Newly released data from the US Census Bureau for 2017, along with new analytics tools provided by the bureau to parse that data, have created an interesting snapshot of Guilford County’s workforce based on the most current information available.
Though not overly specific, the categories provide some insight as to how people in Guilford County are making a living.
The tools, along with the new 2017 data, show that, currently, the number one category of employment in Guilford County is comprised of “Educational services, and health care and social assistance.” That group makes up 23.8 percent of Guilford County’s workforce.
The smallest category, according to the data, should come as no surprise to those who have seen the dwindling of farms in Guilford County: Less than 1 percent of the county’s workforce – 0.3 percent to be exact – now fall in the category of “Agriculture, forestry, fishing and hunting, and mining.”
The information was released as part of the American Community Survey initiative by the US Census Bureau. Unlike the census, which is conducted, every 10 years, the survey is an ongoing statistical sampling that provides a “5-year-snapshot” of communities based on the latest available data. The statistics are based on information for 2017 and the four preceding years.
Coming in second place is “Manufacturing,” which constitutes 12.9 percent of the county’s workforce. Right behind that, in third, is “Retail,” the occupation for 12.7 percent.
The next category, at 10.1 percent is “Professional, scientific, management and administrative services and waste management services.”
The category of, “Arts, entertainment, accommodation and food services” account for 9.7 percent of the workers in Guilford County, according to the survey.
Next comes, “Finance and insurance, and rental and leasing,” which makes up 7 percent of the county’s workers.
According to the survey, 5.3 percent of those employed in Guilford County work in “Construction,” and the same percentage, 5.3, work in “Transportation, warehousing and utilities.”
All other categories of employment came in at 5 percent or less.