Health care job growth last month

As we start this New Year, I often wonder how our economy will change in 2010. We're in a recession, but it may not feel like a recession to those working in the health care industry. Here are some stats from the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics:

In December, both the number of unemployed persons, at 15.3 million, and the
unemployment rate, at 10.0 percent, were unchanged. At the start of the re-
cession in December 2007, the number of unemployed persons was 7.7 million,
and the unemployment rate was 5.0 percent.

There's no surprise there. However, here's where it gets interesting:

Health care employment continued to increase in December (22,000), with notable
gains in offices of physicians (9,000) and home health care services (8,000).
The health care industry has added 631,000 jobs since the recession began.

Wow! Can you believe that employment within the health care industry increased last month? Companies may not do much hiring over the holidays, but hospitals and clinics need workers. Home health care services saw some significant growth last month and I'm sure we'll continue to see tremendous growth as America's aging population requires additional home health services.

You can read about last month's employment stats by visiting the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics