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The U.S. fire service
Firefighting and fire prevention occupations* by women and raceSee statistics for firefighting occupations only.
| Year | Total | Women | Black | Hispanic origin |
| 1983 | 189,000 | 1,900 (1.0%) | 12,700 (6.7%) | 7,700 (4.1%) |
| 1984 | 185,000 | 1,300 (0.7%) | 9,800 (5.3%) | 5,200 (2.8%) |
| 1985 | 209,000 | 2,900 (1.4%) | 12,300 (5.9%) | 7,700 (3.7%) |
| 1986 | 218,000 | 4,800 (2.2%) | 15,900 (7.3%) | 9,800 (4.5%) |
| 1987 | 221,000 | 4,400 (2.0%) | 16,400 (7.4%) | 11,700 (5.3%) |
| 1988 | 218,000 | 6,300 (2.9%) | 18,100 (8.3%) | 12,600 (5.8%) |
| 1989 | 208,000 | 8,100 (3.9%) | 24,300 (11.7%) | 8,300 (4.0%) |
| 1990 | 220,000 | 5,300 (2.4%) | 24,200 (11.0%) | 9,700 (4.4%) |
| 1991 | 220,000 | 5,100 (2.3%) | 18,900 (8.6%) | 9,700 (4.4%) |
| 1992 | 205,000 | 7,000 (3.4%) | 13,000 (6.3%) | 8,000 (3.9%) |
| 1993 | 208,000 | 7,700 (3.7%) | 15,800 (7.6%) | 9,400 (4.5%) |
| 1994 | 210,000 | 4,000 (1.9%) | 20,000 (9.5%) | 12,000 (5.7%) |
| 1995 | 249,000 | 7,000 (2.8%) | 38,000 (15.3%) | 13,000 (5.2%) |
| 1996 | 231,000 | 5,000 (2.2%) | 31,000 (13.4%) | 13,000 (5.6%) |
| 1997 | 233,000 | 8,000 (3.4%) | 28,000 (12.0%) | 13,000 (5.6%) |
| 1998 | 250,000 | 6,000 (2.4%) | 27,000 (10.8%) | 13,000 (5.2%) |
| 1999 | 241,000 | 7,000 (2.9%) | 26,000 (10.8%) | 16,000 (6.6%) |
| 2000 | 248,000 | 9,000 (3.6%) | 22,000 (8.9%) | 13,000 (5.2%) |
| 2001 | 264,000 | 11,000 (4.2%) | 32,000 (12.1%) | 21,000 (8.0%) |
| 2002 | 262,000 | 11,000 (4.2%) | 25,000 (9.5%) | 24,000 (9.2%) |
| 2003 | 279,000 | 11,000 (3.9%) | 23,000 (8.2%) | 16,000 (5.7%) |
| 2004 | 291,000 | 15,000 (5.2%) | 23,000 (7.9%) | 24,000 (8.3%) |
| 2005 | 258,000 | 10,000 (3.9%) | 27,000 (10.5%) | 20,000 (7.8%) |
| 2006 | 274,000 | 11,000 (4.0%) | 29,000 (10.6%) | 21,000 (7.7%) |
| 2007 | 304,000 | 16,000 (5.3%) | 32,000 (10.5%) | 19,000 (6.3%) |
| 2008 | 320,000 | 15,000 (4.7%) | 29,000 (9.1%) | 29,000 (9.1%) |
| Annual Average 2004-2008 |
289,400 | 13,400 (4.6%) | 28,000 (9.7%) | 22,600 (7.8%) |
Firefighting occupations* (only) by women and race
| Year | Total | Women | Black | Hispanic origin |
| 1983 | 170,000 | 1,700 (1.0%) | 12,400 (7.3%) | 6,500 (3.8%) |
| 1984 | 168,000 | 200 (0.1%) | 8,400 (5.0%) | 4,700 (2.8%) |
| 1985 | 186,000 | 1,500 (0.8%) | 11,300 (6.1%) | 6,100 (3.3%) |
| 1986 | 205,000 | 3,900 (1.9%) | 16,000 (7.8%) | 9,000 (4.4%) |
| 1987 | 204,000 | 1,800 (0.9%) | 15,700 (7.7%) | 10,800 (5.3%) |
| 1988 | 195,000 | 4,100 (2.1%) | 16,800 (8.6%) | 12,500 (6.4%) |
| 1989 | 188,000 | 6,600 (3.5%) | 22,600 (12.0%) | 8,300 (4.4%) |
| 1990 | 205,000 | 4,900 (2.4%) | 22,600 (11.0%) | 9,000 (4.4%) |
| 1991 | 200,000 | 2,800 (1.4%) | 17,800 (8.9%) | 9,400 (4.7%) |
| 1992 | 190,000 | 4,000 (2.1%) | 12,000 (6.3%) | 7,000 (3.7%) |
| 1993 | 188,000 | 6,200 (3.3%) | 14,100 (7.5%) | 9,400 (5.0%) |
| 1994 | 195,000 | 4,000 (2.1%) | 18,000 (9.2%) | 11,000 (5.6%) |
| 1995 | 237,000 | 6,000 (2.5%) | 36,000 (15.2%) | 11,000 (4.6%) |
| 1996 | 217,000 | 4,000 (1.8%) | 30,000 (13.8%) | 11,000 (5.1%) |
| 1997 | 218,000 | 7,000 (3.2%) | 27,000 (12.4%) | 10,000 (4.6%) |
| 1998 | 228,000 | 5,000 (2.2%) | 27,000 (11.8%) | 9,000 (3.9%) |
| 1999 | 223,000 | 4,000 (1.8%) | 25,000 (11.2%) | 12,000 (5.4%) |
| 2000 | 233,000 | 7,000 (3.0%) | 21,000 (9.0%) | 12,000 (5.2%) |
| 2001 | 250,000 | 7,000 (2.8%) | 32,000 (12.8%) | 21,000 (8.4%) |
| 2002 | 248,000 | 8,000 (3.3%) | 24,000 (9.6%) | 23,000 (9.3%) |
| 2003 | 258,000 | 9,000 (3.4%) | 21,000 (8.1%) | 16,000 (6.2%) |
| 2004 | 268,000 | 14,000 (5.2%) | 22,000 (8.2%) | 23,000 (8.6%) |
| 2005 | 243,000 | 8,000 (3.3%) | 26,000 (10.7%) | 19,000 (7.8%) |
| 2006 | 253,000 | 9,000 (3.6%) | 25,000 (9.9%) | 19,000 (7.5%) |
| 2007 | 288,000 | 15,000 (5.2%) | 29,000 (10.1%) | 18,000 (6.3%) |
| 2008 | 293,000 | 14,000 (4.8%) | 24,000 (8.2%) | 27,000 (9.2%) |
| Annual Average 2004-2008 |
269,000 | 12,000 (4.5%) | 25,200 (9.4%) | 21,200 (7.9%) |
* Includes only career firefighters. Excludes administrators, managers and volunteer firefighters.
Source: U.S. Department of Labor, Bureau of Labor Statistics, Household Data Survey. Numbers of firefighters are based on a sample of U.S. households. It appears that the percentage changes are not significant. Contact the Bureau of Labor Statistics for specifics on its survey methodology. These numbers can change considerably from year to year because of their small size and sample variability.
Update: 12/09
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