As a juggernaut for jobs creation, the U.S. healthcare system continues to roll along, posting big job gains in March.
The sector added a seasonally-adjusted 36,800 new jobs in the month of March and more than 503,000 jobs between March of 2015 and this March, according to data from the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS).
Hospitals added a total of 10,200 jobs in March and more than 183,000 since March 2015. That's about the same pace as February, when hospitals created 10,600 jobs. And it remains a vast improvement from just three years ago, when during many months only a few hundred jobs were added, and for the entire calendar year no new jobs were created at all.
However, ambulatory healthcare services were the jobs champ, creating 27,400 jobs in March. Ambulatory centers now employ 7.07 million people, and have added 281,600 positions over the past year. Hospitals altogether employ 5.04 million.
Home healthcare services also had a healthy March, adding 9,600 jobs last month and 84,500 over the past year. Physician offices added another 6,000 jobs, while the offices of other healthcare practitioners added 4,800 jobs.
In fact, the healthcare jobs sector has been extremely healthy, with 2013 being an anomaly--the only year since 2003 when net new jobs were not created. And the sector is seen as a beacon of financial stability for Americans looking for a foothold into the middle class.
To learn more:
- read the BLS data