Hospitals and health systems lose 5,800 jobs in April

Hospitals and health systems lost 5,800 jobs in April, as U.S. jobs overall increased by 266,000, according to preliminary data released today by the Bureau of Labor Statistics. The health care field overall lost 4,100 jobs to remain just under 16 million total (seasonally adjusted). Outpatient care centers, physicians, dentists and other office-based providers continued to add jobs, while “nursing and residential care facilities” lost about 19,500 jobs. 
 
Based on updated preliminary data for March, hospitals and health systems added 5,200 jobs in March rather than losing 600 jobs as reported last month. Since the beginning of the pandemic, hospitals and health systems have added over 29,000 jobs, but remain below their February 2020 peak.