Information: NAICS 51

About the Information sector

The information sector is part of the service-providing industries supersector group.

The information sector consists of these subsectors:

• Publishing Industries (except Internet): NAICS 511
• Motion Picture and Sound Recording Industries: NAICS 512
• Broadcasting (except Internet): NAICS 515
• Telecommunications: NAICS 517
• Data Processing, Hosting, and Related Services: NAICS 518
• Other Information Services: NAICS 519

NOTE: The NAICS 2002 subsector Internet Publishing and Broadcasting: NAICS 516 has been discontinued in NAICS 2007 and the establishments that had been classified in this subsector have been moved into Other Information Services: NAICS 519.

Workforce Statistics

This section provides information relating to employment and unemployment in information. 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, job openings and labor turnover, union membership and representation, gross job gains and losses, mass layoffs, data for occupations common to the industry, and projections of occupational employment change.

Employment, Unemployment, Layoffs, and Openings, Hires, and Separations

Data series	Back data	Jan. 2013	Feb. 2013	Mar. 2013	Apr. 2013
Employment (in thousands)
Employment, all employees (seasonally adjusted)		2,680	2,698	(P) 2,700	(P) 2,691
Employment, production and nonsupervisory employees (seasonally adjusted)		2,169	2,181	(P) 2,183	(P) 2,178
Unemployment
Unemployment rate		8.2%	5.2%	5.2%	5.4%
Layoffs
Mass layoff events		36	37	32	38
Initial claimants for unemployment benefits		5,477	3,247	4,261	9,107
Job openings, hires, and separations (in thousands)
Job openings		94	89	(P) 102
Hires		68	59	(P) 44
Separations		74	47	(P) 45
Footnotes (P) Preliminary

(Source: Current Employment Statistics, Current Population Survey, Mass Layoff Statistics, Job Openings and Labor Turnover Survey)

Union Membership and Representation

Data series	Back data	2009	2010	2011	2012
Union membership and representation
Members of unions (percent of wage and salary workers)		10.0%	9.6%	10.1%	9.7%
Represented by unions (percent of wage and salary workers)		11.2%	10.9%	10.8%	10.6%

(Source: Current Population Survey)

Dynamic Changes in Employment

Data series	Back data	4th quarter 2011	1st quarter 2012	2nd quarter 2012	3rd quarter 2012
Dynamic changes in employment (in thousands)
Gross job gains		124	114	123	132
Gross job losses		136	115	124	141

(Source: Business Employment Dynamics)

Extended Mass Layoffs

Data series	Back data	2nd quarter 2012	3rd quarter 2012	4th quarter 2012	1st quarter 2013
Extended mass layoff events		89	69	(P) 75	(P) 49
Separations		32,850	27,677	(P) 36,187	(P) 14,111
Initial claimants		39,216	35,560	(P) 41,928	(P) 15,009
Footnotes (P) Preliminary

(Source: Mass Layoff Statistics)

Employment by Occupation

Data series	Employment, 2012
Computer software engineers, applications
Computer support specialists
Customer service representatives	165,730
Network and computer systems administrators
Telecommunications equipment installers and repairers, except line installers	153,520

(Source: Occupational Employment Statistics)

Projections

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

(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, as well as weekly earnings by union membership status, are shown. In addition, recent hourly and annual earnings are shown for occupations commonly found in information. This section also contains information on the average cost of benefits paid by employers, as well as recent rates of change in wages and total compensation.

Earnings and Hours of All Employees

Data series	Back data	Jan. 2013	Feb. 2013	Mar. 2013	Apr. 2013
Average hourly earnings		$32.39	$32.44	(P) $32.58	(P) $32.80
Average weekly hours		36.4	36.3	(P) 36.4	(P) 36.5
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		$27.78	$27.78	(P) $27.76	(P) $27.90
Average weekly hours		35.7	35.7	(P) 35.7	(P) 35.7
Footnotes (P) Preliminary

(Source: Current Employment Statistics)

Union Membership and Representation

Data series	Back data	Median weekly earnings
		2009	2010	2011	2012
Union membership and representation
Full-time workers		$905	$912	$940	$978
Members of unions		$1,105	$1,018	$1,122	$1,103
Represented by unions		$1,083	$998	$1,117	$1,087
Nonunion		$883	$895	$916	$966

(Source: Current Population Survey)

Earnings by Occupation

Data series	Wages, 2012
	Hourly		Annual
	Median	Mean	Median	Mean
Computer software engineers, applications
Computer support specialists
Customer service representatives	$16.02	$17.69	$33,320	$36,790
Network and computer systems administrators
Telecommunications equipment installers and repairers, except line installers	$27.38	$26.53	$56,960	$55,180

(Source: Occupational Employment Statistics)

Employer Compensation Costs

Data series	Back data	2nd quarter 2012	3rd quarter 2012	4th quarter 2012	1st quarter 2013
12-month percent change
Total compensation		3.7%	3.7%	3.9%	2.2%
Wages and salaries		1.5%	1.7%	2.0%	2.2%

(Source: Compensation Cost Trends)

Data series	Back data	4th quarter 2012
		Compensation component ($ per hour worked)	Percent of total compensation
Compensation costs
Total compensation		46.30	100.0
Wages and salaries		30.32	65.5
Total benefits		15.97	34.5
Insurance		4.45	9.6
Retirement		2.73	5.9

(Source: Compensation Cost Trends)

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 information. 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	51	36	45	57
Rate of injury and illness cases per 100 full-time workers
Total recordable cases	2.0	1.9	1.8	1.6
Cases involving days away from work, job restriction, or transfer	1.1	1.0	1.1	0.9
Cases involving days away from work	0.7	0.7	0.8	0.6
Cases involving days of job transfer or restriction	0.4	0.3	0.3	0.3
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.

Data series	Back data	Jan. 2013	Feb. 2013	Mar. 2013	Apr. 2013
Producer price index		(P) 102.9	(P) 102.7	(P) 102.2	(P) 103.1
Percent change from previous month		(P) 0.3%	(P) -0.2%	(P) -0.5%	(P) 0.9%
Footnotes (P) Preliminary

(Source: Producer Price Indexes)

Workplace Trends

This section presents data on the number of establishments and the number of establishments experiencing job gains or job losses in information.

Establishments

Data series	Back data	4th quarter 2011	1st quarter 2012	2nd quarter 2012	3rd quarter 2012
Number of establishments
Private industry		143,802	(P) 143,222	(P) 143,534	(P) 143,629
Local government		5,108	(P) 5,102	(P) 5,095	(P) 5,096
State government		334	(P) 328	(P) 324	(P) 324
Federal government		124	(P) 126	(P) 117	(P) 102
Establishments with changes in employment (in thousands)
With job gains (seasonally adjusted)		28	29	29	29
With job losses (seasonally adjusted)		31	31	30	31
Footnotes (P) Preliminary

(Source: Business Employment Dynamics, Quarterly Census of Employment and Wages)

Other BLS Resources

The Editor's Desk

See industry studies in the subject matter index of The Editor's Desk (Current Edition).

Career Guide to Industries

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

 

Data extracted on: May 24, 2013