Since January 1985, when the Bureau of Labor Statistics began keeping track of employment in home healthcare services, growth of jobs in the field has been relatively consistent. However, as the baby boomer generation ages and the need for more healthcare services increases, home healthcare is projected to become the fastest growing industry in the U.S. over the next several years, according to a Bloomberg View report.
In January 1985, there were 138,400 home healthcare workers, representative of just 0.14 percent of total nonfarm employment. In October 1994, there were 576,300 home healthcare workers, according to the report. BLS projected more than 900,000 by 2005, but that figure didn't actualize because of the Balanced Budget Act of 1997, which mandated substantial cuts to Medicare by reducing payments to healthcare service providers.
However, the BLS' latest jobs report shows growth has resumed. As of September, there were 1.33 million home healthcare workers in the U.S. BLS economists project by 2022 there will be 1.9 million home healthcare workers, making it the most rapidly growing industry in the U.S., ahead of other job categories such as individual and family services and outpatient, laboratory and other ambulatory care services.