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.

Industries in the Personal and Laundry Services subsector group establishments that provide personal and laundry services to individuals, households, and businesses. Services performed include: personal care services; death care services; laundry and drycleaning services; and a wide range of other personal services, such as pet care (except veterinary) services, photofinishing services, temporary parking services, and dating services.

North American Industry Classification System

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
Dec.
2008
Jan.
2009
Feb.
2009
Mar.
2009

Employment (in thousands)

 

Employment, all employees (seasonally adjusted)

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1,320.9 1,313.6 (P) 1,313.3 (P) 1,304.7

Employment, nonsupervisory workers

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1,147.4 1,121.9 (P) 1,126.4  

Unemployment

 

Unemployment rate

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5.8% 6.2% 7.1% 5.4%

Layoffs

 

Mass layoff events

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6 11 3 4

Initial claimants for unemployment benefits

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454 1,381 160 193

Footnotes
(P) Preliminary

(Source: Current Employment Statistics, Current Population Survey, 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

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(1) - 4 (P) 5 (P) 8

Separations

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(1) - 826 (P) 873 (P) 1,077

Initial claimants

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(1) - 683 (P) 719 (P) 667

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

Counter and rental clerks

66,940

First-line supervisors/managers of personal service workers

23,340

Hairdressers, hairstylists, and cosmetologists

323,400

Laundry and dry-cleaning workers

113,430

Pressers, textile, garment, and related materials

52,960

(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
Nov.
2008
Dec.
2008
Jan.
2009
Feb.
2009

Average hourly earnings

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$12.84 $12.83 $12.84 (P) $12.91

Average weekly hours

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28.5 28.0 27.6 (P) 28.1

Footnotes
(P) Preliminary

(Source: Current Employment Statistics)

Earnings by Occupation

Data series Wages, 2008
Hourly Annual
Median Mean Median Mean

Counter and rental clerks

$8.45 $9.11 $17,580 $18,940

First-line supervisors/managers of personal service workers

$17.19 $19.44 $35,750 $40,430

Hairdressers, hairstylists, and cosmetologists

$11.27 $12.96 $23,440 $26,960

Laundry and dry-cleaning workers

$8.92 $9.41 $18,550 $19,560

Pressers, textile, garment, and related materials

$9.11 $9.43 $18,950 $19,600

(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 42

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

(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
4th quarter
2007
1st quarter
2008
2nd quarter
2008
3rd quarter
2008

Number of establishments

 

Private industry

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191,627 (P) 191,168 (P) 192,598 (P) 193,599

Local government

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1,145 (P) 1,132 (P) 1,135 (P) 1,138

State government

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9 (P) 8 (P) 8 (P) 9

Federal government

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31 (P) 31 (P) 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: May 01, 2009