Leaders in Washington, D.C., are working on jobs legislation. A primary strategy in their efforts should be focusing on existing high-value employment opportunities—sectors that have grown and where additional investment might prove to be beneficial.

Health care is one of those growth areas, remaining a stable segment of the U.S. economy. For example, over the past 12 months, the nation’s health care sector added over 300,000 jobs, while jobs were lost in many other sectors.

In Kansas, hospitals employ 62,446 people or 3.4 percent of all job holders in the state, with a total payroll over $3.2 billion, according to a report by the K-State Research and Extension’s Office of Local Government. The entire health sector in Kansas employs 184,483 people or 10 percent of all job holders in the state. This puts Kansas ahead of the national average of 9.1 percent of all job holders in the United States working in health care services.

As hospitals expand services and facilities, they not only provide additional opportunities for employment, but they also generate economic activity and income in other sectors of the economy. The K-State Research and Extension report found that Kansas hospitals generate more than $3.2 billion in direct total income to the Kansas economy each year. For every one dollar of income generated by hospitals, another $0.47 was generated in other business and industry. Thus, hospitals had an estimated total impact on income throughout all business and industry of nearly $4.8 billion.

Kansas hospitals believe that supporting increased investment in areas of our economy that are poised for growth is a smart move in helping stabilize employment in our communities. When lawmakers look for opportunities to build employment, they should keep an eye on health care and hospitals.

Download The Importance of the Health Care Sector to the Kansas Economy, produced by researchers at the Office of Local Government, K-State Research and Extension, at www.kha-net.org.

Tom Bell president and CEO of the Kansas Hospital Association, a not-for-profit association of health care provider organizations and individuals committed to the health improvement of their communities.