Employment

Consider this information from the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics (2022)

• Overall employment of health education specialists and community health workers is projected to grow 17 percent from 2021 to 2031, much faster than the average for all occupations (Bureau of Labor Statistics, 2022).

• About 16,000 openings for health education specialists and community health workers are projected each year, on average, over the decade. Many of those openings are expected to result from the need to replace workers who transfer to different occupations or exit the labor force, such as to retire (Bureau of Labor Statistics, 2022).

• An emphasis on promoting healthy behaviors, particularly based on experiences from the COVID-19 pandemic, is expected to increase demand for these workers over the decade (Bureau of Labor Statistics, 2022).

• Governments, healthcare providers, and social services providers want to find ways to improve the quality of care and health outcomes while reducing costs. This should increase demand for health education specialists and community health workers to teach people about health and wellness, which in turn can help to prevent costly diseases and medical procedures (Bureau of Labor Statistics, 2022).

Compare this anticipated growth to other professions, while examining the percent change in employment, projected from 2020-30 by the Bureau of Labor Statistics (2021):

• Community health workers – 21%

• Health education specialists and community health workers – 17%

• Counselors, social workers, and other community and social service specialists – 14%

• Total, all occupations in US Economy – 8%

Consider information from the Bureau of Labor Statistics (2022):

The median annual wage for community health workers was $46,590 in May 2021. The median wage is the wage at which half the workers in an occupation earned more than that amount and half earned less. The lowest 10 percent earned less than $30,440, and the highest 10 percent earned more than $70,720.

The median annual wage for health education specialists was $60,600 in May 2021. The lowest 10 percent earned less than $37,020, and the highest 10 percent earned more than $102,480.

In May 2021, the median annual wages for community health workers in the top industries in which they worked were as follows:

In May 2021, the median annual wages for health education specialists in the top industries in which they worked were as follows:

Examining data from the Bureau of Labor Statistics (2002), compare the above medial annual wages cited to those for other occupations: