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Bureau of Labor Statistics > Quarterly Census of Employment and Wages > Methods > Additional Resources

BLS and QCEW NAICS Differences

There are a handful of differences between the industries shown in the North American Industry Classification System (NAICS) manual and the BLS Industry Finder application. This page explains these differences.

BLS-Only NAICS Codes

For the specialty trade contractor industries (NAICS 238), BLS uses six-digit NAICS codes ending in “1” for residential construction units and “2” for nonresidential construction units, instead of “0.” These six-digit NAICS codes do not appear in the NAICS Manual, but the Quarterly Census of Employment and Wages program uses them, and they appear in the BLS Industry Finder application. To calculate the employment and wages of specialty trade contractors without the residential and nonresidential distinctions, simply combine the information for codes ending with "1" and "2." The BLS-only specialty trade contractor NAICS codes are the following:

238111 Residential poured foundation contractors

238112 Nonresidential poured foundation contractors

238121 Residential structural steel contractors

238122 Nonresidential structural steel contractors

238131 Residential framing contractors

238132 Nonresidential framing contractors

238141 Residential masonry contractors

238142 Nonresidential masonry contractors

238151 Residential glass and glazing contractors

238152 Nonresidential glass and glazing contractors

238161 Residential roofing contractors

238162 Nonresidential roofing contractors

238171 Residential siding contractors

238172 Nonresidential siding contractors

238191 Other residential exterior contractors

238192 Other nonresidential exterior contractors

238211 Residential electrical contractors

238212 Nonresidential electrical contractors

238221 Residential plumbing and HVAC contractors

238222 Nonresidential plumbing and HVAC contractors

238291 Other residential equipment contractors

238292 Other nonresidential equipment contractors

238311 Residential drywall contractors

238312 Nonresidential drywall contractors

238321 Residential painting contractors

238322 Nonresidential painting contractors

238331 Residential flooring contractors

238332 Nonresidential flooring contractors

238341 Residential tile and terrazzo contractors

238342 Nonresidential tile and terrazzo contractors

238351 Residential finish carpentry contractors

238352 Nonresidential finish carpentry contractors

238391 Other residential finishing contractors

238392 Other nonresidential finishing contractors

238911 Residential site preparation contractors

238912 Nonresidential site preparation contractors

238991 All other residential trade contractors

238992 All other nonresidential trade contractors

Invalid NAICS Codes in the United States

There are two NAICS codes included in the NAICS 2022 manual that are not used in the United States. States are not to assign the following NAICS codes:

112130 Dual purpose cattle ranching and farming

541120 Offices of notaries

NAICS codes not used by BLS

There is one NAICS code included in the NAICS 2022 manual that is not used by BLS. Establishments that would otherwise be classified in this industry are instead classified in retail trade in electronics and appliance retailers (NAICS 449210) because they meet the established guidelines for retail trade establishments.

517122 Agents of wireless telecommunications services

Unclassified Industries (999999)

All establishments are required to have a 6-digit industry code. However, in some instances, there is no information about the economic activity related to a specific establishment. This could be due to timing, lack of information, or resources. In these cases, BLS assigns a “placeholder” industry code to include the establishment in data totals, as well as including the establishment in the BLS/QCEW sampling universe, until a specific industry code can be matched with the establishment. BLS assigns “999999” as a placeholder for active establishments without information about economic activities until a code can be assigned.

QCEW High-Level (Non-NAICS) Industry Designations

To create higher-level (more general) categories of industry data, and to provide more information for researchers using BLS data, BLS and QCEW created “High-Level” or “Supersector/Domain” industry codes above the NAICS coding structure. These aggregations combine 2-digit NAICS codes of like concepts into larger groupings for "goods-producing" industries and "service-providing" industries.

Information about these BLS-specific industry designations, which can be seen in the BLS Industry Finder, is available at QCEW High-Level Industry Titles and NAICS Crosswalk.

For More Information:

Please contact QCEW Information and Help for more information about QCEW anomalies related to NAICS.
For more information, see the North American Industry Classification System at BLS.

Last Modified Date: July 24, 2023