Goods-Producing Industries

About the Goods-Producing Industries supersector group

The goods-producing industries supersector group consists of these supersectors and sectors:

(All other industries are part of the Service-Providing Industries supersector group.)

Workforce Statistics

This section provides information relating to employment in goods-producing industries. These data are obtained from employer or establishment surveys. The following tables present an overview of the industry including the number of jobs, union membership and representation, gross job gains and losses, and projections of occupational employment change.

Employment

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

Employment (in thousands)

 

Employment, all employees (seasonally adjusted)

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21,491 21,437 (P) 21,380 (P) 21,303

Employment, production workers (seasonally adjusted)

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15,850 15,782 (P) 15,753 (P) 15,660

Footnotes
(P) Preliminary

(Source: Current Employment Statistics)

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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2.2% 2.7% 2.3% 1.5%

Represented by unions (percent of wage and salary workers)

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2.9% 3.0% 2.6% 1.8%

(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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1,629 1,622 1,486 1,561

Gross job losses

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1,682 1,691 1,703 1,690

(Source: Business Employment Dynamics)

Projections

For projected (future) employment estimates in goods-producing industries, see the Employment and projected employment by major industry sector table.

(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. 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
Jun.
2008
Jul.
2008
Aug.
2008
Sep.
2008

Average hourly earnings

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$19.25 $19.33 (P) $19.40 (P) $19.45

Average weekly hours

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40.3 40.3 (P) 40.3 (P) 40.0

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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$403 $402 $422 $412

Members of unions

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$578 $410 $616 $407

Represented by unions

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$512 $433 $607 $422

Nonunion

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$402 $402 $420 $411

(Source: Current Population Survey)

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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2.4% 2.4% 3.1% 2.8%

Wages and salaries

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3.0% 3.0% 3.1% 3.2%

(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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31.58 100.0

Wages and salaries

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21.09 66.8

Total benefits

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10.49 33.2

Insurance

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2.88 9.1

Retirement

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1.45 4.6

(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 goods-producing industries. 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

2,566 2,515 2,612 (P) 2,363

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

 

Total recordable cases

6.5 6.2 5.9  

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

3.5 3.4 3.2  

Cases involving days away from work

1.9 1.8 1.7  

Cases involving days of job transfer or restriction

1.7 1.6 1.6  

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 goods-producing industries.

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) 1,368,705 (P) 1,376,849 (P) 1,383,933 (P) 1,379,949

Local government

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(P) 4,672 (P) 4,665 (P) 4,664 (P) 4,664

State government

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(P) 1,970 (P) 1,969 (P) 1,970 (P) 1,971

Federal government

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(P) 120 (P) 120 (P) 120 (P) 120

Establishments with changes in employment (in thousands)

 

With job gains (seasonally adjusted)

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357 349 342 347

With job losses (seasonally adjusted)

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368 383 380 374

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).

Occupational Outlook Quarterly

See occupations and industries in the Index of the Occupational Outlook Quarterly.

Career Guide to Industries

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

 

Data extracted on: October 08, 2008