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Couriers and Messengers: NAICS 492

About the Couriers and Messengers subsector

The couriers and messengers subsector is part of the transportation and warehousing sector.

Industries in the Couriers and Messengers subsector provide intercity and/or local delivery of parcels and documents (including express delivery services) without operating under a universal service obligation. These articles can be described as those that may be handled by one person without using special equipment. This allows the collection, pick-up, and delivery operations to be done with limited labor costs and minimal equipment. Sorting and transportation activities, where necessary, are generally mechanized. The restriction to small parcels partly distinguishes these establishments from those in the transportation industries. The complete network of courier services establishments also distinguishes these transportation services from local messenger and delivery establishments in this subsector. This includes the establishments that perform intercity transportation as well as establishments that, under contract to them, perform local pick-up and delivery. Messengers, which usually deliver within a metropolitan or single urban area, may use bicycle, foot, small truck, or van.

North American Industry Classification System

The couriers and messengers subsector consists of these industry groups:

  • Couriers: NAICS 4921
  • Local Messengers and Local Delivery: NAICS 4922

Workforce Statistics

This section provides information relating to employment in couriers and messengers. 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
Jun.
2024
Jul.
2024
Aug.
2024
Sep.
2024

Employment (in thousands)

Employment, all employees (seasonally adjusted)

1,095.5 1,099.9 (p)1,099.4 (p)1,100.7

Employment, production and nonsupervisory employees

915.4 913.2 (p)921.4  

Footnotes
(p) Preliminary

(Source: Current Employment Statistics)

Employment by Occupation

Data series Employment,
2023

Couriers and messengers

20,280

Customer service representatives

11,550

Dispatchers, except police, fire, and ambulance

8,430

First-line supervisors/managers of transportation and material-moving machine and vehicle operators

48,690

Truck drivers, light or delivery services

383,900

(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 couriers and messengers.

(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 couriers and messengers.

Earnings and Hours of All Employees

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

Average hourly earnings

$25.10 $25.19 $25.07 (p)$24.94

Average weekly hours

31.6 32.2 31.8 (p)31.9

Footnotes
(p) Preliminary

(Source: Current Employment Statistics)

Earnings and Hours of Production and Nonsupervisory Employees

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

Average hourly earnings

$23.30 $23.28 $23.23 (p)$23.23

Average weekly hours

32.5 33.2 32.7 (p)33.0

Footnotes
(p) Preliminary

(Source: Current Employment Statistics)

Earnings by Occupation

Data series Wages, 2023
Hourly Annual
Median Mean Median Mean

Couriers and messengers

$17.67 $18.58 $36,760 $38,640

Customer service representatives

$22.09 $23.05 $45,940 $47,950

Dispatchers, except police, fire, and ambulance

$23.62 $24.64 $49,130 $51,260

First-line supervisors/managers of transportation and material-moving machine and vehicle operators

$26.89 $31.14 $55,920 $64,770

Truck drivers, light or delivery services

$22.59 $26.65 $46,990 $55,430

(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 couriers and messengers. 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

45 34 61 61

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

9.4

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

7.4

Cases involving days away from work

4.0

Cases involving days of job transfer or restriction

3.4

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.

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

Producer price index

(p)323.458 (p)324.111 (p)323.194 (p)323.591

Percent change from previous month

  (p)-0.2% (p)0.2% (p)-0.3% (p)0.1%

Footnotes
(p) Preliminary

(Source: Producer Price Indexes)

Workplace Trends

This section presents data on the number of establishments in couriers and messengers. 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

23,247 23,330 23,280 (p)23,441

Local government

3 3 3 (p)3

State government

    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

-7.8 -0.5 -7.5 -7.1

Hours worked

23.0 11.4 -0.1 -3.6

Output

13.4 10.9 -7.6 -10.4

Unit labor costs

4.9 12.9 11.4 17.9

(Source: Productivity)

 

Data extracted on: October 31, 2024