While the economy lost 7.5 million positions during the recession, health care expanded staff, due in large part to an aging population and rising health care spending. Amidst growing concern over how to sustain our society as it ages, this sector growth is a silver lining. Together with social assistance, the health care industry will add more than 5.6 million employees to become the largest job gainer by 2020, according to new projections released today by the Bureau of Labor Statistics. Furthermore, health care — including doctors, nurses and hospitals — was the largest contributor to employment growth in the past two years, with a 22 percent share that was almost twice as big as manufacturing. For investors, this means that, despite uncertainty over how the president’s health care reform law will ultimately impact the market, health insurers like Aetna Inc. and Humana Inc. could offer substantial rewards. For consumers, this makes the health care industry one of the most attractive career options available over the next several years.
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