| The Houston-Sugar Land-Baytown MSA’s rate of over-the-year job growth was 3.2% in March, up 82,300 jobs. Job growth in Health Care & Social Assistance remained relatively stable throughout the recent downturn and the current rate of job growth is 8.0%, an increase of 21,600 jobs over the year. Job growth has been especially strong in Ambulatory Health Care Services, where employment in all types of medical offices are found, which is up 15,600 jobs or 12.5% over the year.
Monthly data does not reveal the most detailed information, but it is the timeliest. Nevertheless, sub-sectors can be reviewed in more detail by using employers’ quarterly payroll records to see where changes are occurring in the region. This data is also reported at the 13-county Gulf Coast region level.
There are four sub-sectors within Health Care and Social Assistance: Ambulatory Health Care Services; Hospitals; Nursing and Residential Care Facilities; and Social Assistance. The two with the largest net gains over the year in the 1st quarter 2011 were Ambulatory Health Care Services, up 5,641 jobs, and Nursing and Residential Care Facilities, up 1,128 jobs. Hospitals, sub-sector 622, had the highest average weekly wage for the data being reviewed, $1,043.
Something to note about the average weekly wage in Ambulatory Health Care Services ($862) is the job growth in Home Health Care Services, up 3,176 jobs from January 2010. The average weekly wage for Home Health Care Services was $326 for the 41,587 jobs reported for January 2011. This keeps the overall average weekly wage down for Ambulatory Health Care Services. One must remember that these are industry wages, not occupational wages. Average weekly wages are attained by using total quarterly payroll for an industry and dividing by the number of jobs and then dividing by 13 (weeks in the quarter).
The average weekly wage for all jobs, based on employers’ payroll records in the Gulf Coast Region for first quarter 2011, was $1,103. Texas average weekly wage was $946 for the same time period.
Table 1 Health Care & Social Assistance - Employment and Industry Wages - Private Sector
|
|
|
|
Net Chg
From |
1st Qtr
Avg |
NAICS |
Industry |
Jan 11 |
Jan 10 |
Wkly Wages |
62 |
Health Care and Social Assistance |
260,170 |
8,295 |
$822 |
621 |
Ambulatory Health Care Services |
126,172 |
5,641 |
$862 |
6211 |
Offices of Physicians |
44,598 |
542 |
$1,368 |
6212 |
Offices of Dentists |
14,468 |
896 |
$841 |
6213 |
Offices of Other Health Practitioners |
9,616 |
662 |
$718 |
6214 |
Outpatient Care Centers |
6,533 |
462 |
$1,187 |
6215 |
Medical and Diagnostic Laboratories |
4,710 |
15 |
$949 |
6216 |
Home Health Care Services |
41,587 |
3,176 |
$326 |
6219 |
Other Ambulatory Health Care Services |
4,660 |
-112 |
$646 |
622 |
Hospitals |
73,843 |
604 |
$1,043 |
6221 |
General Medical and Surgical Hospitals |
66,441 |
641 |
$1,062 |
6222 |
Psychiatric & Substance Abuse Hospitals |
3,151 |
-81 |
$786 |
6223 |
Other Hospitals |
4,251 |
44 |
$949 |
623 |
Nursing and Residential Care Facilities |
29,565 |
1,128 |
$525 |
6231 |
Nursing Care Facilities |
15,858 |
691 |
$580 |
6232 |
Residential Mental Health Facilities |
4,454 |
106 |
$420 |
6233 |
Community Care Facility for the Elderly |
8,017 |
335 |
$468 |
6239 |
Other Residential Care Facilities |
1,236 |
-4 |
$568 |
624 |
Social Assistance |
30,590 |
922 |
$413 |
6241 |
Individual and Family Services |
8,902 |
612 |
$550 |
6242 |
Emergency and Other Relief Services |
1,578 |
1 |
$579 |
6243 |
Vocational Rehabilitation Services |
2,345 |
11 |
$479 |
6244 |
Child Day Care Services |
17,765 |
298 |
$321 |
To review
other detail data visit Texas Workforce Commission’s
TRACER located at www.tracer2.com
click on Data Link for Quarterly Employment and
Wages.
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