Manufacturing: NAICS 31-33

About the Manufacturing sector

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

The Manufacturing sector comprises establishments engaged in the mechanical, physical, or chemical transformation of materials, substances, or components into new products.

Establishments in the Manufacturing sector are often described as plants, factories, or mills and characteristically use power-driven machines and materials-handling equipment. However, establishments that transform materials or substances into new products by hand or in the worker's home and those engaged in selling to the general public products made on the same premises from which they are sold, such as bakeries, candy stores, and custom tailors, may also be included in this sector. Manufacturing establishments may process materials or may contract with other establishments to process their materials for them. Both types of establishments are included in manufacturing.

North American Industry Classification System

The manufacturing sector consists of these subsectors:

NOTE: There was a change in the definition of this subsector between NAICS 2002 and NAICS 2007. Some of the data below reflect the 2002 definition and some reflect the 2007 definition. See the BLS implementation schedule for NAICS 2007 to find out which BLS programs have already implemented NAICS 2007.

Workforce Statistics

This section provides information relating to employment and unemployment in manufacturing. 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	Oct. 2012	Nov. 2012	Dec. 2012	Jan. 2013
Employment (in thousands)
Employment, all employees (seasonally adjusted)	11,931	11,938	(P) 11,946	(P) 11,950
Employment, production and nonsupervisory employees (seasonally adjusted)	8,399	8,403	(P) 8,400	(P) 8,401
Unemployment
Unemployment rate	7.0%	6.4%	7.5%	7.9%
Layoffs
Mass layoff events	277	551	477
Initial claimants for unemployment benefits	37,702	72,690	50,686
Job openings, hires, and separations (in thousands)
Job openings	284	244	(P) 224
Hires	243	198	(P) 155
Separations	248	213	(P) 184
Footnotes (P) Preliminary

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

Union Membership and Representation


Data series	2009	2010	2011	2012
Union membership and representation
Members of unions (percent of wage and salary workers)	10.9%	10.7%	10.5%	9.6%
Represented by unions (percent of wage and salary workers)	11.9%	11.6%	11.2%	10.5%

(Source: Current Population Survey)

Dynamic Changes in Employment


Data series	3rd quarter 2011	4th quarter 2011	1st quarter 2012	2nd quarter 2012
Dynamic changes in employment (in thousands)
Gross job gains	464	433	436	459
Gross job losses	410	427	367	374

(Source: Business Employment Dynamics)

Extended Mass Layoffs


Data series	1st quarter 2012	2nd quarter 2012	3rd quarter 2012	4th quarter 2012
Extended mass layoff events	233	214	(P) 235	(P) 311
Separations	33,099	39,415	(P) 34,549	(P) 62,964
Initial claimants	36,610	40,925	(P) 37,328	(P) 53,183
Footnotes (P) Preliminary

(Source: Mass Layoff Statistics)

Employment by Occupation


Data series	Employment, 2011
Helpers--production workers	254,520
Inspectors, testers, sorters, samplers, and weighers	293,540
Machinists	294,620
Purchasing agents, except wholesale, retail, and farm products	93,150
Team assemblers	703,740

(Source: Occupational Employment Statistics)

Projections

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

(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, 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 manufacturing. 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 All Employees


Data series	Oct. 2012	Nov. 2012	Dec. 2012	Jan. 2013
Average hourly earnings	$23.92	$24.03	(P) $24.08	(P) $24.06
Average weekly hours	40.5	40.7	(P) 40.7	(P) 40.6
Footnotes (P) Preliminary

(Source: Current Employment Statistics)

Earnings and Hours of Production and Nonsupervisory Employees


Data series	Oct. 2012	Nov. 2012	Dec. 2012	Jan. 2013
Average hourly earnings	$19.08	$19.17	(P) $19.19	(P) $19.23
Average weekly hours	41.5	41.6	(P) 41.7	(P) 41.6
Footnotes (P) Preliminary

(Source: Current Employment Statistics)

Union Membership and Representation


Data series	Back data	Median weekly earnings
Data series	Back data	2009	2010	2011	2012
Union membership and representation
Full-time workers		$767	$767	$787	$797
Members of unions		$800	$828	$836	$872
Represented by unions		$799	$817	$835	$863
Nonunion		$762	$759	$780	$786

(Source: Current Population Survey)

Earnings by Occupation


Data series	Wages, 2011
	Hourly		Annual
	Median	Mean	Median	Mean
Helpers--production workers	$11.49	$12.30	$23,900	$25,580
Inspectors, testers, sorters, samplers, and weighers	$16.61	$17.68	$34,540	$36,780
Machinists	$18.89	$19.51	$39,290	$40,580
Purchasing agents, except wholesale, retail, and farm products	$26.88	$28.29	$55,920	$58,840
Team assemblers	$14.06	$15.10	$29,240	$31,410

