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Health Care Job Growth Continued in September

Oct 6, 2009

New data from the U.S. Bureau of Labor and Statistics (BLS) suggests that, although the nation's unemployment rate in September edged up to a 26-year high of 9.8 percent, data suggests that the health care sector continues "to live in a world apart from the wider economy," Modern Healthcare reports. Specifically, employment in the health care industry grew by 1.4 percent, or 195,400 jobs in September, although the average monthly job gain of 22,000 jobs so far in 2009 is lower than the average monthly gain of 30,000 jobs in 2008. Employment at hospitals in September increased by 0.1 percent, or 4,600 jobs, for a total, seasonally adjusted workforce of approximately 4.7 million people. According to the data, most of the health care sector employment growth in September was observed in outpatient settings, mainly physician offices, where employment grew by 0.2 percent or 5,300 jobs, for a total workforce of 2.3 million (Carlson, Modern Healthcare, 10/2/09 ; Wall Street Journal Health Blog, 10/2/09; BLS Employment Situation Summary, 10/2/09).

http://www.rwjf.org/humancapital/digest.jsp?id=23389