February 1, 2012 --- Oregon's community hospitals directly generated 59,580 full- and part-time jobs, and 69,790 secondary jobs (suppliers, vendors, contractors, etc.), totaling 5.9 percent of the total covered and uncovered employment in the state. This represents 129,370 jobs linked to hospitals across Oregon, according to a new economic impact study conducted by the economic research firm ECONorthwest and commissioned by the Oregon Association of Hospitals and Health Systems (OAHHS).
The report, Economic Contributions of Community Hospitals, also shows that direct and secondary economic activity of hospitals contributed $9.2 billion to Oregon's Gross State Product in 2010. Gross State Product is a measure of the value added in production and, in the economic impact model, represents the sum of personal income, other income and indirect business taxes.
The data shows that Oregon’s hospitals generated more jobs and revenue for Oregon in 2010 than when their impact was first measured in 2009. Year-over-year, hospitals created 3.5% more jobs, contributed 3.6% more to the Gross State Product, and helped generate 2.5% more state and local tax revenue.
"In this wavering economy, this is one of the more positive highlights in terms of job growth and economic stability," said Alec Josephson, senior economist at ECONorthwest and author of the report.
More Key Findings
- Collectively, hospitals in Oregon are associated with 129,370 full- and part-time jobs in Oregon in 2010.
- This represents 5.9 percent of the total covered and uncovered employment in Oregon in 2010.
- Every 10 direct jobs in hospitals are linked, on average, to another 12 jobs elsewhere in Oregon.
- The direct and secondary economic activity linked to hospitals contributed approximately $9.2 billion to Oregon’s Gross State Product (GSP) in 2010.
- Hospitals directly and indirectly generated approximately $715 million in tax and fee revenues for state and local tax jurisdictions in 2010.
"As we enter into the 2012 Legislative Session in Salem, we must be mindful of the imperative role that community hospitals play in job and revenue creation for the state," commented Andy Davidson, president and CEO of OAHHS. "We have a moral responsibility embrace health reform in a manner that does no harm to community hospitals, their employees and most importantly, the patients they serve."
To read more about the report, visit http://www.oahhs.org/impacts.
