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Automotive Industry: Employment, Earnings, and Hours

The automotive industry includes industries associated with the production, wholesaling, retailing, and maintenance of motor vehicles. This industry is not formally defined in the North American Industry Classification System (NAICS), but the Bureau of Labor Statistics is referring to a group of detailed industries as the "automotive industry" for purposes of analysis. This list is not exhaustive, but includes industries that can be directly impacted by changes in U.S. production and sales of motor vehicles. Below are definitions of these industries

National Employment

Employment -- Seasonally Adjusted

Data series Back
data
One year ago:
Feb. 2023
Dec. 2023 Jan. 2024 Feb. 2024 1-month change:
Jan. 2024 -
Feb. 2024
12-month change:
Feb. 2023 -
Feb. 2024

Employment
(all employees, in thousands)

Manufacturing

Motor vehicles and parts manufacturing

1,026.1 1,063.1 (p)1,065.5 (p)1,065.1 (p)-0.4 (p)39.0

Retail Trade

Motor vehicle and parts dealers

2,027.2 2,071.8 (p)2,070.9 (p)2,071.3 (p)0.4 (p)44.1

Automobile dealers

1,267.9 1,292.9 (p)1,293.7 (p)1,290.6 (p)-3.1 (p)22.7

Footnotes
(p) Preliminary

(Source: Current Employment Statistics)

 

Employment -- Not Seasonally Adjusted

Data series Back
data
Annual average:
2023
Dec. 2023 Jan. 2024 Feb. 2024 12-month changes:
Jan. 2023 -
Jan. 2024
Feb. 2023 -
Feb. 2024

Employment
(all employees, in thousands)

Manufacturing

Motor vehicles and parts manufacturing

1,040.5 1,076.3 (p)1,061.4 (p)1,064.7 (p)42.0 (p)38.0

Motor vehicles manufacturing

295.6 309.2 (p)297.0   (p)7.8  

Motor vehicle bodies and trailers

171.6 175.1 (p)175.9   (p)8.5  

Motor vehicle parts manufacturing

573.3 592.0 (p)588.5   (p)25.7  

Wholesale Trade

Motor vehicle and parts wholesalers

379.3 384.4 (p)380.5   (p)9.8  

Retail Trade

Motor vehicle and parts dealers

2,044.7 2,067.8 (p)2,049.1 (p)2,055.1 (p)43.8 (p)43.3

Automobile dealers

1,276.1 1,294.1 (p)1,286.5 (p)1,287.3 (p)27.3 (p)22.4

Other motor vehicle dealers

178.0 168.3 (p)163.8 (p)165.0 (p)-6.4 (p)-6.7

Auto parts, accessories, and tire stores

590.6 605.4 (p)598.8 (p)602.8 (p)22.9 (p)27.6

Other Services

Automotive repair and maintenance

1,019.0 1,026.7 (p)1,021.9   (p)34.9  

Footnotes
(p) Preliminary

(Source: Current Employment Statistics)

 

National Average Hourly Earnings

Average Hourly Earnings -- Not Seasonally Adjusted

Data series Back
data
Annual average:
2023
Dec. 2023 Jan. 2024 Feb. 2024 12-month change:
Feb. 2023 -
Feb. 2024

Average hourly earnings
(of production and nonsupervisory workers)

Manufacturing

Motor vehicles and parts manufacturing

$27.97 $30.47 (p)$29.95 (p)$29.98 (p)$2.63

Motor vehicles manufacturing

33.05 37.43 (p)37.22    

Motor vehicle bodies and trailers

23.77 25.20 (p)24.33    

Motor vehicle parts manufacturing

26.51 28.25 (p)27.90    

Wholesale Trade

Motor vehicle and parts wholesalers

28.30 28.71 (p)29.00    

Retail Trade

Motor vehicle and parts dealers

26.42 26.13 (p)25.98    

Automobile dealers

28.45 27.94 (p)27.57    

Other motor vehicle dealers

26.10 25.80 (p)25.36    

Auto parts, accessories, and tire stores

21.83 22.05 (p)22.47    

Other Services

Automotive repair and maintenance

24.48 25.16 (p)25.38    

Footnotes
(p) Preliminary

(Source: Current Employment Statistics)

 

National Average Weekly Hours

Average Weekly Hours -- Seasonally Adjusted

Data series Back
data
One year ago:
Feb. 2023
Dec. 2023 Jan. 2024 Feb. 2024 1-month change:
Jan. 2024 -
Feb. 2024

