A new analysis has revealed an expansion in opportunity within the health care and social assistance sector, despite the labor market showing signs of cooling off since the beginning of the year. The industry has experienced a rise in the number of new hires despite the current economic slowdown prompting employers to reduce the number of roles available in most industries.
The number of hires within health care and social assistance has risen by 9.9% in the last year. Despite 428,000 fewer hires across U.S. industries in March 2023 compared to March 2022, health care and social assistance employers filled 777,000 roles in March – making up almost 13% of all hires across the U.S during that month. However, there were a further 1.62 million job openings in March across health and social care, signaling the continued need for more staff.
The findings were collated by analysts at Business Name Generator, using the latest data from the U.S. Labor Department’s monthly Job Openings and Labor Turnover Survey. The analysis uncovers the industries that are showing the most job opportunity compared to last year.
Following federal government and logistics, health and social care experienced the third largest hire boom out of all U.S. industries in the last year, ahead of sectors including local government and hospitality.
Top 5 industries by hire number increase over last year:
1. Federal government – 17.5%
2. Transportation, warehousing, and utilities – 15.6%
3. Health care and social assistance – 9.9%
4. State and local government – 8.3%
5. Mining and logging – 7.0%
A healthcare workforce analysis from Mercer suggests that the healthcare industry will face challenging circumstances in the years to come, notably due to labor shortages. It is estimated that demand for healthcare workers will outpace supply by 2025.
Chloe Chai, spokesperson from Business Name Generator, says:
“The findings that the health and social care sector has experienced a 10% increase in hires year on year are encouraging for the industry as well as potential candidates at this economically uncertain time. It is positive to see that there are still industries that are creating job opportunities.
“With the shift towards telehealth and remote healthcare services accelerated by the COVID-19 pandemic, some areas of the health and social care industry have seen a surge in demand, making it a potentially lucrative sector for job seekers. The increase in hires in this industry and the continued high number of job openings is good news for people looking for new opportunities.”
“The continued growth of this industry will depend on how well it can navigate the challenges it faces, but the data provides a reason to be optimistic.”