西雅图和华盛顿保安人员的人口统计和工作特征

FACTSHEET:Demographic and Job Characteristics ofthe Security Guard Workforce in Seattleand Washington By Kassandra Hernandez, Enrique Lopezlira, and Nari Rhee Security guards in Washington were essential workers during the COVID-19pandemic,1ensuring safety in buildings, hospitals, and transportation hubs. Yettheir compensation and working conditions do not reflect the importance of theirrole. Security guards are often responsible for de-escalating conflicts, managingcrises, and enforcing safety protocols, frequently without the hazard pay, benefits,or training provided to workers in comparable occupations.2They also face higherrates of workplace assaults and fatal injuries than many other workers.3Despitethe growing use of private security services, the industry remains characterized byweak labor standards and limited policy attention. This factsheet describes the characteristics of the private sector security guardworkforce in the state of Washington,4highlighting the need to improve laborconditions in the industry.5With national revenues of $22.7 billion for unarmedguard services alone,6the labor conditions of this industry’s workforce arefoundational to broader questions of how states and localities achieve publicsafety. According to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, approximately 14,000 securityguards work in Washington state, with roughly two-thirds (9,000) employedin the Seattle–Tacoma–Bellevue, WA Metropolitan Statistical Area (SeattleMSA). Data from the American Community Survey show that the workforce ispredominantly male (about 80% in both the state and the Seattle MSA) andrelatively young, with a statewide median age of 35. Just over half of securityguards in Washington are white (53.3%). Educational attainment varies, but amajority (62.4%) have some education beyond high school. About one-third(31.5%) have attended some college and nearly one-fifth (18.6%) have earneda postsecondary degree. Roughly one-third are married (36.3%), and a similarportion have children (35.1%). Close to seven of ten security guards (67.1%)have access to health insurance through their employer or the employer of ahousehold member (see Table 1).7 Table 1: Demographics and Job Characteristics of the Security Guard Workforce inSeattle and Washington This table provides statistics for all private security guards in the state of Washington, alongwith the Seattle–Tacoma–Bellevue, WA Metropolitan Statistical Area (MSA). Data are usefulfor understanding who works as security guards and the quality of their jobs. Sample size constraints at the Seattle MSA level restrict our ability to report statistics asdetailed as the statewide values. When considering only prime-age (20-54) workers, we findthat 40.4% of security guards in the Seattle MSA are 20 to 29 years old, 34.4% are 30 to 39years old, and 25.2% are 40 to 54 years old. Just over half (51.3%) of all security guards in theSeattle MSA are non-white (Black, Latino, Asian, or Other). Of security guards with at least ahigh school diploma or GED, over two in five have attended some college or have an AssociateDegree (45.7%) and almost one in five have a B.A. or more (18.8%). Three of ten are marriedand/or have children (30.2% and 30.4%, respectively). Table 2 presents annual earnings and hourly wages for security guards in Seattle City, theSeattle MSA, and Washington state. In Washington, security guards earn a median annualincome of $42,309 and a median hourly wage of $21.29, substantially below the median wageof $30.75 for all workers in the state. The bottom quarter of security guards earn less than$16.12 per hour. Earnings are somewhat higher in the City of Seattle, where security guards have a medianannual income of $47,116 and a median hourly wage of $23.35. Even so, these earnings remainwell below those of the typical worker in the city, whose median hourly wage is $41.14. Securityguards’ median income in Seattle (both City and MSA) is also less than half of the region’s AreaMedian Income (AMI) of $110,000 for a single-person household.8 We define a low-wage worker as someone getting paid less than two-thirds of the medianhourly wage for all full-time workers in the region. Based on this benchmark, the low-wagethreshold is $20.50 statewide and $25.01 in the Seattle MSA. Most security guards in theSeattle MSA are low-wage workers, although this is not the case when compared to thestatewide threshold. Almost three of four security guards in the state and the Seattle MSA earn below the MIT LivingWage for their region (70.5% and 72.2%, respectively). The MIT Living Wage estimates thehourly wage required for a full-time worker to cover basic living costs. This amount is $29.44per hour in the MSA and $26.36 in the state, for a household with one adult and no children.9 Table 2: Annual Earnings and Hourly Wages of Security Guards in Seattle andWashington This table provides earnings statistics for all private security guards in Seattle City, SeattleMSA, and the