A Closer Look: Ambulatory Health Care Services in Natrona County
This article compares the changes in the number of businesses, average number of employees, total quarterly payroll, and the average monthly wage for one area of Natrona County’s health care industry, Ambulatory Health Care Services, from second quarter 2005 (2005Q2) to second quarter 2013 (2013Q2).
Some businesses in this category include offices of physicians, dentists, chiropractors, optometrists, specialty therapists, emergency medical centers, medical laboratories, diagnostic imaging centers, and home health care services.
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The Table contains the complete list of these 20 groups, which are categorized using the North American Industry Classification System (NAICS). This classification system is utilized by the Unemployment Insurance (UI) and the Quarterly Census of Employment & Wages (QCEW) programs, which were used as the basis of information for this article. The period analyzed covered eight years, comparing some of the changes that occurred from second quarter 2005 (2005Q2) to second quarter 2013 (21013Q2).
Number of Businesses
According to UI records there were approximately 163 businesses in Ambulatory Health Care Services in 2005Q2 and by 2013Q2 that number had risen to about 200. During that time period, about 76 new businesses opened; however, approximately 30 employers closed their operations.
Average Number of Employees
The average number of people employed in Natrona County in Ambulatory Health Care Services increased by nearly 38% during this time. For 2005Q2, average employment was around 1,577; eight years later that number had grown to about 2,178, an increase of 601 employees.
Total Quarterly Payroll
During this period the total quarterly payroll grew from $19 million in 2005Q2 to $33 million in 2013Q2 ($14 million, or 74.6%).
Average Monthly Wage
In 2005Q2, the average monthly wage for employees in Ambulatory Health Care Services was at $3,983 and in 2013Q2 this amount rose to $5,036, an increase of $1,052 per month, or 26.4%.
Growth
Of the 20 health care services involved, 11 expanded in all four areas (number of businesses, number of people employed, total payroll, and average monthly wage) from 2005Q2 to 2013Q2. Those included: offices of physicians (which had the highest increase in number of employees at about 250 and the highest total payroll increase), offices of dentists (which had the second highest increase in total payroll), offices of chiropractors, offices of mental health practitioners, offices of specialty therapists, offices of miscellaneous health practitioners, emergency medical centers, and four other health services categories. The following health care services expanded in three of the areas studied: offices of optometrists and miscellaneous ambulatory health care services (which had the second highest growth of approximately 90 employees).
Natrona County has businesses in all the categories listed by NAICS codes in the Table, and most of these industries within Ambulatory Health Care Services have experienced growth in at least one and usually more of the categories examined throughout this period.
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NAICS Code |
NAICS Title |
|---|---|
| 621 | Ambulatory Health Care Services |
| 621111 | Offices of Physicians |
| 621112 | Offices of Physicians, Mental Health Specialists |
| 621210 | Offices of Dentists |
| 621310 | Offices of Chiropractors |
| 621320 | Offices of Optometrists |
| 621330 | Offices of Mental Health Practitioners (except Physicians) |
| 621340 | Offices of Physical, Occupational and Speech Therapists, & Audiologists |
| 621391 | Offices of Podiatrists |
| 621399 | Offices of All Other Miscellaneous Health Practitioners |
| 621410 | Family Planning Centers |
| 621420 | Outpatient Mental Health & Substance Abuse Centers |
| 621492 | Kidney Dialysis Centers |
| 621493 | Emergency Medical Centers |
| 621498 | All Other Outpatient Care Centers |
| 621511 | Medical Laboratories |
| 621512 | Diagnostic Imaging Centers |
| 621610 | Home Health Care Services |
| 621910 | Ambulance Services |
| 621991 | Blood & Organ Banks |
| 621999 | All Other Miscellaneous Ambulatory Health Care Services |