Security Services Jobs Outpaced Private Sector Growth
The electronic security industry has grown its workforce and wages significantly faster than the broader private sector since 2001.
Updated on Sept. 26, 2026 in Employment
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Do you expect specialized industry wages to continue growing faster than the broader private sector?
The Electronic Security Association released its inaugural Industry Performance Index, revealing that the sector's employment reached 141,000 workers in 2025. This expansion highlights a consistent period of growth for operators within the electronic security services market.
Why it matters
Understanding these growth trends helps business owners benchmark their own talent acquisition and compensation strategies against established industry performance. The initiative provides granular economic intelligence to inform staffing and operational planning for security firms.
The electronic security services industry saw employment grow at a 2% compound annual rate compared to 0.86% for the overall private sector. Annualized wages reached $93,000, supported by real wage growth that nearly doubled the private sector average over the last 25 years.
The players
Electronic Security Association
A trade association representing the electronic security and life safety industry through research, advocacy, and education.
Beacon Economics
An economic research and forecasting firm that partners with industry groups to analyze labor and wage trends.
The details
The report, created by the ESA Industry Research Center in partnership with Beacon Economics, tracks data from 2001 through 2025. By analyzing historical employment and wage benchmarks, the study provides a structural view of how the industry scaled from 86,000 workers to its current level. This data allows operators to gauge their competitive position regarding labor costs and recruitment velocity against an industry-wide growth baseline.
Timeline
2001: Industry employment began at 86,000 workers.
2001-2025: This period served as the basis for the industry's employment and wage analysis.
2022: This year marked the end of the period when the industry added 3,000 to 5,000 jobs annually.
2025: Industry employment reached 141,000 workers.
September 26, 2026: The Electronic Security Association published the inaugural Industry Performance Index report.
Market Landscape
This performance report situates the security industry against the broader private-sector growth trend documented since 2001. It underscores a persistent competitive advantage in labor and wage growth that distinguishes security services from the aggregate national market.
Operators should use the $93,000 average wage figure to evaluate their own compensation competitiveness in a tight labor market. The historical growth data should be used to refine long-term recruitment and staffing models as firms compete for talent in this expanding sector.
The takeaway
The security industry has demonstrated superior growth and wage appreciation compared to the general private sector over the past quarter-century. Business owners should integrate this sector-specific benchmarking into their next annual planning and budget cycles.
Further reading
For additional context on national labor trends, see the latest Employment reports.
More information
Download the complete Industry Performance Index report download to review the historical wage data.
Live Poll
Do you expect specialized industry wages to continue growing faster than the broader private sector?
