The start of the new year did not begin with a bang for the country’s employment outlook – and that applies to the healthcare sector, too, historically a strong category.
The Bureau of Labor Statistics reported Friday morning that the country added 113,000 jobs in January, coming in far below economists’ estimates of around 180,000 positions. The unemployment rate dropped a smidgen to 6.6 percent from 6.7 percent in December.
[See also: December job news disappointing]
Not much changed for the healthcare sector in January, which added just under 18,000 jobs. After suffering losses of more than 4,000 jobs in December, the ambulatory healthcare services category rebounded in January, adding 9,000. Hospitals and nursing and residential care facilities suffered losses of 4,500 and 4,900 respectively.
Beyond the healthcare industry, construction, manufacturing, wholesale trade and mining had employment growth. Construction, which lost 22,000 jobs in December, gained 48,000 in January.
Professional and business services continued its upward trend, adding 36,000 jobs, while the federal government continued to shed jobs, losing 12,000. Most of those losses came from the U.S. Postal Service (9,000), BLS noted.