Dive Brief:
- According to the monthly jobs report, which was released last Friday, jobs growth for hospital was up for the 10th straight month and has seen gains in 14 of the last 15 months.
- According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, in the past year alone hospitals have gained more than 100,000 jobs.
- The last time the hospital sector saw gains this high was in 2008, before the recession began to take its toll.
Dive Insight:
According to Forbes contributor Dan Diamond, the Affordable Care Act has been a major driver of hospital jobs growth, and in the healthcare industry as a whole. "The law's effects have been especially felt in the past year, as the ACA's dual strategy for coverage expansion—the launch of the insurance exchanges, and growth of the Medicaid program—have kicked in," Forbes said in an article. "The nation's uninsurance rate has fallen to a record low of about 11%, nearly half of what it was just a few years ago."
Diamond also noted that hospitals are increasingly reporting their best financial performances in years. Cleveland Clinic recently reported an increase of around 45% in operating income compared to the same period last year, largely due to state Medicaid expansion. And HCA reported $500 million in adjusted EBITDA this year, which it attributed to the ACA.