Employment in the U.S. healthcare sector increased by approximately 12,000 jobs in February, while the national unemployment rate held steady at 9.7 percent, according to the federal Bureau of Labor Statistics.
The biggest healthcare job gains were in ambulatory care, where 6,700 jobs were added in February. Of those jobs, 900 were in physicians' offices and 500 in home healthcare services.
Hospitals gained approximately 1,300 jobs in February, while overall employment in nursing and residential care facilities increased by approximately 4,000 jobs.
Overall, total non-farm payroll employment was essentially unchanged in February, falling by 36,000 jobs, and the number of unemployed persons rose slightly to 14.9 million.
Since the start of the recession in December 2007, payroll employment has fallen by 8.4 million.