Health care, job engine for state, is pulling back

Sector sees layoffs, cuts. Robert Gavin, Boston Globe, August 29, 2010 Through good times, bad times, and everything in between, the one industry that Massachusetts could count on to keep adding jobs was health care. Not anymore. The stalwart of the state economy is struggling these days as expenses rise, patient visits decline, reimbursements shrink, and pressure to control health care costs intensifies. Over the past six months, according to state statistics, the health care sector has had no employment growth, a stunning development for an industry that has steadily added jobs through even the worst recessions. ... Health