Construction of Buildings: NAICS 236

About the Construction of Buildings subsector

The construction of buildings subsector is part of the construction sector.

The Construction of Buildings subsector comprises establishments primarily responsible for the construction of buildings. The work performed may include new work, additions, alterations, or maintenance and repairs. The on-site assembly of precut, panelized, and prefabricated buildings and construction of temporary buildings are included in this subsector. Part or all of the production work for which the establishments in this subsector have responsibility may be subcontracted to other construction establishments—usually specialty trade contractors.

North American Industry Classification System

The construction of buildings subsector consists of these industry groups:

Residential Building Construction: NAICS 2361
Nonresidential Building Construction: NAICS 2362

Workforce Statistics

This section provides information relating to employment in construction of buildings. 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	Oct. 2011	Nov. 2011	Dec. 2011	Jan. 2012
Employment (in thousands)
Employment, all employees (seasonally adjusted)	1,230.4	1,226.9	(P) 1,228.4	(P) 1,237.3
Employment, production and nonsupervisory employees	876.3	858.0	(P) 834.3
Layoffs
Mass layoff events	18	32	38
Initial claimants for unemployment benefits	1,352	2,772	3,075
Footnotes (P) Preliminary

(Source: Current Employment Statistics, Mass Layoff Statistics)

Extended Mass Layoffs


Data series	4th quarter 2010	1st quarter 2011	2nd quarter 2011	3rd quarter 2011
Extended mass layoff events	75	63	(P) 37	(P) 31
Separations	10,667	6,306	(P) 5,299	(P) 4,852
Initial claimants	14,595	8,964	(P) 6,317	(P) 4,474
Footnotes (P) Preliminary

(Source: Mass Layoff Statistics)

Employment by Occupation


Data series	Employment, 2010
Carpenters	300,300
Construction laborers	185,200
Construction managers	74,890
Cost estimators	29,920
First-line supervisors/managers of construction trades and extraction workers	126,920

(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 of buildings.

(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 are shown. In addition, recent hourly and annual earnings are shown for occupations commonly found in construction of buildings.

Earnings and Hours of All Employees


Data series	Sep. 2011	Oct. 2011	Nov. 2011	Dec. 2011
Average hourly earnings	$26.20	$26.23	$26.26	(P) $26.36
Average weekly hours	38.0	38.1	37.5	(P) 37.4
Footnotes (P) Preliminary

(Source: Current Employment Statistics)

Earnings and Hours of Production and Nonsupervisory Employees


Data series	Sep. 2011	Oct. 2011	Nov. 2011	Dec. 2011
Average hourly earnings	$23.28	$23.16	$23.04	(P) $23.06
Average weekly hours	38.8	38.9	38.1	(P) 38.0
Footnotes (P) Preliminary

(Source: Current Employment Statistics)

Earnings by Occupation


Data series	Wages, 2010
	Hourly		Annual
	Median	Mean	Median	Mean
Carpenters	$19.10	$21.10	$39,730	$43,890
Construction laborers	$14.49	$16.35	$30,140	$34,010
Construction managers	$40.08	$44.78	$83,370	$93,140
Cost estimators	$29.08	$31.54	$60,490	$65,600
First-line supervisors/managers of construction trades and extraction workers	$28.51	$30.21	$59,310	$62,830

(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 construction of buildings. 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	2007	2008	2009	2010
Fatalities
Number of fatalities	249	207	154	(P) 157
Rate of injury and illness cases per 100 full-time workers
Total recordable cases	4.7	4.0	3.7	3.5
Cases involving days away from work, job restriction, or transfer	2.3	2.1	1.9	1.7
Cases involving days away from work	1.7	1.5	1.2	1.2
Cases involving days of job transfer or restriction	0.7	0.6	0.6	0.5
Footnotes (P) Preliminary

(Source: Injuries, Illnesses, and Fatalities)

Workplace Trends

This section presents data on the number of establishments in construction of buildings.

Establishments


Data series	3rd quarter 2010	4th quarter 2010	1st quarter 2011	2nd quarter 2011
Number of establishments
Private industry	235,553	234,194	(P) 226,361	(P) 226,865
Local government	113	115	(P) 112	(P) 117
State government	3	3	(P) 3	(P) 3
Federal government	1	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: February 07, 2012

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