Healthcare employment boom may be ending

During the last 20 years, healthcare employment has stayed on a steady, strong upward trajectory. But now that steady upward climb is showing signs of flattening out, according to a US News & World Report story last week. July jobs data showed healthcare added only 2,500 jobs, its lowest monthly total in 10 years. July 2003 was the previous low, and it was also the only negative month for the industry over the span of available data from the Labor Department, which stretches back to 1990.

And it's not just that July was an outlier. In 2013, healthcare hiring has averaged 15,700 new jobs per month. That's well below the 26,700 average of 2012 and 19,800 in 2011. If 2013's average remains at 15,700, it would be the lowest average monthly growth in healthcare employment since 1999, when average monthly growth was 12,000, the paper reported.

Source: US News & World Report