The Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) July 2020 Hiring Situation revealed that 1.8 million jobs were gained during the month of July, a pace that is slowing since explosive job gains in the months of May and June . Unemployment edged down from 11.1% to 10.2%. These improvements in the labor market reflect the continued resumption of economic activity that had been curtailed due to the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic and efforts to contain it. The economy has regained only 9.3 million of 22 million jobs lost between February and April.
The healthcare sector added 125,500 jobs, with hospitals accounting for 27,400 jobs and ambulatory care settings adding 126,200. Gains within healthcare were once again tempered due to continued losses in nursing care facilities. Healthcare unemployment dipped, with the overall industry rate dropping from 7.2% to 6.6% and the unemployment rate within hospitals edging down to 3.1% from 4.5%. Employment in healthcare is down by 797,000 since February.