Occupational Employment and Wages, May 2007

47-2061 Construction Laborers

Perform tasks involving physical labor at building, highway, and heavy construction projects, tunnel and shaft excavations, and demolition sites. May operate hand and power tools of all types: air hammers, earth tampers, cement mixers, small mechanical hoists, surveying and measuring equipment, and a variety of other equipment and instruments. May clean and prepare sites, dig trenches, set braces to support the sides of excavations, erect scaffolding, clean up rubble and debris, and remove asbestos, lead, and other hazardous waste materials. May assist other craft workers. Exclude construction laborers who primarily assist a particular craft worker, and classify them under "Helpers, Construction Trades" (47-3011 through 47-3016).

National estimates for this occupation
Industry profile for this occupation
State profile for this occupation
Metropolitan area profile for this occupation

National estimates for this occupation: Top

Employment estimate and mean wage estimates for this occupation:

Employment (1) Employment
RSE (3)
Mean hourly
wage
Mean annual
wage (2)
Wage RSE (3)
1,053,060 0.9 % $14.88 $30,950 0.4 %

Percentile wage estimates for this occupation:

Percentile 10% 25% 50%
(Median)
75% 90%
Hourly Wage $8.37 $10.30 $13.13 $17.87 $24.88
Annual Wage (2) $17,410 $21,420 $27,310 $37,170 $51,750

Industry profile for this occupation: Top

Industries with the highest published employment and wages for this occupation are provided. For a list of all industries with employment in this occupation, see the Create Customized Tables function.

Industries with the highest levels of employment in this occupation:

Industry Employment Hourly mean wage Annual mean wage
Other Specialty Trade Contractors 160,620 $14.85 $30,900
Foundation, Structure, and Building Exterior Contractors 139,790 $14.66 $30,480
Residential Building Construction 126,810 $14.33 $29,800
Nonresidential Building Construction 126,350 $16.41 $34,130
Employment Services 111,430 $11.95 $24,850

Top paying industries for this occupation:

Industry Employment Hourly mean wage Annual mean wage
General Medical and Surgical Hospitals 340 $20.38 $42,380
Electric Power Generation, Transmission and Distribution 1,160 $19.35 $40,260
Coal Mining 490 $18.74 $38,990
Natural Gas Distribution 920 $18.71 $38,910
Management of Companies and Enterprises 1,300 $18.15 $37,760

State profile for this occupation: Top

States with the highest published employment concentrations and wages for this occupation are provided. For a list of all States with employment in this occupation, see the Create Customized Tables function.

States with the highest concentration of workers in this occupation:

State Employment Hourly mean wage Annual mean wage Percent of State employment
New Mexico 11,840 $10.83 $22,530 1.483%
Alaska 3,690 $21.48 $44,670 1.222%
Idaho 7,690 $13.14 $27,330 1.198%
Texas 119,560 $10.38 $21,580 1.188%
Utah 13,640 $11.41 $23,740 1.131%

Top paying States for this occupation:

State Employment Hourly mean wage Annual mean wage Percent of State employment
Alaska 3,690 $21.48 $44,670 1.222%
New York 46,520 $21.28 $44,270 0.546%
Hawaii 5,620 $21.28 $44,270 0.921%
New Jersey 20,730 $21.09 $43,860 0.521%
Massachusetts 14,710 $20.67 $42,990 0.459%

Metropolitan area profile for this occupation: Top

Metropolitan areas with the highest published employment concentrations and wages for this occupation are provided. For a list of all Metropolitan areas with employment in this occupation, see the Create Customized Tables function.

Metropolitan areas with the highest concentration of workers in this occupation:

MSA Employment Hourly mean wage Annual mean wage Percent of MSA employment
Farmington, NM 1,310 $11.33 $23,570 2.574%
Odessa, TX 1,160 $10.57 $21,980 2.015%
Idaho Falls, ID 930 $12.38 $25,750 1.800%
Riverside-San Bernardino-Ontario, CA 22,440 $15.78 $32,820 1.736%
Waco, TX 1,700 $10.35 $21,530 1.718%

Top paying Metropolitan areas for this occupation:

MSA Employment Hourly mean wage Annual mean wage Percent of MSA employment
New York-White Plains-Wayne, NY-NJ Metropolitan Division 24,150 $23.96 $49,840 0.476%
Leominster-Fitchburg-Gardner, MA 430 $23.91 $49,720 0.854%
Boston-Cambridge-Quincy, MA NECTA Division 5,850 $23.75 $49,410 0.346%
Anchorage, AK 1,820 $23.27 $48,400 1.119%
Bloomington-Normal, IL 360 $22.83 $47,490 0.420%

About May 2007 National, State, Metropolitan, and Nonmetropolitan Area Occupational Employment and Wage Estimates

These estimates are calculated with data collected from employers in all industry sectors in metropolitan and nonmetropolitan areas in every State and the District of Columbia. The top five employment and wage figures are provided above. The complete list is available in the downloadable Excel files (XLS).

Percentile wage estimates show the percentage of workers in an occupation that earn less than a given wage and the percentage that earn more. The median wage is the 50th percentile wage estimate—50 percent of workers earn less than the median and 50 percent of workers earn more than the median. More about percentile wages.


(1) Estimates for detailed occupations do not sum to the totals because the totals include occupations not shown separately. Estimates do not include self-employed workers.

(2) Annual wages have been calculated by multiplying the hourly mean wage by a "year-round, full-time" hours figure of 2,080 hours; for those occupations where there is not an hourly mean wage published, the annual wage has been directly calculated from the reported survey data.

(3) The relative standard error (RSE) is a measure of the reliability of a survey statistic. The smaller the relative standard error, the more precise the estimate.

Other OES estimates and related information:

May 2007 National Occupational Employment and Wage Estimates

May 2007 State Occupational Employment and Wage Estimates

May 2007 Metropolitan and Nonmetropolitan Area Occupational Employment and Wage Estimates

May 2007 National Industry-Specific Occupational Employment and Wage Estimates

List of Occupations in SOC Code Number Order

List of Occupations in Alphabetical Order

Download May 2007 Occupational Employment and Wage Estimates in Zipped Excel files

Technical notes

 

Last Modified Date: April 3, 2008