Social Assistance: NAICS 624

About the Social Assistance subsector

The social assistance subsector is part of the health care and social assistance sector.

The social assistance subsector consists of these industry groups:

• Individual and Family Services: NAICS 6241
• Community Food and Housing, and Emergency and Other Relief Services: NAICS 6242
• Vocational Rehabilitation Services: NAICS 6243
• Child Day Care Services: NAICS 6244

Workforce Statistics

This section provides information relating to employment and unemployment in social assistance. While most data are obtained from employer or establishment surveys, information on industry unemployment comes from a national survey of households. The following tables present an overview of the industry including the number of jobs, the unemployment rate of those previously employed in the industry, mass layoffs, data for occupations common to the industry, and projections of occupational employment change.

Employment, Unemployment, and Layoffs

Data series	Back data	Jan. 2013	Feb. 2013	Mar. 2013	Apr. 2013
Employment (in thousands)
Employment, all employees (seasonally adjusted)		2,704.5	2,712.9	(P) 2,720.7	(P) 2,727.8
Employment, production and nonsupervisory employees		2,364.8	2,379.8	(P) 2,396.5
Unemployment
Unemployment rate		9.5%	8.9%	8.1%	7.7%
Layoffs
Mass layoff events		12	(1) -	12	18
Initial claimants for unemployment benefits		658	(1) -	1,056	1,514
Footnotes (1) Data do not meet BLS or state agency disclosure standards. (P) Preliminary

(Source: Current Employment Statistics, Current Population Survey, Mass Layoff Statistics)

Extended Mass Layoffs

Data series	Back data	2nd quarter 2012	3rd quarter 2012	4th quarter 2012	1st quarter 2013
Extended mass layoff events		211	27	(P) 22	(1) (P) -
Separations		27,245	2,985	(P) 2,796	(1) (P) -
Initial claimants		25,102	2,817	(P) 3,370	(1) (P) -
Footnotes (1) Data do not meet BLS or state agency disclosure standards. (P) Preliminary

(Source: Mass Layoff Statistics)

Employment by Occupation

Data series	Employment, 2012
Child care workers	322,010
Child, family, and school social workers	72,660
Personal and home care aides	423,940
Social and community service managers	45,670
Social and human service assistants	136,410
Note: These employment estimates include employment in both the private-sector and government.

(Source: Occupational Employment Statistics)

Projections

For projected (future) employment estimates, see the National Employment Matrix, which includes employment estimates by industry and occupation for social assistance.

(Source: Office of Occupational Statistics and Employment Projections)

Earnings and Hours

This section presents data on employee earnings and weekly hours. The latest industry averages of hourly earnings and weekly hours are shown. In addition, recent hourly and annual earnings are shown for occupations commonly found in social assistance.

Earnings and Hours of All Employees

Data series	Back data	Dec. 2012	Jan. 2013	Feb. 2013	Mar. 2013
Average hourly earnings		$15.37	$15.26	$15.22	(P) $15.22
Average weekly hours		30.6	30.1	30.3	(P) 30.1
Footnotes (P) Preliminary

(Source: Current Employment Statistics)

Earnings and Hours of Production and Nonsupervisory Employees

Data series	Back data	Dec. 2012	Jan. 2013	Feb. 2013	Mar. 2013
Average hourly earnings		$13.54	$13.45	$13.43	(P) $13.40
Average weekly hours		29.6	29.1	29.2	(P) 29.1
Footnotes (P) Preliminary

(Source: Current Employment Statistics)

Earnings by Occupation

Data series	Wages, 2012
	Hourly		Annual
	Median	Mean	Median	Mean
Child care workers	$9.07	$9.57	$18,870	$19,900
Child, family, and school social workers	$17.17	$18.17	$35,720	$37,790
Personal and home care aides	$9.85	$10.03	$20,500	$20,860
Social and community service managers	$26.49	$28.42	$55,100	$59,110
Social and human service assistants	$13.26	$13.97	$27,580	$29,050

(Source: Occupational Employment Statistics)

Work-related Fatalities, Injuries, and Illnesses

This section presents data for the industry on the number of workplace fatalities and the rates of workplace injuries and illnesses per 100 full-time workers in social assistance. An injury or illness is considered to be work-related if an event or exposure in the work environment either caused or contributed to the resulting condition or significantly aggravated a pre-existing condition.

Data series	2008	2009	2010	2011
Fatalities
Number of fatalities	23	16	37	30
Rate of injury and illness cases per 100 full-time workers
Total recordable cases	3.5	4.0	3.5	3.6
Cases involving days away from work, job restriction, or transfer	1.8	2.0	1.8	1.9
Cases involving days away from work	1.3	1.4	1.3	1.2
Cases involving days of job transfer or restriction	0.6	0.6	0.5	0.7
Blank cells indicate no data reported or data that do not meet publication criteria.

(Source: Injuries, Illnesses, and Fatalities)

Workplace Trends

This section presents data on the number of establishments in social assistance.

Establishments

Data series	Back data	4th quarter 2011	1st quarter 2012	2nd quarter 2012	3rd quarter 2012
Number of establishments
Private industry		187,400	(P) 188,390	(P) 192,646	(P) 196,091
Local government		2,721	(P) 2,685	(P) 2,686	(P) 2,689
State government		2,655	(P) 2,681	(P) 2,679	(P) 2,675
Federal government		285	(P) 279	(P) 276	(P) 276
Footnotes (P) Preliminary

(Source: Quarterly Census of Employment and Wages)

Other BLS Resources

Career Guide to Industries

See child day care services and social assistance, except child day care in the Career Guide to Industries.

 

Data extracted on: May 24, 2013