US healthcare industry adds jobs

healthcareDespite many industries slowing down hiring practices for March, the US healthcare industry continued to expand. According to the latest report issued by the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, the sector expanded by 22,000 positions over the course of the month.

Modern Health Care explained that most of the new US health care jobs involved ambulatory care services, which gained over 19,000 new workers. Other notable payroll increases included physicians offices, which gained 6,100 employees, and home health services, which hired 6,000 people. Outpatient facilities added 3,300 positions, which the source attributes largely to the implementation of the Affordable Care Act. Since more people are able to afford medical care, the demand for nurses and doctors in outpatient clinical settings has gone up.

Hospitals also created more jobs in March, noted Modern Health Care. They increased their workforces by almost 8,000 positions, a .2 percent increase over February. The source reported that the hospital sector has added 77,000 people to its payroll in the past year. Residential care organizations and nursing homes, which had previously been actively hiring, shrank by 4,800 positions in March.