Support Activities for Transportation: NAICS 488

About the Support Activities for Transportation subsector

The support activities for transportation subsector is part of the transportation and warehousing sector.

Industries in the Support Activities for Transportation subsector provide services which support transportation. These services may be provided to transportation carrier establishments or to the general public. This subsector includes a wide array of establishments, including air traffic control services, marine cargo handling, and motor vehicle towing.

North American Industry Classification System

The support activities for transportation subsector consists of these industry groups:

  • Support Activities for Air Transportation: NAICS 4881
  • Support Activities for Rail Transportation: NAICS 4882
  • Support Activities for Water Transportation: NAICS 4883
  • Support Activities for Road Transportation: NAICS 4884
  • Freight Transportation Arrangement: NAICS 4885
  • Other Support Activities for Transportation: NAICS 4889

Workforce Statistics

This section provides information relating to employment in support activities for transportation. These data are obtained from employer or establishment surveys. The following tables present an overview of the industry including the number of jobs, mass layoffs, data for occupations common to the industry, and projections of occupational employment change.

Employment 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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587.0 590.3 (P) 590.7 (P) 589.8

Employment, nonsupervisory workers

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500.2 501.3 (P) 502.8  

Layoffs

 

Mass layoff events

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6 10 3  

Initial claimants for unemployment benefits

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347 1,340 141  

Footnotes
(P) Preliminary

(Source: Current Employment Statistics, 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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5 3 (P) (1) - (P) 7

Separations

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964 555 (P) (1) - (P) 590

Initial claimants

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1,817 1,321 (P) (1) - (P) 487

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

Aircraft mechanics and service technicians

28,470

Cargo and freight agents

40,560

Dispatchers, except police, fire, and ambulance

13,720

Laborers and freight, stock, and material movers, hand

54,230

Truck drivers, heavy and tractor-trailer

47,800

(Source: Occupational Employment Statistics)

Projections

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

(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 support activities for transportation.

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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$19.25 $19.45 $19.56 (P) $19.65

Average weekly hours

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37.4 38.0 37.3 (P) 37.5

Footnotes
(P) Preliminary

(Source: Current Employment Statistics)

Earnings by Occupation

Data series Wages, 2007
Hourly Annual
Median Mean Median Mean

Aircraft mechanics and service technicians

$20.33 $20.47 $42,290 $42,570

Cargo and freight agents

$17.87 $18.99 $37,170 $39,490

Dispatchers, except police, fire, and ambulance

$14.45 $15.93 $30,050 $33,130

Laborers and freight, stock, and material movers, hand

$11.81 $13.86 $24,560 $28,820

Truck drivers, heavy and tractor-trailer

$15.22 $15.99 $31,660 $33,270

(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 support activities for transportation. 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

85 86 84 (P) 76

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

 

Total recordable cases

5.3 5.5 4.5  

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

3.5 3.4 2.6  

Cases involving days away from work

2.2 2.3 1.8  

Cases involving days of job transfer or restriction

1.3 1.1 0.9  

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) 112.5 (P) 113.0 (P) 113.8 (P) 113.0

Percent change from previous month

 

(P) 0.3% (P) 0.4% (P) 0.7% (P) -0.7%

Footnotes
(P) Preliminary

(Source: Producer Price Indexes)

Workplace Trends

This section presents data on the number of establishments in support activities for transportation.

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) 39,890 (P) 40,128 (P) 40,482 (P) 40,481

Local government

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(P) 746 (P) 749 (P) 752 (P) 749

State government

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(P) 419 (P) 413 (P) 414 (P) 412

Federal government

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(P) 247 (P) 242 (P) 222 (P) 223

Footnotes
(P) Preliminary

(Source: Quarterly Census of Employment and Wages)

Other BLS Resources

Career Guide to Industries

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

 

Data extracted on: October 08, 2008