Media Corner

Massage Makes Strides in Public Acceptance — Consumer Research Overview

Explosive Growth Rate for Massage Training Begins to Flatten
New Training Entities Get Into the Act
Challenges for Schools, Students, Graduates
Dearth of Experienced Instructors
Graduate Expectations
Income
Attrition an Ongoing Concern
Potential for Market Saturation

ABMP Practitioner Characteristics and Professional Membership Patterns

Influence of National Retailing Trends on Massage

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Explosive Growth Rate for Massage Training Begins to Flatten
One of the dramatic trends in the profession is the explosive growth rate for new students entering massage training and the variety and number of established educational institutions that have branched into massage therapy or new organizations that have sprung up as independent schools to meet the demand. ABMP surveys showed explosive growth (107.1 percent from 1998 to 2004) in enrollment and graduation numbers, but an early 2007 analysis showed the first (slight) decline in that indicator since ABMP school surveys began in 1998. The rate of growth slowed from 2006 to 2008, growing 2.5 percent, compared with the 7.8 percent between 2004 and 2006. ABMP’s school database peaked at 1,582 schools in 2006, but early 2009 survey results leveled off at 1,568 schools.

An early 2009 survey showed enrollment has declined 11.9 percent from 66,653 entrants in 2006 to 58,700 in 2008. Graduates from massage therapy programs in 2008 totaled 53,372 vs. 62,784 graduates in 2006, a decline of 15.0 percent.

ABMP considers these results a continuing market correction that began after the peak in school activity in 2004. There has been a leveling off in the rapid school enrollment trend. It appears that massage and bodywork enrollment is in the process of settling into a more natural number.

The massage school industry pie is being divided into more pieces. Massage training institutions, formerly the province of stand-alone proprietary schools, are now facing increasing competition from less-specialized entities. Primarily these are career (vocational) schools, public community colleges and public technical schools. An ABMP 2009 survey of state-approved massage schools reveals the following:

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New Training Entities Get Into the Act

The number of state-approved schools has increased 122.8 percent between 1998 and 1,568 as of March, 2009.

Larger schools dominate the field — one-fourth of schools account for more than 70 percent of graduates. Half the schools account for 90.5 percent of all graduates.

Despite their domination of the field, the top 125 largest schools continue to lose overall enrollment market share. Rankings are fluid — in the four surveys conducted between 1998 and 2004, only 38 schools have remained in the top 125 for all four surveys. Similarly, just 26 have ranked in the top 125 in numbers of graduates.

Challenges for Schools, Students, Graduates
Dearth of Qualified Instructors
One problem schools are facing is an insufficient number of qualified, experienced teachers to meet student demand. Explosive growth of 122.8 percent in schools and 107.1 percent in enrollment since 1998 has inevitably required the hiring of a disproportionate number of rookie instructors.

Graduate Expectations and Income
The part-time nature of most massage practices is a dynamic that dramatically shapes the profession. The median number of client contact hours for ABMP members is 12 (average 14.4) — 65.6 percent say they wish they had more clients.

As in any business, the 12 hours a week does not mean the other 28 hours of the 40-hour business week are free. Just as a pilot’s work is not defined solely by flight hours, the independent massage professional spends many additional hours weekly maintaining the massage room, ordering supplies, returning phone calls, keeping books and promoting the practice.

More than half of the respondents (51 percent) report supplementing their income with another job, a job at which they spend a median number of 24 hours per week. The top five secondary occupations include: office/secretary/clerks; massage instructor; medical (includes nursing); teaching/education; sales/retail; and esthetics/cosmetology (2007 ABMP Member Survey). For most, this pattern reflects a conscious choice to balance massage work, with its strenuous physical demands, with work responsibilities stressing different skills.

Income
Average massage-related income for massage therapists in 2007 was $17,750, with a median income of $15,500 (2007 ABMP Member Survey).

The U. S. Bureau of Labor Standards bureau reports median average annual income for massage therapists to be $34,900, including gratuities (U.S. Department of Labor, Bureau of Labor Statistics, Occupational Employment and Wages, May 2008).

