The U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics revealed that job growth dropped to the slowest pace seen this year, adding just 194,000 new jobs in September and marking the second consecutive month of decline. The unemployment rate dropped to an 18-month low of 4.8%, partially offset by those leaving the labor force. August payrolls were revised to show a revised job gain of 366,000, up from the originally reported 235,000. Overall employment remains 5.0 million jobs below the pre-pandemic peak in February 2020.

The COVID-19 Delta variant likely tampered with job growth last month, according to the August 2021 U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) Hiring Situation. In August 235,000 jobs were added to the U.S. economy, the fewest jobs in seven months and less than half of the average monthly job growth of 586,000 that has been seen this year. The unemployment rate dropped to a 17-month low of 5.2%, down from 5.6%, a 16-month low. Employment is up by 17 million since April 2020 but down by 5.3 million, or 3.5%, from its pre-pandemic level in February 2020.

While the healthcare sector overall lost 4,900 jobs in August, hospitals marked the second consecutive month of job growth, adding 3,200 jobs. Job losses occurred in nursing and residential care facilities (-6,900) and in ambulatory care settings (-1,200). Ambulatory care has typically been the largest job-producing segment within healthcare’s economic rebound. Overall, 513,400 healthcare jobs have been lost since the start of the pandemic in February 2020, with nursing homes accounting for the majority of job loss (-383,200). Hospitals lost 84,800 jobs and ambulatory care settings lost 45,300 jobs during the same time period.

The economy began the second half of the year with strong momentum, with the July 2021 U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) Hiring Situation reporting that 943,000 new jobs were created last month. The gains were the largest seen in nearly a year and the unemployment rate ticked down to 5.6%, a 16-month low.

Healthcare added 36,800 jobs in July. Job gains in ambulatory health care services (31,900) and hospitals (18,300) than offset a loss of 13,400 jobs in nursing and residential care facilities. Healthcare employment remains down by 502,000 since February 2020.

Hiring surged in June, according to the June 2021 U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) Hiring Situation Report, which showed that 850,000 new jobs were gained last month. The increase was the largest in 10 months and the unemployment rate ticked up to 5.9% from 5.8% the month prior. Most of the growth was seen in the service sector, reflecting signs of economic improvement.

That said, the healthcare sector lost 12,000 jobs in June, with hospitals recording a third straight month of job losses.  Hospitals lost 5,500 jobs, and nursing homes lost 9,600 jobs in June. Those losses were slightly offset by 2,900 new jobs in ambulatory services. After seeing modest gains at the start of 2021, hospitals have recorded 10,200 job losses since April. Overall 537,000 healthcare jobs have been lost since the start of the pandemic in February 2020, with nursing homes making up the majority of the loss (-360,000), while hospitals have accounted for nearly one-fifth of all losses (-102,000) jobs.  The only portion of the healthcare sector which saw growth throughout the pandemic has been within ambulatory care, which gained 75,400 jobs during the same time period.

The May 2021 U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) Hiring Situation Report showed moderate job gains last month, recording a job growth of 559,000 jobs. The smaller gains are reportedly a result of ongoing labor shortages as the economy reopens. The unemployment rate edged down from 6.1% in April to 5.8% in May, it's lowest since the pandemic shuttered businesses in March 2020.  According to the U.S. Labor Department, job openings reached a record level of 8.1 million at the end of March, reflecting a widening labor shortage.

In May 22,500 new jobs were gained within healthcare, primarily within ambulatory care settings (22.5K). Hospital payrolls grew by 2,900 and nursing and residential care facilities lost 2,400 jobs last month.  The unemployment rate for healthcare stands at 3.1% and at 2.2% within hospitals.  Compared with February 2020, healthcare employment is down by 508,000.

Major economic gains were seen in February’s U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) Hiring Situation Report, with the economy adding 379,000 new jobs last month as the pandemic’s winter wave recedes.  The unemployment rate inched down to 6.2% in February from 6.3% in January.  Payrolls remain 9.5 million short of pre-crisis levels. 

Within healthcare, 19,900 new jobs were added in February, with strong gains seen in ambulatory care settings (28,900). Other healthcare settings did not fare as well and continued to demonstrate job loss, with 2,200 hospital jobs and 6,800 nursing care facility jobs disappearing last month. Broader employment in health care and social assistance is down by 909,000 over the year.

The U.S. economy lost 140,000 jobs in the final month of 2020, according to the December U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) Hiring Situation. This represented the first month of loss since the pandemic began impacting our nation early in 2020. The decline in payroll employment reflects the recent increase in COVID-19 cases and continued efforts to control the pandemic.