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Healthcare Jobs Growth Contributes to Lowest Unemployment in 49 Years

Analysis  |  By Steven Porter  
   October 05, 2018

The growth contributed to the unemployment rate falling to 3.7% last month.

The U.S. healthcare sector added about 26,000 jobs last month, including 12,000 associated with hospitals, according to monthly Bureau of Labor Statistics data released Friday.

The growth contributed to the unemployment rate falling from 3.9% in August to 3.7% in September. That's the lowest unemployment rate since 1969, according to historical BLS data.

Although the report indicated that the economy added 134,000 jobs last month across all sectors, that figure fell well below expectations, falling to the slowest pace in a year, as CNBC reported. But the dampened data could be attributed in part to Hurricane Florence, as Center on Budget and Policy Priorities senior fellow Jared Bernstein wrote in a blog post Friday.

"The decline in unemployment is 'real,' meaning it occurred through fewer unemployed persons as opposed to people leaving the labor market," Bernstein added.

Healthcare employment has increased by more than 300,000 jobs over the year.

Steven Porter is an associate content manager and Strategy editor for HealthLeaders, a Simplify Compliance brand.


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