ABSTRACT
Employment in the health care sector can be measured in either of two ways. It can be measured by the number of people performing specific jobs, regardless of where that job is performed or it can be measured by the number of people in particular locations regardless of the nature of their work. In 1982, US hospitals employed 3,985,671 full-time equivalent personnel, 50.3 percent of all health workers defined by place of employment. Employment in practitioners' offices may be expected to increase over the next decade and to absorb many workers displaced from institutional settings. In 1980 there were 121,240 dentists in the United States or one dentist for every 1,818 people. Several factors will affect the employment potential for dentists over the next fifteen years. The resolution of the physician shortage, indeed the threatened surplus of physicians, has had a significant and detrimental effect on the employment prospects for physician extenders.
