Fact Sheet | Gulf Coast Leisure and Hospitality Employment and Wages | June 2010

Gulf Coast Leisure and Hospitality Employment and Wages

The leisure and hospitality industry makes an important contribution to the local economies along the Gulf Coast, providing a large share of their employment. Leisure and hospitality services include a wide variety of activities that attract tourists such as resorts, recreational parks, sporting events, concerts, restaurants, and hotel lodgings.

Not including bays and inland waters, the U.S. Gulf coastline spans approximately 1,631 miles. ^[1] The U.S. Gulf is bordered by five States (Alabama, Florida, Louisiana, Mississippi, and Texas). There are 53 counties and parishes that line the coast in these five States. (See table 2.) These areas are the most vulnerable to damages from the April 2010 oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico. Among these five States, Florida has the largest number of coastal counties at risk (23), followed by Texas (14), Louisiana (11), Mississippi (3), and Alabama (2). The leisure and hospitality industry in these coastal areas could be seriously affected by this recent disaster.

Employment

Table A. U.S. and Gulf Coast Employment, September 2009

Area	Private industry	Leisure and hospitality	Leisure and hospitality as percent of private industry
Total, United States	106,481,670	13,180,374	12.4
Total, Gulf Coast counties	3,068,086	455,107	14.8
Alabama	187,571	25,203	13.4
Florida	1,742,838	257,234	14.8
Louisiana	520,611	76,391	14.7
Mississippi	115,059	25,662	22.3
Texas	502,007	70,617	14.1

The leisure and hospitality industry accounted for 455,107 jobs in this combined Gulf area in September 2009, which is the most recent period for which data are available from the Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) Quarterly Census of Employment and Wages (QCEW) program. This industry's employment represented 14.8 percent of all private sector jobs in these Gulf Coast counties. Employment in the leisure and hospitality industry for the entire Nation was 13.2 million in September 2009 and accounted for 12.4 percent of private industry employment. The importance of leisure and hospitality in the Gulf Coast is evident by the industry's greater share of employment in this area relative to the Nation as a whole. This share was above the U.S. average in the combined coastal counties in all five States with the largest share found in Mississippi's combined Gulf area (22.3 percent).

Within this Gulf area, nearly 60 percent of the employment in leisure and hospitality was distributed among 10 counties and parishes, each with employment greater than 15,000 in this industry in September 2009. Five Florida counties were included in the top 10, along with 2 Louisiana parishes and 1 county each in Alabama, Mississippi, and Texas. Hillsborough County, Florida, had the largest number of jobs in leisure and hospitality (56,767), followed by Pinellas County, Florida (42,474), and Orleans Parish, Louisiana (30,735).

The share of employment within the leisure and hospitality industry exceeded the national average in 7 of the top 10 coastal counties and parishes (as measured by employment in leisure and hospitality). Harrison County, Mississippi, had the largest concentration of employment in the leisure and hospitality industry (29.3 percent), which is more than twice the national average. Orleans Parish, Louisiana, followed closely with 23.1 percent of their jobs coming from leisure and hospitality services.

Location quotients can be used to compare the industrial activity levels, such as employment, among different areas of the country and to express the relationship between an area's share of a particular industry and the national share. ^[2] In September 2009, Monroe County, Florida, which includes the islands of the Florida Keys, had the highest location quotient in this Gulf area (2.9), which indicates that Monroe had nearly 3 times the percentage of workers employed in leisure and hospitality as the percentage employed in the Nation. (See table 1.) Five other coastal counties and parishes had a location quotient above 2.0, while 7 had a location quotient above 1.4. Seven counties had the same relative share of workers employed in leisure and hospitality as the national total. Cameron Parish, Louisiana, has the smallest location quotient (0.2). Overall, the economy in this combined Gulf area had 20 percent more of their workers employed in leisure and hospitality compared with the U.S. average in this period, as indicated by the area's location quotient of 1.2.

