An increasing percentage of Maine’s employment comes from hospitals as the state continues to lead the nation in the portion of workers who are supported by hospital employment, according to a national survey.
The latest economic impact report from the American Hospital Association shows Maine with a higher percentage of total workers supported by hospital employment, at 13%, than the rest of the nation.
In 2009, that figure for Maine stood at 12.5% and was at 11.58% in a 2007 tally.
The latest figures show a raw increase of more than 2,000 full- and part-time hospital jobs in Maine from 2007 to 2011. In 2007, the total was 34,068 jobs and in 2011, 36,478.
The survey shows a related increase in economic impact from Maine’s hospitals — from $6.9 billion in 2007 to $8.3 billion in 2011 — but the state remains near the bottom in a dollar-amount ranking of the statewide economic impact from hospitals.
For example, the study puts the economic impact of Massachusetts’ hospitals at around $51 billion.