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Industries at a Glance
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Telecommunications: NAICS 517
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About the Telecommunications subsector
The telecommunications subsector is part of the information sector.
Industries in the Telecommunications subsector group establishments that provide telecommunications and the services related to that activity (e.g., telephony, including Voice over Internet Protocol (VoIP); cable and satellite television distribution services; Internet access; telecommunications reselling services). The Telecommunications subsector is primarily engaged in operating, and/or providing access to facilities for the transmission of voice, data, text, sound, and video. Transmission facilities may be based on a single technology or a combination of technologies.
North American Industry Classification System
The telecommunications subsector consists of these industry groups:
- Wired Telecommunications Carriers: NAICS 5171
- Wireless Telecommunications Carriers (except Satellite): NAICS 5172
- Telecommunications Resellers: NAICS 5173
- Satellite Telecommunications: NAICS 5174
- Cable and Other Program Distribution: NAICS 5175
- Other Telecommunications: NAICS 5179
Workforce Statistics
This section provides information relating to employment and unemployment in telecommunications. 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, union membership and representation, data for occupations common to the industry, and projections of occupational employment change.
Employment and Unemployment
| Data series | Back data |
Aug. 2024 |
Sep. 2024 |
Oct. 2024 |
Nov. 2024 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Employment (in thousands) |
|||||
Employment, all employees (seasonally adjusted) |
|
619.7 | 619.6 | (p)613.3 | (p)614.5 |
|
|
535.8 | 534.7 | (p)529.3 | ||
Unemployment |
|||||
|
|
3.2% | 2.2% | 2.4% | 1.6% | |
|
Footnotes |
|||||
(Source: Current Employment Statistics, Current Population Survey
Union Membership and Representation
| Data series | Back data |
2020 | 2021 | 2022 | 2023 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Union membership and representation |
|||||
Members of unions (percent of wage and salary workers) |
|
14.3% | 11.9% | 8.3% | 9.4% |
Represented by unions (percent of wage and salary workers) |
|
15.7% | 13.0% | 9.3% | 9.9% |
(Source: Current Population Survey)
Employment by Occupation
| Data series | Employment, 2023 |
|---|---|
| 52,160 | |
| 18,280 | |
First-line supervisors/managers of office and administrative support workers |
8,490 |
Telecommunications equipment installers and repairers, except line installers |
107,680 |
| 60,910 | |
| 550 |
(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 telecommunications.
(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, as well as weekly earnings by union membership status, are shown. In addition, recent hourly and annual earnings are shown for occupations commonly found in telecommunications.
Earnings and Hours of All Employees
| Data series | Back data |
Jul. 2024 |
Aug. 2024 |
Sep. 2024 |
Oct. 2024 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
|
|
$41.25 | $43.22 | $44.31 | (p)$44.49 | |
|
|
39.5 | 38.4 | 40.4 | (p)41.1 | |
|
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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
|
|
$33.57 | $32.81 | $33.16 | (p)$32.95 | |
|
|
39.1 | 39.5 | 39.6 | (p)39.0 | |
|
Footnotes |
|||||
(Source: Current Employment Statistics)
Union Membership and Representation
| Data series | Back data |
Median weekly earnings | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2020 | 2021 | 2022 | 2023 | ||
Union membership and representation |
|||||
|
|
$1,321 | $1,367 | $1,418 | $1,465 | |
|
|
$1,388 | $1,302 | $1,690 | $1,397 | |
|
|
$1,350 | $1,297 | $1,611 | $1,404 | |
|
|
$1,306 | $1,374 | $1,397 | $1,473 | |
(Source: Current Population Survey)
Earnings by Occupation
| Data series | Wages, 2023 | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Hourly | Annual | |||
| Median | Mean | Median | Mean | |
| 21.99 | 24.72 | 45,740 | 51,410 | |
| 50.53 | 56.31 | 105,100 | 117,130 | |
First-line supervisors/managers of office and administrative support workers |
37.22 | 39.07 | 77,420 | 81,260 |
Telecommunications equipment installers and repairers, except line installers |
30.76 | 32.26 | 63,980 | 67,100 |
| 38.26 | 36.90 | 79,570 | 76,740 | |
| 31.04 | 25.57 | 64,560 | 53,190 | |
(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 telecommunications. 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 |
||||
| 13 | 18 | 14 | 24 | |
|
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 |
|
| 2.0 | |
Cases involving days away from work, job restriction, or transfer |
1.5 |
| 1.3 | |
| 0.2 | |
|
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 |
Jul. 2024 |
Aug. 2024 |
Sep. 2024 |
Oct. 2024 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
|
|
(p)111.651 | (p)112.144 | (p)111.785 | (p)112.622 | |
Percent change from previous month |
(p)0.1% | (p)0.4% | (p)-0.3% | (p)0.7% | |
|
Footnotes |
|||||
(Source: Producer Price Indexes)
Workplace Trends
This section presents data on the number of establishments in telecommunications.
Establishments
| Data series | Back data |
3rd quarter 2023 |
4th quarter 2023 |
1st quarter 2024 |
2nd quarter 2024 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Number of establishments |
|||||
|
|
36,211 | 36,215 | (p)36,232 | (p)36,037 | |
|
|
48 | 48 | (p)49 | (p)49 | |
|
|
5 | 5 | (p)5 | (p)5 | |
|
Footnotes |
|||||
(Source: Quarterly Census of Employment and Wages)
Data extracted on: December 11, 2024