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Waste Management and Remediation Services: NAICS 562

About the Waste Management and Remediation Services subsector

The waste management and remediation services subsector is part of the administrative and support and waste management and remediation services sector.

Industries in the Waste Management and Remediation Services subsector group establishments engaged in the collection, treatment, and disposal of waste materials. This includes establishments engaged in local hauling of waste materials; operating materials recovery facilities (i.e., those that sort recyclable materials from the trash stream); providing remediation services (i.e., those that provide for the cleanup of contaminated buildings, mine sites, soil, or ground water); and providing septic pumping and other miscellaneous waste management services. There are three industry groups within the subsector that separate these activities into waste collection, waste treatment and disposal, and remediation and other waste management.

North American Industry Classification System

The waste management and remediation services subsector consists of these industry groups:

  • Waste Collection: NAICS 5621
  • Waste Treatment and Disposal: NAICS 5622
  • Remediation and Other Waste Management Services: NAICS 5629

Workforce Statistics

This section provides information relating to employment and unemployment in waste management and remediation services. 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)

520.5 519.2 (p)520.1 (p)519.7

Employment, production and nonsupervisory employees

441.7 442.8 (p)439.0  

Unemployment

Unemployment rate

1.4% 3.4% 0.0% 0.9%

Footnotes
(p) Preliminary

(Source: Current Employment Statistics, Current Population Survey

Employment by Occupation

Data series Employment,
2023

Hazardous materials removal workers

38,450

Laborers and freight, stock, and material movers, hand

28,180

Refuse and recyclable material collectors

88,680

Septic tank servicers and sewer pipe cleaners

15,980

Truck drivers, heavy and tractor-trailer

76,450

(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 waste management and remediation services.

(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 waste management and remediation services.

Earnings and Hours of All Employees

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

Average hourly earnings

$35.45 $35.89 $35.46 (p)$35.64

Average weekly hours

41.2 42.2 42.0 (p)41.5

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

$32.15 $31.96 $31.90 (p)$31.89

Average weekly hours

41.1 42.6 41.8 (p)42.1

Footnotes
(p) Preliminary

(Source: Current Employment Statistics)

Earnings by Occupation

Data series Wages, 2023
Hourly Annual
Median Mean Median Mean

Hazardous materials removal workers

22.74 25.35 47,300 52,720

Laborers and freight, stock, and material movers, hand

17.89 18.89 37,220 39,280

Refuse and recyclable material collectors

22.83 23.75 47,480 49,390

Septic tank servicers and sewer pipe cleaners

22.22 23.17 46,220 48,190

Truck drivers, heavy and tractor-trailer

24.74 26.12 51,460 54,330

(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 waste management and remediation services. 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

85 73 72 74

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

3.7

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

2.6

Cases involving days away from work

1.7

Cases involving days of job transfer or restriction

0.9

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

(Source: Injuries, Illnesses, and Fatalities)

Workplace Trends

This section presents data on the number of establishments in waste management and remediation services.

Establishments

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

Number of establishments

Private industry

35,365 35,780 36,183 (p)36,725

Local government

1,143 1,144 1,141 (p)1,142

State government

7 7 7 (p)7

Federal government

18 18 19 (p)19

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 total factor productivity (TFP) compare growth in output to the growth in a combination of inputs that include labor, capital, energy, materials, and services. Measures of labor productivity, or output per hour, compare the growth in output to the growth in hours worked.

Data series Back
data
2019 2020 2021 2022

Total factor productivity (TFP)

-2.0 -0.9 1.9 0.8

Output

2.7 -2.3 6.5 4.6

Combined inputs

4.8 -1.4 4.5 3.7

Capital input

1.5 1.5 0.1 0.8

Labor input

4.2 -2.4 1.1 4.4

Labor productivity, output per hour

-1.3 1.7 4.4 0.3

(Source: Productivity)

 

Data extracted on: October 31, 2024