Altarum released its monthly brief on August 28 that analyzes the most recent data available on health sector spending, prices, employment, and utilization. Overall, the brief indicates that national health spending continues to accelerate with health care prices rising faster than overall inflation and the health care sector accounting for nearly half of all new jobs added in July 2024.

Of the 55,000 jobs added to the health care sector in July 2024, nearly half of all job growth was driven by ambulatory health care services (26,300) followed closely by hospitals (19,500) and nursing/residential care facilities (9,200). Nominal health care wage growth was 3.6% year over year, with notable increases in nursing care and residential facilities (4.6%).

Support for this is brief is provided by a grant from the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation.