Construction: NAICS 23

On This Page

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		 May
2017		 Jun.
2017		 Jul.
2017		 Aug.
2017

Employment (in thousands)

Employment, all employees (seasonally adjusted)

 6,878 6,893 (p)6,890 (p)6,918

Employment, production and nonsupervisory employees (seasonally adjusted)

 5,162 5,170 (p)5,161 (p)5,176

Unemployment

Unemployment rate

 5.3% 4.5% 4.9% 4.7%

Job openings, hires, and separations (in thousands)

Job openings

 163 212 (p)232  

Hires

 462 406 (p)438  

Separations

 317 297 (p)394  

Footnotes
 (p) Preliminary

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

Union Membership and Representation

Data series Back
data		 2013 2014 2015 2016

Union membership and representation

Members of unions (percent of wage and salary workers)

 14.1% 13.9% 13.2% 13.9%

Represented by unions (percent of wage and salary workers)

 14.9% 14.7% 14.0% 14.6%

(Source: Current Population Survey)

Dynamic Changes in Employment

Data series Back
data		 1st quarter
2016		 2nd quarter
2016		 3rd quarter
2016		 4th quarter
2016

Dynamic changes in employment (in thousands)

Gross job gains

 661 657 654 648

Gross job losses

 607 650 618 636

(Source: Business Employment Dynamics)

Employment by Occupation

Data series Employment,
2016

Carpenters

 575,100

Construction laborers

 764,090

Construction managers

 202,530

Electricians

 464,810

Operating engineers and other construction equipment operators

 229,250

(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		 May
2017		 Jun.
2017		 Jul.
2017		 Aug.
2017

Average hourly earnings

 $28.69 $28.83 (p)$28.91 (p)$28.96

Average weekly hours

 39.2 39.1 (p)39.1 (p)39.0

Footnotes
 (p) Preliminary

(Source: Current Employment Statistics)

Earnings and Hours of Production and Nonsupervisory Employees

Data series Back
data		 May
2017		 Jun.
2017		 Jul.
2017		 Aug.
2017

Average hourly earnings

 $26.52 $26.63 (p)$26.75 (p)$26.81

Average weekly hours

 39.9 39.7 (p)39.7 (p)39.7

Footnotes
 (p) Preliminary

(Source: Current Employment Statistics)

Union Membership and Representation

Data series Back
data		 Median weekly earnings
2013 2014 2015 2016

Union membership and representation

Full-time workers

 $762 $775 $784 $822

Members of unions

 $1,096 $1,123 $1,099 $1,168

Represented by unions

 $1,081 $1,108 $1,093 $1,146

Nonunion

 $713 $724 $743 $780

(Source: Current Population Survey)

Earnings by Occupation

Data series Wages, 2016
Hourly Annual
Median Mean Median Mean

Carpenters

 $21.01 $23.32 $43,700 $48,500

Construction laborers

 $16.26 $18.45 $33,820 $38,380

Construction managers

 $42.08 $47.27 $87,530 $98,320

Electricians

 $24.52 $26.81 $51,010 $55,770

Operating engineers and other construction equipment operators

 $23.01 $25.54 $47,850 $53,110

(Source: Occupational Employment Statistics)

Employer Compensation Costs

Data series Back
data		 3rd quarter
2016		 4th quarter
2016		 1st quarter
2017		 2nd quarter
2017

12-month percent change

Total compensation

 1.9% 1.9% 2.5% 2.2%

Wages and salaries

 2.0% 2.1% 2.7% 2.3%

(Source: Compensation Cost Trends)



Data series Back
data		 2nd quarter 2017
Compensation component
($ per hour worked)		 Percent of total compensation

Compensation costs

Total compensation

 39.18 100.0

Wages and salaries

 27.20 69.4

Total benefits

 11.97 30.6

Insurance

 3.08 7.9

Retirement

 2.15 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 2012 2013 2014 2015

Fatalities

Number of fatalities

 849 856 933 985

Blank cells indicate no data reported or data that do not meet publication criteria.
Data series 2015

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

Total recordable cases

 3.5

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

 2.0

Cases involving days away from work

 1.3

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		 2nd quarter
2016		 3rd quarter
2016		 4th quarter
2016		 1st quarter
2017

Number of establishments

Private industry

 772,604 779,036 782,876 (p)781,676

Local government

 4,583 4,584 4,577 (p)4,560

State government

 1,792 1,792 1,783 (p)1,781

Federal government

 2 2 2 (p)2

Establishments with changes in employment (in thousands)

With job gains (seasonally adjusted)

 182 186 189  

With job losses (seasonally adjusted)

 187 182 181  

Footnotes
 (p) Preliminary

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

 

Data extracted on: September 19, 2017