Construction: NAICS 23
About the Construction sector
The construction sector is part of the goods-producing industries supersector group.
The construction sector comprises establishments primarily engaged in the construction of buildings or engineering projects (e.g., highways and utility systems). Establishments primarily engaged in the preparation of sites for new construction and establishments primarily engaged in subdividing land for sale as building sites also are included in this sector.
Construction work done may include new work, additions, alterations, or maintenance and repairs. Activities of these establishments generally are managed at a fixed place of business, but they usually perform construction activities at multiple project sites. Production responsibilities for establishments in this sector are usually specified in (1) contracts with the owners of construction projects (prime contracts) or (2) contracts with other construction establishments (subcontracts).
North American Industry Classification System
The construction sector consists of these subsectors:
Workforce Statistics
This section provides information relating to employment and unemployment in construction.
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,
data for occupations common to the industry,
and projections of occupational employment change.
Employment, Unemployment, and Openings, Hires, and Separations
| Data series |
Back
data |
Oct.
2020 |
Nov.
2020 |
Dec.
2020 |
Jan.
2021 |
Employment (in thousands) |
|
Employment, all employees (seasonally adjusted) |
|
7,329 |
7,353 |
7,395 |
7,392 |
Employment, production and nonsupervisory employees (seasonally adjusted) |
|
5,415 |
5,432 |
5,474 |
5,442 |
Unemployment |
|
Unemployment rate |
|
6.8% |
7.3% |
9.6% |
9.4% |
Job openings, hires, and separations (in thousands) |
|
Job openings |
|
246 |
232 |
195 |
|
Hires |
|
411 |
299 |
261 |
|
Separations |
|
365 |
372 |
422 |
|
(Source: Current Employment Statistics, Current Population Survey, Job Openings and Labor Turnover Survey)
Union Membership and Representation
| Data series |
Back
data |
2017 |
2018 |
2019 |
2020 |
Union membership and representation |
|
Members of unions (percent of wage and salary workers) |
|
14.0% |
12.8% |
12.6% |
12.7% |
Represented by unions (percent of wage and salary workers) |
|
14.7% |
13.8% |
13.6% |
13.4% |
(Source: Current Population Survey)
Dynamic Changes in Employment
| Data series |
Back
data |
3rd quarter
2019 |
4th quarter
2019 |
1st quarter
2020 |
2nd quarter
2020 |
Dynamic changes in employment (in thousands) |
|
Gross job gains |
|
649 |
676 |
683 |
543 |
Gross job losses |
|
647 |
649 |
626 |
1,044 |
(Source: Business Employment Dynamics)
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 construction.
(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 construction.
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
(Source: Current Employment Statistics)
Earnings and Hours of Production and Nonsupervisory Employees
(Source: Current Employment Statistics)
Earnings by Occupation
| Data series |
Wages, 2019 |
| Hourly |
Annual |
| Median |
Mean |
Median |
Mean |
Carpenters |
$23.34 |
$25.55 |
$48,550 |
$53,150 |
Construction laborers |
$17.91 |
$20.34 |
$37,260 |
$42,320 |
Construction managers |
$45.22 |
$49.98 |
$94,060 |
$103,960 |
Electricians |
$26.32 |
$28.72 |
$54,750 |
$59,740 |
Operating engineers and other construction equipment operators |
$24.85 |
$27.72 |
$51,680 |
$57,660 |
(Source: Occupational Employment Statistics)
Employee Benefits
This section presents data on the incidence (the percentage of workers with access to and participation in employer-provided benefit plans) and provisions of selected employee benefits from the National Compensation Survey. More Benefits estimates are also accessible from the Benefits database, the archived NCS publications page, and the complete Employee Benefits Excel dataset (XLSX).
(Source: Employee Benefits in the United States)
(Source: Employee Benefits in the United States)
(Source: Employee Benefits in the United States)
Employer Compensation Costs
(Source: Compensation Cost Trends)
(Source: Compensation Cost Trends)
Union Membership and Representation
(Source: Current Population Survey)
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 construction. 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 |
2016 |
2017 |
2018 |
2019 |
Fatalities |
|
Number of fatalities |
1,034 |
1,013 |
1,038 |
1,102 |
|
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 and the number of establishments experiencing job gains or job losses in construction.
Establishments
| Data series |
Back
data |
3rd quarter
2019 |
4th quarter
2019 |
1st quarter
2020 |
2nd quarter
2020 |
Number of establishments |
|
Private industry |
|
835,414 |
840,490 |
841,791 |
844,619 |
Local government |
|
4,302 |
4,292 |
4,281 |
4,280 |
State government |
|
1,730 |
1,724 |
1,721 |
1,721 |
Federal government |
|
2 |
3 |
2 |
1 |
Establishments with changes in employment (in thousands) |
|
With job gains (seasonally adjusted) |
|
196 |
204 |
205 |
176 |
With job losses (seasonally adjusted) |
|
196 |
193 |
190 |
260 |
(Source: Business Employment Dynamics, Quarterly Census of Employment and Wages)
Data extracted on:
February 24, 2021
United States Department of Labor
