The Real Economy Blog

Economic News from RSM

Home > Coronavirus > CHART OF THE DAY: Lagging employment in education and health care

CHART OF THE DAY: Lagging employment in education and health care

by

Even as the economy begins to recover and jobs return, employment remains well below pre-pandemic levels in many key sectors. Two of these areas are education and health care, according to data recently released by the Labor Department.

Overall, there are 1.3 million fewer educational and medical personnel on payrolls compared to a year ago. But as the vaccine gains wider distribution, these sectors will be poised for a strong recovery.

This is already starting to happen in the education sector as parents press for schools to reopen. In February last year, before the pandemic set in, there were 3.8 million people on education payrolls. Twelve months later, those payrolls are 10.3% lower, at 3.4 million.

There is a similar story in health care, where providers had to postpone elective procedures last year to make room for the influx of coronavirus patients. Now, as cases decline, health care payrolls are improving but they remain 4.4% lower than a year ago. There were 20.8 million on health care payrolls before the pandemic and 19.9 million as of February, according to the Labor Department.

For more information on how the coronavirus pandemic is affecting midsize businesses, please visit the RSM Coronavirus Resource Center.

Related posts

  • Hospital hallway
    Medicaid expansion to lift health care in 2019

    Four states—Idaho, Nebraska, Utah and Montana— included Medicaid expansion on their ballots in 2018’s midterm elections. Montana’s ballot item was a renewal of expansion, which failed; the three other states saw Medicaid expansion initiatives pass, and we expect…

  • Scrutiny on private equity investment in health care increases

    As private equity groups continue to invest in the health care industry, their business practices are falling under increasing scrutiny from lawmakers, researchers and the news media.

  • Building the new normal in health care

    As the health care provider industry works toward a new normal, physical infrastructure scrutiny will likely be top of mind for many organizations.

About Joseph Brusuelas

@JoeBrusuelas

Joe Brusuelas, “chief economist to the middle market,” is the preeminent voice championing issues and policies facing midsize companies in the United States and around the world. An award-winning economist, Brusuelas has more than 20 years’ experience analyzing U.S. monetary policy, labor markets, fiscal policy, international finance, economic indicators and the condition of the U.S. consumer.

A member of the Wall Street Journal’s forecasting panel and the UCLA Anderson School of Management's Board of Directors, Brusuelas regularly briefs members of Congress and other senior officials regarding the impacts of federal policy on the middle market and the factors by which middle market executives make business decisions. He also frequently offers his insights on the U.S., Canadian and global economies in the financial media. In 2020, he was named one of the 100 most influential economists by Richtopia. In December 2023, Brusuelas and the economics team were recognized on Bloomberg's list of Best Bond Forecasters after correctly predicting where the benchmark Treasury would end the year.

Before joining RSM in 2014, Brusuelas spent four years as a senior economist at Bloomberg L.P. and the Bloomberg Briefs newsletter group, where he co-founded the award-winning Bloomberg Economic Brief. Earlier in his career, he was a director at Moody's Analytics covering the U.S. and global economies for the Dismal Scientist website. He also served as chief economist at Merk Investments L.L.C. and chief U.S. economist at IDEAglobal.

The Real Economy Blog