Construction: NAICS 23

About the Construction sector

The construction sector is part of the goods-producing industries supersector group.

The construction sector comprises establishments primarily engaged in the construction of buildings or engineering projects (e.g., highways and utility systems). Establishments primarily engaged in the preparation of sites for new construction and establishments primarily engaged in subdividing land for sale as building sites also are included in this sector.

Construction work done may include new work, additions, alterations, or maintenance and repairs. Activities of these establishments generally are managed at a fixed place of business, but they usually perform construction activities at multiple project sites. Production responsibilities for establishments in this sector are usually specified in (1) contracts with the owners of construction projects (prime contracts) or (2) contracts with other construction establishments (subcontracts).

North American Industry Classification System

The construction sector consists of these subsectors:

Workforce Statistics

This section provides information relating to employment and unemployment in construction. While most data are obtained from employer or establishment surveys, information on industry unemployment comes from a national survey of households. The following tables present an overview of the industry including the number of jobs, the unemployment rate of those previously employed in the industry, job openings and labor turnover, union membership and representation, gross job gains and losses, mass layoffs, data for occupations common to the industry, and projections of occupational employment change.

Employment, Unemployment, Layoffs, and Openings, Hires, and Separations

Data series Back
data
May
2008
Jun.
2008
Jul.
2008
Aug.
2008

Employment (in thousands)

 

Employment, all employees (seasonally adjusted)

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7,246 7,196 (P) 7,176 (P) 7,168

Employment, production workers (seasonally adjusted)

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5,579 5,539 (P) 5,512 (P) 5,514

Unemployment

 

Unemployment rate

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8.6% 8.2% 8.0% 8.2%

Layoffs

 

Mass layoff events

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167 114 72  

Initial claimants for unemployment benefits

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12,411 7,713 4,941  

Job openings, hires, and separations (in thousands)

 

Job openings

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153 113 (P) 92  

Hires

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367 468 (P) 284  

Separations

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374 392 (P) 441  

Footnotes
(P) Preliminary

(Source: Current Employment Statistics, Current Population Survey, Mass Layoff Statistics, Job Openings and Labor Turnover Survey)

Union Membership and Representation

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data
2004 2005 2006 2007

Union membership and representation

 

Members of unions (percent of wage and salary workers)

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14.7% 13.1% 13.0% 13.9%

Represented by unions (percent of wage and salary workers)

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15.4% 13.8% 13.6% 14.4%

(Source: Current Population Survey)

Dynamic Changes in Employment

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data
1st quarter
2007
2nd quarter
2007
3rd quarter
2007
4th quarter
2007

Dynamic changes in employment (in thousands)

 

Gross job gains

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850 814 762 777

Gross job losses

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816 855 869 870

(Source: Business Employment Dynamics)

Extended Mass Layoffs

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data
3rd quarter
2007
4th quarter
2007
1st quarter
2008
2nd quarter
2008

Extended mass layoff events

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187 682 (P) 337 (P) 227

Separations

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17,315 86,900 (P) 36,917 (P) 24,789

Initial claimants

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28,059 100,731 (P) 45,227 (P) 25,431

Footnotes
(P) Preliminary

(Source: Mass Layoff Statistics)

Employment by Occupation

Data series Employment,
2007

Carpenters

805,410

Construction laborers

836,420

Construction managers

179,900

Electricians

477,540

Operating engineers and other construction equipment operators

273,050

(Source: Occupational Employment Statistics)

Projections

For projected (future) employment estimates, see the National Employment Matrix, which includes employment estimates by industry and occupation for construction.

(Source: Office of Occupational Statistics and Employment Projections)

Earnings and Hours

This section presents data on employee earnings and weekly hours. The latest industry averages of hourly earnings and weekly hours for production or nonsupervisory employees, as well as weekly earnings by union membership status, are shown. In addition, recent hourly and annual earnings are shown for occupations commonly found in construction. This section also contains information on the average cost of benefits paid by employers, as well as recent rates of change in wages and total compensation.

