Nursing and residential care employment remains down by 363,000 jobs, representing a 10.7% decline since the start of the pandemic, according to Altarum. The good news, however, is that nursing and residential care facilities added 9,400 jobs in June, the nonprofit noted in its Health Sector Economic Indicators brief, released Friday.
Overall healthcare employment remains just under its pre-pandemic peak, down 78,000 jobs, or 0.5%, compared with February 2020, the authors stated.
Wages in residential care settings grew by 9.7% in June, compared with the 8.5% growth seen in hospitals and 5.6% seen in ambulatory care settings, according to the brief.
“Wages in healthcare have been growing faster than overall wages in the past year, with year over year growth averaging 6.9% in healthcare since July 2021, compared to 5.1% for all private sector jobs,” the authors stated.
Overall, national health spending has begun to show signs of acceleration, growing in June by 6.3% year-over-year, according to Altarum. Health spending, however, has declined as a percentage of the gross domestic product, accounting for 17.9% of GDP in June
In December, health spending made up 18.8% of the GDP, but the GDP in June was 9.6% higher than the same time last year, and “GDP growth continues to outpace health spending growth,” according to the brief.
The overall Health Care Price Index increased by 2.7% year-over-year in July, down slightly from the 2.8% growth in June. July’s 2.7% price growth is above the 2022 average of 2.4% and is the second-largest increase seen through the first seven months of this year, Altarum said.
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