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Healthcare businesses added more than 37,000 jobs in January, the U.S. Department of Labor’s Bureau of Labor Statistics said on Friday, as the first month of 2016 seemed to extend the sector’s job-creating trend over the past year. Overall, the U.S. economy added 151,000 jobs in the month and the unemployment rate fell slightly to 4.9 percent. [Also: The 29 best jobs in healthcare] The highest job gains in January came from hospitals, which added 23,700 jobs in the month, followed by ambulatory centers, which added 10,700 jobs. According to the labor department, healthcare has added 470,000 jobs in the past 12 months, with 40 percent of those jobs being created by hospitals. On the other hand, a few sub-sectors of healthcare actually lost jobs in January, the labor department said. Dentist offices shed 1,500 jobs in the month, data show, while medical and diagnostic laboratories lost more than 3,700 positions. Here's the seasonally adjusted breakdown for the healthcare sector. All numbers are in thousands: Industry Jan. 2015 Nov. 2015 Dec. 2015 Jan. 2016 Change Industry Jan. 2015 Nov. 2015 Dec. 2015 Jan. 2016 Change Healthcare 14,869.40 15,267.00 15,302.30 15,339.10 36.8 Ambulatory healthcare 6,752.20 6,967.50 6,989.20 6,999.90 10.7 Physicians offices 2,497.00 2,564.20 2,568.00 2,574.00 6 Dentists offices 898.6 917.3 925.9 924.4 -1.5 Other healthcare offices 798.3 823.7 827 831.1 4.1 Outpatient care centers 730.6 757.4 760.9 760.5 -0.4 Medical and diagnostic laboratories 254.3 261.1 259.7 256 -3.7 Home health care services 1,291.50 1,349.60 1,354.10 1,360.40 6.3 Other ambulatory healthcare 282 294.2 293.7 293.5 -0.2 Hospitals 4,834.90 4,987.60 5,000.00 5,023.70 23.7 Nursing and residential care facilities 3,282.30 3,311.90 3,313.10 3,315.50 2.4 Nursing care facilities 1,652.80 1,659.20 1,660.10 1,659.20 -0.9 Residential mental health facilities 605.9 609.3 608.7 610.6 1.9 Community care facilities for the elderly 862 882 881.7 883.3 1.6 Other residential care facilities 161.7 161.4 162.6 162.4 -0.2 Twitter: @HenryPowderly

Electronic health record giant Epic Systems has cracked Glassdoor's list of top 20 companies that provide their employees unique benefits and perks. Epic joined other well-known businesses in the field of healthcare IT as well as business titans such as Netflix, Facebook, Google and Disney. Glassdoor, one of the three largest U.S. job websites, picked companies with unique benefits by analyzing hundreds of thousands of reviews employees posted on its website since August 2014. Among some of the benefits: "Panda Fridays," improv classes, ski slope passes and a $30-a-month book allowance. [Also: Epic buys Mayo Clinic data center in $46 million sale-leaseback] The Glassdoor analysis puts Epic at No. 16 on the list of top 20 companies, with an overall benefit rating of 4.3 out of 5. It's credited for, among other perks, enabling its employees – once they've worked for the company five years – to take a paid four-week sabbatical to pursue their creative talents. [Like Healthcare IT News on Facebook] Other firms in the healthcare space are on the list. Accenture, touted for its commitment to LGBT rights, covers gender reassignment for its employees. PwC offers its employees $1,200 per year for student loan debt reimbursement. Salesforce offers six days of paid volunteer time off each year, and $1,000 for employees to donate to the charities of their choice. Other tech companies in Glassdoor's Top 20 include Twitter, which offers on-site acupuncture and improv classes; Adobe, which shuts down the company for a week each in winter and summer, and Airbnb, which gives employees an annual stipend of $2,000 to travel and stay in an Airbnb listing anywhere worldwide. Twitter: @HealthITNews

