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Industries at a Glance
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Specialty Trade Contractors: NAICS 238
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About the Specialty Trade Contractors subsector
The specialty trade contractors subsector is part of the construction sector.
The Specialty Trade Contractors subsector comprises establishments whose primary activity is performing specific activities (e.g., pouring concrete, site preparation, plumbing, painting, and electrical work) involved in building construction or other activities that are similar for all types of construction, but that are not responsible for the entire project. The work performed may include new work, additions, alterations, maintenance, and repairs. The production work performed by establishments in this subsector is usually subcontracted from establishments of the general contractor type or operative builders, but especially in remodeling and repair construction, work also may be done directly for the owner of the property. Specialty trade contractors usually perform most of their work at the construction site, although they may have shops where they perform prefabrication and other work. Establishments primarily engaged in preparing sites for new construction are also included in this subsector.
North American Industry Classification System
The specialty trade contractors subsector consists of these industry groups:
- Foundation, Structure, and Building Exterior Contractors: NAICS 2381
- Building Equipment Contractors: NAICS 2382
- Building Finishing Contractors: NAICS 2383
- Other Specialty Trade Contractors: NAICS 2389
Workforce Statistics
This section provides information relating to employment in specialty trade contractors. These data are obtained from employer or establishment surveys. The following tables present an overview of the industry including the number of jobs, data for occupations common to the industry, and projections of occupational employment change.
Employment
| Data series | Back data |
Dec. 2024 |
Jan. 2025 |
Feb. 2025 |
Mar. 2025 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Employment (in thousands) |
|||||
Employment, all employees (seasonally adjusted) |
|
5,247.9 | 5,241.9 | (p)5,251.5 | (p)5,257.9 |
|
|
3,909.0 | 3,759.9 | (p)3,781.8 | ||
|
Footnotes |
|||||
(Source: Current Employment Statistics)
Employment by Occupation
| Data series | Employment, 2024 |
|---|---|
| 236,860 | |
| 390,250 | |
| 548,890 | |
First-line supervisors/managers of construction trades and extraction workers |
337,260 |
| 341,890 |
(Source: Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics)
Projections
For projected (future) employment estimates, see the National Employment Matrix, which includes employment estimates by industry and occupation for specialty trade contractors.
(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 specialty trade contractors.
Earnings and Hours of All Employees
| Data series | Back data |
Nov. 2024 |
Dec. 2024 |
Jan. 2025 |
Feb. 2025 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
|
|
$37.30 | $37.80 | $37.70 | (p)$37.66 | |
|
|
38.4 | 38.5 | 37.3 | (p)37.3 | |
|
Footnotes |
|||||
(Source: Current Employment Statistics)
Earnings and Hours of Production and Nonsupervisory Employees
| Data series | Back data |
Nov. 2024 |
Dec. 2024 |
Jan. 2025 |
Feb. 2025 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
|
|
$35.67 | $36.08 | $35.86 | (p)$35.90 | |
|
|
39.3 | 39.6 | 37.9 | (p)37.6 | |
|
Footnotes |
|||||
(Source: Current Employment Statistics)
Earnings by Occupation
| Data series | Wages, 2024 | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Hourly | Annual | |||
| Median | Mean | Median | Mean | |
| 28.37 | 31.11 | 59,020 | 64,700 | |
| 22.49 | 24.41 | 46,780 | 50,770 | |
| 29.48 | 32.96 | 61,320 | 68,560 | |
First-line supervisors/managers of construction trades and extraction workers |
37.68 | 40.66 | 78,380 | 84,560 |
| 30.12 | 33.89 | 62,640 | 70,490 | |
(Source: Occupational Employment and Wage 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 specialty trade contractors. 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 | 2020 | 2021 | 2022 | 2023 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
Fatalities |
||||
| 658 | ||||
|
There was a series break beginning with 2023 data due to NAICS 2022. Data for years prior to 2023 are available at www.bls.gov/iif. |
||||
| Data series | 2023 |
|---|---|
Rate of injury and illness cases per 100 full-time workers |
|
| 2.5 | |
Cases involving days away from work, job restriction, or transfer |
1.6 |
| 1.1 | |
| 0.5 | |
|
Blank cells indicate no data reported or data that do not meet publication criteria. |
|
(Source: Injuries, Illnesses, and Fatalities)
Workplace Trends
This section presents data on the number of establishments in specialty trade contractors.
Establishments
| Data series | Back data |
4th quarter 2023 |
1st quarter 2024 |
2nd quarter 2024 |
3rd quarter 2024 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Number of establishments |
|||||
|
|
585,340 | (p)588,011 | (p)593,380 | (p)597,765 | |
|
|
76 | (p)78 | (p)80 | (p)79 | |
|
|
34 | (p)6 | (p)6 | (p)6 | |
|
|
|||||
|
Footnotes |
|||||
(Source: Quarterly Census of Employment and Wages)
Data extracted on: April 29, 2025