The March 2021 Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) Hiring Situation Report revealed that payrolls surged in the final month of Q1 2021, with the economy adding 916,000 new jobs- the largest gains seen since September 2020. The unemployment rate inched down to 6.0% in March from 6.2% in February. These improvements in the labor market reflect the continued resumption of economic activity that had been curtailed due to COVID-19. However, overall healthcare employment changed little last month and hospital employment has declined in each month of 2021 so far. Within healthcare, 11,500 new jobs were added in March, the majority of which were added in ambulatory care settings (15,300). These gains were offset by a loss of 600 jobs in hospital settings and 3,200 in nursing and residential care facilities.