Earnings and Hours of Production Workers

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data
May
2008
Jun.
2008
Jul.
2008
Aug.
2008

Average hourly earnings

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$21.70 $21.77 (P) $21.86 (P) $22.05

Average weekly hours

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38.5 38.7 (P) 38.7 (P) 38.8

Footnotes
(P) Preliminary

(Source: Current Employment Statistics)

Union Membership and Representation

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data
Median weekly earnings
2004 2005 2006 2007

Union membership and representation

 

Full-time workers

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$618 $619 $642 $673

Members of unions

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$893 $933 $969 $1,000

Represented by unions

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$884 $926 $956 $993

Nonunion

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$588 $590 $610 $624

(Source: Current Population Survey)

Earnings by Occupation

Data series Wages, 2007
Hourly Annual
Median Mean Median Mean

Carpenters

$18.37 $20.10 $38,200 $41,820

Construction laborers

$13.41 $15.24 $27,890 $31,690

Construction managers

$36.37 $41.25 $75,650 $85,790

Electricians

$20.93 $22.85 $43,540 $47,520

Operating engineers and other construction equipment operators

$19.09 $21.18 $39,700 $44,060

(Source: Occupational Employment Statistics)

Employer Compensation Costs

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data
3rd quarter
2007
4th quarter
2007
1st quarter
2008
2nd quarter
2008

12-month percent change

 

Total compensation

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3.8% 3.9% 4.0% 4.0%

Wages and salaries

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4.0% 4.0% 3.9% 3.8%

(Source: Compensation Cost Trends)



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data
2nd quarter 2008
Compensation component
($ per hour worked)
Percent of total compensation

Compensation costs

 

Total compensation

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30.33 100.0

Wages and salaries

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20.99 69.2

Total benefits

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9.34 30.8

Insurance

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2.25 7.4

Retirement

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1.54 5.1

(Source: Compensation Cost Trends)

Work-related Fatalities, Injuries, and Illnesses

This section presents data for the industry on the number of workplace fatalities and the rates of workplace injuries and illnesses per 100 full-time workers in construction. An injury or illness is considered to be work-related if an event or exposure in the work environment either caused or contributed to the resulting condition or significantly aggravated a pre-existing condition.

Data series 2004 2005 2006 2007

Fatalities

 

Number of fatalities

1,278 1,243 1,297 (P) 1,212

Rate of injury and illness cases per 100 full-time workers

 

Total recordable cases

6.4 6.3 5.9  

Cases involving days away from work, job restriction, or transfer

3.4 3.4 3.2  

Cases involving days away from work

2.4 2.4 2.2  

Cases involving days of job transfer or restriction

0.9 1.0 1.0  

Footnotes
(P) Preliminary

(Source: Injuries, Illnesses, and Fatalities)

Workplace Trends

This section presents data on the number of establishments and the number of establishments experiencing job gains or job losses in construction.

Establishments

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data
1st quarter
2007
2nd quarter
2007
3rd quarter
2007
4th quarter
2007

Number of establishments

 

Private industry

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(P) 883,601 (P) 891,073 (P) 896,672 (P) 893,658

Local government

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(P) 4,556 (P) 4,551 (P) 4,551 (P) 4,551

State government

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(P) 1,808 (P) 1,807 (P) 1,808 (P) 1,808

Federal government

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(P) 2 (P) 2 (P) 2 (P) 2

Establishments with changes in employment (in thousands)

 

With job gains (seasonally adjusted)

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220 213 209 210

With job losses (seasonally adjusted)

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226 240 237 235

Footnotes
(P) Preliminary

(Source: Business Employment Dynamics, Quarterly Census of Employment and Wages)

Other BLS Resources

The Editor's Desk

See industry studies in the subject matter index of The Editor's Desk (Current Edition).

Monthly Labor Review

See industry studies in the Index of the Monthly Labor Review Online (Current Issue).

Career Guide to Industries

To learn about careers from an industry perspective, see the Career Guide to Industries.

 

Data extracted on: September 16, 2008