Prevention Matters

The President's Council of Economic Advisers has issued a new jobs report, and it should provide something to think about for those who questioned why funding for health care was included in this year's economic stimulus package.

The report projects the growth of health-related jobs versus all other occupations between 2000 and 2016 . It predicts 12% growth for “other occupations”; 35% growth for “health practitioners”; and 48% growth for “health care support.”

The biggest job growth of any category in the economy will come "not for doctors, nurses, or nursing home workers, but for a broadly defined group called 'other medical services and dentists.'” The report projects that this group, defined as “a broad category including the ever-expanding home health care, outpatient care, and medical and diagnostic laboratories subsectors,” will produce more than 2 million new jobs per year for the group, on average, between 2008 and 2016.