Essential workers by industry, 2019
| Total | Percent of industry | |
|---|---|---|
| All essential workers | 55,217,845 | 100% |
| Food and agriculture | 11,398,233 | 20.6% |
| Emergency services | 1,849,630 | 3.3% |
| Transportation, warehouse, and delivery | 3,972,089 | 7.2% |
| Industrial, commercial, residential facilities and services | 6,806,407 | 12.3% |
| Health care | 16,679,875 | 30.2% |
| Government and community-based services | 4,590,070 | 8.3% |
| Communications and IT | 3,189,140 | 5.8% |
| Financial sector | 3,070,404 | 5.6% |
| Energy sector | 1,327,760 | 2.4% |
| Water and wastewater management | 107,846 | 0.2% |
| Chemical sector | 271,160 | 0.5% |
| Critical manufacturing | 1,955,233 | 3.5% |
Note: Code for the definition of essential services used here is available upon request.
Source: Economic Policy Institute (EPI) analysis of Current Population Survey Outgoing Rotation Group microdata, EPI Current Population Survey Extracts, Version 1.0.2 (2020), https://microdata.epi.org