Healthcare Hires Soar

More jobs have been added to the U.S. healthcare sector, with 36,500 new workers hired in June, surpassing the 20,600 new jobs created in May. The majority of the new hires in June were concentrated in ambulatory care services, which added 26,000 jobs. Hospitals added 11,700 jobs.

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Despite the remarkable increase in June – the strongest month so far in 2017 for job creation in the healthcare sector – jobs are growing at a slower pace compared to last year. Healthcare has added an average of 24,000 jobs per month in the first half of 2017, compared to an average monthly increase of 32,000 jobs in 2016, according to data from the Bureau of Labor Statistics.

The healthcare industry faces uncertainty over efforts by the Senate Republicans to repeal and replace the Affordable Care Act. Overhanging healthcare hiring is the Senate GOP's Better Care Reconciliation Act (BCRA), which is expected to adversely affect job growth because of cuts to coverage. Based on a recent study by the Commonwealth Fund, the BCRA would result in 919,000 fewer jobs in the healthcare sector by 2026 and 1.45 million fewer jobs in the economy overall.

Amidst this uncertainty, analysts still believe the industry will continue to hire workers to care for the ageing baby boomer population. The growing emphasis around preventive care also supports job growth, analysts said.

Source: Modern Healthcare
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