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Nonmetallic Mineral Product Manufacturing: NAICS 327

About the Nonmetallic Mineral Product Manufacturing subsector

The nonmetallic mineral product manufacturing subsector is part of the manufacturing sector.

The Nonmetallic Mineral Product Manufacturing subsector transforms mined or quarried nonmetallic minerals, such as sand, gravel, stone, clay, and refractory materials, into products for intermediate or final consumption. Processes used include grinding, mixing, cutting, shaping, and honing. Heat often is used in the process and chemicals are frequently mixed to change the composition, purity, and chemical properties for the intended product. For example, glass is produced by heating silica sand to the melting point (sometimes combined with cullet or recycled glass) and then drawn, floated, or blow molded to the desired shape or thickness. Refractory materials are heated and then formed into bricks or other shapes for use in industrial applications.

North American Industry Classification System

The nonmetallic mineral product manufacturing subsector consists of these industry groups:

Clay Product and Refractory Manufacturing: NAICS 3271
Glass and Glass Product Manufacturing: NAICS 3272
Cement and Concrete Product Manufacturing: NAICS 3273
Lime and Gypsum Product Manufacturing: NAICS 3274
Other Nonmetallic Mineral Product Manufacturing: NAICS 3279

Workforce Statistics

This section provides information relating to employment and unemployment in nonmetallic mineral product 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	Dec. 2024	Jan. 2025	Feb. 2025	Mar. 2025
Employment (in thousands)
Employment, all employees (seasonally adjusted)	425.7	429.0	(p)430.9	(p)429.9
Employment, production and nonsupervisory employees (seasonally adjusted)	299.2	302.7	(p)303.9	(p)306.3
Unemployment
Unemployment rate	8.0%	7.3%	5.7%	5.2%
Footnotes (p) Preliminary

(Source: Current Employment Statistics, Current Population Survey

Employment by Occupation


Data series	Employment, 2024
Extruding, forming, pressing, and compacting machine setters, operators, and tenders	10,970
First-line supervisors/managers of production and operating workers	15,090
Laborers and freight, stock, and material movers, hand	15,750
Molders, shapers, and casters, except metal and plastic	22,030
Truck drivers, heavy and tractor-trailer	76,570

(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 nonmetallic mineral product 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 nonmetallic mineral product manufacturing.

Earnings and Hours of All Employees


Data series	Dec. 2024	Jan. 2025	Feb. 2025	Mar. 2025
Average hourly earnings	$31.84	$31.79	(p)$32.01	(p)$32.38
Average weekly hours	42.0	42.0	(p)42.1	(p)42.4
Footnotes (p) Preliminary

(Source: Current Employment Statistics)

Earnings and Hours of Production and Nonsupervisory Employees


Data series	Dec. 2024	Jan. 2025	Feb. 2025	Mar. 2025
Average hourly earnings	$27.34	$27.21	(p)$27.42	(p)$27.79
Average weekly hours	43.1	43.2	(p)43.4	(p)43.8
Footnotes (p) Preliminary

(Source: Current Employment Statistics)

Earnings by Occupation


Data series	Wages, 2024
	Hourly		Annual
	Median	Mean	Median	Mean
Extruding, forming, pressing, and compacting machine setters, operators, and tenders	22.19	23.52	46,150	48,910
First-line supervisors/managers of production and operating workers	35.22	35.77	73,250	74,410
Laborers and freight, stock, and material movers, hand	20.73	21.21	43,120	44,120
Molders, shapers, and casters, except metal and plastic	22.17	22.49	46,110	46,790
Truck drivers, heavy and tractor-trailer	26.66	26.82	55,450	55,780

(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 nonmetallic mineral product 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	2020	2021	2022	2023
Fatalities
Number of fatalities				42
There was a series break beginning with 2023 data due to NAICS 2022. Data for years prior to 2023 are available at www.bls.gov/iif.


Data series	2023
Rate of injury and illness cases per 100 full-time workers
Total recordable cases	3.7
Cases involving days away from work, job restriction, or transfer	2.4
Cases involving days away from work	1.1
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	Dec. 2024	Jan. 2025	Feb. 2025	Mar. 2025
Producer price index	(p)300.657	(p)303.234	(p)303.882	(p)304.249
Percent change from previous month	(p)0.0%	(p)0.9%	(p)0.2%	(p)0.1%
Import index	145.3	144.9	(r)144.2	143.5
Percent change from previous month	0.1%	-0.3%	(r)-0.5%	(r)-0.5%
Export index	(r)131.4	131.8	(r)133.6	133.0
Percent change from previous month	(r)-0.1%	(r)0.3%	(r)1.4%	(r)-0.4%
Footnotes (p) Preliminary (r) Revised

(Source: Producer Price Indexes, International Price Program)

Workplace Trends

This section presents data on the number of establishments in nonmetallic mineral product 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	4th quarter 2023	1st quarter 2024	2nd quarter 2024	3rd quarter 2024
Number of establishments
Private industry	17,616	(p)17,668	(p)17,718	(p)17,799
Local government	2	(p)2	(p)2	(p)2
State government
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	2021	2022	2023	2024
Labor productivity, output per hour	4.5	-2.8	-5.0	-7.2
Hours worked	-0.5	5.3	1.8	-0.6
Output	4.0	2.3	-3.3	-7.7
Unit labor costs	0.4	9.8	8.7	12.1

(Source: Productivity)

Data extracted on: April 30, 2025