,652.00 | 1,653.80 | 1.8 |
| Residential mental health facilities | 606.3 | 612.8 | 613.9 | 612.3 | -1.6 |
| Community care facilities for the elderly | 866.3 | 888 | 889.4 | 891.4 | 2 |
| Other residential care facilities | 163.3 | 163.1 | 163.3 | 163.2 | -0.1 |
Twitter: @HenryPowderly
