News: Healthcare among top sectors for job growth in January 2023, data shows

According to data released by the United States Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS), the healthcare sector was among the top sectors to experience widespread growth during January 2023, adding 58,000 jobs. Under this umbrella, the ambulatory sector saw the most job growth with more than 30,000 jobs. Nursing and residential care facilities were the next largest sectors, with nursing gaining 17,000 jobs and hospitals gaining 11,000 jobs.

This number shows the healthcare sector is continuing to see steady job growth compared to the end of 2022, which gained 55,000 jobs in December. On average, healthcare added around 47,000 jobs per month last year, and this is likely to continue as hospitals and health systems seek to fill critically needed doctor, nurse, and staff positions, “a feat which has plagued the healthcare sector long before the COVID-19 pandemic,” HealthLeaders reported.

The 58,000 added jobs is a remarkable difference from the 18,000 jobs added in January 2022, and may reflect positive job growth for the 2023 year as a whole. But it’s impossible to predict for sure if the sector will continue its upward trajectory. Though it looks hopeful, nonfarm (i.e., jobs in the private sector and government agencies) payroll employment rose by 517,000 in January and this caused little change to the current 3.4% unemployment rate in the United States, BLS found.

Editor’s note: To read HealthLeaders’ coverage of this story, click here. To read the BLS statistics, click here. To read about CDI hiring trends specifically, download the newest CDI Salary Survey report, which was released in January 2023.