The last jobs report before the November 2 presidential election signals a cooling economy as the nation heads into winter.
Job growth in the nation's hospitals lost ground in September, with the sector shedding 6,400 jobs, the latest federal jobs report shows.
Overall, the healthcare sector job growth continued to rebound in September, as the nation slowly emerges from the coronavirus pandemic shutdown, but the pace has continued to slow,
In addition to the 6,400 job losses at hospitals, the Bureau of Labor Statistics on Friday reported that the healthcare sector created 53,000 "payroll additions" in September, down from the 75,000 jobs created in August, 126,000 new jobs in July, and well below the 318,000 jobs created in June.
The September gains included 18,000 jobs in physician offices, 14,000 jobs in other healthcare practitioner care venues, and 16,000 jobs in home health services.
Healthcare employment is down 631,000 jobs in 2020, including 285,000 job losses in the ambulatory sector, and 116,000 jobs losses in hospitals. The healthcare sector accounted for 15.8 million jobs in September, BLS data show.
September marks the fifth 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 September 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 661,000 in September, down from 1.4 million in in August, and 1.8 million in July. The nation's unemployment rate fell to 7.9%, mostly because many people had stopped looking for work.
The overall U.S. economy has shed 10.4 million jobs in 2020.
John Commins is a content specialist and online news editor for HealthLeaders, a Simplify Compliance brand.
KEY TAKEAWAYS
The healthcare sector job growth continued to rebound in September, as the nation slowly emerges from the coronavirus pandemic shutdown, but the pace has continued to slow,
In addition to the 6,400 job losses at hospitals, the healthcare sector created 53,000 "payroll additions" in September, down from the 75,000 jobs created in August, 126,000 new jobs in July, and well below the 318,000 jobs created in June.
The September gains included 18,000 jobs in physician offices, 14,000 jobs in other healthcare practitioner care venues, and 16,000 jobs in home health services.
Healthcare employment is down 631,000 jobs in 2020, including 285,000 job losses in the ambulatory sector, and 116,000 jobs losses in hospitals.