Recreation workers held about 379,300 jobs in 2014. The industries that employed the most recreation workers were as follows:
Local government, excluding education and hospitals
30%
Nursing and residential care facilities
15
Religious, grantmaking, civic, professional, and similar organizations
14
Arts, entertainment, and recreation
11
Social assistance
9
Many workers spend much of their time outdoors. Recreation directors and supervisors, however, typically spend most of their time in an office, planning programs and special events.
All recreation workers risk injury while participating in physical activities.
Work Schedules
Many recreation workers, such as camp counselors or activity specialists, work weekends or part time or irregular hours, or may be seasonally employed. Seasonal workers may work as few as 90 days or as long as 9 months during a season, depending on where they are employed and the type of activity they lead. For example, in areas of the United States that have warm winters, outdoor swimming pools may employ related recreation workers for a majority of the year. In other areas of the country, they may work only during the summer.