The Johns Hopkins Gazette: March 24, 2003
March 24, 2003
VOL. 32, NO. 27

  

JH's Impact on the State's Economy

By Dennis O'Shea
Homewood

Johns Hopkins Gazette Online Edition

The Johns Hopkins Institutions, already Maryland's largest private employer, have added more than 3,000 Maryland jobs to their payrolls over the past three years, a new analysis of the institutions' economic impact has found.

In fiscal year 2002, the institutions employed 41,028 people in Maryland teaching, research, patient care and administrative or support jobs. That was an increase of 3,096 jobs, or 8 percent, from the 37,932 reported in 1999. During the same three-year period, the total number of jobs in Maryland grew only 4.5 percent.

"Johns Hopkins' primary mission is to advance knowledge, educate students and take the best possible care of patients, and we are very proud of all that we accomplish in those areas," said William R. Brody, president of The Johns Hopkins University. "But we also take considerable pride in our contribution to the economy of our home state. The federal research grants our scientists bring in, the money spent by our students and patients, the gifts to Johns Hopkins by alumni and philanthropists, all these things translate into jobs for Marylanders."

With planned or projected growth in the university and Johns Hopkins Medicine, the new analysis said, the total of Johns Hopkins jobs in Maryland is expected to grow almost another 11 percent, to more than 45,500 jobs, by 2007.

Edward D. Miller, chief executive officer of Johns Hopkins Medicine, said, "In good economic times or bad, the total of Johns Hopkins jobs has tended to grow, accelerating Maryland's growth periods and cushioning the state against the full effects of downturns like the one we are experiencing now."

Combined, the Johns Hopkins Institutions constitute Maryland's largest private employer, outpacing Giant of Maryland LLC and Helix Health System Inc. But the new analysis--Johns Hopkins' economic impact, conducted by the independent consultant Bay Area Economics--also found that Johns Hopkins' influence on the Maryland economy far exceeded just the jobs on its own payrolls. In all, the study found, the institutions directly or indirectly accounted for 85,410 "net new" Maryland jobs in 2002, one of every 29 jobs in the state's economy.

Gov. Robert L. Ehrlich Jr. said, "We have always known that the Johns Hopkins Institutions play a significant role in Maryland's strong, diverse economy--creating jobs, fostering entrepreneurship and technology commercialization, and advancing achievements in the life sciences. This study validates the fact that Johns Hopkins is not only a world-renowned and prestigious name; it also is a significant driver of the Maryland economy. It attracts the best and brightest in students, health care professionals and researchers from around the world," Ehrlich said.

The calculation of "net new" jobs included the 41,028 direct employees, plus employees of Hopkins-affiliated institutions like the Kennedy Krieger Institute and workers on Johns Hopkins construction projects. It also included non-Hopkins workers anywhere in Maryland whose jobs depend on Hopkins-related spending. The calculation discounted jobs that, analysts determined, would be created elsewhere in Maryland if Johns Hopkins suddenly ceased to exist.

Total "net new" Johns Hopkins-supported employment in the state is projected to grow 11.7 percent, to more than 95,000 jobs, between 2002 and 2007.

Another indication of the institutions' impact on the Maryland economy examined in the Bay Area Economics analysis is total income. The study calculated that spending by Johns Hopkins and affiliated institutions, students, out-of-state patients and local retirees created $3.07 billion in net new income in Maryland in 2002. That, however, was just the beginning. Most of those dollars were spent at least once more in Maryland before leaving the state, ringing up, on average, more than another $1.28 in income for Marylanders. The bottom line: a total Johns Hopkins impact on the Maryland economy in 2002 of $7 billion, one of every 28 dollars in the total state economy.

The $7 billion impact is more than double the $3.3 billion recorded in 1990. Just since 1999, the figure has grown nearly 36 percent from $5.15 billion. Based on current estimates of growth in Johns Hopkins research, teaching and construction spending over the next five years, the total impact could hit $9.1 billion by 2007.

Related Web sites:
The full Bay Area Economics report
Bay Area Economics


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