Significance

• The health care industry is one of the fastest-growing industries in the U.S. and the world, reports Plunkett Research. Total spending on health care in the U.S. alone for 2009 is estimated at $2.5 trillion, up from $2.39 trillion in 2008. The top expenses in the market are $790 billion for hospital care, $539 billion for general physician care and $245 billion for prescription drugs.
  
  

Function

• Health care market data help those in the health care industry understand the major trends and needs in the sector, such as coverage and cost efficiency. Statistics show that 46.3 million people, or 15.6 percent of all Americans, do not have any type of health insurance. People also look at the amount spent on health care in the U.S.--currently at 17.6 percent of gross domestic product (GDP)--and see that it has the highest spending on health care per capita when compared with other countries, reports Plunkett Research.
  
  

Types

• Statistics on the health care market are usually based on consumer-side topics, such as coverage and costs, or on the health care employment sector. Both are important types of information for looking at snapshots of the health care market as a whole and are used to determine future needs. The government might look at the trends of health care employment to make sure there are enough physicians and nurses, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics.
  
  

Employment Information

• As of 2006, the health care industry provided the U.S. with 14 million jobs, more than any other sector, reports the Bureau of Labor Statistics. There are 580,000 health care businesses in the U.S., with 77 percent of them occupied by primary care physicians and dentists. Hospitals make up only 1 percent of health care establishments, but employ 35 percent of all health care workers.
  
  

Potential

• Health care market statistics show that the industry looks to get even bigger in the foreseeable future. The Bureau of Labor Statistics reports that the health care industry will create 3 million more jobs by 2016, including seven of the top 20 jobs with the highest growth potential. Health care spending should take up more than 20 percent of the U.S. GDP by 2018, assuming market conditions remain stable.