11 Surprising facts about the role of healthcare in economic recession and recovery in the nation’s 100 largest metropolitan areas

1. Over the past decade, the healthcare industry has added 2.6 million jobs nationwide
2. The industry’s 22.7 percent employment growth rate over that period significantly outstripped the 2.1 percent employment growth rate in all other industries
3. Across the 100 largest metropolitan areas, the healthcare industry accounts for more than one in every 10 jobs
4. Most healthcare-intensive metro areas are found in the Northeast and industrial Midwest, and in areas of Florida with large senior populations
5. In every one of the 100 largest metro areas, healthcare today represents a higher share of jobs than before the recession struck
6. In 11 metro areas that span every major U.S. region, healthcare has accounted for more than 25 percent of that job growth
7. The occupational distribution of healthcare workers does not dramatically differ across metro areas, although healthcare support workers have the greatest variation between places
8. Healthcare practitioners (such as doctors, nurses, and dentists) on average account for 3.5 percent of all workers across the 100 largest metro areas
9. Healthcare support workers (such as nursing assistants and home health aides) account for 2.9 percent of all workers across the 100 largest metro areas
10. Wages for healthcare workers vary among occupation types and across metro areas
11. Practitioners have the highest earnings among healthcare workers and earn nearly double the average worker across all metropolitan areas

Source: Brookings Institution, Healthcare Metro Monitor Supplement
Source URL: http://www.brookings.edu/research/reports/2013/07/01-healthc...