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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	Aug. 2024	Sep. 2024	Oct. 2024	Nov. 2024
Employment (in thousands)
Employment, all employees (seasonally adjusted)	1,745.3	1,744.1	(p)1,742.8	(p)1,741.8
Employment, production and nonsupervisory employees (seasonally adjusted)	1,378.2	1,377.9	(p)1,377.5	(p)1,376.0
Unemployment
Unemployment rate	3.7%	4.2%	3.2%	3.3%
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	Aug. 2024	Sep. 2024	Oct. 2024	Nov. 2024
Average hourly earnings	$27.00	$27.02	(p)$27.07	(p)$27.11
Average weekly hours	39.4	39.4	(p)39.4	(p)39.4
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	$23.52	$23.55	(p)$23.70	(p)$23.67
Average weekly hours	39.4	39.5	(p)39.4	(p)39.4
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	2023
Rate of injury and illness cases per 100 full-time workers
Total recordable cases	3.6
Cases involving days away from work, job restriction, or transfer	2.6
Cases involving days away from work	1.3
Cases involving days of job transfer or restriction	1.3
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	Aug. 2024	Sep. 2024	Oct. 2024	Nov. 2024
Producer price index	(p)260.069	(p)261.603	(p)260.796	(p)262.732
Percent change from previous month	(p)-0.1%	(p)0.6%	(p)-0.3%	(p)0.7%
Import index	(r)193.9	(r)194.1	193.6
Percent change from previous month	(r)-1.3%	(r)0.1%	(r)-0.3%
Export index	(r)203.5	(r)205.2	206.8
Percent change from previous month	(r)0.3%	(r)0.8%	(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	3rd quarter 2023	4th quarter 2023	1st quarter 2024	2nd quarter 2024
Number of establishments
Private industry	40,998	41,356	(p)41,921	(p)42,427
Local government	6	10	(p)8	(p)7
State government	1	1	(p)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	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: December 12, 2024