Healthcare employment increased in April
Employment in the U.S. healthcare sector increased by approximately 20,100 jobs in April, although the national unemployment rate increased slightly to 9.9 percent, according to the federal Bureau of Labor Statistics.
The biggest healthcare job gains were in ambulatory care, where 9,400 jobs were added in April, and in hospitals, which added 6,100 jobs. Of the new ambulatory care jobs, 6,500 were in home healthcare services and 1,700 in outpatient care centers.
Physician offices actually lost 300 jobs in April, while nursing and residential care facilities added approximately 4,600 jobs.
Total healthcare employment has increased by 244,000 over the past year.
Overall, total non-farm payroll employment increased by 290,000 in April, although the number of unemployed rose to 15.3 million. The number of long-term unemployed (those jobless for 27 or more weeks) continued to rise, reaching 6.7 million.