(Source: Occupational Employment Statistics)

Employer Compensation Costs


Data series	1st quarter 2012	2nd quarter 2012	3rd quarter 2012	4th quarter 2012
12-month percent change
Total compensation	1.8%	1.2%	1.6%	1.6%
Wages and salaries	1.9%	1.8%	1.9%	1.9%

(Source: Compensation Cost Trends)


Data series	Back data	3rd quarter 2012
Data series	Back data	Compensation component ($ per hour worked)	Percent of total compensation
Compensation costs
Total compensation		33.30	100.0
Wages and salaries		21.88	65.7
Total benefits		11.42	34.3
Insurance		3.47	10.4
Retirement		1.32	4.0

(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 manufacturing. 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	2008	2009	2010	2011
Fatalities
Number of fatalities	413	319	333	(P) 324
Rate of injury and illness cases per 100 full-time workers
Total recordable cases	5.0	4.3	4.4	4.4
Cases involving days away from work, job restriction, or transfer	2.7	2.3	2.4	2.4
Cases involving days away from work	1.2	1.0	1.1	1.1
Cases involving days of job transfer or restriction	1.5	1.3	1.3	1.3
Footnotes (P) Preliminary
Blank cells indicate no data reported or data that do not meet publication criteria.

(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. The import price index reflects the percentage change in prices paid to foreign producers for their goods and services within the U.S., while the export price index measures the percentage change in prices received by U.S. producers for goods and services sold outside the U.S.


Data series	Oct. 2012	Nov. 2012	Dec. 2012	Jan. 2013
Producer price index	(P) 194.9	(P) 192.6	(P) 191.8	(P) 192.4
Percent change from previous month	(P) -0.3%	(P) -1.2%	(P) -0.4%	(P) 0.3%
Import index	(R) 118.1	(R) 117.6	(R) 117.4	117.7
Percent change from previous month	(R) 0.3%	(R) -0.4%	(R) -0.2%	(R) 0.3%
Export index	(R) 121.8	(R) 121.0	(R) 120.7	121.2
Percent change from previous month	(R) 0.3%	(R) -0.7%	(R) -0.2%	(R) 0.4%
Footnotes (R) Revised (P) Preliminary

(Source: Producer Price Indexes, International Price Program)

Workplace Trends

This section presents data on the number of establishments and the number of establishments experiencing job gains or job losses in manufacturing. Also included in this section is information on productivity and costs, presented as indexes and changes in output per hour and unit labor costs.

Establishments


Data series	3rd quarter 2011	4th quarter 2011	1st quarter 2012	2nd quarter 2012
Number of establishments
Private industry	337,424	336,753	(P) 334,493	(P) 335,315
Local government	39	38	(P) 39	(P) 39
State government	25	27	(P) 23	(P) 23
Federal government	38	38	(P) 37	(P) 37
Establishments with changes in employment (in thousands)
With job gains (seasonally adjusted)	96	93	95	96
With job losses (seasonally adjusted)	89	90	88	85
Footnotes (P) Preliminary

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

Productivity


Data series	1st quarter 2012	2nd quarter 2012	3rd quarter 2012	4th quarter 2012
Output per hour index (seasonally adjusted)	116.154	(R) 116.147	(R) 115.886	116.045
Percent change from previous quarter	5.5	(R) 0.0	(R) -0.9	0.5
Hours index (seasonally adjusted)	86.346	86.622	(R) 86.665	86.690
Percent change from previous quarter	4.4	1.3	(R) 0.2	0.1
Output index (seasonally adjusted)	100.295	(R) 100.609	(R) 100.432	100.599
Percent change from previous quarter	10.2	(R) 1.3	-0.7	0.7
Unit labor costs (seasonally adjusted)	102.536	(R) 104.765	(R) 105.591	105.703
Percent change from previous quarter	1.1	9.0	3.2	0.4
Footnotes (R) Revised

(Source: Productivity and Costs)

Other BLS Resources

The Editor's Desk

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

Monthly Labor Review

See manufacturing 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: February 21, 2013

Industries at a Glance

Manufacturing: NAICS 31-33

On This Page

About the Manufacturing sector

Workforce Statistics

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

Union Membership and Representation

Dynamic Changes in Employment

Extended Mass Layoffs

Employment by Occupation

Projections

Earnings and Hours

Earnings and Hours of All Employees

Earnings and Hours of Production and Nonsupervisory Employees

Union Membership and Representation

Earnings by Occupation

Employer Compensation Costs

Work-related Fatalities, Injuries, and Illnesses

Prices

Workplace Trends

Establishments

Productivity

Other BLS Resources

The Editor's Desk

Monthly Labor Review

Career Guide to Industries

tools

calculators

help

info

resources