New Jersey hospitals’ total economic activity reached more than $18.6 billion in 2010, an increase of about $40 million compared with 2009, according to the New Jersey Hospital Association.
In its, “New Jersey Hospitals 2011 Economic Impact Report,” NJHA stated that New Jersey’s hospitals provided 114,000 full-time jobs last year and about 140,000 total jobs when including part-time positions.
Other financial contributions noted in the report include:
- Nearly $19 billion in total expenditures
- $2.3 billion in purchased services
- Close to $8 billion in total employee salaries
- In excess of $400 million in state income taxes paid by hospital employees
- More than $1.3 billion in charity care services to New Jersey’s working poor and other uninsured residents.
According to the report, “Labor projections through 2016 from the State of New Jersey show that the healthcare sector is second only to state, county and municipal governments in total employment.”
The state’s Department of Labor says that healthcare is the largest industry for job growth in New Jersey, increasing 1.5 percent in 2010.
“In this economy, it’s all about jobs. And once again, New Jersey’s hospitals demonstrate their importance as a vital source of employment in our state,” said Sean Hopkins, NJHA’s senior vice president of health economics. “But hospitals’ contributions extend far beyond jobs. This report also shows hospitals’ critical role as a healthcare safety net for those who have lost their health insurance, providing more than $1.3 billion in charity care services last year.”