Industry
Healthcare Jobs Drive Nearly All US Employment Growth
In a Peterson-KFF Health System Tracker analysis, researchers report that healthcare has added 372,000 jobs (up 2.0%) since September 2025, while the rest of the economy added just 124,000 jobs (up 0.1%), based on BLS data. The piece notes healthcare now represents an all-time-high 11.7% share of total US employment, driven by an aging population, chronic disease prevalence, and jobs that resist automation. It also flags downside risk: CBO projects over 10 million more uninsured people by 2036 due to ACA and Medicaid policy changes, which could strain hospital revenues and slow healthcare job growth, particularly given hospitals' obligation to treat emergency patients regardless of ability to pay.
Why it mattersCoverage losses projected from Medicaid and ACA policy changes could squeeze hospital and provider revenues and reverse a decade-long trend of healthcare employment growth that states and plans rely on for workforce and economic planning.