After leading healthcare industry hiring in September, hospitals saw another month of strong job growth in October.
Hospitals added 13,000 new jobs last month, 1,000 more new hires than in September, when they comprised 47% of all healthcare hires. It wasn't quite enough to match ambulatory healthcare services, which reclaimed the top spot last month, adding 14,200 new jobs, according to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics' October jobs report released Friday.
Overall, healthcare added 35,600 jobs last month, about 39% more than in September and 4,000 more than manufacturing. Healthcare also beat out construction, which added 30,000 jobs in October. Transportation and warehousing added 25,000 jobs. Leisure and hospitality won the month, adding 42,000 jobs in October.
The overall U.S. unemployment rate remained at 3.7% in October, and the number of unemployed individuals—6.1 million—did not change significantly.
Within the ambulatory sector, a category called "offices of other health practitioners" added the most jobs, having made 6,100 new hires. Below that was physicians' offices, which added 3,700 new jobs, almost 10% fewer than in September. Outpatient care centers made 3,600 new hires—more than three times that of September—while dentists' offices added 3,500 jobs, a strong showing for a sector that lost 500 jobs in September. Another category called other ambulatory healthcare services shed 4,200 jobs during the month.
Hiring in the nursing and residential care facilities sector was up a whopping 147% compared with September, adding 8,400 jobs last month. Within that sector, community care facilities for the elderly added the most: 4,300.
October was also a good month for nursing care facilities, which have reported weak hiring this year. They added 3,500 new jobs last month, compared with just 200 in September. Residential mental health facilities lost 200 jobs.
