Slowdown in healthcare hiring persists

(Story updated with comment from the American Hospital Association at 5:30 p.m. ET.)

Healthcare employers added only 15,000 jobs in October and, according to revised figures, shed 2,500 jobs in September, the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics reported Friday.

The seasonally adjusted figures suggest a slowdown in healthcare hiring persists even as employment in the broader economy appears to be picking up. Hospital hiring so far this year is down 81% from the 2012 monthly average.

Total nonfarm payroll jobs in all industries increased by 204,300 in October, the BLS said, with the unemployment rate at 7.3%, a one percentage point increase from September's 7.2%. Revised numbers for September indicate the economy added 60,000 more jobs than the agency previously reported.

The healthcare sector added an average of 17,070 jobs a month so far in 2013, down 41% from the monthly average of 29,042 in 2012.

Hospitals added 2,200 jobs in October and averaged 1,300 jobs a month from January through October, compared with 6,800 in 2012.

Outpatient care centers added only 500 jobs in October, the fewest since July 2011 and well below the 3,220 monthly average so far this year.

Ambulatory care overall added 11,100 jobs in October, compared with an average of 15,310 jobs a month so far in 2013 and 18,883 in 2012.

Physician offices added 3,500 jobs in October, up from 2,000 in September.

The American Hospital Association said the numbers reflect the effect of Medicare cuts that hospitals warned would force them to lay off hundreds of thousands of workers in the next decade.

“Today's jobs report provides an important reminder that hospitals are an economic mainstay, providing jobs and economic activity in communities across the country,” said AHA Senior Vice President of Federal Relations Tom Nickels. “Cuts to hospitals such as the sequester, however, can have an immediate effect on hospitals' ability to create jobs.”

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