Dive Brief:

• The healthcare industry added 70,000 jobs in July, according to preliminary data out Friday from the Bureau of Labor Statistics.
• Ambulatory health care services added about 47,000 jobs, while hospitals added 13,000 and nursing and residential care facilities added more than 9,000 jobs.
• The industry has nearly recovered from early pandemic losses, with employment down 0.5%, or 78,000 jobs since February 2020, according to the BLS.

Dive Insight:

Two and a half years later, the healthcare industry has nearly recouped all the jobs lost at the start of the COVID-19 pandemic.

Concerns remain, however. Hospitals in particular have struggled with labor woes throughout the pandemic, especially in the past year as burnout causes challenges with recruitment and retention.

During second quarter earnings calls, executives at for-profit hospital chains said heightened labor costs and use of temporary staff is abating, though at a slower rate than previously predicted.

Overall, the country saw larger job gains in July than past months, including the healthcare industry.

Across all industries, the country added 528,000 jobs in July, which was larger than the average monthly gain over the past four months (+388,000), and the unemployment rate fell to 3.5%.

In July, hospitals added about 13,000 jobs, compared to about 20,000 in June, according to revised figures from the BLS.

Offices of physicians, dentists and other health practitioners also all saw gains in both June and July.