Virginia health care sector gained 900 jobs in January

Virginia’s health care sector gained 900 new jobs in January, a 2.5% annualized one-month growth rate, according to a report released by the Virginia Department of Health Professions on Monday. This in the eighth time in nine months employment in the commonwealth’s health care sector has grown.

 

 

Virginia’s health care job growth bucks the national trend. Nationwide, the health care industry lost 96,200 jobs, which is a drop of -5.6%.

Elizabeth Carter, executive director of the Board of Health Professions and director of the DHP Healthcare Workforce Data Center, told State of Reform that the health care industry job growth will continue in Virginia.

“Based upon current U.S. Department of Labor projections, health care job openings are anticipated to be well above average and among the fastest growing now and into the next decade. Health care workforce policy researchers similarly point to increasing demand due to the growing and aging population and increasing access to insurance coverage.”

 

 

The pandemic put strains on the health care system, she said.

“COVID’s impact  on healthcare resources currently strains systems and will likely continue to drive additional acute and chronic care demands, especially in addressing still unknown “long-COVID” conditions.”

The report states:

“Despite December’s temporary setback, employment in Virginia’s HC&SA sector has still increased in eight of the past nine months. In fact, HC&SA employment in Virginia has increased by 32,400 since May. Thanks to this impressive growth, Virginia’s HC&SA sector has recovered nearly two-thirds of the jobs that it lost last April. As Virginia continues to expand distribution of the coronavirus vaccine over the coming months, further improvement to the state’s HC&SA employment prospects seems likely.”