Hospitals and home health and residential care accounted for nearly one-in-three new jobs in the larger economy last year.
Healthcare job growth continued to be an economic driver in 2024, creating 686,600 jobs over the 12-month span and accounting for 31% of the 2.2 million jobs created in the overall economy last year, preliminary federal data show.
The 46,000 new healthcare jobs created in December was down from the sector's 57,000 monthly average in 2024, but still accounted for 18% of the 256,000 new jobs created in the United States in the last month of 2024.
The 686,000 new healthcare jobs in 2024 are a 17% increase year-over-year from the 557,000 healthcare jobs created in 2023. The healthcare sector accounted for 18 million jobs in 2024, up from 17.3 million jobs at the end of 2023, the Bureau of Labor Statistics reported Friday.
Within healthcare, home healthcare services (15,000) and nursing and residential care (14,000) accounted for 29,000 jobs. Hospitals created 12,000 jobs in December and 215,000 new jobs in 2024, BLS data show.
The unemployment rate in the larger U.S. economy held fast at around 4.1% in December, where it has hovered for most of 2024, BLS says, with 5.5 million people reporting as unemployed.
Big December job gains were also seen in retail (43,000), rebounding from the 29,000 jobs the sector lost in November, government (33,000), and leisure and hospitality (43,000).
The average hourly earnings for all employees on private nonfarm payrolls in December rose by 10 cents, or 0.3%, to $35.69. Over the past 12 months, average hourly earnings increased by 3.9%. The average hourly earnings of private-sector production and nonsupervisory employees held steady at $30.62.
December and November job numbers are considered preliminary by BLS and subject to revisions. Revised total nonfarm payroll employment for October and November was down 8,000 jobs.
John Commins is the news editor for HealthLeaders.
KEY TAKEAWAYS
Healthcare job growth continued to be an economic driver in 2024, creating 686,600 jobs over the 12-month span and accounting for 31% of the 2.2 million jobs created in the overall economy last year.
The 46,000 healthcare jobs created in December was down from the 57,000 monthly average in 2024, but still accounted for 18% of the 256,000 new jobs created in the U.S. in the last month of 2024.
The 686,000 new healthcare jobs in 2024 are a 17% increase year-over-year from the 557,000 healthcare jobs created in 2023. Healthcare accounted for 18 million jobs in 2024, up from 17.3 million at the end of 2023.
Within healthcare, home healthcare services (15,000) and nursing and residential care (14,000) accounted for 29,000 jobs. Hospitals created 12,000 jobs in December and 215,000 jobs in 2024.