More than half of the U.S. job gains in the Labor Department’s new employment report came from the healthcare sector, but looming cuts to healthcare spending could change that in the near future.

The labor department Wednesday said employers added 130,000 jobs in January and the unemployment rate dropped slightly, to 4.3% from 4.4 % a month earlier. Of those new jobs, more than half, or 82,000, were in the healthcare industry.

Healthcare jobs have carried the U.S. labor market for more than a year while hiring in other industries like retail and manufacturing have been largely flat. Analysts credit this growing segment to a population of aging Baby Boomers with more healthcare needs requiring more nurses and other medical care professionals to care for them.

More than 10,000 Americans........

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