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Industries at a Glance
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Heavy and Civil Engineering Construction: NAICS 237
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About the Heavy and Civil Engineering Construction subsector
The heavy and civil engineering construction subsector is part of the construction sector.
The Heavy and Civil Engineering Construction subsector comprises establishments whose primary activity is the construction of entire engineering projects (e.g., highways and dams), and specialty trade contractors, whose primary activity is the production of a specific component for such projects. Specialty trade contractors in Heavy and Civil Engineering Construction generally are performing activities that are specific to heavy and civil engineering construction projects and are not normally performed on buildings. The work performed may include new work, additions, alterations, or maintenance and repairs.
North American Industry Classification System
The heavy and civil engineering construction subsector consists of these industry groups:
- Utility System Construction: NAICS 2371
- Land Subdivision: NAICS 2372
- Highway, Street, and Bridge Construction: NAICS 2373
- Other Heavy and Civil Engineering Construction: NAICS 2379
Workforce Statistics
This section provides information relating to employment in heavy and civil engineering construction. 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 |
Aug. 2024 |
Sep. 2024 |
Oct. 2024 |
Nov. 2024 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Employment (in thousands) |
|||||
Employment, all employees (seasonally adjusted) |
|
1,152.5 | 1,160.8 | (p)1,159.8 | (p)1,161.3 |
|
|
946.1 | 950.1 | (p)952.0 | ||
|
Footnotes |
|||||
(Source: Current Employment Statistics)
Employment by Occupation
| Data series | Employment, 2023 |
|---|---|
| 23,360 | |
| 242,070 | |
First-line supervisors/managers of construction trades and extraction workers |
101,970 |
Operating engineers and other construction equipment operators |
131,080 |
| 46,850 |
(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 heavy and civil engineering 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 are shown. In addition, recent hourly and annual earnings are shown for occupations commonly found in heavy and civil engineering construction.
Earnings and Hours of All Employees
| Data series | Back data |
Jul. 2024 |
Aug. 2024 |
Sep. 2024 |
Oct. 2024 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
|
|
$39.71 | $39.87 | $40.33 | (p)$40.81 | |
|
|
44.0 | 44.6 | 44.3 | (p)45.0 | |
|
Footnotes |
|||||
(Source: Current Employment Statistics)
Earnings and Hours of Production and Nonsupervisory Employees
| Data series | Back data |
Jul. 2024 |
Aug. 2024 |
Sep. 2024 |
Oct. 2024 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
|
|
$37.83 | $38.03 | $38.33 | (p)$38.90 | |
|
|
45.3 | 45.6 | 45.7 | (p)45.8 | |
|
Footnotes |
|||||
(Source: Current Employment Statistics)
Earnings by Occupation
| Data series | Wages, 2023 | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Hourly | Annual | |||
| Median | Mean | Median | Mean | |
| 28.33 | 31.67 | 58,930 | 65,860 | |
| 22.26 | 25.70 | 46,310 | 53,460 | |
First-line supervisors/managers of construction trades and extraction workers |
37.85 | 39.84 | 78,730 | 82,860 |
Operating engineers and other construction equipment operators |
29.22 | 33.10 | 60,770 | 68,860 |
| 24.84 | 27.33 | 51,680 | 56,850 | |
(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 heavy and civil engineering 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 |
||||
| 195 | 215 | 164 | 163 | |
|
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 |
|
| 1.9 | |
Cases involving days away from work, job restriction, or transfer |
1.2 |
| 0.6 | |
| 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 in heavy and civil engineering construction.
Establishments
| Data series | Back data |
3rd quarter 2023 |
4th quarter 2023 |
1st quarter 2024 |
2nd quarter 2024 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Number of establishments |
|||||
|
|
57,732 | 58,100 | (p)58,564 | (p)58,956 | |
|
|
4,085 | 4,090 | (p)4,076 | (p)4,079 | |
|
|
1,824 | 1,838 | (p)1,840 | (p)1,842 | |
|
|
1 | 1 | (p)1 | (p)1 | |
|
Footnotes |
|||||
(Source: Quarterly Census of Employment and Wages)
Data extracted on: December 13, 2024