Construction: NAICS 23

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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		 Sep.
2018		 Oct.
2018		 Nov.
2018		 Dec.
2018

Employment (in thousands)

Employment, all employees (seasonally adjusted)

 7,283 7,314 (p)7,314 (p)7,352

Employment, production and nonsupervisory employees (seasonally adjusted)

 5,411 5,439 (p)5,427 (p)5,473

Unemployment

Unemployment rate

 4.1% 3.6% 3.9% 5.1%

Job openings, hires, and separations (in thousands)

Job openings

 272 323 (p)278  

Hires

 349 367 (p)282  

Separations

 356 348 (p)383  

Footnotes
(p) Preliminary

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

Union Membership and Representation

Data series Back
data		 2015 2016 2017 2018

Union membership and representation

Members of unions (percent of wage and salary workers)

 13.2% 13.9% 14.0% 12.8%

Represented by unions (percent of wage and salary workers)

 14.0% 14.6% 14.7% 13.8%

(Source: Current Population Survey)

Dynamic Changes in Employment

Data series Back
data		 2nd quarter
2017		 3rd quarter
2017		 4th quarter
2017		 1st quarter
2018

Dynamic changes in employment (in thousands)

Gross job gains

 686 622 719 716

Gross job losses

 641 663 608 584

(Source: Business Employment Dynamics)

Employment by Occupation

Data series Employment,
2017

Carpenters

 589,590

Construction laborers

 807,360

Construction managers

 214,310

Electricians

 485,240

Operating engineers and other construction equipment operators

 235,790

(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

Data series Back
data		 Sep.
2018		 Oct.
2018		 Nov.
2018		 Dec.
2018

Average hourly earnings

 $30.17 $30.23 (p)$30.29 (p)$30.44

Average weekly hours

 38.9 39.0 (p)38.7 (p)39.5

Footnotes
(p) Preliminary

(Source: Current Employment Statistics)

Earnings and Hours of Production and Nonsupervisory Employees

Data series Back
data		 Sep.
2018		 Oct.
2018		 Nov.
2018		 Dec.
2018

Average hourly earnings

 $27.91 $28.05 (p)$28.15 (p)$28.27

Average weekly hours

 39.6 39.6 (p)39.3 (p)40.1

Footnotes
(p) Preliminary

(Source: Current Employment Statistics)

Union Membership and Representation

Data series Back
data		 Median weekly earnings
2015 2016 2017 2018

Union membership and representation

Full-time workers

 $784 $822 $840 $868

Members of unions

 $1,099 $1,168 $1,163 $1,220

Represented by unions

 $1,093 $1,146 $1,155 $1,210

Nonunion

 $743 $780 $797 $819

(Source: Current Population Survey)

Earnings by Occupation

Data series Wages, 2017
Hourly Annual
Median Mean Median Mean

Carpenters

 $21.81 $24.01 $45,370 $49,950

Construction laborers

 $16.81 $18.97 $34,950 $39,460

Construction managers

 $43.25 $48.04 $89,960 $99,920

Electricians

 $25.18 $27.45 $52,380 $57,100

Operating engineers and other construction equipment operators

 $23.63 $26.33 $49,150 $54,760

(Source: Occupational Employment Statistics)

Employer Compensation Costs

Data series Back
data		 4th quarter
2017		 1st quarter
2018		 2nd quarter
2018		 3rd quarter
2018

12-month percent change

Total compensation

 2.4% 2.4% 3.0% 2.7%

Wages and salaries

 2.5% 2.7% 3.2% 3.0%

(Source: Compensation Cost Trends)



Data series Back
data		 3rd quarter 2018
Compensation component
($ per hour worked)		 Percent of total compensation

Compensation costs

Total compensation

 39.65 100.0

Wages and salaries

 27.49 69.3

Total benefits

 12.17 30.7

Insurance

 3.22 8.1

Retirement

 2.16 5.5

(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 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 2014 2015 2016 2017

Fatalities

Number of fatalities

 933 985 1,034 1,013

Blank cells indicate no data reported or data that do not meet publication criteria.
Data series 2017

Rate of injury and illness cases per 100 full-time workers

Total recordable cases

 3.1

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

 1.8

Cases involving days away from work

 1.2

Cases involving days of job transfer or restriction

 0.6

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
2017		 4th quarter
2017		 1st quarter
2018		 2nd quarter
2018

Number of establishments

Private industry

 789,821 794,270 (p)797,171 (p)807,257

Local government

 4,523 4,504 (p)4,287 (p)4,290

State government

 1,778 1,775 (p)1,732 (p)1,738

Federal government

 2 1 (p)1 (p)1

Establishments with changes in employment (in thousands)

With job gains (seasonally adjusted)

 184 204 205  

With job losses (seasonally adjusted)

 195 182 180  

Footnotes
(p) Preliminary

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

 

Data extracted on: January 18, 2019