Personal and Laundry Services: NAICS 812

About the Personal and Laundry Services subsector

The personal and laundry services subsector is part of the other services (except public administration) sector.

The personal and laundry services subsector consists of these industry groups:

• Personal Care Services: NAICS 8121
• Death Care Services: NAICS 8122
• Drycleaning and Laundry Services: NAICS 8123
• Other Personal Services: NAICS 8129

Workforce Statistics

This section provides information relating to employment and unemployment in personal and laundry services. 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)		1,312.8	1,315.1	(P) 1,318.1	(P) 1,319.0
Employment, nonsupervisory workers		1,152.8	1,148.8	(P) 1,149.9
Unemployment
Unemployment rate		2.4%	2.8%	4.7%	5.2%
Layoffs
Mass layoff events		5	(1) -	5	(1) -
Initial claimants for unemployment benefits		468	(1) -	664	(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)

Extended Mass Layoffs

Data series	Back data	3rd quarter 2007	4th quarter 2007	1st quarter 2008	2nd quarter 2008
Extended mass layoff events		6	7	(P) (1) -	(P) 4
Separations		1,577	1,146	(P) (1) -	(P) 768
Initial claimants		923	971	(P) (1) -	(P) 543
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
Counter and rental clerks	72,430
First-line supervisors/managers of personal service workers	21,570
Hairdressers, hairstylists, and cosmetologists	307,290
Laundry and dry-cleaning workers	111,060
Pressers, textile, garment, and related materials	53,370

(Source: Occupational Employment Statistics)

Projections

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

(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 personal and laundry services.

Earnings and Hours of Production Workers

Data series	Back data	May 2008	Jun. 2008	Jul. 2008	Aug. 2008
Average hourly earnings		$12.90	$12.96	$12.95	(P) $12.96
Average weekly hours		28.4	28.9	28.7	(P) 28.7
Footnotes (P) Preliminary

(Source: Current Employment Statistics)

Earnings by Occupation

Data series	Wages, 2007
	Hourly		Annual
	Median	Mean	Median	Mean
Counter and rental clerks	$8.15	$8.77	$16,940	$18,240
First-line supervisors/managers of personal service workers	$16.95	$19.30	$35,250	$40,130
Hairdressers, hairstylists, and cosmetologists	$10.89	$12.59	$22,650	$26,200
Laundry and dry-cleaning workers	$8.64	$9.10	$17,960	$18,940
Pressers, textile, garment, and related materials	$8.80	$9.10	$18,300	$18,930

(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 personal and laundry services. 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	39	48	29	(P) 41
Rate of injury and illness cases per 100 full-time workers
Total recordable cases	2.8	2.7	2.6	2.6
Cases involving days away from work, job restriction, or transfer	1.6	1.6	1.5	1.3
Cases involving days away from work	1.0	0.8	0.9	0.8
Cases involving days of job transfer or restriction	0.7	0.7	0.6	0.5
Footnotes (P) Preliminary

(Source: Injuries, Illnesses, and Fatalities)

Workplace Trends

This section presents data on the number of establishments in personal and laundry services.

Establishments

Data series	Back data	2nd quarter 2007	3rd quarter 2007	4th quarter 2007	1st quarter 2008
Number of establishments
Private industry		190,212	191,241	191,627	(P) 191,507
Local government		1,159	1,150	1,145	(P) 1,137
State government		9	9	9	(P) 8
Federal government		30	30	31	(P) 31
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: November 06, 2008