The healthcare industry and more specifically, hospitals, are continuing to support economic growth and stability across the country.
An annual review from the American Hospital Association found that in 2015, hospitals provided 1 in 9 U.S. jobs, reported Fierce Healthcare. Directly, there were 5.7 million people working in hospitals that year, however, an additional 10.3 million positions were also filled as a result of the “ripple effect.”
Reporting on data from the Bureau of Labor and Statistics, Fierce Healthcare noted that hiring trends are continuing this year. In January 2017, hospitals added 4,000 jobs and ambulatory care services created 11,000 new positions.
Those figures brought the total numbers of employees in the healthcare industry to over 15 million.
In addition to supporting employment, hospitals also help to drive the economy. According to a blog post by the AHA STAT staff that accompanied the annual review of the association​, in 2015 hospitals supported over $2.8 trillion in economic activity. The review found that hospitals shelled out close to $852 billion on services and goods from other industries and businesses.
“Hospitals provide vital high-quality health care services to millions of people each year and support a healthy, productive workforce,” wrote the AHA STAT staff. “But what’s not well enough known is how all that quality healthcare acts as an engine driving trillions of dollars of economic activity in communities across the nation.”
