Healthcare employment keeps rising

In recent weeks, there's been some conflicting evidence as to whether the sagging economy was hitting healthcare as hard as other industry sectors. Well, the following suggests that in at least one respect--employment--healthcare is defying national trends.

During November, government statisticians said, the U.S. economy lost jobs for the 11th straight month, shedding 533,000 positions and driving the unemployment rate from 6.5 percent to 6.7 percent.

Healthcare, on the other hand, added 33,800 jobs, a rise of 0.3 percent, which included 9,100 new hospital positions and 14,100 in ambulatory healthcare services. What's more, over the past year, hospitals have grown their workforces by 3.1 percent. Meanwhile, doctors' offices added 6,100 workers last month, contributing to total annual growth of 68,900 employees.

To learn more about employment trends:
- read this Modern Healthcare piece (reg. req.)