Home health jobs increased by 12,300 from April to May amid lower-than-expected overall employment gains, according to new data.

On Friday, the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics reported that there were 1.797 million seasonally adjusted home health employees on payroll in May, up from 1,785 million in April. The department also reported that changes in a New York state program caused workers to be reclassified into a different industry, impacting the number of health care jobs recorded in April.

“Changes in the administration of a New York state program caused workers who had previously been paid by establishments in the home health care services component of the health care industry to be included on payrolls in the individual and family services component of social assistance,” a statement from the labor department read. “This movement is reflected in the April 2025 estimates and contributed to an employment decline in health care and an employment gain in social assistance.”

The New York State Department of Health moved its self-directed home care program to have a single fiscal intermediary, Public Partnerships LLC (PPL), and announced that it would require caregivers paid through the program to re-register with PPL by April 1. The deadline for registration has since been extended multiple times. PPL has stated that it has issued payments to 210,000 personal assistants. 

Home health jobs in May 2025 increased to 1.791 million, up from 1.734 million in May 2024, according to the new data. Home health services are in high demand, with estimates suggesting that the industry will have to fill an estimated 5 million jobs by 2040. 

The unemployment rate held steady at 4.2%.Overall employment combined from March and April was 95,000 lower than was previously estimated. Job growth slowed due to uncertainty about tariffs instituted by the Trump administration, according to Reuters.