On March 17
th, 2011, I visited the International Health, Racquet and Sports club Association (IHRSA) convention; a network of business and professionals in the health industry. The conference was hosted in San Francisco, CA at the Mascone Convention center. I attended to conduct labor analysis to gain a better understanding of the labor market in this industry to identify possible sectors of growth and decline. I spoke with approximately 30 businesses in health/fitness software, equipment and facilities. From this sample, I collected a general summary of trends, forecasts and opinions of business owners and representatives.
There seemed to be a general consensus that within the past two years, this industry has experienced a slow-down in employment. The recession has affected employment of high level positions. Although the market within this industry has been fairly slow-growing, the majority of the professionals stated that the outlook of this industry appears to be promising with an immediate growth in marketing, sales, and management. The industry is currently in the beginning phases of growth. Like any industry, when this begins, marketing, business and sales professionals are necessary to promote and manage service and product availability in an attempt to increase general revenues.
Many of the businesses had stated that they have begun to incorporate software and digital technology into their services and equipment. Due to the ongoing technology crave, many businesses are now incorporating software technology into their products, such as body fat estimators, heart rate measurement systems, and even music entertainment products to enjoy while exercising. The general consensus was that software engineers are now being recruited to the health/fitness industry to develop the next cutting edge software advancements that can work in collaboration with exercise equipment designed by mechanical engineers. These software advancements incorporate music, videos, health information/measurements, and sports club management systems. The majority of representatives predicted a growth in hiring of both mechanical and software engineers within one to two years.
I attended a marketing training at the event which included approximately 150 businesses and fitness professionals. The emphasis was on social media marketing which in my opinion, was encouraged over more traditional forms of marketing, such as flyers, magazine/newspaper ads and so forth. The panel of businesses leaders provided information and resources in marketing and branding, again, another sign that marketing professionals are on the rise.
From the businesses I surveyed, the majority of their products were in large part designed and manufactured in the U.S. which may hint that fitness and exercise companies in the U.S tend to stay fairly local.
One business in particular stated significant growth in employment. This business was an Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) compliant company. Apparently recent ADA revisions have had an impact on this sector due to accessibility requirements, specifically pools, to be accessible to individuals with disabilities.
Overall, the businesses surveyed except for one, have not experienced layoffs but have experienced a slowdown and are now beginning to taper off and are hiring again. One business provided a five year forecast that expressed a possible employment growth of up to 30% within the industry as a whole.
In my opinion, to summarize my experience, I would suggest that marketing, business, sales, and physical therapist professionals will be on the rise in this industry immediately with a possible growth in software and mechanical engineers in the next one to two years. Ultimately the industry seemed vibrant and optimistic.
On a side note, Zumba seemed to be an exciting and engaging subsector which includes fashion designers who create the unique and animated attire for this exercise routine.
- Daniel Newell
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