New York’s home health workforce has continued its pattern of extraordinary growth, increasing by 62,000 jobs or 12 percent in a single year, according to newly released data from the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics. 

The state was home to 566,000 home health and personal care aides as of May 2023, up from 504,000 the year before, according BLS’s Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics, an annual survey posted this week.

That equates to 159 aides per 1,000 residents over 65, the highest rate in the U.S.

The one-year increase of 62,000 was more than double the number in any other state – and accounted for a third of nationwide growth in the category.

Within New York, home health aides represented more than one-fifth of the 284,000 total jobs added statewide during the year. They remained the largest job category in the state, outnumbering retail salespersons by more than 2-1.

The scale of New York’s home health industry – most of which is financed by the government-funded Medicaid health plan – is a sticking point in negotiations over the state budget, which have continued past the April 1 start of the fiscal year. 

Governor Hochul has called for curtailing spending on home-based long-term care, but her proposals face opposition from industry groups, advocates for the disabled and their allies in the Legislature.

The BLS data shows that New York’s overall health-care workforce grew to 1.3 million workers in 2023, about 14 percent of all jobs in the state. That was a one-year increase of 74,000 or 6 percent, about twice the average rate for all occupations statewide. It’s also 146,000 jobs or 12 percent larger than it was in May 2019, the last survey before the pandemic.

The bulk of that increase occurred in “healthcare support occupations,” which includes home health aides, with a one-year increase of 10 percent or 70,000 jobs. The category of “healthcare practitioners and technical occupations” – which includes doctors, nurses and other licensed caregivers – saw a one-year increase of 1 percent or 4,000 jobs.

The study showed a one-year decrease of 2,000 jobs or 1 percent among registered nurses, the second-largest health-care occupation and the fifth-largest overall. However, the total of 188,000 R.N.s was still 5 percent higher than before Covid-19 struck.