Construction: NAICS 23

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About the Construction sector
BLS Data

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	Aug. 2024	Sep. 2024	Oct. 2024	Nov. 2024
Employment (in thousands)
Employment, all employees (seasonally adjusted)	8,275	8,301	(p)8,303	(p)8,313
Employment, production and nonsupervisory employees (seasonally adjusted)	6,029	6,044	(p)6,035	(p)6,036
Unemployment
Unemployment rate	3.2%	3.7%	4.2%	4.6%
Job openings, hires, and separations (in thousands)
Job openings	331	249	(p)261
Hires	359	320	(p)297
Separations	368	298	(p)297
Footnotes (p) Preliminary

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

Union Membership and Representation


Data series	2020	2021	2022	2023
Union membership and representation
Members of unions (percent of wage and salary workers)	12.7%	12.6%	11.7%	10.7%
Represented by unions (percent of wage and salary workers)	13.4%	13.6%	12.4%	11.4%

(Source: Current Population Survey)

Dynamic Changes in Employment


Data series	2nd quarter 2023	3rd quarter 2023	4th quarter 2023	1st quarter 2024
Dynamic changes in employment (in thousands)
Gross job gains	678	634	695	720
Gross job losses	668	645	621	596

(Source: Business Employment Dynamics)

Employment by Occupation


Data series	Employment, 2023
Carpenters	602,820
Construction laborers	858,900
Construction managers	266,130
Electricians	558,750
Operating engineers and other construction equipment operators	284,340

(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 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	Aug. 2024	Sep. 2024	Oct. 2024	Nov. 2024
Average hourly earnings	$38.39	$38.58	(p)$38.69	(p)$38.74
Average weekly hours	39.0	39.2	(p)39.1	(p)38.9
Footnotes (p) Preliminary

(Source: Current Employment Statistics)

Earnings and Hours of Production and Nonsupervisory Employees


Data series	Aug. 2024	Sep. 2024	Oct. 2024	Nov. 2024
Average hourly earnings	$35.81	$36.00	(p)$36.22	(p)$36.22
Average weekly hours	39.8	40.1	(p)40.0	(p)39.8
Footnotes (p) Preliminary

(Source: Current Employment Statistics)

Earnings by Occupation


Data series	Wages, 2023
	Hourly		Annual
	Median	Mean	Median	Mean
Carpenters	$27.55	$29.71	$57,300	$61,790
Construction laborers	$22.06	$24.14	$45,890	$50,220
Construction managers	$49.67	$54.92	$103,310	$114,230
Electricians	$29.19	$32.26	$60,720	$67,100
Operating engineers and other construction equipment operators	$28.53	$31.71	$59,350	$65,950

(Source: Occupational Employment and Wage 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).


Data series	Access		Participation
Data series	Back data	2024	Back data	2024
Private industry
Retirement benefit plans		72		50
Defined benefit plans		12		12
Defined contribution plans		68		45

(Source: Employee Benefits in the United States)


Data series	After 1 year of service		After 20 years of service
Data series	Back data	2024	Back data	2024
Mean number of vacation days for private industry workers without consolidated leave plans		7		13

(Source: Employee Benefits in the United States)


Data series	Back data	2024
Percent of private industry workers with access to employer-sponsored benefits
Health care		75
Paid vacation		79
Paid sick leave		69

(Source: Employee Benefits in the United States)

Employer Compensation Costs


Data series	4th quarter 2023	1st quarter 2024	2nd quarter 2024	3rd quarter 2024
Private industry
12-month percent change
Total compensation	4.2%	3.8%	2.8%	2.8%
Wages and salaries	4.5%	4.2%	2.7%	3.0%
3-month percent change
Total compensation	0.9%	1.0%	0.1%	0.8%
Wages and salaries	1.1%	1.0%	-0.2%	1.1%

(Source: Compensation Cost Trends)


Data series	Private industry
	Compensation component ($ per hour worked)		Percent of total compensation
	Back data	2nd quarter 2024	Back data	2nd quarter 2024
Total compensation		47.29		100.0
Wages and salaries		32.89		69.6
Total benefits		14.40		30.4
Insurance		3.46		7.3
Retirement		2.27		4.8
Paid leave		2.22		4.7

(Source: Compensation Cost Trends)

Union Membership and Representation


Data series	Back data	Median weekly earnings
Data series	Back data	2020	2021	2022	2023
Union membership and representation
Full-time workers		$961	$966	$1,007	$1,044
Members of unions		$1,254	$1,344	$1,319	$1,424
Represented by unions		$1,234	$1,322	$1,306	$1,411
Nonunion		$920	$922	$976	$1,007

(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	2019	2020	2021	2022
Fatalities
Number of fatalities	1,102	1,034	1,015	1,092
Blank cells indicate no data reported or data that do not meet publication criteria.


Data series	2023
Rate of injury and illness cases per 100 full-time workers
Total recordable cases	2.3
Cases involving days away from work, job restriction, or transfer	1.5
Cases involving days away from work	1.0
Cases involving days of job transfer or restriction	0.5
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	3rd quarter 2023	4th quarter 2023	1st quarter 2024	2nd quarter 2024
Number of establishments
Private industry	931,396	935,228	(p)940,455	(p)950,878
Local government	4,277	4,282	(p)4,271	(p)4,275
State government	1,828	1,902	(p)1,850	(p)1,855
Federal government	1	1	(p)2	(p)1
Establishments with changes in employment (in thousands)
With job gains (seasonally adjusted)	195	212	206
With job losses (seasonally adjusted)	207	193	192
Footnotes (p) Preliminary

(Source: Business Employment Dynamics, 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	2020	2021	2022	2023
Total factor productivity (TFP)	0.7	0.1	-4.3	-2.3
Output	2.1	1.7	-4.4	2.0
Combined inputs	1.4	1.6	-0.1	4.3
Capital input	4.9	0.1	0.6	2.9
Labor input	-5.7	3.5	4.1	2.1
Labor productivity, output per hour	10.2	-3.1	-8.0	0.2

(Source: Productivity)

Data extracted on: December 13, 2024