Telecommunications: NAICS 517

About the Telecommunications subsector

The telecommunications subsector is part of the information sector.

Industries in the Telecommunications subsector group establishments that provide telecommunications and the services related to that activity (e.g., telephony, including Voice over Internet Protocol (VoIP); cable and satellite television distribution services; Internet access; telecommunications reselling services). The Telecommunications subsector is primarily engaged in operating, and/or providing access to facilities for the transmission of voice, data, text, sound, and video. Transmission facilities may be based on a single technology or a combination of technologies.

North American Industry Classification System

The telecommunications subsector consists of these industry groups:

  • Wired Telecommunications Carriers: NAICS 5171
  • Wireless Telecommunications Carriers (except Satellite): NAICS 5172
  • Telecommunications Resellers: NAICS 5173
  • Satellite Telecommunications: NAICS 5174
  • Cable and Other Program Distribution: NAICS 5175
  • Other Telecommunications: NAICS 5179

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 telecommunications. 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, union membership and representation, 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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1,018.9 1,016.1 (P) 1,016.3 (P) 1,012.9

Employment, nonsupervisory workers

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838.7 835.9 (P) 832.2  

Unemployment

 

Unemployment rate

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4.3% 2.5% 3.1% 4.7%

Layoffs

 

Mass layoff events

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10 5 10  

Initial claimants for unemployment benefits

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760 325 698  

Footnotes
(P) Preliminary

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

Union Membership and Representation

Data series Back
data
2004 2005 2006 2007

Union membership and representation

 

Members of unions (percent of wage and salary workers)

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22.4% 21.4% 20.7% 19.7%

Represented by unions (percent of wage and salary workers)

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24.0% 22.6% 22.1% 20.8%

(Source: Current Population Survey)

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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3 10 (P) 5 (P) 16

Separations

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211 1,111 (P) 911 (P) 2,196

Initial claimants

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280 1,146 (P) 1,125 (P) 1,994

Footnotes
(P) Preliminary

(Source: Mass Layoff Statistics)

Employment by Occupation

Data series Employment,
2007

Customer service representatives

139,970

Electronics engineers, except computer

21,840

First-line supervisors/managers of office and administrative support workers

19,580

Telecommunications equipment installers and repairers, except line installers

124,750

Telecommunications line installers and repairers

90,840

Telephone operators

15,070

(Source: Occupational Employment Statistics)

Projections

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

(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 telecommunications.

Earnings and Hours of Production Workers

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

Average hourly earnings

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$25.67 $25.99 $25.79 (P) $25.98

Average weekly hours

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39.8 40.9 40.9 (P) 41.1

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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$918 $927 $947 $951

Members of unions

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$910 $937 $986 $1,003

Represented by unions

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$897 $935 $982 $1,000

Nonunion

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$929 $923 $928 $927

(Source: Current Population Survey)

Earnings by Occupation

Data series Wages, 2007
Hourly Annual
Median Mean Median Mean

Customer service representatives

$15.31 $17.09 $31,850 $35,540

Electronics engineers, except computer

$36.70 $37.76 $76,340 $78,540

First-line supervisors/managers of office and administrative support workers

$26.53 $27.09 $55,170 $56,350

Telecommunications equipment installers and repairers, except line installers

$27.01 $26.28 $56,180 $54,670

Telecommunications line installers and repairers

$26.08 $24.59 $54,250 $51,150

Telephone operators

$19.19 $17.43 $39,920 $36,250

(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 telecommunications. 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

13 18 24 (P) 18

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

 

Total recordable cases

2.2 2.6 2.2  

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

1.4 1.5 1.4  

Cases involving days away from work

1.0 1.1 1.0  

Cases involving days of job transfer or restriction

0.4 0.4 0.4  

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.

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

Producer price index

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(P) 101.3 (P) 101.1 (P) 101.0 (P) 101.7

Percent change from previous month

 

(P) 0.3% (P) -0.2% (P) -0.1% (P) 0.7%

Footnotes
(P) Preliminary

(Source: Producer Price Indexes)

Workplace Trends

This section presents data on the number of establishments in telecommunications.

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) 47,635 (P) 47,661 (P) 47,503 (P) 47,675

Local government

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(P) 67 (P) 67 (P) 68 (P) 67

State government

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(P) 4 (P) 7 (P) 7 (P) 7

Footnotes
(P) Preliminary

(Source: Quarterly Census of Employment and Wages)

Other BLS Resources

Career Guide to Industries

See telecommunications in the Career Guide to Industries.

 

Data extracted on: October 08, 2008