Utilities: NAICS 22

About the Utilities sector

The utilities sector is part of the trade, transportation, and utilities supersector.

The Utilities sector comprises establishments engaged in the provision of the following utility services: electric power, natural gas, steam supply, water supply, and sewage removal. Within this sector, the specific activities associated with the utility services provided vary by utility: electric power includes generation, transmission, and distribution; natural gas includes distribution; steam supply includes provision and/or distribution; water supply includes treatment and distribution; and sewage removal includes collection, treatment, and disposal of waste through sewer systems and sewage treatment facilities.

North American Industry Classification System

The utilities sector consists of a single subsector, Utilities: NAICS 221. Data published under either the sector or subsector classification are included in the tables below. The subsector consists of these industry groups:

  • Electric Power Generation, Transmission and Distribution: NAICS 2211
  • Natural Gas Distribution: NAICS 2212
  • Water, Sewage and Other Systems: NAICS 2213

Workforce Statistics

This section provides information relating to employment and unemployment in utilities. 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, gross job gains and losses, 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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558.1 559.8 (P) 559.7 (P) 562.6

Employment, nonsupervisory workers (seasonally adjusted)

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450.8 451.5 (P) 451.3 (P) 452.3

Unemployment

 

Unemployment rate

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2.5% 3.3% 3.9% 2.3%

Layoffs

 

Mass layoff events

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(1) - 3 (1) -  

Initial claimants for unemployment benefits

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(1) - 228 (1) -  

Footnotes
(1) Data do not meet BLS or state agency disclosure standards.
(P) Preliminary

(Source: Current Employment Statistics, Current Population Survey, Mass Layoff 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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28.4% 27.4% 28.2% 28.4%

Represented by unions (percent of wage and salary workers)

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30.1% 28.6% 29.1% 29.4%

(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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11 14 13 15

Gross job losses

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11 12 12 10

(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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- 5 (P) (1) - (P) 4

Separations

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- 669 (P) (1) - (P) 757

Initial claimants

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- 904 (P) (1) - (P) 717

Footnotes
(1) Data do not meet BLS or state agency disclosure standards.
(P) Preliminary

(Source: Mass Layoff Statistics)

Employment by Occupation

Data series Employment,
2007

Control and valve installers and repairers, except mechanical door

17,470

Electrical engineers

12,450

Electrical power-line installers and repairers

54,290

First-line supervisors/managers of mechanics, installers, and repairers

15,290

Meter readers, utilities

20,070

(Source: Occupational Employment Statistics)

Projections

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

(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 utilities. 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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$29.14 $28.65 (P) $28.86 (P) $28.74

Average weekly hours

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42.8 42.4 (P) 42.3 (P) 42.8

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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$957 $941 $978 $994

Members of unions

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$979 $960 $1,041 $1,056

Represented by unions

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$978 $954 $1,051 $1,052

Nonunion

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$948 $931 $939 $954

(Source: Current Population Survey)

Earnings by Occupation

Data series Wages, 2007
Hourly Annual
Median Mean Median Mean

Control and valve installers and repairers, except mechanical door

$25.98 $25.29 $54,040 $52,590

Electrical engineers

$38.62 $39.12 $80,320 $81,380

Electrical power-line installers and repairers

$27.01 $26.80 $56,180 $55,740

First-line supervisors/managers of mechanics, installers, and repairers

$33.55 $33.03 $69,780 $68,700

Meter readers, utilities

$16.89 $17.57 $35,120 $36,550

(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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-4.6% -4.3% 3.6% 3.2%

Wages and salaries

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3.0% 3.2% 3.5% 3.6%

(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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49.70 100.0

Wages and salaries

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31.23 62.8

Total benefits

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18.47 37.2

Insurance

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4.39 8.8

Retirement

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3.64 7.3

(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 utilities. 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

66 46 73 (P) 45

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

 

Total recordable cases

5.2 4.6 4.1  

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

2.5 2.4 2.2  

Cases involving days away from work

1.4 1.3 1.2  

Cases involving days of job transfer or restriction

1.1 1.0 1.0  

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) 135.7 (P) 141.1 (P) 146.3 (P) 146.2

Percent change from previous month

 

(P) 0.9% (P) 4.0% (P) 3.7% (P) -0.1%

Footnotes
(P) Preliminary

(Source: Producer Price Indexes)

Workplace Trends

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

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) 16,162 (P) 16,221 (P) 16,239 (P) 16,248

Local government

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(P) 8,394 (P) 8,394 (P) 8,406 (P) 8,398

State government

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(P) 50 (P) 51 (P) 51 (P) 51

Federal government

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(P) 149 (P) 146 (P) 146 (P) 146

Establishments with changes in employment (in thousands)

 

With job gains (seasonally adjusted)

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3 3 3 3

With job losses (seasonally adjusted)

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3 3 3 3

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).

Career Guide to Industries

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

 

Data extracted on: October 08, 2008