Merchant Wholesalers, Durable Goods: NAICS 423

On this page

• About the Merchant Wholesalers, Durable Goods subsector
• BLS Data
• Workforce Statistics
• Earnings and Hours
• Fatalities, Injuries, and Illnesses
• Prices
• Workplace Trends
• Other BLS Resources

The merchant wholesalers, durable goods subsector is part of the wholesale trade sector.

The merchant wholesalers, durable goods subsector consists of these industry groups:

• Motor Vehicle and Motor Vehicle Parts and Supplies Merchant Wholesalers: NAICS 4231
• Furniture and Home Furnishing Merchant Wholesalers: NAICS 4232
• Lumber and Other Construction Materials Merchant Wholesalers: NAICS 4233
• Professional and Commercial Equipment and Supplies Merchant Wholesalers: NAICS 4234
• Metal and Mineral (except Petroleum) Merchant Wholesalers: NAICS 4235
• Electrical and Electronic Goods Merchant Wholesalers: NAICS 4236
• Hardware, and Plumbing and Heating Equipment and Supplies Merchant Wholesalers: NAICS 4237
• Machinery, Equipment, and Supplies Merchant Wholesalers: NAICS 4238
• Miscellaneous Durable Goods Merchant Wholesalers: NAICS 4239

This section provides information relating to employment in merchant wholesalers, durable goods. 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	Back data	Mar. 2008	Apr. 2008	May 2008	Jun. 2008
Employment (in thousands)
Employment, all employees (seasonally adjusted)		3,127.8	3,118.1	(P) 3,111.5	(P) 3,109.8
Employment, nonsupervisory workers		2,535.2	2,530.6	(P) 2,531.4
Layoffs
Mass layoff events		9	11	7
Initial claimants for unemployment benefits		602	1,224	392
Footnotes (P) Preliminary

(Source: Current Employment Statistics, Mass Layoff Statistics)

Extended Mass Layoffs

Data series	Back data	2nd quarter 2007	3rd quarter 2007	4th quarter 2007	1st quarter 2008
Extended mass layoff events		10	7	(P) 22	(P) 16
Separations		1,342	773	(P) 2,782	(P) 1,457
Initial claimants		1,591	713	(P) 3,974	(P) 1,095
Footnotes (P) Preliminary

(Source: Mass Layoff Statistics)

Employment by Occupation

(Source: Occupational Employment Statistics)

Projections

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

(Source: Office of Occupational Statistics and Employment Projections)

This section presents data on employee earnings and weekly hours. The latest industry averages of hourly earnings and weekly hours for production or nonsupervisory employees are shown. In addition, recent hourly and annual earnings are shown for occupations commonly found in merchant wholesalers, durable goods.

Earnings and Hours of Production Workers

Data series	Back data	Feb. 2008	Mar. 2008	Apr. 2008	May 2008
Average hourly earnings		$20.19	$20.21	$20.14	(P) $20.02
Average weekly hours		38.4	39.2	38.8	(P) 38.8
Footnotes (P) Preliminary

(Source: Current Employment Statistics)

Earnings by Occupation

(Source: Occupational Employment Statistics)

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 merchant wholesalers, durable goods. 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.

(Source: Injuries, Illnesses, and Fatalities)

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.

Data series	Back data	Feb. 2008	Mar. 2008	Apr. 2008	May 2008
Producer price index		(P) 113.3	(P) 115.4	(P) 113.8	(P) 115.5
Percent change from previous month		(P) 1.0%	(P) 1.9%	(P) -1.4%	(P) 1.5%
Footnotes (P) Preliminary

(Source: Producer Price Indexes)

This section presents data on the number of establishments in merchant wholesalers, durable goods. 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 2006	1st quarter 2007	2nd quarter 2007	3rd quarter 2007
Number of establishments
Private industry		258,096	(P) 257,006	(P) 257,412	(P) 257,334
Local government		15	(P) 16	(P) 17	(P) 17
State government		5	(P) 5	(P) 5	(P) 3
Federal government
Footnotes (P) Preliminary

(Source: Quarterly Census of Employment and Wages)

Productivity

Data series	Back data	2003	2004	2005	2006
Labor productivity index, output per hour		146.676	161.514	167.278	175.838
Percent change from previous year		4.6	10.1	3.6	5.1
Labor index, total labor hours		92.509	92.123	94.028	96.853
Percent change from previous year		-1.3	-0.4	2.1	3.0
Output index		135.689	148.791	157.288	170.303
Percent change from previous year		3.2	9.7	5.7	8.3
Unit labor costs index		94.810	90.491	90.049	88.996
Percent change from previous year		-1.2	-4.6	-0.5	-1.2

(Source: Productivity and Costs)

Career Guide to Industries

To learn about careers from an industry perspective, see the Career Guide to Industries.