Healthcare employment rose by 55,000 jobs in December from November, an increase of 0.3%, for a total of nearly 16.7 million jobs, according to seasonally adjusted data released last Friday by the US Bureau of Labor Statistics. Year over year, healthcare jobs increased by 3.6%.

The agency noted healthcare jobs have averaged a gain of 49,000 per month in 2022, considerably above the 2021 average monthly gain of 9,000.

Among healthcare jobs in December, ambulatory healthcare services saw an increase in employments of 30,000, hospitals recorded an increase of 16,000 and nursing and residential care facilities experienced an increase of 9,000.

While healthcare employment rose, the BLS noted temp jobs fell by 35,000 in December to a total of 3.04 million. This includes temp jobs of all types.

Total nonfarm employment in the US rose by 223,000 in December to a total of 153.7 million.