Hospitals and Health Systems Add More than 20,000 Jobs in June

Hospitals and health systems added 20,500 jobs in June, while U.S. jobs overall increased by 372,000, according to data released today by the Bureau of Labor Statistics. Hospital employment remains almost 60,000 below its March 2020 peak but has grown in 18 of the past 25 months for a slow-but-steady job recovery. Total health care jobs grew by 56,700 in June to a seasonally adjusted 16.3 million, with hospitals leading job growth among health care employers. While these numbers are promising, hospitals and health systems continue to face workforce pressures and inflationary costs that are likely to persist as the pandemic shows little sign of slowing down.

South Dakota’s Department of Labor and Regulation released statewide employment projections by industries. The latest data was published July of 2022, provides a snapshot on projected growth per industry from 2020 to 2030. Our state’s hospitals 2020 employment numbers reached 28,255 people. Projected growth for the hospital industry by 2030 is expected to reach 32,213 employees or a 14% increase. Nursing homes and residential care facilities are not expected to see as much growth. In 2020 this industry employed 12,829 individuals and by 2030 are expected to reach 13,585, a growth of only 756 people or 5.9%.

There are also short-term industry employment projects available per industry for South Dakota, looking at 2021 through 2023. The latest data published in March of 2022 shows hospitals are expected to see a 3.9% growth by the end of 2023, nursing home and residential care facilities may only see 0.5% increase in employment growth.

To learn more about South Dakota’s labor market, visit the South Dakota Department of Labor and Regulation Labor Market Information Center.