The health care industry is inching closer to employing 16 million people, keeping it ahead of the retail and manufacturing industries as the country's largest source of jobs. In the 18 months since President Trump was elected, health care companies have added an average of 24,000 jobs per month.
The bottom line: Everyone gets sick and dies, making health care a mostly recession-proof industry. But that doesn't mean rising health care employment is good for the economy since more jobs inevitably leads to higher spending.