For the second month in a row, the
Employment Situation Summary showed a slowing down in the growth of jobs in
health services versus non-health jobs, relative to recent history. Further, revisions
to data in this morning’s very strong jobs report indicate high job growth reported
in health services for December and January were not correct.
Health jobs increased only 0.17 percent in
this morning’s jobs report, versus 0.16 percent for non-health jobs. With 27,000
jobs added, health services accounted for 11 percent of new nonfarm civilian jobs.
This continues a welcome development. The
previous disproportionately high share of job growth in health services was
a deliberate outcome
of Obamacare.
If this trend persists, it will become increasingly hard to carry out reforms
that will improve productivity in the delivery of care.
Ambulatory sites added jobs at a much
faster rate than hospitals (0.25 percent versus 0.12 percent). This was
concentrated in physicians’ offices and home health. This is a good sign
because these are low-cost locations of care.
See Table I below the fold:
Year on year, health jobs still outpace non-health
jobs, having grown 1.5 times faster (2.33 percent versus 1.56 percent).
However, jobs in medical and diagnostic labs declined a little (Table II).
There has been a very large downward
revision in the stock of health jobs by 130,000 from December, versus the
initial report; and also a downward revision for January. Correspondingly, the
stock of non-health jobs from the previous two months has been revised upward
significantly (Table III).
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