Chemical Manufacturing: NAICS 325

About the Chemical Manufacturing subsector

The chemical manufacturing subsector is part of the manufacturing sector.

The chemical manufacturing subsector consists of these industry groups:

• Basic Chemical Manufacturing: NAICS 3251
• Resin, Synthetic Rubber, and Artificial Synthetic Fibers and Filaments Manufacturing: NAICS 3252
• Pesticide, Fertilizer, and Other Agricultural Chemical Manufacturing: NAICS 3253
• Pharmaceutical and Medicine Manufacturing: NAICS 3254
• Paint, Coating, and Adhesive Manufacturing: NAICS 3255
• Soap, Cleaning Compound, and Toilet Preparation Manufacturing: NAICS 3256
• Other Chemical Product and Preparation Manufacturing: NAICS 3259

Workforce Statistics

This section provides information relating to employment and unemployment in chemical 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, mass layoffs, data for occupations common to the industry, and projections of occupational employment change.

Employment, Unemployment, and Layoffs

Data series	Back data	Jan. 2013	Feb. 2013	Mar. 2013	Apr. 2013
Employment (in thousands)
Employment, all employees (seasonally adjusted)		790.3	793.2	(P) 793.6	(P) 794.5
Employment, production and nonsupervisory employees (seasonally adjusted)		495.0	496.3	(P) 496.0	(P) 494.9
Unemployment
Unemployment rate		5.4%	4.0%	2.9%	4.5%
Layoffs
Mass layoff events		10	4	4
Initial claimants for unemployment benefits		849	272	261
Footnotes (P) Preliminary

(Source: Current Employment Statistics, Current Population Survey, Mass Layoff Statistics)

Employment by Occupation

Data series	Employment, 2012
Chemical equipment operators and tenders	45,240
Chemical technicians	17,970
Chemists	25,700
Mixing and blending machine setters, operators, and tenders	54,440
Packaging and filling machine operators and tenders	48,590

(Source: Occupational Employment Statistics)

Projections

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

Earnings and Hours of All Employees

Data series	Back data	Jan. 2013	Feb. 2013	Mar. 2013	Apr. 2013
Average hourly earnings		$27.73	$27.75	(P) $27.77	(P) $27.67
Average weekly hours		42.1	42.3	(P) 42.2	(P) 42.0
Footnotes (P) Preliminary

(Source: Current Employment Statistics)

Earnings and Hours of Production and Nonsupervisory Employees

Data series	Back data	Jan. 2013	Feb. 2013	Mar. 2013	Apr. 2013
Average hourly earnings		$21.24	$21.24	(P) $21.21	(P) $21.14
Average weekly hours		42.7	43.0	(P) 42.8	(P) 43.2
Footnotes (P) Preliminary

(Source: Current Employment Statistics)

Earnings by Occupation

Data series	Wages, 2012
	Hourly		Annual
	Median	Mean	Median	Mean
Chemical equipment operators and tenders	$23.00	$23.21	$47,850	$48,280
Chemical technicians	$22.29	$23.46	$46,360	$48,800
Chemists	$34.66	$36.91	$72,100	$76,780
Mixing and blending machine setters, operators, and tenders	$16.83	$17.50	$35,010	$36,390
Packaging and filling machine operators and tenders	$13.61	$14.50	$28,300	$30,160

(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 chemical 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	18	18	24	25
Rate of injury and illness cases per 100 full-time workers
Total recordable cases	2.7	2.3	2.4	2.4
Cases involving days away from work, job restriction, or transfer	1.6	1.4	1.5	1.4
Cases involving days away from work	0.8	0.6	0.7	0.7
Cases involving days of job transfer or restriction	0.9	0.7	0.8	0.7
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	Back data	Jan. 2013	Feb. 2013	Mar. 2013	Apr. 2013
Producer price index		(P) 262.4	(P) 264.1	(P) 265.5	(P) 265.8
Percent change from previous month		(P) 1.2%	(P) 0.6%	(P) 0.5%	(P) 0.1%
Import index		(R) 135.9	(R) 136.7	(R) 136.2	136.9
Percent change from previous month		(R) 0.8%	(R) 0.6%	(R) -0.4%	(R) 0.5%
Export index		131.8	(R) 132.3	(R) 132.0	131.7
Percent change from previous month		0.9%	(R) 0.4%	(R) -0.2%	(R) -0.2%
Footnotes (R) Revised (P) Preliminary

(Source: Producer Price Indexes, International Price Program)

Workplace Trends

This section presents data on the number of establishments in chemical manufacturing. Also included in this section is information on productivity, presented as the rate of change in output per hour of workers in the industry.

Establishments

Data series	Back data	4th quarter 2011	1st quarter 2012	2nd quarter 2012	3rd quarter 2012
Number of establishments
Private industry		16,160	(P) 16,108	(P) 16,152	(P) 16,206
Local government		3	(P) 3	(P) 3	(P) 3
Federal government
Footnotes (P) Preliminary

(Source: Quarterly Census of Employment and Wages)

Productivity

Data series	Back data	2008	2009	2010	2011
Labor productivity index, output per hour		107.975	101.285	107.840	108.200
Percent change from previous year		-6.9	-6.2	6.5	0.3
Labor index, total labor hours		89.661	84.670	85.140	84.649
Percent change from previous year		-3.1	-5.6	0.6	-0.6
Output index		96.812	85.758	91.815	91.590
Percent change from previous year		-9.8	-11.4	7.1	-0.2
Unit labor costs index		120.205	129.927	123.453	127.026
Percent change from previous year		10.3	8.1	-5.0	2.9

(Source: Productivity and Costs)

Other BLS Resources

Career Guide to Industries

See chemical manufacturing, except pharmaceutical and medicine manufacturing and pharmaceutical and medicine manufacturing in the Career Guide to Industries.

 

Data extracted on: May 21, 2013