Year-over-year healthcare spending was fastest within the home health sector for the third straight month, according to a Health Sector Economic Indicators brief for October by nonprofit research and consulting firm Altarum.
Healthcare spending overall grew 6% year over year during October 2023, representing 17.4% of the national gross domestic product, according to the report. At the same time, consumers’ utilization of healthcare services has continued to outpace the price of those services. The Health Care Price Index estimated a 2.9% year-over-year increase in November, while utilization grew by 4.8%
Home health and personal care again dominated spending growth. October saw a 2.9% rise in personal care spending, driven by utilization rates rather than price increases. The fastest-growing category was home healthcare, which saw a 13.5% increase year-over-year. Prices for home health services were also among the fastest-growing at a rate of 4.3%.
The healthcare industry overall added 76,800 jobs in November, which tied July 2023 for the most jobs added in a month compared to the previous year. This constituted roughly 35% of all the jobs added to the United States economy during the month, which added just under 199,000. Still, economywide job growth in November — 199,000 — fell behind the 12-month average of 232,600. Unemployment dropped slightly to 3.7%.
Nursing and residential care facilities brought in the most new workers, with 17,300 jobs added in November. Nursing homes followed with 5,700 new jobs.
Wage growth in healthcare was 3.7% year-over-year in October, slightly lower than the private sector average of 4%. The segments that saw the fastest wage increases were again nursing and residential care, followed by hospitals and then ambulatory care.
A recent industry report found that many home care providers have turned to recruitment and retention bonuses rather than wage bumps to address ongoing turnover problems and staffing shortages.
