LIVING WELL Magazine

SENIOR Magazine Buzz: Government data and information from employment Web sites show growth in health system hiring.

Medicine continued to be the bright spot in the economic downturn, adding 21,500 jobs in December 2009, with 8,900 in physician offices, according to preliminary data released Jan. 8 by the Bureau of Labor Statistics.

Another 2,500 were created in outpatient medical centers, and 8,000 were added to the home health care services industry. Hospital employment increased by 1,400.

The economy as a whole lost 85,000 jobs, and the unemployment rate held steady at 10%.

Experts suggested that these numbers not only indicated that the health system is getting stronger economically, but also that delivery of care is shifting to the outpatient setting. Most health care sectors added positions, but physician offices did so more quickly than in prior months. Hospitals did so more slowly.

Senior Magazine connects this growing industry with the fastest growing segment of the population, baby boomers.