Employment in the healthcare sector is now 0.5% below February 2020 levels.
According to the latest U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) employment situation summary, the healthcare sector was among the top sectors with widespread job growth in July.
During the month, employment in healthcare rose by 70,000 jobs, the agency reported, making it the highest month for job growth so far this year.
Previously, June was the highest month of job growth since the beginning of the year, with 57,000 jobs added.
During last month, the ambulatory healthcare sector gained 47,000, hospitals gained 13,000, and nursing and residential care facilities gained 9,000 jobs.
Total employment in the healthcare sector is now only 78,000, or 0.5%, below February 2020 prepandemic levels.
Last month, the hospitality and leisure, and professional and business sectors were also among the leaders in job growth, the agency reported.
The labor market experienced a boom and total nonfarm payroll employment rose by 528,000 jobs in July.
The significant jobs growth has brought total nonfarm employment and unemployment rates to February 2020 prepandemic levels. The unemployment rate is now down to 3.5%.
Melanie Blackman is a contributing editor for strategy, marketing, and human resources at HealthLeaders, an HCPro brand.