LA County Is Looking At Another Lifeguard Shortage This Summer. Its Answer: Pay More

Facing the third year in a row of staff shortages, the Los Angeles County Department of Parks and Recreation increased hourly wages for lifeguards working at public pools and county lakes in hopes of incentivizing more applicants.

For public pools, the hourly wage for certified lifeguards now hovers between $23.87 to $25.87, a 20% increase from last year, while those working on lakes could make up to $30.50 per hour.

Also, the swim test for aspiring pool lifeguards is less challenging. Applicants now only have to swim 300 yards in 6 minutes and 30 seconds, or less, versus swimming 500 yards in that time. The age requirement for a lifeguard has also been lowered to 16.

“It’s an attempt to try to bring in more people and try to increase interest and make it a more accessible job opportunity,” says Leonardo Ramirez, an area pool supervisor.

Johnny Kirk, a public information associate for the Department of Parks and Recreation, says pool hours could be reduced this summer if the county doesn’t hire enough lifeguards.

The staffing needs

For the past three years, there’s been a lifeguard shortage in L.A. County, forcing some pools to operate at a limited capacity.

Due to pandemic closures in 2020, the county cut lifeguards who were not identified as disaster service workers and — according to information in a June 2023 motion authored by L.A. Board of Supervisors Janice Hahn and Holly J. Mitchell — many of the lifeguards never came back.

Right now, says Kirk, a little more than 300 pool lifeguards are committed to return or have been trained and certified through the county’s program. But there’s a need for 500 lifeguards to staff its 30 public pools and three recreational lakes this summer.

And its not easy to entice summer job seekers to consider lifeguarding when people can find a gig with a similar salary elsewhere without having to pass a swim test. The lengthy training noted in the supervisors’ 2023 motion was also identified as a barrier to entry.

Last year, L.A. County moved to a year-round lifeguard recruitment process, and added a communications firm to bring in more candidates.

Other recruiting efforts

Recognizing the extra training required and the hard work it takes to become a capable pool lifeguard, the county is in its third year of offering a free program called Lifeguard Ready Training. It’s targeted at people between the ages of 16 and 24, and the goal is to build swim skills, stamina and competency in the water so that applicants can go on to be certified and, eventually, hired to work at public pools.

“We just believe we need to make sure that everyone is aware of the opportunities and we're doing a lot of outreach,” Ramirez says. “We are trying to be proactive about the way that we're addressing it with recruiting and training and trying to offer accessible programs to our communities as well.”

Ramirez says the county actively recruits lifeguards at high schools, colleges and recreation centers at the parks. They also have social media pages that include swim test dates and updates on available positions.

Interested applicants can submit an application here and contact one of the facilities.