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48 Worcester Business Journal | Fact Book 2017 | wbjournal.com 2007 2008 2016 2009 2010 2011 2012 2013 2014 2015 616,300 0 200,000 400,000 600,000 800,000 484,800 529,200 562,300 Source: U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, non-seasonally adjusted Massachusetts health care and social services employment 2007 2008 2016 2009 2010 2011 2012 2013 2014 2015 54,600 0 20,000 40,000 60,000 51,000 46,400 41,800 Worcester County health care and social services employment *Preliminary data Source: U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, non-seasonally adjusted *Preliminary data Note: Based on the average weekly wage for all establishment sizes; includes all positions from support, production and management. Source: U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics Average annual salary in health care and education 0 10,000 20,000 30,000 40,000 $50,000 2007 2008 2016* 2009 2010 2011 2012 2013 2014 2015 National Worcester County $48,464 $43,952 $40,945 $47,320 $41,964 $35,441 Health care's hard and soft power in Central Mass The largest employment industry permeates the economy BY EMILY MICUCCI Worcester Business Journal Staff Writer T he healthcare industry is undoubtedly the bread and butter of the Central Massachusetts economy. The healthcare and social services sectors, which are measured together and overlap significantly, accounted for about 54,000 jobs in Metropolitan Worcester and 5,300 orga- nizations in January 2017, according to the state Executive Office of Labor and Workforce Development. With a workforce of roughly 13,000, UMass Memorial Health Care is, by far, the largest employer in the region. Economic impact Healthcare isn't just the driving force propelling the Central Massachusetts economy. It reverberates well beyond its immediate workforce and brick- and-mortar locations. UMass Memorial's switch to a new IT system in October, a $700-million undertak- ing, is a prime example. Contract workers infiltrated the city, booking up Worcester hotel rooms, said Eric Dickson, CEO of the healthcare system. "We had a lot of thank yous from the local hotels," Dickson said. "The restau- rants were packed." The temporary swell coincides with Eric Dickson, CEO of UMass Memorial Health Care, a nonprofit organization with $2.4 billion in revenue in 2016. H e a l t h C a r e I N D U S T R I E S