More healthcare hiring in June, while national data disappoints

While employment growth nationally was disappointing in June, hiring in the U.S. healthcare sector continued to trend upward. The industry added 13,500 positions in June.

Over the prior 12 months, the healthcare industry has added an average of 24,000 jobs per month.

According to the latest employment report from the Bureau of Labor Statistics, the biggest healthcare job gains were in ambulatory care settings. Approximately 16,500 ambulatory care jobs were added in June.

[See also: Healthcare continues hiring boom as national economy stalls.]

The discrepancy between ambulatory care jobs and total healthcare jobs is explained in part by a decrease in the number of hospital jobs in June. Hospitals actually cut 4,000 positions across the month.

The dominant job growth area in ambulatory care was in home healthcare services, which added 5,300 jobs. Physician offices added 5,000 jobs, while outpatient care centers increased employment by 200 jobs.
Nursing and residential care facilities also increased hiring in June, adding 1,000 jobs.

[See also: Healthcare job growth continues despite decline in listings.]

Overall, total non-farm payroll employment increased by 18,000 in June, and the national unemployment rate rose incrementally to 9.2 percent. The number of unemployed increased by 200,000 to 14.1 million.

The national labor force, currently at 153.4 million, dropped slightly from May to June.

The number of long-term unemployed (those jobless for 27 or more weeks) increased by 100,000 to 6.3 million. The long-term unemployed currently make up about 44.4 percent of unemployed persons