Health Care Job Growth Slows in June, Physician Office Staffs Decline
The health care sector added 13,000 jobs in June of 2012, accounting for 16% of all new jobs in the national economy, according to the latest report by the Bureau of Labor Statistics.
It was a slow month for health care, with a growth rate of 0.01% compared to the monthly average of 0.02% since June 2011.
Health care industry employment has grown by 324,500 jobs to a workforce of 14.4 million, amounting to a 2.3% annual growth rate over the past 12 months, the report indicates.
Ambulatory health care services saw the biggest increase with 4,800 jobs while nursing and residential care facilities followed with 4,500. Hospital saw an addition of 3,700 jobs.
Meanwhile, physician offices suffered a loss of 3,400 jobs in June, a .01% loss in comparison to a nearly 0.3% growth rate in previous months.
Overall, non-farm payroll employment continued to edge up in June (+80,000), and the unemployment rate was unchanged at 8.2%.