EMPLOYMENT TRENDS IN HOSPITALS, 1981-1993

This paper examines trends in hospital employment from 1981 to 1993. A fter controlling for changes in the inpatient and outpatient volume an d using a proxy for changes in case mix, the number of hospital employ ees increased steadily during this period. Most of the growth occurred in the nonclinical areas. There was no statistically significant diff erence in the employment growth in states with high or low penetration of health maintenance organizations (HMOs), or in states with and wit hout all-payer rate-setting programs, suggesting that neither competit ive nor regulatory programs influenced employment trends in the hospit al industry.