As is now customary, the healthcare industry was the leading job producer in November, driving overall private-sector employment to a solid 178,000 gain.
The month saw healthcare employment rise 28,000. Ambulatory-care services produced the lion's share of the increase with 22,000 hires, according to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistic's November jobs report. Over the past 12 months, healthcare has led all sectors, adding 407,000 jobs, the report shows.
But experts say the election of Donald Trump and his promise to repeal and replace the Affordable Care Act, has created enough uncertainty that hospitals and other healthcare providers may become hesitant to do more hiring until they get a better sense of what's ahead. Hospitals and providers worry that patient volumes and reimbursement could shrink if the ACA exchanges are dismantled and Medicaid expansion is rolled back.
