Job growth in the healthcare sector continues, but at a tempered pace.
In a month that has seen remarkable job growth in multiple sectors, healthcare can no longer be called one of only a few bright spots in the economy preliminary, federal data suggests.
The overall economy added 288,000 jobs in June, dropping the unemployment rate from 6.3% to 6.1%, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics.
The healthcare sector added 21,000 jobs in June 2014, a figure in line with the average gain of 18,000 new healthcare jobs per month over the last year.
Predictably, the greatest growth was in ambulatory health care services, which added more than 13,000 new jobs. But the rate of growth, a 2.8% increase over June 2013, was modest. Nursing and residential care facilities also experienced relatively strong growth, with more than 6,000 jobs added.
Within hospitals, 2,200 jobs were added. And outpatient care centers notched fewer than one thousand new jobs.
While the latest jobs figures may be considered generally positive, it should be noted that the pace of job growth in the healthcare sector is not as rapid as several other areas of the economy. For example, manufacturing added 16,000 new jobs in June—fewer than healthcare in absolute terms, but respectable for a sector that has been struggling for at least a last decade.
In the general economy, professional and business services employment increased by 67,000 workers. Other standout growth sectors included retail, which added 40,000 jobs, and has been growing, on average, by 26,000 employees per month this year. Food and beverage services added 33,000 employees.
BLS data from May and June is preliminary, and may be revised in the coming months.
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Lena J. Weiner is an associate editor at HealthLeaders Media.