Health care shines amid gloomy employment stats

INDIANAPOLIS - The health care sector added 34,000 jobs last month even as the economy as a whole saw its largest job cuts in 34 years, according to the latest figures from the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics.

Analysts point to increased health care usage and perpetual employee shortages in that sector as factors behind the growth.

The U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics said Friday employers cut 533,000 jobs overall in November to push the unemployment rate from 6.5 percent in October to 6.7 percent, a 15-year high. But the health care sector saw job gains in hospitals, doctor's offices and nursing and residential care facilities. Employment in the industry has risen by 341,000 so far this year.

Stifel Nicolaus analyst Robert Hawkins, who monitors the industry, was asked for the first thing that comes to mind to help explain this growth. His one-word response: obesity.

"What's very interesting, I think, is health care expenditures have grown at double the rate of (gross domestic product) for 30-something years," he said.

Hawkins said price plays a role in that growth. But the bigger factor is the increased use of health care due to chronic diseases caused by obesity. That leads to increased patient volume.

"With that volume comes jobs to take care of these folks," Hawkins said.

Robert W. Baird & Co. analyst Whit Mayo said certain parts of health care also seem to be perpetually short on employees like nurses or technicians.

"There's always been a shortage within the health care services sector, so when people lose their jobs, they go to job fairs and there are always signs up for jobs within facility-based organizations," he said.

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