During the period January 2007 to September 2009, employment in the leisure and hospitality industry peaked earlier in the combined Gulf Coast counties than for the Nation as a whole. Within this combined Gulf region, leisure and hospitality employment was strongest between March and June. This industry's employment tended to peak in April and contracted to its lowest point of a 12-month cycle in October in this area. For the Nation, the number of leisure and hospitality jobs reached its highest point in June for the 2008 and 2009 periods. The highest point in 2007 occurred in August. The lowest employment levels for the Nation in this industry occurred in January during this period.

In the first half of 2008, over-the-year employment growth in leisure and hospitality was stronger in this Gulf Coast area than in the Nation as a whole. During this period, employment declines over the year in this industry first occurred in September 2008, 1 month earlier than experienced in the United States overall. Compared with those of the Nation, over-the-year job losses in leisure and hospitality were less severe in this Gulf area between October 2008 and September 2009. The lowest rate of job losses during this period in the Gulf was −2.1 percent, compared with −3.3 percent in the Nation.

In September 2009, the Nation was shedding leisure and hospitality jobs at a rate of −2.9 percent, while this industry's decline was −0.8 percent in this Gulf area. Thirty-nine of the area's 53 counties and parishes had over-the-year employment change above the national average, with 24 posting over-the-year job gains. Among the 10 largest coastal counties, Orleans Parish and Jefferson Parish both added jobs in leisure and hospitality over the year, 1.9 percent and 1.1 percent, respectively, in September 2009. Eight of the top 10 Gulf counties and parishes had employment declines in this industry in September 2009. The largest over-the-year employment decline was in Collier, Florida (−8.6 percent), followed by Harrison, Mississippi (−6.9 percent).

Wages

In third quarter 2009, total wage payments disbursed to workers employed within the leisure and hospitality industry totaled $2.2 billion in this combined Gulf area. This constituted 7.4 percent of all private industry wage payments in this area. The average weekly wage for workers employed in leisure and hospitality in this combined coastal area was $361, which was only slightly higher than the U.S. industry average ($357). These wages represented less than half the average weekly wages of other private industry workers in the Gulf Coast. Only 14 coastal counties (26.4 percent) had average weekly wages above the national average for the industry. Among the 10 largest coastal counties in terms of the number of leisure and hospitality jobs, Orleans Parish, Louisiana, had the highest average weekly wage ($479) in this industry, which was 34 percent above the U.S. average for leisure and hospitality. Mobile County, Alabama, had the lowest average weekly wage ($268) in leisure and hospitality, which was 25 percent below the Nation's average for this industry. Among the 53 coastal counties, leisure and hospitality workers in Kenedy County, Texas, had the highest average weekly wages ($594), while Chambers County, Texas, workers posted the lowest average weekly wages ($207) in the industry.

In the combined Gulf Coast area, average weekly wages for all private industry workers in the third quarter of 2009 averaged $727, which was 12.2 percent below the U.S. average ($828). Among the 53 coastal counties, average weekly wages of private industry workers ranged from a high of $1,029 in Plaquemines Parish, Louisiana, to a low of $462 in Levy County, Florida. The average weekly wages of private industry workers fell below the national average in 42 of the 53 counties (79 percent). Among the coastal counties with the largest employment, Orleans posted the highest average weekly wage for private industry workers in the third quarter of 2009 ($882).

 

Table 1. Gulf Coast Leisure and Hospitality Employment, Percent of Private Industry and Location Quotient, September 2009

