Healthcare posts above-average job gains in July

Healthcare posted an above-average 31,300 new jobs in July, while the wider U.S. economy (PDF) beat expectations for employment growth, and the national unemployment rate ticked down to 9.1%.

The 14.1 million-person healthcare sector grew by 0.2% in July, according to seasonally adjusted preliminary jobs data from the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics. Healthcare employers have added 298,800 jobs in the 12 months ended in July, for an annual growth rate of 2%. July's one-month growth figures beat the sector's average of creating 24,900 jobs per month in the past year.

Looking just at hospitals, employers put up a strong month for hiring, adding 14,000 jobs—nearly 20% of hospitals' growth in the past year. Hospitals added 74,800 jobs in the 12 months ended in July, for a one-year growth rate of 1.6% in a workforce of 4.8 million.

Physician offices added 6,300 jobs, or 0.3%, to a workforce of 2.4 million in July. That made for 12-month growth of 46,500 jobs, or 2%.