The cost burdens for health care carried by businesses and individuals represent one of the biggest threats to the long-term competitiveness of our economy, and in turn slows job growth in other sectors.
There’s another, more positive, way in which they intersect—the health sector is one of the largest job creators in the country. Between 2001 and 2006, while many other sectors were cutting jobs, the health industry generated 1.7 million new positions. And while other sectors have lost jobs the past 12 months, health care has gained 217,000 new jobs.
