Nonmetallic Mineral Product Manufacturing: NAICS 327

About the Nonmetallic Mineral Product Manufacturing subsector

The nonmetallic mineral product manufacturing subsector is part of the manufacturing sector.

The Nonmetallic Mineral Product Manufacturing subsector transforms mined or quarried nonmetallic minerals, such as sand, gravel, stone, clay, and refractory materials, into products for intermediate or final consumption. Processes used include grinding, mixing, cutting, shaping, and honing. Heat often is used in the process and chemicals are frequently mixed to change the composition, purity, and chemical properties for the intended product. For example, glass is produced by heating silica sand to the melting point (sometimes combined with cullet or recycled glass) and then drawn, floated, or blow molded to the desired shape or thickness. Refractory materials are heated and then formed into bricks or other shapes for use in industrial applications.

North American Industry Classification System

The nonmetallic mineral product manufacturing subsector consists of these industry groups:

  • Clay Product and Refractory Manufacturing: NAICS 3271
  • Glass and Glass Product Manufacturing: NAICS 3272
  • Cement and Concrete Product Manufacturing: NAICS 3273
  • Lime and Gypsum Product Manufacturing: NAICS 3274
  • Other Nonmetallic Mineral Product Manufacturing: NAICS 3279

Workforce Statistics

This section provides information relating to employment and unemployment in nonmetallic mineral product manufacturing. 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, 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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479.3 476.6 (P) 476.0 (P) 473.4

Employment, production workers (seasonally adjusted)

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376.0 371.6 (P) 373.6 (P) 371.0

Unemployment

 

Unemployment rate

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2.6% 2.6% 5.8% 10.0%

Layoffs

 

Mass layoff events

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9 16 8  

Initial claimants for unemployment benefits

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516 1,412 1,161  

Footnotes
(P) Preliminary

(Source: Current Employment Statistics, Current Population Survey, 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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8 56 (P) 39 (P) 12

Separations

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919 7,773 (P) 4,269 (P) 1,599

Initial claimants

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1,074 9,755 (P) 4,562 (P) 1,101

Footnotes
(P) Preliminary

(Source: Mass Layoff Statistics)

Employment by Occupation

Data series Employment,
2007

Extruding, forming, pressing, and compacting machine setters, operators, and tenders

19,720

First-line supervisors/managers of production and operating workers

17,080

Laborers and freight, stock, and material movers, hand

17,510

Molders, shapers, and casters, except metal and plastic

23,090

Truck drivers, heavy and tractor-trailer

81,190

(Source: Occupational Employment Statistics)

Projections

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

(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 nonmetallic mineral product manufacturing.

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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$16.98 $16.94 (P) $16.86 (P) $16.97

Average weekly hours

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42.1 42.5 (P) 42.4 (P) 41.8

Footnotes
(P) Preliminary

(Source: Current Employment Statistics)

Earnings by Occupation

Data series Wages, 2007
Hourly Annual
Median Mean Median Mean

Extruding, forming, pressing, and compacting machine setters, operators, and tenders

$13.18 $13.95 $27,420 $29,010

First-line supervisors/managers of production and operating workers

$23.06 $24.30 $47,960 $50,550

Laborers and freight, stock, and material movers, hand

$11.64 $12.16 $24,210 $25,300

Molders, shapers, and casters, except metal and plastic

$12.76 $13.26 $26,530 $27,570

Truck drivers, heavy and tractor-trailer

$15.68 $16.66 $32,620 $34,660

(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 nonmetallic mineral product manufacturing. 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

56 59 59 (P) 36

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

 

Total recordable cases

8.0 8.0 7.1  

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

4.8 4.9 4.1  

Cases involving days away from work

2.3 2.5 2.0  

Cases involving days of job transfer or restriction

2.5 2.3 2.2  

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. The import price index reflects the percentage change in prices paid to foreign producers for their goods and services within the U.S., while the export price index measures the percentage change in prices received by U.S. producers for goods and services sold outside the U.S.

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

Producer price index

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(P) 169.7 (P) 170.5 (P) 171.4 (P) 171.9

Percent change from previous month

 

(P) 0.4% (P) 0.5% (P) 0.5% (P) 0.3%

Import index

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111.9 112.0 (R) 116.3 115.5

Percent change from previous month

 

0.9% 0.1% (R) 3.8% (R) -0.7%

Export index

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(R) 108.5 (R) 108.6 (R) 108.9 109.0

Percent change from previous month

 

(R) 0.1% (R) 0.1% (R) 0.3% (R) 0.1%

Footnotes
(R) Revised
(P) Preliminary

(Source: Producer Price Indexes, International Price Program)

Workplace Trends

This section presents data on the number of establishments in nonmetallic mineral product manufacturing. Also included in this section is information on productivity, presented as the rate of change in output per hour of workers in the industry.

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) 18,251 (P) 18,266 (P) 18,356 (P) 18,323

Local government

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(P) 1 (P) 1 (P) 1 (P) 1

State government

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Footnotes
(P) Preliminary

(Source: Quarterly Census of Employment and Wages)

Productivity

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data
2003 2004 2005 2006

Labor productivity index, output per hour

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111.164 108.685 115.294 114.604

Percent change from previous year

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6.3 -2.2 6.1 -0.6

Labor index, total labor hours

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93.174 97.361 96.102 98.908

Percent change from previous year

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-5.0 4.5 -1.3 2.9

Output index

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103.576 105.816 110.800 113.353

Percent change from previous year

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1.0 2.2 4.7 2.3

Unit labor costs index

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107.832 108.216 108.401 111.749

Percent change from previous year

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-0.3 0.4 0.2 3.1

(Source: Productivity and Costs)

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