Healthcare job growth up, especially in ambulatory care

Editor's Note

Despite signs of slowing overall job growth across the US, healthcare job growth was up significantly according to November numbers from the Bureau of Labor Statistics and discussed in a December 18 news story in HealthLeaders.

Among 64,000 new jobs cited, 46,300 of these jobs were within the healthcare industry, which highlights the industry’s steadiness in the face of an uneven labor market, per the news story.

Within healthcare, the largest job growth was seen in ambulatory health care services where 24,000 jobs were filled, followed by 11,400 in hospitals, and 10,900 in nursing facilities. This trend in ambulatory heath job growth aligns with the trend of care shifting to outpatient settings.

Further insight in the news story suggested these higher numbers in healthcare job growth reinforce healthcare’s role as a stabilizing force in the labor market heading into 2026.