The health industry added 631,000 new jobs since the recession began, according to data from The Bureau of Labor Statistics released for January 2010.

Critique the proportion of the GDP that the U.S. spends on health care if you must, but remember that the bioeconomy is a jobs engine for the nation and one of the few bright spots of innovation in the American economy.

There’s another dynamic of jobs and health care that’s more good news: health reform would have a positive impact on job growth in the U.S.

David Cutler (whom I talked about yesterday in Health Populi) and Neeraj Sood published a report today estimating that health reform could add as many as 400,000 new jobs to the U.S. economy. New Jobs Through Better Health Care, published by the Center for American Progress, looks at the slowdown of premium costs in private sector jobs and the resulting impact on employment in 2016 across various industries.

Cutler and Sood calculate between 250,000 and 400,000 new jobs would be created annually over the next 10 years.

An analysis done by President Obama’s Council of Economic Advisors in June 2009, The Economic Case for Health Reform, found that reducing health costs could create 500,000 new jobs a year.

Health Populi’s Hot Points: This analysis speaks to a long-time position of business, large and small — that increasing health costs in the U.S. economy leads to job losses and erosion of benefits for active employees. Here’s more evidence for American business that should rally support for health reform among Chambers of Commerce, the small business lobby, and other advocates for expanding jobs in the U.S.