Healthcare Created 14,500 New Jobs in January

The healthcare sector created 14,500 new jobs in January and overall employment from all business sectors fell by 20,000 jobs, even as the unemployment rate fell from 10% to 9.7%, new Bureau of Labor Statistics preliminary data released this morning show.

Ambulatory services accounted for 15,000 payroll additions in January, physicians' offices accounted for 5,600 payroll additions, and hospitals accounted for 5,000 new payroll additions.

Some areas of the healthcare sector lost jobs in January. Nursing and residential care facilities reported 5,800 payroll reductions,

The healthcare sector created 267,000 new jobs in 2009, including 22,000 payroll additions in December.

The BLS information from the last two months is considered preliminary and may be revised.