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Food Manufacturing: NAICS 311

About the Food Manufacturing subsector

The food manufacturing subsector is part of the manufacturing sector.

Industries in the Food Manufacturing subsector transform livestock and agricultural products into products for intermediate or final consumption. The industry groups are distinguished by the raw materials (generally of animal or vegetable origin) processed into food products.

The food products manufactured in these establishments are typically sold to wholesalers or retailers for distribution to consumers, but establishments primarily engaged in retailing bakery and candy products made on the premises not for immediate consumption are included.

North American Industry Classification System

The food manufacturing subsector consists of these industry groups:

  • Animal Food Manufacturing: NAICS 3111
  • Grain and Oilseed Milling: NAICS 3112
  • Sugar and Confectionery Product Manufacturing: NAICS 3113
  • Fruit and Vegetable Preserving and Specialty Food Manufacturing: NAICS 3114
  • Dairy Product Manufacturing: NAICS 3115
  • Animal Slaughtering and Processing: NAICS 3116
  • Seafood Product Preparation and Packaging: NAICS 3117
  • Bakeries and Tortilla Manufacturing: NAICS 3118
  • Other Food Manufacturing: NAICS 3119

Workforce Statistics

This section provides information relating to employment and unemployment in food manufacturing. 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, data for occupations common to the industry, and projections of occupational employment change.

Employment and Unemployment

Data series Back
data
Jun.
2024
Jul.
2024
Aug.
2024
Sep.
2024

Employment (in thousands)

Employment, all employees (seasonally adjusted)

1,738.3 1,739.8 (p)1,744.7 (p)1,747.1

Employment, production and nonsupervisory employees (seasonally adjusted)

1,370.7 1,374.0 (p)1,377.7 (p)1,381.4

Unemployment

Unemployment rate

4.6% 5.8% 3.7% 4.2%

Footnotes
(p) Preliminary

(Source: Current Employment Statistics, Current Population Survey

Employment by Occupation

Data series Employment,
2023

Bakers

74,770

First-line supervisors/managers of production and operating workers

69,680

Food batchmakers

137,790

Packaging and filling machine operators and tenders

158,560

Slaughterers and meat packers

66,320

(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 food manufacturing.

(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 food manufacturing.

Earnings and Hours of All Employees

Data series Back
data
Jun.
2024
Jul.
2024
Aug.
2024
Sep.
2024

Average hourly earnings

$26.75 $26.99 (p)$26.95 (p)$26.96

Average weekly hours

39.6 39.6 (p)39.4 (p)39.4

Footnotes
(p) Preliminary

(Source: Current Employment Statistics)

Earnings and Hours of Production and Nonsupervisory Employees

Data series Back
data
Jun.
2024
Jul.
2024
Aug.
2024
Sep.
2024

Average hourly earnings

$23.33 $23.56 (p)$23.51 (p)$23.54

Average weekly hours

39.7 39.9 (p)39.4 (p)39.6

Footnotes
(p) Preliminary

(Source: Current Employment Statistics)

Earnings by Occupation

Data series Wages, 2023
Hourly Annual
Median Mean Median Mean

Bakers

16.83 17.19 35,010 35,750

First-line supervisors/managers of production and operating workers

30.53 31.48 63,500 65,470

Food batchmakers

19.16 20.07 39,840 41,740

Packaging and filling machine operators and tenders

18.84 19.92 39,190 41,430

Slaughterers and meat packers

18.44 18.76 38,360 39,020

(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 food manufacturing. 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

49 54 57 75

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

4.6

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

3.4

Cases involving days away from work

2.0

Cases involving days of job transfer or restriction

1.4

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

(Source: Injuries, Illnesses, and Fatalities)

Prices

This section provides industry-specific pricing information. The producer price index measures the percentage change in prices that domestic producers receive for goods and services. The prices included in the producer price index are from the first commercial transaction. The import price index reflects the percentage change in prices paid to foreign producers for their goods and services within the U.S., while the export price index measures the percentage change in prices received by U.S. producers for goods and services sold outside the U.S.

Data series Back
data
Jun.
2024
Jul.
2024
Aug.
2024
Sep.
2024

Producer price index

(p)258.949 (p)260.250 (p)259.876 (p)262.131

Percent change from previous month

  (p)0.7% (p)0.5% (p)-0.1% (p)0.9%

Import index

197.5 196.4 (r)195.8 196.4

Percent change from previous month

  0.5% -0.6% (r)-0.3% (r)0.3%

Export index

203.3 (r)202.8 (r)202.9 204.5

Percent change from previous month

  2.0% (r)-0.2% (r)0.0% (r)0.8%

Footnotes
(p) Preliminary
(r) Revised

(Source: Producer Price Indexes, International Price Program)

Workplace Trends

This section presents data on the number of establishments in food manufacturing. Also included in this section is information on productivity, presented as the rate of change in output per hour of workers in the industry.

Establishments

Data series Back
data
2nd quarter
2023
3rd quarter
2023
4th quarter
2023
1st quarter
2024

Number of establishments

Private industry

40,433 40,998 41,356 (p)41,944

Local government

6 6 10 (p)10

State government

1 1 1 (p)1

Footnotes
(p) Preliminary

(Source: 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 labor productivity, or output per hour, compare the growth in output to the growth in hours worked. Growth in unit labor costs represent the annual change in the labor cost of producing one unit of output.

Data series Back
data
2020 2021 2022 2023

Labor productivity, output per hour

2.3 -1.5 -2.0 -1.2

Hours worked

-1.3 2.8 1.1 -0.6

Output

1.0 1.3 -0.8 -1.8

Unit labor costs

4.8 4.3 9.4 7.2

(Source: Productivity)

 

Data extracted on: October 31, 2024