Water Transportation: NAICS 483

About the Water Transportation subsector

The water transportation subsector is part of the transportation and warehousing sector.

The water transportation subsector consists of these industry groups:

• Deep Sea, Coastal, and Great Lakes Water Transportation: NAICS 4831
• Inland Water Transportation: NAICS 4832

Workforce Statistics

This section provides information relating to employment in water 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	Dec. 2008	Jan. 2009	Feb. 2009	Mar. 2009
Employment (in thousands)
Employment, all employees (seasonally adjusted)		60.3	59.7	(P) 60.5	(P) 59.8
Layoffs
Mass layoff events		3	4	(1) -	-
Initial claimants for unemployment benefits		187	490	(1) -	-
Footnotes (1) Data do not meet BLS or state agency disclosure standards. (P) Preliminary

(Source: Current Employment Statistics, Mass Layoff Statistics)

Extended Mass Layoffs

Data series	Back data	1st quarter 2008	2nd quarter 2008	3rd quarter 2008	4th quarter 2008
Extended mass layoff events		8	(1) -	(P) 5	(P) 8
Separations		3,255	(1) -	(P) 727	(P) 1,041
Initial claimants		1,427	(1) -	(P) 834	(P) 836
Footnotes (1) Data do not meet BLS or state agency disclosure standards. (P) Preliminary

(Source: Mass Layoff Statistics)

Employment by Occupation

Data series	Employment, 2008
Captains, mates, and pilots of water vessels	11,640
General and operations managers	1,300
Laborers and freight, stock, and material movers, hand	1,310
Sailors and marine oilers	14,300
Ship engineers	5,750

(Source: Occupational Employment Statistics)

Projections

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

(Source: Office of Occupational Statistics and Employment Projections)

Earnings

Recent hourly and annual earnings for occupations commonly found in water transportation.

Earnings by Occupation

Data series	Wages, 2008
	Hourly		Annual
	Median	Mean	Median	Mean
Captains, mates, and pilots of water vessels	$32.23	$35.59	$67,040	$74,030
General and operations managers	$49.02	$56.31	$101,960	$117,120
Laborers and freight, stock, and material movers, hand	$13.21	$14.62	$27,480	$30,400
Sailors and marine oilers	$16.53	$17.21	$34,380	$35,790
Ship engineers	$30.80	$33.73	$64,070	$70,150

(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 water 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	44	23	21	23
Rate of injury and illness cases per 100 full-time workers
Total recordable cases	4.4	3.9	4.4
Cases involving days away from work, job restriction, or transfer	2.6	2.4	2.6	2.6
Cases involving days away from work	1.8	1.8	1.9	2.1
Cases involving days of job transfer or restriction	0.8	0.6	0.7	0.5

(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	Dec. 2008	Jan. 2009	Feb. 2009	Mar. 2009
Producer price index		(P) 129.5	(P) 126.6	(P) 120.6	(P) 117.5
Percent change from previous month		(P) -0.8%	(P) -2.2%	(P) -4.7%	(P) -2.6%
Footnotes (P) Preliminary

(Source: Producer Price Indexes)

Workplace Trends

This section presents data on the number of establishments in water transportation.

Establishments

Data series	Back data	4th quarter 2007	1st quarter 2008	2nd quarter 2008	3rd quarter 2008
Number of establishments
Private industry		1,711	(P) 1,733	(P) 1,754	(P) 1,778
Local government		2	(P) 2	(P) 2	(P) 2
State government		8	(P) 8	(P) 8	(P) 8
Federal government		1	(P) 1	(P) 1	(P) 1
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: May 01, 2009