Construction: NAICS 23

About the Construction sector

The construction sector is part of the goods-producing industries supersector group.

The construction sector comprises establishments primarily engaged in the construction of buildings or engineering projects (e.g., highways and utility systems). Establishments primarily engaged in the preparation of sites for new construction and establishments primarily engaged in subdividing land for sale as building sites also are included in this sector.

Construction work done may include new work, additions, alterations, or maintenance and repairs. Activities of these establishments generally are managed at a fixed place of business, but they usually perform construction activities at multiple project sites. Production responsibilities for establishments in this sector are usually specified in (1) contracts with the owners of construction projects (prime contracts) or (2) contracts with other construction establishments (subcontracts).

North American Industry Classification System

The construction sector consists of these subsectors:

Workforce Statistics

This section provides information relating to employment and unemployment in construction. 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, job openings and labor turnover, union membership and representation, gross job gains and losses, mass layoffs, data for occupations common to the industry, and projections of occupational employment change.

Employment, Unemployment, Layoffs, and Openings, Hires, and Separations

Data series Back
data
Apr.
2009
May
2009
Jun.
2009
Jul.
2009

Employment (in thousands)

 

Employment, all employees (seasonally adjusted)

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6,367 6,310 (P) 6,224 (P) 6,148

Employment, production workers (seasonally adjusted)

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4,834 4,784 (P) 4,700 (P) 4,625

Unemployment

 

Unemployment rate

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18.7% 19.2% 17.4% 18.2%

Layoffs

 

Mass layoff events

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194 255 136 170

Initial claimants for unemployment benefits

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13,490 19,684 9,343 12,415

Job openings, hires, and separations (in thousands)

 

Job openings

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32 44 (P) 72  

Hires

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464 455 (P) 358  

Separations

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424 338 (P) 316  

Footnotes
(P) Preliminary

(Source: Current Employment Statistics, Current Population Survey, Mass Layoff Statistics, Job Openings and Labor Turnover Survey)

Union Membership and Representation

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data
2005 2006 2007 2008

Union membership and representation

 

Members of unions (percent of wage and salary workers)

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13.1% 13.0% 13.9% 15.6%

Represented by unions (percent of wage and salary workers)

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13.8% 13.6% 14.4% 16.2%

(Source: Current Population Survey)

Dynamic Changes in Employment

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data
1st quarter
2008
2nd quarter
2008
3rd quarter
2008
4th quarter
2008

Dynamic changes in employment (in thousands)

 

Gross job gains

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763 737 698 639

Gross job losses

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869 922 876 976

(Source: Business Employment Dynamics)

Extended Mass Layoffs

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data
3rd quarter
2008
4th quarter
2008
1st quarter
2009
2nd quarter
2009

Extended mass layoff events

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229 915 (P) 526 (P) 352

Separations

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26,955 114,108 (P) 63,072 (P) 39,800

Initial claimants

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37,497 138,143 (P) 76,153 (P) 42,751

Footnotes
(P) Preliminary

(Source: Mass Layoff Statistics)

Employment by Occupation

Data series Employment,
2008

Carpenters

748,790

Construction laborers

804,040

Construction managers

182,630

Electricians

487,500

Operating engineers and other construction equipment operators

265,420

(Source: Occupational Employment Statistics)

Projections

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

(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, as well as weekly earnings by union membership status, are shown. In addition, recent hourly and annual earnings are shown for occupations commonly found in construction. This section also contains information on the average cost of benefits paid by employers, as well as recent rates of change in wages and total compensation.

Earnings and Hours of Production Workers

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Apr.
2009
May
2009
Jun.
2009
Jul.
2009

Average hourly earnings

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$22.55 $22.59 (P) $22.59 (P) $22.68

Average weekly hours

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37.5 37.6 (P) 37.6 (P) 37.8

Footnotes
(P) Preliminary

(Source: Current Employment Statistics)

Union Membership and Representation

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data
Median weekly earnings
2005 2006 2007 2008

Union membership and representation

 

Full-time workers

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$619 $642 $673 $712

Members of unions

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$933 $969 $1,000 $1,014

Represented by unions

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$926 $956 $993 $1,012

Nonunion

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$590 $610 $624 $668

(Source: Current Population Survey)

Earnings by Occupation

Data series Wages, 2008
Hourly Annual
Median Mean Median Mean

Carpenters

$18.93 $20.89 $39,360 $43,450

Construction laborers

$13.98 $15.86 $29,080 $32,990

Construction managers

$38.10 $43.06 $79,240 $89,560

Electricians

$21.70 $23.74 $45,130 $49,390

Operating engineers and other construction equipment operators

$19.54 $21.99 $40,640 $45,740

(Source: Occupational Employment Statistics)

Employer Compensation Costs

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3rd quarter
2008
4th quarter
2008
1st quarter
2009
2nd quarter
2009

12-month percent change

 

Total compensation

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3.5% 3.1% 1.8% 1.0%

Wages and salaries

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3.4% 3.1% 2.0% 1.3%

(Source: Compensation Cost Trends)



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data
1st quarter 2009
Compensation component
($ per hour worked)
Percent of total compensation

Compensation costs

 

Total compensation

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31.29 100.0

Wages and salaries

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21.68 69.3

Total benefits

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9.61 30.7

Insurance

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2.30 7.4

Retirement

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1.61 5.1

(Source: Compensation Cost Trends)

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 construction. 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 2005 2006 2007 2008

Fatalities

 

Number of fatalities

1,243 1,297 1,239 (P) 1,005

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

 

Total recordable cases

6.3 5.9 5.4  

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

3.4 3.2 2.8  

Cases involving days away from work

2.4 2.2 1.9  

Cases involving days of job transfer or restriction

1.0 1.0 0.9  

Footnotes
(P) Preliminary

(Source: Injuries, Illnesses, and Fatalities)

Workplace Trends

This section presents data on the number of establishments and the number of establishments experiencing job gains or job losses in construction.

Establishments

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data
1st quarter
2008
2nd quarter
2008
3rd quarter
2008
4th quarter
2008

Number of establishments

 

Private industry

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(P) 885,542 (P) 886,035 (P) 884,136 (P) 881,678

Local government

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(P) 4,550 (P) 4,552 (P) 4,565 (P) 4,575

State government

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(P) 1,785 (P) 1,784 (P) 1,785 (P) 1,787

Federal government

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(P) 2 (P) 2 (P) 2 (P) 2

Establishments with changes in employment (in thousands)

 

With job gains (seasonally adjusted)

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201 197 190 175

With job losses (seasonally adjusted)

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238 253 237 253

Footnotes
(P) Preliminary

(Source: Business Employment Dynamics, Quarterly Census of Employment and Wages)

Other BLS Resources

The Editor's Desk

See industry studies in the subject matter index of The Editor's Desk (Current Edition).

Monthly Labor Review

See industry studies in the Index of the Monthly Labor Review Online (Current Issue).

Career Guide to Industries

To learn about careers from an industry perspective, see the Career Guide to Industries.

 

Data extracted on: August 28, 2009