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Mining, Quarrying, and Oil and Gas Extraction: NAICS 21

About the Mining, Quarrying, and Oil and Gas Extraction sector

The mining, quarrying, and oil and gas extraction sector is part of the natural resources and mining supersector.

The Mining sector comprises establishments that extract naturally occurring mineral solids, such as coal and ores; liquid minerals, such as crude petroleum; and gases, such as natural gas. The term mining is used in the broad sense to include quarrying, well operations, beneficiating (e.g., crushing, screening, washing, and flotation), and other preparation customarily performed at the mine site, or as a part of mining activity.

North American Industry Classification System

The mining, quarrying, and oil and gas extraction sector consists of these subsectors:

Workforce Statistics

This section provides information relating to employment and unemployment in mining, quarrying, and oil and gas extraction. 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, union membership and representation, data for occupations common to the industry, and projections of occupational employment change.

Employment and Unemployment

Data series Back
data
Jun.
2024
Jul.
2024
Aug.
2024
Sep.
2024

Employment (in thousands)

Employment, all employees (seasonally adjusted)

595.9 596.7 (p)597.6 (p)600.5

Employment, production and nonsupervisory employees

460.1 461.8 (p)464.9  

Unemployment

Unemployment rate

1.3% 5.4% 3.5% 2.0%

Footnotes
(p) Preliminary

(Source: Current Employment Statistics, and Current Population Survey)

Union Membership and Representation

Data series Back
data
2020 2021 2022 2023

Union membership and representation

Members of unions (percent of wage and salary workers)

5.6% 5.7% 6.5% 4.3%

Represented by unions (percent of wage and salary workers)

6.6% 6.0% 7.7% 4.9%

(Source: Current Population Survey)

Employment by Occupation

Data series Employment,
2023

First-line supervisors/managers of construction trades and extraction workers

31,720

Helpers--extraction workers

4,310

Mining and geological engineers, including mining safety engineers

2,480

Operating engineers and other construction equipment operators

25,170

Roustabouts, oil and gas

37,890

(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 mining, quarrying, and oil and gas extraction.

(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 mining, quarrying, and oil and gas extraction.

Earnings and Hours of All Employees

Data series Back
data
May
2024
Jun.
2024
Jul.
2024
Aug.
2024

Average hourly earnings

$40.09 $40.53 $40.02 (p)$40.01

Average weekly hours

44.4 45.3 44.0 (p)44.5

Footnotes
(p) Preliminary

(Source: Current Employment Statistics)

Earnings and Hours of Production and Nonsupervisory Employees

Data series Back
data
May
2024
Jun.
2024
Jul.
2024
Aug.
2024

Average hourly earnings

$36.72 $36.72 $36.82 (p)$36.62

Average weekly hours

47.5 47.7 46.6 (p)47.2

Footnotes
(p) Preliminary

(Source: Current Employment Statistics)

Union Membership and Representation

Data series Back
data
Median weekly earnings
2020 2021 2022 2023

Union membership and representation

Full-time workers

$1,444 $1,317 $1,504 $1,424

Members of unions

-$ -$ -$ -$

Represented by unions

-$ -$ -$ -$

Nonunion

$1,449 $1,315 $1,488 $1,438

(Source: Current Population Survey)

Earnings by Occupation

Data series Wages, 2023
Hourly Annual
Median Mean Median Mean

First-line supervisors/managers of construction trades and extraction workers

$43.09 $45.51 $89,620 $94,650

Helpers--extraction workers

$22.09 $22.75 $45,940 $47,320

Mining and geological engineers, including mining safety engineers

$48.74 $51.08 $101,390 $106,250

Operating engineers and other construction equipment operators

$26.00 $27.64 $54,080 $57,490

Roustabouts, oil and gas

$22.40 $23.03 $46,600 $47,900

(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 mining, quarrying, and oil and gas extraction. 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

127 78 95 113

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

1.4

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

1.0

Cases involving days away from work

0.7

Cases involving days of job transfer or restriction

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. 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
Jun.
2024
Jul.
2024
Aug.
2024
Sep.
2024

Producer price index

(p)220.953 (p)225.503 (p)216.933 (p)201.953

Percent change from previous month

  (p)1.1% (p)2.1% (p)-3.8% (p)-6.9%

Import index

(r)146.5 (r)148.7 (r)142.0 132.9

Percent change from previous month

  (r)-1.2% (r)1.5% (r)-4.5% (r)-6.4%

Export index

106.0 (r)106.4 (r)103.3 97.5

Percent change from previous month

  -0.4% (r)0.4% (r)-2.9% (r)-5.6%

Footnotes
(p) Preliminary
(r) Revised

(Source: Producer Price Indexes, International Price Program)

Workplace Trends

This section presents data on the number of establishments in mining, quarrying, and oil and gas extraction. 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
2nd quarter
2023
3rd quarter
2023
4th quarter
2023
1st quarter
2024

Number of establishments

Private industry

30,848 30,975 31,020 (p)31,028

Local government

6 6 6 (p)8

Footnotes
(p) Preliminary

(Source: Quarterly Census of Employment and Wages)

Productivity

This section presents productivity and related data for the industry, presented as the percent change from the previous year. Measures of total factor productivity (TFP) compare growth in output to the growth in a combination of inputs that include labor, capital, energy, materials, and services. Measures of labor productivity, or output per hour, compare the growth in output to the growth in hours worked.

Data series Back
data
2019 2020 2021 2022

Total factor productivity (TFP)

3.8 7.4 -7.6 -8.8

Output

8.0 -15.0 2.1 8.0

Combined inputs

4.0 -20.9 10.4 18.4

Capital input

5.8 -0.4 -0.4 0.3

Labor input

0.7 -23.5 -3.9 12.6

Labor productivity, output per hour

7.1 12.4 5.3 -4.0

(Source: Productivity)

 

Data extracted on: October 31, 2024