Healthcare job gain in August offset by losses in federal government, other industries

Editor's Note

Healthcare employment in the US rose by 31,000 from August to September, according to the latest report from the Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS), released on September 5. However, this “job gain…was partially offset by losses in [the] federal government and in mining, quarrying, and oil and gas extraction,” BLS reports.

According to NBC News September 5, the BLS report showed the US added a net of 22,000 jobs in August, “well below expectations of 75,000.”

The August upward trend in healthcare employment was below the average monthly gain of 42,000 over the prior 12 months. Healthcare employment also rose in ambulatory healthcare services (+13,000), nursing and residential care facilities (+9,000), and hospitals (+9,000).

“Both the unemployment rate, at 4.3%, and the number of unemployed people, at 7.4 million, changed little in August. These measures also changed little over the year,” according to the BLS news release.