Health care, job engine for Mass., is pulling back

The Boston Globe reports:

Through good times, bad times, and everything in between, the one industry that Massachusetts could count on to keep adding jobs was health care. Not anymore.

The stalwart of the state economy is struggling these days as expenses rise, patient visits decline, reimbursements shrink, and pressure to control health care costs intensifies. Over the past six months, according to state statistics, the health care sector has had no employment growth, a stunning development for an industry that has steadily added jobs through even the worst recessions.

A slowing health care industry would have broad implications for the Massachusetts economy. Health care is the state’s biggest employment sector, accounting for about one in six jobs, and has provided stability through downturns and support for recoveries.

Just in the past few weeks, hospitals in Beverly, Leominster, and Pittsfield have said they will cut more than 200 jobs combined. Financially struggling Cambridge Health Alliance, which operates so-called safety net hospitals in Cambridge, Somerville, and Everett, has cut nearly 450 full-time jobs over the past 18 months, and is seeking a buyer or affiliation with another health care provider.

An article well worth your time.