Report: State's Health Care Sector To Add Nearly 500K Jobs by 2020
The number of health care services and social assistance jobs in California is expected to increase by 3.6 percent annually between 2013 and 2020, according to an economic forecast by Chapman University's A. Gary Anderson Center for Economic Research.
The forecast, which is based on data from the California Employment Development Department, looks at the overall economy.
The report found that while California's job growth is faster than the national average, the pace is starting to slow. In 2013, California's job growth rate fell from 3 percent to 2.2 percent, according to the report.
According to the forecast, California's health care industry likely will add 498,000 jobs between 2013 and 2020. Meanwhile, pharmaceutical and medical device manufacturing jobs are expected to increase by 2.1 percent in that time period.
The report attributed the increase in health care jobs in part to the Affordable Care Act. The authors noted that about 3.4 million California residents in 2014 signed up for health insurance, including 1.2 million who bought private health plans under the ACA and 2.2 million who enrolled in Medi-Cal, the state's Medicaid program.
That gradual increase in California's insured population will lead to the health care industry's higher growth rate, according to the report.