However, job growth in some sectors — hospitals, nursing homes, restaurants and child care centers — is counteracting massive job cuts in the tech sector, The Wall Street Journal reported Feb. 9.
The information sector, which includes technology, only accounts for 2 percent of all private sector jobs. Meanwhile, healthcare, education, leisure and hospitality sectors compose 36 percent of the private sector — healthcare jobs alone account for 16 percent of payrolls — so when those industries are hiring, it’s more likely to show on the jobs report.
Those service industries added 1.19 million jobs in the past six months or 63 percent of all private sector jobs during that time period, up 16 percentage points from the 18 months prior. Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell said the jobs report was “certainly strong — stronger than anyone I know expected.”
As these sectors enter the final phase of pandemic recovery, they “absolutely have to hire,” Robert Frick, a corporate economist with Navy Federal Credit Union, told the Journal.
Job applications for healthcare positions on recruiting platform iCIMS were up 7 percent in December 2022 from January 2022, although they declined in other industries like manufacturing, finance and tech. Health systems including HCA Healthcare and Houston Methodist are taking advantage of this increased interest, according to the Journal.
“It is less challenging to hire than it was a year ago,” Marc Boom, MD, CEO of Houston Methodist, told the Journal. “We had a significant shortage of staff, in particular registered nurses, radiology technicians and many other clinical, patient-facing roles. But fortunately it’s gotten better.”
Dr. Boom said the hospital made 7,560 external hires in 2022 — up from 7,096 in 2021 — and has stepped back from reliance on hiring bonuses and temp labor to fill open roles. Still, the health system has 3,000 open jobs to fill.
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