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Hospitals Add 4,100 Jobs in May

 |  By John Commins  
   June 06, 2011

Healthcare job growth slowed considerably in May as compared with April and March, but the sector was one of the few bright spots in an otherwise anemic job report Friday from the Bureau of Labor Statistics.

Hospitals created 4,100 payroll additions in May, after posting 10,100 new jobs in April, and 10,200 new jobs in March. In 2011, hospitals have created 36,200 new jobs, compared with 11,800 new jobs in the first five months of 2010, BLS data and preliminary data show.

The healthcare sector – everything from hospitals to podiatrists' offices to kidney dialysis centers – created 17,400 new jobs in May, after posting 37,290 new jobs in April, 34,400 new jobs in March, and 124,400 new jobs in 2011. Healthcare created 95,100 new jobs in the first five months of 2010, BLS data and preliminary data show.

The healthcare sector accounted for slightly more than 14 million jobs in May, 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.

Ambulatory services accounted for more than half of the new jobs created in the healthcare sector in 2011, with 10,100 new jobs in May, 21,500 new jobs in April, and 67,200 new jobs in so far this year. Ambulatory services created more than 69,600 new jobs in the first five months of 2010, BLS data and preliminary data show.

Physicians' offices reported 2,200 payroll additions in May, down considerably when compared with the 6,900 new payroll additions reported in April, and 8,700 new jobs in March. Physicians' offices have created 22,500 new jobs in 2011, compared with 6,900 new jobs in the first five months of 2010.

BLS data from April and May are preliminary and may be considerably revised in the coming months.

The healthcare sector continues to be one of the few areas of job growth in the economy. Since the start of the recession in December 2007, healthcare employment has grown by 943,600 jobs, while total nonfarm employment has fallen by about 6.9 million, BLS data show. 

Nonfarm job growth in the larger U.S. economy slowed considerably in May, with 54,000 additions reported, well below increases that averaged 220,000 new jobs for April, March, and February. The nation's unemployment rate remained essentially unchanged at 9.1%, with 13.9 million people unemployed. The number of long-term unemployed -- people jobless for 27 weeks or longer – was 6.2 million in May, an increase of 361,000 from April, as their ranks increased from 43.4% to 45.1% of the unemployed, BLS preliminary data show.

See Also:
Hospitals Added Nearly 20K Jobs in Q1
Healthcare Created Quarter of a Million Jobs in 2010

John Commins is a content specialist and online news editor for HealthLeaders, a Simplify Compliance brand.

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