Healthcare Job Creation, Confidence Diminish

As the national economy rebounds, healthcare jobs are off their previous gangbuster pace. A few surprises greeted economists reviewing Friday's Bureau of Labor Statistics April jobs report (PDF):

• The economy created 165,000 jobs last month, 50,000 higher than this time last year.
• Unemployment decreased a percentage point to 7.5%—six points lower than last year.
• The healthcare sector showed signs of softness.

Healthcare added only 19,000 jobs in April, representing nearly 12% of total U.S. job growth, but it wasn't the standout that it has been in previous months. This month's job growth dropped by 5,000 from the 24,000 monthly average it has maintained since April 2012.

As a comparison, April job growth came largely from restaurants and bars, temporary services, and retailers accounting for 38,000, 31,000, and 29,000 new jobs, respectively.

In the first quarter of 2012, healthcare created 116,300 jobs, compared to 96,900 in the first quarter of 2011. In 2013, healthcare created 78,000 in the first quarter.

But coming health law mandates will increase demand for jobs, specifically in healthcare information technology. The implementation and training needed to meet Meaningful Use criteria is "one major factor that will fuel job growth in the industry in next year or two," said Steve McMahan, executive vice president of Randstad US, Professionals in a prepared statement.

Within healthcare, ambulatory care services continued to have the largest job growth in April, creating 13,600 jobs. This category includes 6,100 jobs in home healthcare services, 5,400 jobs in physician offices, and 900 jobs in outpatient care centers. The pace has slowed since last year, when ambulatory services created 15,400 new jobs in April. Hospitals created 2,700 jobs last month, and nursing and residential care facilities both added 2,700 jobs.

Revised BLS figures show the economy created 138,000 jobs in March and 332,000 jobs in February, the largest month for job growth since 2010.

Confidence Dips
In the first quarter of 2013, healthcare workers' confidence, although still positive, has also slightly diminished. The Randstad Healthcare Employee Confidence Index reveals that half of healthcare workers surveyed (52%) think there are fewer jobs available in the industry, a seven point increase from the last quarter of 2012.

The index, released last week, surveyed physicians, healthcare administrators, and other healthcare workers in the first quarter of 2013. The survey analyzed healthcare workers' confidence in their ability to find a job and gauged their views on the strength of the economy.

At 54.5, the index reflects that a majority still believe they could find a new job, but it represents a slight (3-point) decline from the last quarter of 2012. Although the confidence among healthcare workers is declining, the majority still believe they could find new work:

• 25% said they likely to look for a job in the next 12 months, a 5% decrease from the last quarter of 2012.
• 21% believe there are more jobs available, down slightly from this time last year.
• 54% of healthcare workers are confident they can find a job in twelve months. Last quarter, the number was 58%.

Mirroring the jobs report, the workers in the economy at large have greater confidence than those in healthcare. The nation's worker confidence level has reached the highest point since the recession. In April 2008, employee outlook was at 20.9 points. This year, it is at 46.8 points.