Healthcare Sector Created 75K New Jobs in August

Most of the jobs came in the ambulatory sector, which had been all but shuttered this spring because of the coronavirus pandemic.

Healthcare sector job growth continued to rebound in August as the nation slowly emerges from the coronavirus pandemic shutdown, but the pace is slowing, according to the latest federal jobs report.

The Bureau of Labor Statistics on Friday reported that the healthcare sector created 75,000 "payroll additions" in August, down from 126,000 new jobs in July, and well below the 318,000 jobs created in June.

The August gains included 14,000 jobs in hospitals, 49,000 jobs in physician and dentist offices, and 12,000 jobs in home and health services. Those gains were offset by the loss of 14,000 jobs in the nursing and residential care sector, BLS said. 

Healthcare employment is down 679,000 jobs in 2020, including 348,000 job losses in the ambulatory sector, and 104,000 jobs losses in hospitals.

August marks the fourth consecutive month of job growth for the healthcare sector, which suffered epic job losses in the spring owing to the coronavirus pandemic. In May, the sector saw 312,000 payroll additions, mostly in outpatient care venues.

The August job report largely reflects the state of the economy in mid-month and is considered preliminary and subject to considerable revision.

In the overall economy, BLS reported that payroll employment grew by 1.4 million in August, down from 1.8 million in July, and the unemployment rate fell to 8.4%.

"These improvements in the labor market reflect the continued resumption of economic activity that had been curtailed due to the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic and efforts to contain it," BLS said.