The Wall Street Journal reported today that the traditionally protected jobs in our nation's health care industry are now coming under attack as employers, from hospitals and nursing homes to pharmaceutical manufacturers, feel the effects of the current recession:
Across the country, hospitals are taking financial hits. They are seeing losses in the portfolios that they rely on for investment income. The number of uninsured patients is rising. Elective procedures — which reap big profits — are down at a third of hospitals nationwide. Nursing homes are trimming payrolls. And with state governments continuing to cut budgets and talk of health-care reform from Washington, industry executives are preparing for even leaner times.
-The Wall Street Journal, April 13, 2009
As we have previously reported, WANTED's Hiring Demand data indicates that jobs in the health care sector are not safe, with the number of new job ads dropping into negative territory. It is possible that this trend is now beginning to show up in the economy as actual job losses.
Still, post-recession prospects for employment in the health care sector look good:
Growth in health-care spending, and thus employment in the sector, is likely to rebound when the recession ends, a function of the enormous advances in medical technology and Americans' strong appetite for health care. President Barack Obama has also named the sector one of his three pillars of the future U.S. economy, alongside energy and education. Health expenditures as a share of gross domestic product have more than tripled in the past 50 years to about 16% today, and the government's Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services say that figure is likely to hit 20% within a decade.
-The Wall Street Journal, April 13, 2009
WANTED's Hiring Demand IndicatorsTM provides monthly forecasts and analysis of jobs data in the health care sector.
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