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Waste Management and Remediation Services: NAICS 562

About the Waste Management and Remediation Services subsector

The waste management and remediation services subsector is part of the administrative and support and waste management and remediation services sector.

Industries in the Waste Management and Remediation Services subsector group establishments engaged in the collection, treatment, and disposal of waste materials. This includes establishments engaged in local hauling of waste materials; operating materials recovery facilities (i.e., those that sort recyclable materials from the trash stream); providing remediation services (i.e., those that provide for the cleanup of contaminated buildings, mine sites, soil, or ground water); and providing septic pumping and other miscellaneous waste management services. There are three industry groups within the subsector that separate these activities into waste collection, waste treatment and disposal, and remediation and other waste management.

North American Industry Classification System

The waste management and remediation services subsector consists of these industry groups:

  • Waste Collection: NAICS 5621
  • Waste Treatment and Disposal: NAICS 5622
  • Remediation and Other Waste Management Services: NAICS 5629

Workforce Statistics

This section provides information relating to employment and unemployment in waste management and remediation services. 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, data for occupations common to the industry, and projections of occupational employment change.

Employment and Unemployment

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

Employment (in thousands)

Employment, all employees (seasonally adjusted)

505.5 508.1 (p)511.7 (p)512.6

Employment, production and nonsupervisory employees

422.9 421.8 (p)419.5  

Unemployment

Unemployment rate

3.1% 1.7% 2.7% 1.5%

Footnotes
(p) Preliminary

(Source: Current Employment Statistics, Current Population Survey

Employment by Occupation

Data series Employment,
2022

Hazardous materials removal workers

36,350

Laborers and freight, stock, and material movers, hand

27,240

Refuse and recyclable material collectors

86,700

Septic tank servicers and sewer pipe cleaners

15,300

Truck drivers, heavy and tractor-trailer

67,790

(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 waste management and remediation services.

(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 waste management and remediation services.

Earnings and Hours of All Employees

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

Average hourly earnings

$33.94 $34.20 $34.06 (p)$34.52

Average weekly hours

41.3 41.1 41.3 (p)40.9

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

$30.33 $30.45 $30.64 (p)$30.82

Average weekly hours

41.7 41.5 41.1 (p)40.4

Footnotes
(p) Preliminary

(Source: Current Employment Statistics)

Earnings by Occupation

Data series Wages, 2022
Hourly Annual
Median Mean Median Mean

Hazardous materials removal workers

22.08 24.15 45,930 50,220

Laborers and freight, stock, and material movers, hand

17.26 18.36 35,900 38,180

Refuse and recyclable material collectors

21.96 22.25 45,670 46,290

Septic tank servicers and sewer pipe cleaners

20.98 21.87 43,640 45,500

Truck drivers, heavy and tractor-trailer

23.29 24.31 48,450 50,550

(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 waste management and remediation services. 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

85 73 72 74

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

3.7

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

2.6

Cases involving days away from work

1.7

Cases involving days of job transfer or restriction

0.9

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 waste management and remediation services.

Establishments

Data series Back
data
4th quarter
2022
1st quarter
2023
2nd quarter
2023
3rd quarter
2023

Number of establishments

Private industry

34,046 (p)35,044 (p)35,412 (p)35,793

Local government

1,142 (p)1,140 (p)1,142 (p)1,144

State government

7 (p)7 (p)7 (p)7

Federal government

18 (p)18 (p)18 (p)18

Footnotes
(p) Preliminary

(Source: Quarterly Census of Employment and Wages)

 

Data extracted on: March 15, 2024