The health care sector is doing the heavy lifting when it comes to jobs growth, and recent federal labor data shows that without it, the labor market would be in serious trouble.

In fact, if you take health care and social assistance out of the picture for January data, overall growth would be barely noticeable, as most other sectors are treading water or falling behind.

The latest jobs report from the Bureau of Labor Statistics showed that total nonfarm payroll employment rose by 130,000 in January — and health care alone comprised nearly two-thirds of that total (63%). When health care is grouped with social assistance (as it usually is in federal data) the two sectors comprised 95% of all job growth in January.

This isn’t a one-month fluke. During 2025, health care job growth averaged 33,000 new jobs each month, while most sectors saw little change or declines throughout the year.

Since 2022, the change in the education and health services “supersector” has seen greater year-over-year growth than any other major sector. From 2024 through 2025, hiring increased by 2.86%, compared to the only other sectors with positive growth: utilities (+1.54%), leisure and hospitality (0.89%) and construction (+0.53%).

Over the past four years, as expressed by the total number of jobs added, health care has outpaced all other job sectors.

(Note: The chart below depicts “supersectors,” which means it groups health care with education services.)

The only other sector that’s close in total number of jobs added is professional and business services, which includes positions in legal and accounting services, advertising and administrative support.

However, December 2025 data from the most recent Job Openings and Labor Turnover Survey (JOLTS) report shows that professional and business services had one of the highest layoff and discharges — in both rates and absolute numbers — compared to other sectors, suggesting that it’s not performing as it once did.

By contrast, JOLTS data showed few people involuntarily left health care due to layoffs in December, while quits also remained low — both indicators of a strong, stable environment in the sector.

Health care is one of the few recession-proof job sectors — there will always be chronic conditions, illness and an aging population. That high demand creates a steady need for workers, and that need is only growing.