The health care sector added about 315,000 jobs last year, the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics said in its latest report, making it one of the better performing industries of the past year.

In December alone, health care gained 23,000 jobs, while employment in hospitals went up 10,000, the BLS said in a report published Jan. 6.

All told, the private sector gained 212,000 jobs last month, and 1.9 million jobs for 2011. The public sector fared much worse: over the past 12 months, the government shed some 280,000 jobs, the BLS said.

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