500,000

510,000

520,000

530,000

540,000

550,000

560,000

570,000

580,000

2000 2001 2002 2003 2004 2005 2006

Security guard employment before and after 2001

Summary 07-08/ August 2007 U.S. Department of Labor U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics

National employment in the security guard and patrol services industry, 2000-2006

Annual Average

Employment

Employment in the security guards and patrolservices industry spiked

after the attacks on September

11, 2001 in New York City and

Arlington, Virginia. Today, if you

work in a large office building in

a major city, chances are you

have at least one security guard

at the front entrance, as well as

numerous security cameras

mounted around the lobby. But

which counties experienced the

largest increase in security employment between 2001 and

2002?

The over-the-year period between 2001 and 2002 was analyzed in order to depict the immediate response to the September 11th attacks. Five large counties were selected for review because they had the largest percent or level change in employment in the privately-owned security guard and patrol services

industry (NAICS 561612).

Looking at national employment for the industry, the spike

in 2002 is clearly visible. Employment dropped in 2003, rather than

sustaining the higher levels for a

longer period of time. Subsequently, employment grew to

about where it would have been

had the rate of growth remained

at its steady rate of between 1.1

and 3.3 percent per year. Employment within the industry is higher

now than it was in 2002, but may

well have gotten there even without the impetus of the September 11 attacks.

At the county level, four of

the ten biggest counties in the

nation had the largest change in

employment levels. Los Angeles County expanded their security workforce by 5,071 employees in 2002, equivalent to 16.6

percent. Suffolk County, Massachusetts, home of Boston, had

the third largest level increase in

employment without even being

one of the twenty largest counties. The addition of 1,321 new

workers boosted security employment by 41.5 percent in the

county.

However, when looking at the

counties with the five highest

percentage increases in employment, the story changes to focus on smaller counties. Anne

Arundel County, Maryland—

whose County seat is Annapolis and is adjacent to Baltimore—

had the highest percentage

change of almost 170 percent

when employment jumped by

640. Cumberland County, Maine,

home of Portland, had the next

highest percentage increase of

almost 100 percent by only gaining 221 workers.

In summary, security employment rose significantly in the

period just after the terrorist attacks of September 2001. That

growth was diffused across

many counties and not confined

to the metropolitan areas that had

been the targets. Levels of security industry employment subsequently subsided and are now

roughly in line with what they

might have been given the industry’s secular uptrend in jobs.

These data were obtained by

the Quarterly Census of Employment and Wages in the Bureau

of Labor Statistics. Data presented here are for all privatesector workers covered by State

and Federal unemployment insurance programs. Largest counties refer to those counties with

75,000 or more jobs in 2006. For

additional information, contact

Anne Lise Almira, an economist

in the Division of Administrative

Statistics and Labor Turnover,

Office of Employment and Unemployment Statistics. E-mail:

almira.anne@bls.gov. Telephone: 202-691-6449.

Information in this summary

will be made available to sensoryimpaired individuals upon request. Voice phone: (202) 691-

5200. Federal Relay Service: 1-

800-877-8339. This report is in the

public domain and may be reproduced without permission.

2000 2001 2002 2003 2004 2005 2006

570,000

560,000

550,000

540,000

510,000

580,000

500,000

530,000

520,000
Anne Arundel County, MD ...................... 640 168.9 Los Angeles County, CA................... 5,071 16.6

Cumberland County, ME .......................... 221 96.9 Miami-Dade County, FL ..................... 3,112 37.0

Arapahoe County, CO............................. 536 49.2 Suffolk County, MA ........................... 1,321 41.5

DeKalb County, GA ................................. 332 47.1 New York County, NY ....................... 1,180 5.7

San Mateo County, CA............................ 474 43.8 Cook County, IL ................................. 1,069 7.8

U.S. DEPARTMENT OF LABOR

Bureau of Labor Statistics

Postal Square Building, Rm. 2850

2 Massachusetts Ave., NE

Washington, DC 20212-0001

Official Business

Address Service Requested

Employment changes in security guards and patrol services, selected counties, 2001-2002

Employment

change

Employment

change

Percent

change

Percent

change

Counties with largest

percent change

Counties with largest

employment change