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Construction of Buildings: NAICS 236

About the Construction of Buildings subsector

The construction of buildings subsector is part of the construction sector.

The Construction of Buildings subsector comprises establishments primarily responsible for the construction of buildings. The work performed may include new work, additions, alterations, or maintenance and repairs. The on-site assembly of precut, panelized, and prefabricated buildings and construction of temporary buildings are included in this subsector. Part or all of the production work for which the establishments in this subsector have responsibility may be subcontracted to other construction establishments—usually specialty trade contractors.

North American Industry Classification System

The construction of buildings subsector consists of these industry groups:

  • Residential Building Construction: NAICS 2361
  • Nonresidential Building Construction: NAICS 2362

Workforce Statistics

This section provides information relating to employment in construction of buildings. These data are obtained from employer or establishment surveys. The following tables present an overview of the industry including the number of jobs, data for occupations common to the industry, and projections of occupational employment change.

Employment

Data series Back
data
Nov.
2023
Dec.
2023
Jan.
2024
Feb.
2024

Employment (in thousands)

Employment, all employees (seasonally adjusted)

1,829.8 1,837.1 (p)1,844.2 (p)1,848.3

Employment, production and nonsupervisory employees

1,154.2 1,147.9 (p)1,116.9  

Footnotes
(p) Preliminary

(Source: Current Employment Statistics)

Employment by Occupation

Data series Employment,
2022

Carpenters

327,200

Construction laborers

251,810

Construction managers

128,580

Cost estimators

35,320

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

163,000

(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 of buildings.

(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 are shown. In addition, recent hourly and annual earnings are shown for occupations commonly found in construction of buildings.

Earnings and Hours of All Employees

Data series Back
data
Oct.
2023
Nov.
2023
Dec.
2023
Jan.
2024

Average hourly earnings

$39.76 $39.86 $40.21 (p)$40.47

Average weekly hours

38.6 38.3 38.3 (p)37.3

Footnotes
(p) Preliminary

(Source: Current Employment Statistics)

Earnings and Hours of Production and Nonsupervisory Employees

Data series Back
data
Oct.
2023
Nov.
2023
Dec.
2023
Jan.
2024

Average hourly earnings

$34.51 $34.58 $34.76 (p)$34.97

Average weekly hours

38.7 38.3 38.4 (p)36.4

Footnotes
(p) Preliminary

(Source: Current Employment Statistics)

Earnings by Occupation

Data series Wages, 2022
Hourly Annual
Median Mean Median Mean

Carpenters

25.21 28.10 52,430 58,450

Construction laborers

20.71 22.10 43,070 45,960

Construction managers

48.19 52.71 100,230 109,640

Cost estimators

36.49 39.30 75,910 81,740

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

35.64 36.80 74,140 76,540

(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 construction of buildings. 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

201 192 193 234

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

2.1

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

1.2

Cases involving days away from work

0.8

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)

Workplace Trends

This section presents data on the number of establishments in construction of buildings.

Establishments

Data series Back
data
4th quarter
2022
1st quarter
2023
2nd quarter
2023
3rd quarter
2023

Number of establishments

Private industry

287,115 (p)287,696 (p)290,393 (p)293,411

Local government

116 (p)116 (p)117 (p)117

State government

3 (p)3 (p)4 (p)4

Federal government

       

Footnotes
(p) Preliminary

(Source: Quarterly Census of Employment and Wages)

 

Data extracted on: March 22, 2024