New Jersey hospitals contributed $27.8 billion in direct economic activity in the 2020 pandemic year, but the total infusion to the state economy swells to $62 billion as hospital spending supports other industries, fuels job growth and creates business for main streets across New Jersey.

The New Jersey Hospital Association captured these economic inputs in its annual Economic Impact Report. The most recent report from March 2022 reflects calendar year 2020 data when the hospital field was at the height of the first wave of COVID infection in our state.

“New Jersey’s hospitals have made their mark throughout the pandemic by saving more than 105,000 lives among seriously ill patients hospitalized with COVID-19. While the value of a life saved is immeasurable, we can quantify the economic impact of hospitals that touch our lives every day,” said NJHA President and CEO Cathy Bennett. “The direct economic impact of $27.8 billion reverberates throughout New Jersey to support other businesses, income and jobs – creating a multiplier effect of $62 billion in economic support across sectors and communities.”

The report is based on information from 2020 cost reports from 71 acute care hospitals filed with the N.J. Department of Health, along with other publicly available data sources. The multiplier impact utilizes multipliers developed by the U.S. Bureau of Economic Analysis’ Regional Input–Output Modeling System: Each hospital job produces 2.3 jobs in the overall economy, and each dollar spent by a hospital results in a total of $2.24 in overall economic output.

Other key findings from NJHA’s report include:

• New Jersey hospitals provide nearly 119,000 full-time equivalent jobs and total direct employment of over 154,000 full- and part-time employees. The multiplier impact of that hospital employment is more than 355,000 total jobs statewide.
• Nurses represent the largest share of those jobs, with 33,576 full-time equivalents. Dietary, housekeeping and maintenance staff represent the next largest group, with 10,321 full-time equivalents.
• New Jersey hospitals purchased $3.9 billion in goods and services from other businesses. About $1.8 billion of those purchases were pharmaceutical drugs, the largest single item among hospitals’ purchased services. Contracted labor was the next largest at $1.7 billion.
• Hospitals provided more than $10 billion in employee salaries, and those earnings generated more than $500 million in state income taxes.
• New Jersey hospitals directly paid nearly $176 million in taxes and assessments to the State of New Jersey.
• Hospitals delivered $671 million in charity care services to the state’s working poor and other uninsured residents.
• Hospitals’ direct economic impact of $27.8 billion compares with $26.1 billion in 2019.

The full report, along with details by hospital, county, legislative district and other breakdowns, can be found at /resources/economic-impact-report/.