Area	Leisure and hospitality percent share of private industry (U.S. = 12.4 percent)	Location quotient
Total, Gulf Coast counties	14.8	1.2
Monroe County, Florida	36.1	2.9
Franklin County, Florida	30.5	2.5
Harrison County, Mississippi	29.3	2.4
Aransas County, Texas	28.3	2.3
Walton County, Florida	28.2	2.3
Hancock County, Mississippi	24.6	2.0
Orleans Parish, Louisiana	23.1	1.9
Galveston County, Texas	21.5	1.7
Bay County, Florida	21.2	1.7
Gulf County, Florida	20.5	1.7
Baldwin County, Alabama	19.8	1.6
Collier County, Florida	19.7	1.6
Okaloosa County, Florida	19.3	1.6
Lee County, Florida	17.7	1.4
Santa Rosa County, Florida	17.1	1.4
Wakulla County, Florida	17.0	1.4
Hernando County, Florida	16.6	1.3
Kleberg County, Texas	16.6	1.3
St. Tammany Parish, Louisiana	16.5	1.3
Charlotte County, Florida	16.3	1.3
Sarasota County, Florida	15.7	1.3
San Patricio County, Texas	15.5	1.3
Dixie County, Florida	15.4	1.2
Jefferson County, Florida	14.6	1.2
Nueces County, Texas	14.6	1.2
Levy County, Florida	14.1	1.1
Pasco County, Florida	14.1	1.1
Chambers County, Texas	13.9	1.1
Escambia County, Florida	13.4	1.1
Manatee County, Florida	13.2	1.1
Jefferson Parish, Louisiana	12.9	1.0
Citrus County, Florida	12.6	1.0
Cameron County, Texas	12.5	1.0
Pinellas County, Florida	12.4	1.0
Brazoria County, Texas	12.2	1.0
St. Bernard Parish, Louisiana	12.1	1.0
Hillsborough County, Florida	11.8	1.0
Matagorda County, Texas	11.7	0.9
Jefferson County, Texas	11.2	0.9
Mobile County, Alabama	11.1	0.9
Willacy County, Texas	10.9	0.9
Jackson County, Mississippi	10.5	0.8
Terrebonne Parish, Louisiana	10.1	0.8
Vermilion Parish, Louisiana	9.4	0.8
Taylor County, Florida	9.2	0.7
St. Mary Parish, Louisiana	9.1	0.7
Lafourche Parish, Louisiana	8.7	0.7
Calhoun County, Texas	8.4	0.7
Jackson County, Texas	7.3	0.6
Iberia Parish, Louisiana	6.7	0.5
Plaquemines Parish, Louisiana	6.5	0.5
Kenedy County, Texas	3.6	0.3
Cameron Parish, Louisiana	2.3	0.2

 

Table 2. Gulf Coast Leisure and Hospitality Employment and Wages, Percent of Private Industry Employment and Location Quotients, Third Quarter 2009

