Education and Health Services

About the Education and Health Services supersector

The education and health services supersector is part of the service-providing industries supersector group.

The education and health services supersector consists of these sectors:

• Educational Services: NAICS 61
• Health Care and Social Assistance: NAICS 62

Workforce Statistics

This section provides information relating to employment and unemployment in education and health services. 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, job openings and labor turnover, union membership and representation, gross job gains and losses, and projections of occupational employment change.

Employment, Unemployment, and Openings, Hires, and Separations

Data series	Back data	Jul. 2009	Aug. 2009	Sep. 2009	Oct. 2009
Employment (in thousands)
Employment, all employees (seasonally adjusted)		19,262	19,312	(P) 19,329	(P) 19,374
Employment, nonsupervisory workers (seasonally adjusted)		16,904	16,946	(P) 16,961	(P) 17,004
Unemployment
Unemployment rate		6.1%	6.0%	6.0%	6.0%
Job openings, hires, and separations (in thousands)
Job openings		593	(P) 523
Hires		597	(P) 685
Separations		615	(P) 618
Footnotes (P) Preliminary

(Source: Current Employment Statistics, Current Population Survey, Job Openings and Labor Turnover Survey)

Union Membership and Representation

Data series	Back data	2005	2006	2007	2008
Union membership and representation
Members of unions (percent of wage and salary workers)		8.3%	8.3%	8.8%	9.1%
Represented by unions (percent of wage and salary workers)		9.4%	9.5%	10.0%	10.3%

(Source: Current Population Survey)

Dynamic Changes in Employment

Data series	Back data	1st quarter 2008	2nd quarter 2008	3rd quarter 2008	4th quarter 2008
Dynamic changes in employment (in thousands)
Gross job gains		785	788	799	841
Gross job losses		667	715	706	665

(Source: Business Employment Dynamics)

Projections

For projected (future) employment estimates in education and health services, see the Employment and projected employment by major industry sector table.

(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 for production or nonsupervisory employees, as well as weekly earnings by union membership status, are shown. This section also contains information on the average cost of benefits paid by employers, as well as recent rates of change in wages and total compensation.

Earnings and Hours of Production Workers

Data series	Back data	Jul. 2009	Aug. 2009	Sep. 2009	Oct. 2009
Average hourly earnings		$19.45	$19.49	(P) $19.54	(P) $19.60
Average weekly hours		32.2	32.2	(P) 32.2	(P) 32.3
Footnotes (P) Preliminary

(Source: Current Employment Statistics)

Union Membership and Representation

Data series	Back data	Median weekly earnings
		2005	2006	2007	2008
Union membership and representation
Full-time workers		$627	$648	$671	$685
Members of unions		$731	$751	$779	$795
Represented by unions		$736	$745	$781	$798
Nonunion		$617	$635	$657	$671

(Source: Current Population Survey)

Employer Compensation Costs

Data series	Back data	4th quarter 2008	1st quarter 2009	2nd quarter 2009	3rd quarter 2009
12-month percent change
Total compensation		2.7%	2.7%	2.3%	2.1%
Wages and salaries		2.7%	2.6%	2.4%	2.1%
12-month percent change: State and local government
Total compensation		3.0%	3.0%	3.0%	2.2%
Wages and salaries		3.2%	3.0%	2.8%	1.7%

(Source: Compensation Cost Trends)

Data series	Back data	2nd quarter 2009
		Compensation component ($ per hour worked)	Percent of total compensation
Compensation costs
Total compensation		29.46	100.0
Wages and salaries		21.16	71.8
Total benefits		8.30	28.2
Insurance		2.30	7.8
Retirement		0.91	3.1

(Source: Compensation Cost Trends)

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 education and health services. 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	2005	2006	2007	2008
Fatalities
Number of fatalities	216	245	213	(P) 207
Rate of injury and illness cases per 100 full-time workers
Total recordable cases	5.5	5.4	5.2	5.0
Cases involving days away from work, job restriction, or transfer	2.6	2.5	2.4	2.3
Cases involving days away from work	1.5	1.4	1.3	1.3
Cases involving days of job transfer or restriction	1.1	1.1	1.0	1.0
Footnotes (P) Preliminary

(Source: Injuries, Illnesses, and Fatalities)

Workplace Trends

This section presents data on the number of establishments and the number of establishments experiencing job gains or job losses in education and health services.

Establishments

Data series	Back data	2nd quarter 2008	3rd quarter 2008	4th quarter 2008	1st quarter 2009
Number of establishments
Private industry		843,930	850,487	856,425	(P) 861,348
Local government		67,411	67,787	67,593	(P) 67,773
State government		13,402	13,626	13,512	(P) 13,479
Federal government		718	719	719	(P) 721
Establishments with changes in employment (in thousands)
With job gains (seasonally adjusted)		211	211	216
With job losses (seasonally adjusted)		202	199	201
Footnotes (P) Preliminary

(Source: Business Employment Dynamics, Quarterly Census of Employment and Wages)

Other BLS Resources

The Editor's Desk

See industry studies in the subject matter index of The Editor's Desk (Current Edition).

Career Guide to Industries

To learn about careers from an industry perspective, see the Career Guide to Industries.

 

Data extracted on: November 06, 2009