Advanced degrees and credentials literally pay off for health IT professionals. Additional credentials such as certifications, in fact, roughly double the chances professionals have of earning an annual salary greater than $130,000, according to a new survey from the University of South Florida Morsani College of Medicine, Bisk Education, and HIMSS. While 29 percent of survey respondents said they make more than $130,000 annually, only 12 percent without credentials rank in that category. Women lead in the realm of furthering education, with 232 reporting additional credentials compared with 150 male survey respondents, the survey said.  [Also: Healthcare IT workers shortage stings in Georgia] The majority of health IT professionals earn salaries greater than $80,000 per year, the study found, and 140 survey respondents said they were very satisfied with their career in health informatics compared with only 18 describing themselves as very dissatisfied,. The survey included 404 health IT professionals from 7 countries and 42 U.S. states. There is a correlation between the level of education and job satisfaction: Professionals with advanced degrees (master’s and doctorates) are more likely to be very satisfied (89 respondents) or at least somewhat satisfied (55) with their career choice, compared with people who are very dissatisfied (4), the survey determined. [Also: Big salary gap between men, women healthcare pros] Of the 404 survey respondents, 303 reported unique job titles. The potential exists to categorically break down job titles and discover how the different categories correlate with income and education, the University of South Florida Morsani College of Medicine said; however, there is a larger narrative here concerning the profession’s many niches, which require professionals with a wide range of skills and backgrounds. Health IT professionals overwhelmingly see career growth over the next five years: 337 survey respondents believe their career will continue to grow, compared with only 41 who do not. Twitter: @SiwickiHealthIT

Though longtime CIO Edward Marx, vice president at the Advisory Board Company, has won several awards as leader in the health IT sector, according to him it's nurses who should be the most recognized in healthcare.

Jeff Brown has been appointed senior vice president and chief information officer of Seattle Children's, the hospital announced today. He has filled the interim CIO position since April 2015. Brown joined Seattle Children's from Lawrence General Hospital in Massachusetts in April 2015. [Also: CIOs target population health, patient engagement in 2016] "We are thrilled Jeff has assumed the permanent role of CIO," said Lisa Brandenburg, president, Seattle Children's. "Jeff brings tremendous experience, and during his time as interim CIO, he has made key improvements within our Information Services Department and will be integral in supporting our next strategic plan with the technical elements necessary to excel in an increasingly competitive healthcare market," she added. While at Lawrence General, Brown served as CIO, focusing on mobile health IT within the integrated health system and accountable care organization. Population health and digital healthcare strategies were also his focus. He previously served in senior management positions in organizations that include Partners HealthCare and Steward Health Care Network. Twitter: @JessiefDavis

Patricia Mechael has been appointed executive vice president, Personal Connected Health Alliance at HIMSS, effective April 15, HIMSS President and CEO Steve Lieber announced on Thursday. Mechael will serve as consultant for HIMSS until her official appointment. She'll facilitate market analysis, business planning processes and guide immediate term goals. At PCHA, she hopes to advance trends toward self-care technology as a way to address challenges such as chronic illness management and mental health. [Also: The making of an mHealth maven] Mechael most recently served as executive director of the mHealth Alliance and as Principal and Policy Lead for HealthEnabled. She also has collaborated with the mHealth Summit for more than seven years. She has 15 years of experience in field building and thought leadership. At HealthEnabled, she concentrates on global thought leadership and advocacy, research and policy work in Nigeria, South Africa and Uganda, while working with the World Health Organization to create a Global Health Index and State of the World's Digital Health Report. She was recently awarded a Rockefeller Foundation Bellagio Center fellowship for a study entitled, the Future of Health is Digital that highlighted the use of technology to improve patient outcomes and strengthen the health system. Twitter: @JessiefDavis

Sue Schade, chief information officer at University of Michigan Hospitals and Health Centers, plans to leave that role and will instead focus on consulting, coaching and interim management work after spending more than 30 years leading IT departments.

A new survey of healthcare organizations in Georgia shows a shortage of skilled health IT workers there.

The Department of Health and Human Services is not doing enough to manage its workforce programs, according to a recent report from the Government Accountability Office, the federal government's watchdog agency.

Daniel Barchi has taken the reins as chief information officer at NewYork-Presbyterian, where he will oversee a new telehealth program set to launch this year as well as the development and implementation of technology across the health system.