The healthcare employment engine rolls on. The industry continued to add jobs in October, increasing employment by 11,600 positions.
Over the past 12 months, healthcare industry employment has grown by 313,000 jobs.
According to the latest employment report from the Bureau of Labor Statistics, the biggest healthcare job gains were in ambulatory care settings and at hospitals.
[See also: Healthcare continued jobs expansion in September.]
The dominant job growth area in ambulatory care was at physician offices, which added 8,200 jobs. Home healthcare services added 2,000 jobs, while outpatient care centers boosted employment by 2,900 jobs.
Employment at hospitals rose by 3,300 in October.
Nursing and residential care facilities also increased hiring in October, adding 3,500 jobs.
Overall, total non-farm payroll employment increased by 80,000 in October, and the national unemployment rate dropped slightly to 9.0 percent. The rate has changed little since April. The total number of unemployed persons fell by 100,000 to 13.9 million.
The national labor force, currently at 154 million, increased by 181,000 from September to October.
The number of long-term unemployed (those jobless for 27 or more weeks) declined by 366,000 to 5.9 million. The long-term unemployed currently make up about 42.4 percent of unemployed persons.
Follow HFN editor Richard Pizzi on Twitter @HFNeditor.