Area	Establishments, third quarter 2009	September 2009				Third Quarter 2009
		Employment	Leisure and Hospitality Percent Share of Private Industry	Location Quotient	Percent Change September 2008-09	Total Wages	Average Weekly Wage
Total, Gulf Coast counties	25,694	455,107	14.8	1.2	-0.8	$2,170,679,070	$361
Baldwin County, Alabama	529	9,956	19.8	1.6	1.7	43,535,573	313
Mobile County, Alabama	821	15,247	11.1	0.9	-3.3	53,301,858	268
Bay County, Florida	656	11,792	21.2	1.7	2.6	55,922,707	339
Charlotte County, Florida	368	5,244	16.3	1.3	10.4	19,657,564	284
Citrus County, Florida	287	3,441	12.6	1.0	-5.9	12,524,015	282
Collier County, Florida	998	18,017	19.7	1.6	-8.6	109,970,744	464
Dixie County, Florida	31	221	15.4	1.2	-17.8	759,692	260
Escambia County, Florida	735	13,148	13.4	1.1	-2.1	48,853,272	285
Franklin County, Florida	64	654	30.5	2.5	-4.2	2,995,785	337
Gulf County, Florida	40	465	20.5	1.7	7.4	2,129,094	328
Hernando County, Florida	326	4,848	16.6	1.3	2.9	17,344,042	276
Hillsborough County, Florida	3,080	56,767	11.8	1.0	-2.2	267,441,024	365
Jefferson County, Florida	21	263	14.6	1.2	-9.6	827,454	236
Lee County, Florida	1,681	26,649	17.7	1.4	-1.2	133,641,145	378
Levy County, Florida	105	822	14.1	1.1	-8.2	2,950,014	273
Manatee County, Florida	781	12,160	13.2	1.1	3.5	58,713,285	364
Monroe County, Florida	659	9,767	36.1	2.9	-4.4	69,029,906	526
Okaloosa County, Florida	649	11,809	19.3	1.6	-1.3	55,330,124	334
Pasco County, Florida	790	10,880	14.1	1.1	-1.6	40,245,464	284
Pinellas County, Florida	2,736	42,474	12.4	1.0	-2.5	227,399,595	404
Santa Rosa County, Florida	286	4,238	17.1	1.4	14.2	13,781,669	251
Sarasota County, Florida	1,140	18,220	15.7	1.3	-2.8	91,427,151	381
Taylor County, Florida	42	461	9.2	0.7	-11.9	1,610,754	256
Wakulla County, Florida	50	592	17.0	1.4	1.5	1,732,193	234
Walton County, Florida	236	4,302	28.2	2.3	-1.7	28,010,487	457
Cameron Parish, Louisiana	6	45	2.3	0.2	9.8	180,334	328
Iberia Parish, Louisiana	108	1,826	6.7	0.5	0.0	5,427,153	224
Jefferson Parish, Louisiana	1,256	21,830	12.9	1.0	1.1	125,036,006	433
Lafourche Parish, Louisiana	185	2,620	8.7	0.7	8.2	8,741,686	259
Orleans Parish, Louisiana	1,331	30,735	23.1	1.9	1.9	189,447,006	479
Plaquemines Parish, Louisiana	61	771	6.5	0.5	3.5	5,287,809	502
St. Bernard Parish, Louisiana	83	927	12.1	1.0	15.0	3,593,181	289
St. Mary Parish, Louisiana	121	1,926	9.1	0.7	-3.4	8,298,575	323
St. Tammany Parish, Louisiana	626	9,977	16.5	1.3	1.0	36,679,292	275
Terrebonne Parish, Louisiana	264	4,738	10.1	0.8	-3.1	20,422,369	325
Vermilion Parish, Louisiana	82	996	9.4	0.8	3.8	3,223,107	240
Hancock County, Mississippi	96	2,381	24.6	2.0	-2.7	13,589,990	435
Harrison County, Mississippi	464	19,037	29.3	2.4	-6.9	110,574,778	441
Jackson County, Mississippi	291	4,244	10.5	0.8	2.9	15,105,857	272
Aransas County, Texas	93	1,272	28.3	2.3	-0.3	4,523,782	269
Brazoria County, Texas	443	7,938	12.2	1.0	12.5	29,595,532	281
Calhoun County, Texas	62	675	8.4	0.7	-2.3	1,905,760	216
Cameron County, Texas	642	11,584	12.5	1.0	-0.4	44,049,585	281
Chambers County, Texas	58	1,082	13.9	1.1	25.1	2,994,607	207
Galveston County, Texas	626	14,337	21.5	1.7	2.3	58,796,470	305
Jackson County, Texas	27	277	7.3	0.6	-1.4	759,448	213
Jefferson County, Texas	473	11,164	11.2	0.9	4.4	43,151,631	297
Kenedy County, Texas	3	11	3.6	0.3	10.0	84,925	594
Kleberg County, Texas	70	1,294	16.6	1.3	1.6	3,868,613	234
Matagorda County, Texas	90	1,025	11.7	0.9	-10.9	3,632,583	266
Nueces County, Texas	864	17,636	14.6	1.2	-0.4	65,742,968	282
San Patricio County, Texas	127	2,063	15.5	1.3	2.3	6,084,883	225
Willacy County, Texas	31	259	10.9	0.9	-11.0	746,529	215

 

More information on employment and wages in the Gulf Coast area and in the leisure and hospitality industry are available on the BLS website at www.bls.gov/cew/ or by telephone at (202) 691-6567.

SOURCE: Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS), June 18, 2010. Data are from the Quarterly Census of Employment and Wages.

Notes