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Museums, Historical Sites, and Similar Institutions: NAICS 712

About the Museums, Historical Sites, and Similar Institutions subsector

The museums, historical sites, and similar institutions subsector is part of the arts, entertainment, and recreation sector.

Industries in the Museums, Historical Sites, and Similar Institutions subsector engage in the preservation and exhibition of objects, sites, and natural wonders of historical, cultural, and/or educational value.

North American Industry Classification System

The museums, historical sites, and similar institutions subsector consists of a single industry group, Museums, Historical Sites, and Similar Institutions: NAICS 7121.

Workforce Statistics

This section provides information relating to employment in museums, historical sites, and similar institutions. 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
Dec.
2023
Jan.
2024
Feb.
2024
Mar.
2024

Employment (in thousands)

Employment, all employees (seasonally adjusted)

175.7 177.0 (p)177.5 (p)178.4

Employment, production and nonsupervisory employees

131.8 126.0 (p)125.2  

Footnotes
(p) Preliminary

(Source: Current Employment Statistics)

Employment by Occupation

Data series Employment,
2023

Curators

6,920

Museum technicians and conservators

6,970

Nonfarm animal caretakers

7,870

Public relations specialists

1,940

(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 museums, historical sites, and similar institutions.

(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 museums, historical sites, and similar institutions.

Earnings and Hours of All Employees

Data series Back
data
Nov.
2023
Dec.
2023
Jan.
2024
Feb.
2024

Average hourly earnings

$29.43 $29.43 $30.26 (p)$30.14

Average weekly hours

29.4 29.4 29.4 (p)29.7

Footnotes
(p) Preliminary

(Source: Current Employment Statistics)

Earnings and Hours of Production and Nonsupervisory Employees

Data series Back
data
Nov.
2023
Dec.
2023
Jan.
2024
Feb.
2024

Average hourly earnings

$23.53 $23.76 $24.08 (p)$24.03

Average weekly hours

27.2 27.3 27.3 (p)27.8

Footnotes
(p) Preliminary

(Source: Current Employment Statistics)

Earnings by Occupation

Data series Wages, 2023
Hourly Annual
Median Mean Median Mean

Curators

$29.12 $32.90 $60,570 $68,430

Museum technicians and conservators

$22.86 $25.10 $47,540 $52,210

Nonfarm animal caretakers

$17.60 $19.18 $36,610 $39,900

Public relations specialists

$23.92 $26.72 $49,760 $55,570

(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 museums, historical sites, and similar institutions. 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

10   5 12

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

4.7

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

2.9

Cases involving days away from work

2.1

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 museums, historical sites, and similar institutions.

Establishments

Data series Back
data
4th quarter
2022
1st quarter
2023
2nd quarter
2023
3rd quarter
2023

Number of establishments

Private industry

7,517 (p)7,601 (p)7,675 (p)7,709

Local government

723 (p)729 (p)731 (p)731

State government

852 (p)868 (p)862 (p)876

Federal government

479 (p)479 (p)492 (p)494

Footnotes
(p) Preliminary

(Source: Quarterly Census of Employment and Wages)

 

Data extracted on: April 25, 2024