Hospitals are economic drivers even during a recession, a new report says.
The health care industry as a whole continued to grow throughout the Great Recession, adding an average of 26,000 jobs per month in 2013. Hospitals, because they offer essential services, are a big part of that growth, according to a recent report from the American Hospital Association.
The report highlights hospital’s economic impact, showing they employ 5.6 million people in the U.S. directly, and indirectly support an additional 10.1 million jobs. That makes hospitals the second largest source of private sector jobs, according to the report.
In Vermont, nearly 10 percent of the workforce is employed by a hospital or works in job supported by a hospital. That’s just below the national average for states of 11.5 percent.
Nationwide, hospitals spent $782 billion on goods and services from other businesses in 2013, and in Vermont that translated to $1.78 in economic output for every dollar a hospital spent.
To read the full report click here.
