June was a busy month for hospital hiring. The sector made 10,600 new hires last month, a 71% spike from its sluggish May job growth.
The U.S. healthcare sector overall added 25,200 jobs in June, lower than the 28,900 jobs it added in May, according to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics' newest jobs report released Friday. Healthcare has added 309,000 jobs in the last 12 months.
The unemployment rate ticked up to 4% last month, even after dropping slightly in May. The BLS provided the caveat that the unemployment rate had been 4.3% a year earlier, when there were 7 million unemployed Americans, up from the current 6.6 million.
June's hospital hiring bucked a monthslong trend of slowed job growth. The sector dipped to 6,200 new hires in May, down from 8,000 in April and nearly 10,000 in March.
Healthcare's ambulatory sector once again made the most new hires last month. The sector added 13,500 jobs, a 25% dip from 18,000 in May. Within the ambulatory sector, offices of other health practitioners saw the highest growth, adding 3,900 new jobs. Physician's offices made 3,200 new hires in June, a 26% dip from the previous month's hiring.
Nursing care and residential mental health facilities continue their dramatic fluctuations between job growth and losses. The former lost 1,500 jobs last month after adding 2,600 in May and shedding even more than that in April. Residential mental health made 2,100 new hires last month after shedding 400 in May and gaining 1,500 in April.
