Heavy and Civil Engineering Construction: NAICS 237

About the Heavy and Civil Engineering Construction subsector

The heavy and civil engineering construction subsector is part of the construction sector.

The Heavy and Civil Engineering Construction subsector comprises establishments whose primary activity is the construction of entire engineering projects (e.g., highways and dams), and specialty trade contractors, whose primary activity is the production of a specific component for such projects. Specialty trade contractors in Heavy and Civil Engineering Construction generally are performing activities that are specific to heavy and civil engineering construction projects and are not normally performed on buildings. The work performed may include new work, additions, alterations, or maintenance and repairs.

North American Industry Classification System

The heavy and civil engineering construction subsector consists of these industry groups:

  • Utility System Construction: NAICS 2371
  • Land Subdivision: NAICS 2372
  • Highway, Street, and Bridge Construction: NAICS 2373
  • Other Heavy and Civil Engineering Construction: NAICS 2379

Workforce Statistics

This section provides information relating to employment in heavy and civil engineering construction. 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)

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933.2 926.6 (P) 920.5 (P) 910.1

Employment, production workers

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692.6 624.2 (P) 620.3  

Layoffs

 

Mass layoff events

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256 108 46 44

Initial claimants for unemployment benefits

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20,440 8,127 3,739 3,434

Footnotes
(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

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103 54 (P) 57 (P) 384

Separations

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11,737 7,562 (P) 8,064 (P) 50,246

Initial claimants

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15,071 11,217 (P) 11,682 (P) 47,224

Footnotes
(P) Preliminary

(Source: Mass Layoff Statistics)

Employment by Occupation

Data series Employment,
2008

Carpenters

29,230

Construction laborers

204,440

First-line supervisors/managers of construction trades and extraction workers

68,500

Operating engineers and other construction equipment operators

119,160

Truck drivers, heavy and tractor-trailer

42,600

(Source: Occupational Employment Statistics)

Projections

For projected (future) employment estimates, see the National Employment Matrix, which includes employment estimates by industry and occupation for heavy and civil engineering 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 are shown. In addition, recent hourly and annual earnings are shown for occupations commonly found in heavy and civil engineering construction.

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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$22.48 $22.59 $22.32 (P) $22.20

Average weekly hours

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40.7 39.8 39.3 (P) 39.6

Footnotes
(P) Preliminary

(Source: Current Employment Statistics)

Earnings by Occupation

Data series Wages, 2008
Hourly Annual
Median Mean Median Mean

Carpenters

$19.42 $21.98 $40,390 $45,710

Construction laborers

$14.29 $16.66 $29,720 $34,650

First-line supervisors/managers of construction trades and extraction workers

$28.10 $29.30 $58,450 $60,940

Operating engineers and other construction equipment operators

$20.02 $22.30 $41,640 $46,390

Truck drivers, heavy and tractor-trailer

$16.41 $17.92 $34,130 $37,270

(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 heavy and civil engineering 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 2004 2005 2006 2007

Fatalities

 

Number of fatalities

262 293 277 254

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

 

Total recordable cases

5.9 5.6 5.3 4.9

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

3.2 3.1 3.0 2.6

Cases involving days away from work

2.1 2.1 2.0 1.6

Cases involving days of job transfer or restriction

1.0 1.1 1.0 1.0

(Source: Injuries, Illnesses, and Fatalities)

Workplace Trends

This section presents data on the number of establishments in heavy and civil engineering construction.

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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58,342 (P) 57,683 (P) 57,708 (P) 57,857

Local government

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4,386 (P) 4,395 (P) 4,397 (P) 4,413

State government

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1,801 (P) 1,781 (P) 1,780 (P) 1,781

Federal government

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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 07, 2009