Photo © Byron Moore | Dreamstime.com
One industry expert would like to go on record: There is actually no lifeguard shortage.
We know, we know – you’ve been reading about this issue for more than four years and you’re tired of it. You just want it to be resolved.
But, says the industry member, it can be resolved – not by framing the problem as a lifeguard shortage but as a labor issue.
It’s not too late to address this, either. In many parts of the U.S., pools have not yet opened and staffing is an immediate priority. And this is the fourth year cities and venues are facing the problem.
In fact, CBS News reported in 2023 that “about half of the nation’s 309,000 public pools [would] be forced to close their doors or reduce hours,” according to the American Lifeguard Association. And that didn’t include beaches, water parks or other venues.
But according to the Association of Aquatic Professionals (AOAP) , the continuance of the problem should be viewed as a sea change in the way teenagers spend their summers, something that has affected staffing at pools.
For example, in years past (think of the 1990s and 1980s), summer job options for teenagers used to be limited to part-time work, such as staffing fast-food establishments, cutting grass (or other hard physical work like landscaping or construction), babysitting or working in seasonal retail (boardwalk stores, souvenir shops, etc.) – and, of course, lifeguarding.
These days, the article notes, the job of lifeguard has become significantly more complicated as pool technologies have changed, and as society has become more litigious. It takes substantially more training to become a lifeguard (and even more to manage a large facility) – and the teen is usually expected to foot the bill for it. Many may not want to take on that level of responsibility, liability or expense in return for two months of work. Additionally, with budget cutbacks in many areas, guards are being spread thinner than they were; this increases the responsibility and stress on guards.
But at the same time, notes the article, the expectations of what a teenager should do during their summer have changed:
“The same age group now has significant pressure to … get a head start in their career and build their college application. That same 16-year-old is spending their summers in select sports to try to get a leg up on those ever-lucrative-but-hard-to-get athletic scholarships. That 17-year-old is now having to pay not only for gas, but also the car note, their cell phone, car insurance and in some cases actually contributing to the financial survival of the household. Moving into college age, summer internships, career-based jobs and having to earn as much as possible during summers is driving their employment decisions.
But our industry still acts and pays, like it’s the 1990s.”
In fact, adds the article, facilities that pay well (as well as those that facilitate training for those who want to become certified), thus making the challenge worthwhile, have fewer problems hiring. Conversely, those who still adhere to the old model of hiring and paying guards are struggling to find employees.
The article concluded, “So we don’t have a lifeguard shortage. We have a pay issue, a culture issue and a cultural shift of epic proportions. Knowing is half the battle. Now the industry has to apply solutions. We can’t run our pools like it’s 1994 any longer.”
Some event representatives are seeing the unique challenge lifeguards face, and have responded by giving them the kudos they deserve. On the Triathlete website, for example, included an article, entitled: “The Hardest Job in Multisport: Triathlon Lifeguard.”
The writer noted, “Forget what you learned from "Baywatch" - lifeguarding, specifically lifeguarding a triathlon, involves a complex series of decisions to keep athletes safe in a crowded, chaotic open-water swim where lives are literally on the line... The triathlon swim is the most chaotic, frenetic segment of the race, and the portion where things are most likely to go wrong.”
The ability to watch hundreds of swimmers at once, and to make split-second decisions about an athlete who might be in trouble – and to go in after them – is its own discipline and, says the writer, once a person understands all that goes into it, “one begins to feel a deep reverence for what it takes to keep triathletes safe during a race.”
US Masters Swimming has guidelines for open water events; these guidelines include safety personnel and possible problems. USA Swimming requires safety training and CPR for its swim coaches; the organization also requires the presence of qualified lifeguards at all sanctioned swim meets.
Some states are taking action. In 2022, New York Governor Kathy Hochul directed a pay increase for state lifeguards to help address a staffing shortage at New York State Park beaches and pools and Department of Environmental Conservation campgrounds and day use areas beaches. The increase: A 34 percent at upstate facilities, taking pay from $14.95 per hour to $20 per hour, and 21 percent for lifeguards at downstate facilities, from $18.15 per hour to $22 per hour. Guards received a second raise in 2024.
Of course, pay varies not only regionally but by the setting of the job. Private facilities, such as hotels, apartments, condos or health clubs, may have an entirely different pay scale from that of resort areas.
One article noted that beach lifeguards on the California coast, for example, can earn into six digits. And that, says the Foundation for Economic Education, is because they have a union.
“The Los Angeles County Lifeguard Association makes [the lucrative compensation] possible. Since 1995 the union has bargained for better wages, hours, benefits and working conditions,” Adam Andrzejewski, a senior contributor and founder of OpenTheBooks noted.
In other areas, petitions for higher wages and better working conditions for lifeguards have circulated on forums like Change.Org and ActionNetwork, as well as on lifeguard-specific sites such as LifeguardsUnited.
“Lifeguards are constantly on call during the pool hours looking for potential drowning victims or emergencies like seizures, neck injuries, heat exhaustion and open blood wounds,” noted Seth Gallagher of Topeka in a forum designed to raise awareness. “They have to get CPR certified and spend money and time for advanced training before applying for the job. These trainings can cost up to $200.”
Campbell noted that most guards in his area were being paid $8 an hour (in 2021).
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