What Opportunities and Challenges Characterize San Antonio's Labor Market Today?

This dashboard provides industry-level insight into San Antonio's workforce – showing where people work and at what wage, how those sectors are growing, and what education needs look like – against a national benchmark. Use it to better understand the San Antonio labor market, and how each major industry’s demand and growth exceed, match, or lag national benchmarks.

Labor Force Size1,260,965
Employment Growth1.2%
National Benchmark: 1.2%
Labor Force Participation Rate65.1%
National Benchmark: 62.3%
Unemployment Rate4.4%
National Benchmark: 4.3%
College Attainment Rate33.1%
National Benchmark: 42.0%

*Sources: BGI analysis of Bureau of Labor Statistics, American Community Survey, and Lightcast data

Sort by
Share of Total Labor Force
Location Quotient
Job Postings
Employment Growth
Pay
Non-BA Share of Workforce
Health Care and Social Assistance
13.2%
-4.2%
93,481
+10.3%
$50,960
60.2%
Retail Trade
11.3%
8.4%
34,774
-6.4%
$39,520
81.3%
Educational Services
9.0%
-0.3%
25,633
+0.8%
$52,160
31.8%
Accommodation and Food Services
8.4%
27.7%
25,949
-7.2%
$33,280
90.5%
Construction
8.4%
21.7%
14,954
+8.9%
$54,080
87.4%
Professional, Scientific, and Technical Services
7.1%
-21.4%
44,163
+1.0%
$79,040
40.3%
Public Administration
6.9%
30.0%
7,961
+5.4%
$66,996
51.3%
Finance and Insurance
6.3%
24.0%
23,289
+0.1%
$94,710
52.4%
Manufacturing
6.0%
-32.4%
24,776
+10.8%
$54,673
76.1%
Administrative and Support and Waste Management and Remediation Services
4.8%
6.4%
55,678
-5.7%
$57,226
83.6%
Other Services (except Public Administration)
4.7%
-1.4%
13,261
-1.2%
$45,760
79.9%
Transportation and Warehousing
4.7%
-11.7%
7,447
-5.7%
$52,500
84.8%
Wholesale Trade
2.1%
-11.6%
13,714
-14.8%
$43,680
72.9%
Real Estate and Rental and Leasing
1.8%
-8.1%
11,394
-11.9%
$43,680
66.4%
Arts, Entertainment, and Recreation
1.6%
-23.5%
5,358
+26.9%
$35,360
68.4%
Information
1.5%
-28.9%
6,558
+13.9%
$62,046
64.0%
Significantly Below National Average
Below National Average
On par with National Average
Above National Average
Significantly Above National Average

*Sources: BGI analysis of Bureau of Labor Statistics, American Community Survey, and Lightcast data

Key Insights
Big, Service-Heavy Base with Clear Specializations
Largest sectors are Health Care (13.2%), Retail (11.3%), Education (9.0%), Accommodation & Food (8.4%), Construction (8.4%), and PSTS (7.1%). Concentration is above national benchmark in Public Administration, Accommodation & Food, Finance, and Construction (suggesting a public sector, hospitality, finance, and built environment tilt).
Employer Demand is Broadly Muted Relative to Sector Size
Only PSTS and Arts are above benchmark on postings. Heavier categories—Admin & Support, Retail, Accommodation, Finance, Wholesale, Public Admin—are below or much below. Monitor for potential hiring frictions and/or cyclical cooling in several big bases.
Non-BA Access is a Regional Advantage
In 15 of 16 industries, the share of non-BA workers is on par or above the national mix; only Public Administration (51.3%) is below benchmark (i.e., more degree-screened).

Which Industries Can Drive Greater Economic Mobility in San Antonio?* Click on a bubble to explore roles for this industry.

Explore how industries in San Antonio compare in terms of talent mobility and employment growth. Use this tool to identify sectors that could benefit the most from upskilling or career pathways.Bubble size reflects the number of workers in each industry.

Mobility Gaps
Opportunity Engines
Redeployment Opportunities
Thinning Launchpads
Mobility Index
Employment Growth

How can San Antonio Mobilize Talent to Strengthen Opportunity Engines?

This chart highlights the roles that merit recruiting, reskilling, or redesign focus.

Roles inEducation Level
Address Opportunity Gaps
Mobilize Now
Redeploy
Build On Strengths
Mobility Index
Talent Shortage Index

Which High-Mobility Roles Should San Antonio Target to Unlock Opportunities?

This section highlights individual roles with high talent mobility – occupations where workers can transition into, grow, or move across roles more easily.

Roles in

High Mobility Roles with Talent Shortages in San Antonio

Talent Flows into Accountants and Auditors

This chart shows transition pathways into Accountants and Auditors

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Feeder Roles

Select a role to see its feeder roles

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