The bureau derived this number by gathering data showing a mean hourly wage of $16.78 for massage therapists, then “multiplying the hourly mean wage rate by a ‘year-round, full-time’ hours figure of 2,080 hours.”

It is misleading for the bureau to report these numbers at face value (and for others to imply that the few individuals counted are representative of massage practitioners as a whole), as the Bureau of Labor Statistics' footnote mentions “self-employed” workers are not included. Two-thirds of U.S. massage therapy practitioners are self-employed. The BLS sample may be skewed toward employees of larger establishments (likely major spas, hospitals and hotels), which are more likely to file U.S. Department of Labor reports than are small massage-practice proprietors.

Total earnings by massage therapists, including their earnings from other employment, averaged $34,141 (2007 ABMP Member Survey).

First-year practice average income was $10,503, reflecting the challenges of establishing a professional-service practice (2007 ABMP Member Survey).

Attrition an Ongoing Concern
Practitioner attrition continues to be cause for concern in the massage therapy profession. ABMP estimates some 50,000 massage therapists leave the profession each year. Three primary factors drive this pattern:

As most professionals indicate they wish they had more clients, it is reasonable to conclude that at least some practitioners leave the field because of insufficient economic reward. Contributing to this may be unrealistic expectations of new graduates and a simple lack of business skill and confidence. It proves difficult for sole practitioners to reconcile their sense of higher purpose with the more mundane aspects of self-employment and the competitive realities of self-promotion.

The physical demands of the profession can become daunting and may necessarily limit the number of clients a practitioner can manage even if greater demand is present.

And, of course, lifestyle changes such as spouse relocation, maternity and other family changes affect an independent practice far more than simply changing jobs.

Potential for Market Saturation

The number of massage therapists in the United States continues to rise. According to ABMP’s analysis, there were 278,000 massage therapists in the United States as of January 2008, up from 241,058 in January 2006 and 137,390 in January 1999.

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Methodology: In the then-39 states (including the District of Columbia) where licensure of massage therapists is in effect, state boards were contacted to obtain current licensing totals. In the other (then) 12 states, ABMP developed the estimate through analysis of totals from primary membership organizations (ABMP and the American Massage Therapy Association), the distribution of National Certification Board for Therapeutic Massage and Bodywork certificants and state populations. General receptivity toward massage in particular regions also was factored in.

State Rankings Table

Although there is no formula at present to define full scope for this still growing profession, the topic of market saturation is being raised more frequently by profession observers. A U.S. Department of Labor forecast for 2006–2007 projected an 20 percent increase in job opportunities through 2016 (Source: U.S. Department of Labor, Bureau of Labor Statistics, 2008–2009 Occupational Outlook Handbook). Some observers surmise that much of that predictable growth has already occurred. Certainly saturation will arrive much sooner in certain markets, even as massage gains greater popularity in others.

On balance, ABMP expects demand for massage to continue to rise over the next five to seven years, but not at the same dramatic rate as has recently occurred. Already some market adjustment is occurring in the massage school universe — some schools that were attracted by the demand for classes but lacked well-thought-through plans are closing their doors. Nonetheless, spas are becoming more accepted, men are showing dramatically greater interest in receiving massage, markets previously tepid to massage therapy are showing more use, and more people are being exposed initially to massage in comfortable settings (chair massage in an office or grocery store, holiday gift certificates, etc.). Baby boom demographics and predisposition toward massage all auger well for the profession as a whole. We just don’t anticipate continued growth rates for massage school graduates or practitioners as in the past.

Not surprisingly, market forces result in a pattern of therapist distribution per capita largely reflecting these patterns. Massage has more quickly gained acceptance in metropolitan areas.

As might be expected, the most populous state in the United States, California, also has the most massage therapists, with 33,658. Wyoming, the least populous state, also claims the fewest massage therapists at 459. Hawaii reports the greatest concentration of massage therapists, with one therapist for every 250 residents. The state with least concentration is Alabama, with one massage therapist for every 3,876 residents.

Also of note is the regional concentration of therapists. The Southwest (Four Corners states along with Nevada), Northwest, Northeast, Florida and previously mentioned Hawaii, all report high concentrations of therapists. Excluding Florida, the Southeast region has the least concentration of therapists.

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