Average weekly hours
(of production and nonsupervisory workers)

Manufacturing

Motor vehicles and parts manufacturing

42.5 42.0 (p)41.3 (p)42.3 (p)1.0

Footnotes
(p) Preliminary

(Source: Current Employment Statistics)

 

Average Weekly Hours -- Not Seasonally Adjusted

Data series Back
data
Annual average:
2023
Dec. 2023 Jan. 2024 Feb. 2024 12-month changes:
Jan. 2023 -
Jan. 2024
Feb. 2023 -
Feb. 2024

Average weekly hours
(of production and nonsupervisory workers)

Manufacturing

Motor vehicles and parts manufacturing

42.9 43.0 (p)40.4 (p)42.2 (p)-1.4 (p)-0.2

Motor vehicles manufacturing

43.3 43.7 (p)40.1   (p)-2.3  

Motor vehicle bodies and trailers

40.2 39.8 (p)37.8   (p)0.4  

Motor vehicle parts manufacturing

43.6 43.6 (p)41.4   (p)-1.5  

Wholesale Trade

Motor vehicle and parts wholesalers

37.7 37.9 (p)38.1   (p)0.6  

Retail Trade

Motor vehicle and parts dealers

36.8 36.4 (p)36.0   (p)-1.3  

Automobile dealers

37.0 36.9 (p)36.5   (p)-1.2  

Other motor vehicle dealers

36.0 34.7 (p)34.2   (p)-1.3  

Auto parts, accessories, and tire stores

36.4 35.8 (p)35.4   (p)-1.3  

Other Services

Automotive repair and maintenance

35.9 36.3 (p)35.5   (p)-0.3  

Footnotes
(p) Preliminary

(Source: Current Employment Statistics)

 

Employment in Selected States

Employment -- Not Seasonally Adjusted

Data series Back
data
Annual average:
2023
Nov. 2023 Dec. 2023 Jan. 2024 12-month change:
Jan. 2023 -
Jan. 2024

Employment
(all employees, in thousands)

Manufacturing

Motor vehicles and parts manufacturing

Motor vehicles manufacturing

Alabama

21.9 22.2 22.4 (p)22.3 (p)0.7

California

33.1 33.0 33.3 (p)33.2 (p)0.7

Kentucky

23.4 23.5 23.8 (p)23.4 (p)2.1

Michigan

44.8 45.4 47.3 (p)43.9 (p)0.4

Missouri

12.6 13.9 14.8 (p)13.1 (p)2.8

Ohio

21.8 21.9 22.2 (p)21.8 (p)0.2

Texas

16.0 16.3 16.4 (p)16.3 (p)0.7

Motor vehicle bodies and trailers

Indiana

43.4 41.9 42.1 (p)41.3 (p)0.3

Motor vehicle parts manufacturing

Alabama

28.8 30.0 30.1 (p)30.0 (p)2.9

California

         

Indiana

56.3 56.5 56.6 (p)56.0 (p)-0.7

Kentucky

34.5 34.6 35.1 (p)34.4 (p)0.7

Michigan

124.6 121.7 122.5 (p)119.9 (p)-5.5

Mississippi

5.9 6.0 6.1 (p)6.1 (p)0.3

New York

9.1 9.0 9.0 (p)9.0 (p)-0.2

Ohio

66.0 65.6 66.3 (p)65.7 (p)-0.7

Wisconsin

         

Footnotes
(p) Preliminary

(Source: State and Metro Area Employment, Hours, & Earnings )

 

About the Automotive Industry

The automotive industry includes industries associated with the production, wholesaling, retailing, and maintenance of motor vehicles. This industry is not formally defined in the North American Industry Classification System (NAICS), but the Bureau of Labor Statistics is referring to a group of detailed industries as the "automotive industry" for purposes of analysis. This list is not exhaustive, but includes industries that can be directly impacted by changes in U.S. production and sales of motor vehicles. Below are definitions of these industries. Current and historical data back to 1990 are available for these industries. Data provided are for establishments that are located in the United States; the data do not distinguish between domestic and foreign ownership. Employment data are for all employees; average hourly earnings and average weekly hours are for production and nonsupervisory workers.

Links to Definitions of Detailed Industries within Automotive Industry

Manufacturing

  • Motor vehicles and parts manufacturing (NAICS 3361,2,3)

Wholesale trade

Retail trade

Other services

 

Data extracted on: March 15, 2024