Department of Labor Logo United States Department of Labor
Dot gov

The .gov means it's official.
Federal government websites often end in .gov or .mil. Before sharing sensitive information, make sure you're on a federal government site.

Https

The site is secure.
The https:// ensures that you are connecting to the official website and that any information you provide is encrypted and transmitted securely.

Specialty Trade Contractors: NAICS 238

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
Nov.
2023
Dec.
2023
Jan.
2024
Feb.
2024

Employment (in thousands)

Employment, all employees (seasonally adjusted)

5,140.3 5,148.2 (p)5,161.2 (p)5,167.6

Employment, production and nonsupervisory employees

3,942.9 3,876.4 (p)3,745.1  

Footnotes
(p) Preliminary

(Source: Current Employment Statistics)

Employment by Occupation

Data series Employment,
2022

Carpenters

238,030

Construction laborers

358,830

Electricians

506,210

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

303,670

Plumbers, pipefitters, and steamfitters

317,870

(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
Oct.
2023
Nov.
2023
Dec.
2023
Jan.
2024

Average hourly earnings

$35.85 $35.90 $36.17 (p)$36.28

Average weekly hours

39.2 38.8 38.9 (p)37.1

Footnotes
(p) Preliminary

(Source: Current Employment Statistics)

Earnings and Hours of Production and Nonsupervisory Employees

Data series Back
data
Oct.
2023
Nov.
2023
Dec.
2023
Jan.
2024

Average hourly earnings

$34.36 $34.46 $34.54 (p)$34.62

Average weekly hours

40.1 39.6 39.7 (p)37.4

Footnotes
(p) Preliminary

(Source: Current Employment Statistics)

Earnings by Occupation

Data series Wages, 2022
Hourly Annual
Median Mean Median Mean

Carpenters

24.82 28.54 51,630 59,360

Construction laborers

19.56 22.00 40,680 45,750

Electricians

28.48 31.13 59,240 64,760

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

35.36 37.42 73,550 77,830

Plumbers, pipefitters, and steamfitters

28.80 31.64 59,890 65,800

(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 2019 2020 2021 2022

Fatalities

Number of fatalities

674 580 631 655

Blank cells indicate no data reported or data that do not meet publication criteria.

Data series 2022

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

Total recordable cases

2.6

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

1.6

Cases involving days away from work

1.1

Cases involving days of job transfer or restriction

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
2022
1st quarter
2023
2nd quarter
2023
3rd quarter
2023

Number of establishments

Private industry

572,905 (p)575,218 (p)580,876 (p)586,097

Local government

76 (p)77 (p)76 (p)77

State government

1 (p)1 (p)6 (p)6

Federal government

       

Footnotes
(p) Preliminary

(Source: Quarterly Census of Employment and Wages)

 

Data extracted on: March 15, 2024