November 2016 Health Sector Economic Indicators Briefs

Health care added 30,500 jobs in October, a bit less than the 12-month average of 34,600 jobs. By several metrics, health job growth peaked in mid-2015 and has been slowing gradually through 2016. At a $3.41 trillion rate, national health spending in September 2016 was 5.4% higher than in September 2015, exhibiting a decline since May 2016 when the growth rate was 5.9%. The health spending share of GDP was 18.2% in September 2016, falling just below the all-time high of 18.3% seen in June 2016. In September 2016, our Health Care Price Index (HCPI) rose 2.1% above the September 2015 level. This is the fastest rate since August 2012, mainly due to prescription drugs whose price growth of 7.0% is the highest since 1992.