The healthcare sector created 13,500 new jobs in June and 134,700 new jobs in the first six months of 2011, according to preliminary figures from the Bureau of Labor Statistics.
In the overall economy, including healthcare, there were only 18,000 new jobs created in June, BLS preliminary data show.
A further breakdown of BLS preliminary data shows that hospitals lost 4,000 jobs in June, but created 30,000 new jobs for the first six months of 2011. The last time that hospitals saw a monthly decline in jobs was in May, 2010, with the loss of 1,100 jobs, BLS data show.
Hospitals created 4,100 new jobs in May, 10,100 new jobs in April, and 10,200 new jobs in March. In the first six months of 2010, hospitals created 11,800 new jobs, BLS data and preliminary data show.
Ambulatory services created 16,500 new jobs in June and 81,900 new jobs in healthcare in the first six months of 2011, accounting for more than half of the job growth in the sector. Ambulatory services created 76,600 new jobs in the first six months of 2010, BLS data and preliminary data show.
Physicians' offices reported 5,000 payroll additions in June, and 25,800 new jobs in the first half of 2011, including 3,300 new jobs in May, 4,100 new jobs in April, and 8,700 new jobs in March. Physicians' offices created 8,000 new jobs in the first six months of 2010.
BLS data from May and June are preliminary and may be considerably revised in the coming months.
The healthcare sector employed slightly more than 14 million people in June, with more than 4.7 million jobs at hospitals, more than 6.1 million jobs in ambulatory services, and more than 2.3 million in physicians' offices, BLS preliminary data show.
The healthcare sector continues to be one of the few areas of job growth in the economy. Nonfarm job growth in the larger U.S. economy slowed considerably in June, with 18,000 payroll additions reported. The nation's unemployment rate rose slightly to 9.2%, with 14.1 million people unemployed. Since March, the number of unemployed people has increased by 545,000, and the unemployment rate has risen 0.4%. The number of people unemployed for less than five weeks increased by 412,000 in June. The number of long-term unemployed -- people jobless for 27 weeks or longer – was 6.3 million in June, and represented 44.4% of the unemployed, BLS preliminary data show.