Machinery Manufacturing: NAICS 333

About the Machinery Manufacturing subsector

The machinery manufacturing subsector is part of the manufacturing sector.

Industries in the Machinery Manufacturing subsector create end products that apply mechanical force, for example, the application of gears and levers, to perform work. Some important processes for the manufacture of machinery are forging, stamping, bending, forming, and machining that are used to shape individual pieces of metal. Processes, such as welding and assembling are used to join separate parts together. Although these processes are similar to those used in metal fabricating establishments, machinery manufacturing is different because it typically employs multiple metal forming processes in manufacturing the various parts of the machine. Moreover, complex assembly operations are an inherent part of the production process.

North American Industry Classification System

The machinery manufacturing subsector consists of these industry groups:

  • Agriculture, Construction, and Mining Machinery Manufacturing: NAICS 3331
  • Industrial Machinery Manufacturing: NAICS 3332
  • Commercial and Service Industry Machinery Manufacturing: NAICS 3333
  • Ventilation, Heating, Air-Conditioning, and Commercial Refrigeration Equipment Manufacturing: NAICS 3334
  • Metalworking Machinery Manufacturing: NAICS 3335
  • Engine, Turbine, and Power Transmission Equipment Manufacturing: NAICS 3336
  • Other General Purpose Machinery Manufacturing: NAICS 3339

NOTE: There was a change in the definition of this subsector between NAICS 2002 and NAICS 2007. Some of the data below reflect the 2002 definition and some reflect the 2007 definition. See the BLS implementation schedule for NAICS 2007 to find out which BLS programs have already implemented NAICS 2007.

Workforce Statistics

This section provides information relating to employment and unemployment in machinery manufacturing. 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, mass layoffs, data for occupations common to the industry, and projections of occupational employment change.

Employment, Unemployment, and Layoffs

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

Employment (in thousands)

 

Employment, all employees (seasonally adjusted)

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1,194.4 1,196.5 (P) 1,192.7 (P) 1,188.7

Employment, production workers (seasonally adjusted)

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777.6 779.6 (P) 774.6 (P) 767.8

Unemployment

 

Unemployment rate

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4.3% 5.4% 5.5% 6.0%

Layoffs

 

Mass layoff events

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22 45 30  

Initial claimants for unemployment benefits

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2,611 5,042 4,887  

Footnotes
(P) Preliminary

(Source: Current Employment Statistics, Current Population Survey, Mass Layoff Statistics)

Extended Mass Layoffs

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

Extended mass layoff events

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18 22 (P) 20 (P) 23

Separations

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3,608 4,384 (P) 3,152 (P) 4,055

Initial claimants

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3,546 6,568 (P) 3,371 (P) 3,016

Footnotes
(P) Preliminary

(Source: Mass Layoff Statistics)

Employment by Occupation

Data series Employment,
2007

Computer-controlled machine tool operators, metal and plastic

31,100

Engine and other machine assemblers

22,910

Machinists

80,000

Mechanical engineers

28,080

Team assemblers

119,030

Tool and die makers

25,550

Welders, cutters, solderers, and brazers

65,640

(Source: Occupational Employment Statistics)

Projections

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

(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 are shown. In addition, recent hourly and annual earnings are shown for occupations commonly found in machinery manufacturing.

Earnings and Hours of Production Workers

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

Average hourly earnings

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$17.87 $17.93 (P) $17.91 (P) $18.00

Average weekly hours

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42.1 42.1 (P) 42.8 (P) 42.1

Footnotes
(P) Preliminary

(Source: Current Employment Statistics)

Earnings by Occupation

Data series Wages, 2007
Hourly Annual
Median Mean Median Mean

Computer-controlled machine tool operators, metal and plastic

$17.00 $17.20 $35,350 $35,770

Engine and other machine assemblers

$15.32 $15.59 $31,860 $32,430

Machinists

$17.24 $17.45 $35,850 $36,300

Mechanical engineers

$31.37 $32.67 $65,250 $67,950

Team assemblers

$13.21 $13.80 $27,470 $28,700

Tool and die makers

$20.24 $20.46 $42,100 $42,550

Welders, cutters, solderers, and brazers

$15.63 $15.90 $32,500 $33,080

(Source: Occupational Employment Statistics)

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 machinery manufacturing. 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

26 20 33 (P) 23

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

 

Total recordable cases

6.7 6.5 6.2  

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

3.1 3.0 3.0  

Cases involving days away from work

1.5 1.4 1.4  

Cases involving days of job transfer or restriction

1.6 1.6 1.6  

Footnotes
(P) Preliminary

(Source: Injuries, Illnesses, and Fatalities)

Prices

This section provides industry-specific pricing information. The producer price index measures the percentage change in prices that domestic producers receive for goods and services. The prices included in the producer price index are from the first commercial transaction. The import price index reflects the percentage change in prices paid to foreign producers for their goods and services within the U.S., while the export price index measures the percentage change in prices received by U.S. producers for goods and services sold outside the U.S.

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

Producer price index

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(P) 115.7 (P) 116.5 (P) 117.9 (P) 118.5

Percent change from previous month

 

(P) 0.5% (P) 0.7% (P) 1.2% (P) 0.5%

Import index

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110.8 (R) 110.7 (R) 111.2 111.2

Percent change from previous month

 

0.5% (R) -0.1% (R) 0.5% (R) 0.0%

Export index

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109.3 (R) 109.5 (R) 110.2 110.8

Percent change from previous month

 

0.2% (R) 0.2% (R) 0.6% (R) 0.5%

Footnotes
(R) Revised
(P) Preliminary

(Source: Producer Price Indexes, International Price Program)

Workplace Trends

This section presents data on the number of establishments in machinery manufacturing. Also included in this section is information on productivity, presented as the rate of change in output per hour of workers in the industry.

Establishments

Data series Back
data
1st quarter
2007
2nd quarter
2007
3rd quarter
2007
4th quarter
2007

Number of establishments

 

Private industry

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(P) 30,601 (P) 30,525 (P) 30,603 (P) 30,513

Local government

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

Footnotes
(P) Preliminary

(Source: Quarterly Census of Employment and Wages)

Productivity

Data series Back
data
2003 2004 2005 2006

Labor productivity index, output per hour

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125.215 127.045 134.072 137.365

Percent change from previous year

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7.4 1.5 5.5 2.5

Labor index, total labor hours

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71.798 73.808 74.923 76.596

Percent change from previous year

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-6.6 2.8 1.5 2.2

Output index

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89.902 93.770 100.450 105.216

Percent change from previous year

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0.3 4.3 7.1 4.7

Unit labor costs index

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102.377 98.414 95.941 95.953

Percent change from previous year

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-1.9 -3.9 -2.5 0.0

(Source: Productivity and Costs)

Other BLS Resources

Career Guide to Industries

See machinery manufacturing in the Career Guide to Industries.

 

Data extracted on: October 08, 2008