Chart of the Week: Staffing Improves In One Of PE’s Favored Industries

The Bureau of Labor Statistics’s preliminary data for October indicates there are 17.1 million jobs in health care and social assistance in the United States. The segment has produced the largest employment gain since December 2011. The bureau’s Current Employment Statistics program surveys about 141,000 businesses and government agencies to gather detailed industry data on employment, hours, and earnings of workers on nonfarm payrolls. The employment data is seasonably adjusted. The retail trade sector employed 14.83 million, as of October 2012. Click the link at right for a larger version of the graphic.