The new U.S. jobs report shows employment in the traditionally strong health care sector barely rose in November, though its growth year-on-year is encouraging.
Today's report from the Labor Department's Bureau of Labor Statistics, covering November, shows a one-month rise in the nation's job count overall from 142,689,000 to 142,900,000, or a 0.1% lift. (Dull as that sounds, it's apparently exciting to the Fed, which is
rumored more likely to raise interest rates because of it.)
The health care "industry sector" (which includes "ambulatory health care services, hospitals, and nursing and residential care facilities") gained 23,800 jobs over October from 15,272,600 to 15,296,400, or a 0.2% lift.
The health care sector usually outperforms most other categories even in weak economic times. Growth in the sector has been slow of late, but health care employment is still up about 3.2% since November 2014, when the total was 14,826,700.
Employment in physician offices, outpatient care centers, hospitals and nursing facilities was up by less than 1%. Home health services employment dipped slightly, by 1,600 jobs, for a total of 1,342,100.