Dive Brief:
- Healthcare job growth in the U.S. seems to be taking off again at a rate not seen since the onset of the Great Recession.
- According to the Altarum Institute's Center for Sustainable Health Spending, the average monthly gain in jobs is 26,000 physicians. That's up 50% from the 17,500 average between March 2013 and March of this year.
- Leading the job growth was outpatient care centers, which added 33,000 jobs over the past year; outpatient growth overall saw even more robust growth, adding 62,800 jobs.
Dive Insight:
Though overall healthcare job growth is obviously on the upswing, it's worth noting that hospitals' job growth is comparatively modest, gaining 6,200 jobs last month. That's a significant bounce upward from the monthly average of 1,400 stretching back the past two years, but it still remains a relatively slow rate of growth.
One key reason average hospital job growth is relatively slow could be the failure of many states to expand their Medicaid programs. A recent report by the HHS concluded that universal Medicaid expansion could save hospitals $5.7 billion per year in uncompensated costs, which would probably lead to faster hiring. But as things stand, a fair number of hospitals in states without a Medicaid expansion are having to cut staff, eliminate positions, cut back on hours, and even close down entirely.