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: Dec. 2024	Oct. 2025	Nov. 2025	Dec. 2025	1-month change: Nov. 2025 - Dec. 2025	12-month change: Dec. 2024 - Dec. 2025
Employment (all employees, in thousands)
Manufacturing
Motor vehicles and parts manufacturing		1,007.5	983.1	(p)980.6	(p)979.9	(p)-0.7	(p)-27.6
Retail Trade
Motor vehicle and parts dealers		2,051.3	2,057.1	(p)2,056.8	(p)2,057.5	(p)0.7	(p)6.2
Automobile dealers		1,294.0	1,298.6	(p)1,297.1	(p)1,296.8	(p)-0.3	(p)2.8
Footnotes (p) Preliminary

(Source: Current Employment Statistics)

Employment -- Not Seasonally Adjusted

Data series	Back data	Annual average: 2024	Oct. 2025	Nov. 2025	Dec. 2025	12-month changes:
						Nov. 2024 - Nov. 2025	Dec. 2024 - Dec. 2025
Employment (all employees, in thousands)
Manufacturing
Motor vehicles and parts manufacturing		(p)994.2	981.1	(p)982.7	(p)991.3	(p)-32.5	(p)-28.4
Motor vehicles manufacturing			293.8	(p)301.2		(p)-6.8
Motor vehicle bodies and trailers			161.0	(p)158.3		(p)-3.7
Motor vehicle parts manufacturing			526.3	(p)523.2		(p)-22.0
Wholesale Trade
Motor vehicle and parts wholesalers			383.6	(p)384.4		(p)3.1
Retail Trade
Motor vehicle and parts dealers		(p)2,057.8	2,062.6	(p)2,058.1	(p)2,055.1	(p)5.4	(p)5.7
Automobile dealers		(p)1,297.8	1,303.3	(p)1,299.2	(p)1,298.8	(p)5.2	(p)1.8
Other motor vehicle dealers		(p)161.9	159.8	(p)159.1	(p)157.4	(p)-3.3	(p)-0.5
Auto parts, accessories, and tire stores		(p)598.2	599.5	(p)599.8	(p)598.9	(p)3.5	(p)4.4
Other Services
Automotive repair and maintenance			1,047.0	(p)1,043.8		(p)2.2
Footnotes (p) Preliminary

(Source: Current Employment Statistics)

National Average Hourly Earnings

Average Hourly Earnings -- Not Seasonally Adjusted

Data series	Back data	Annual average: 2024	Oct. 2025	Nov. 2025	Dec. 2025	12-month change: Dec. 2024 - Dec. 2025
Average hourly earnings (of production and nonsupervisory workers)
Manufacturing
Motor vehicles and parts manufacturing		(p)$32.86	$32.59	(p)$34.27	(p)$33.91	(p)$1.87
Motor vehicles manufacturing			38.66	(p)41.02
Motor vehicle bodies and trailers
Motor vehicle parts manufacturing			30.45	(p)31.88
Wholesale Trade
Motor vehicle and parts wholesalers			31.46	(p)31.91
Retail Trade
Motor vehicle and parts dealers			27.81	(p)28.15
Automobile dealers			30.20	(p)30.52
Other motor vehicle dealers			27.04	(p)27.12
Auto parts, accessories, and tire stores			22.54	(p)22.97
Other Services
Automotive repair and maintenance			26.92	(p)27.27
Footnotes (p) Preliminary

(Source: Current Employment Statistics)

National Average Weekly Hours

Average Weekly Hours -- Seasonally Adjusted

Data series	Back data	One year ago: Dec. 2024	Oct. 2025	Nov. 2025	Dec. 2025	1-month change: Nov. 2025 - Dec. 2025
Average weekly hours (of production and nonsupervisory workers)
Manufacturing
Motor vehicles and parts manufacturing		42.8	42.7	(p)42.7	(p)42.8	(p)0.1
Footnotes (p) Preliminary

(Source: Current Employment Statistics)

Average Weekly Hours -- Not Seasonally Adjusted

Data series	Back data	Annual average: 2024	Oct. 2025	Nov. 2025	Dec. 2025	12-month changes:
						Nov. 2024 - Nov. 2025	Dec. 2024 - Dec. 2025
Average weekly hours (of production and nonsupervisory workers)
Manufacturing
Motor vehicles and parts manufacturing		(p)42.8	42.0	(p)43.5	(p)43.6	(p)-0.4	(p)0.0
Motor vehicles manufacturing			42.6	(p)45.1		(p)-1.0
Motor vehicle bodies and trailers
Motor vehicle parts manufacturing			42.8	(p)44.1		(p)0.1
Wholesale Trade
Motor vehicle and parts wholesalers			38.4	(p)39.3		(p)1.0
Retail Trade
Motor vehicle and parts dealers			36.7	(p)37.7		(p)0.8
Automobile dealers			37.0	(p)38.2		(p)1.0
Other motor vehicle dealers			36.7	(p)36.3		(p)-0.1
Auto parts, accessories, and tire stores			35.9	(p)36.8		(p)0.4
Other Services
Automotive repair and maintenance			36.4	(p)36.4		(p)0.7
Footnotes (p) Preliminary

(Source: Current Employment Statistics)

Employment in Selected States

Employment -- Not Seasonally Adjusted

Data series	Back data	Annual average: 2024	Sep. 2025	Oct. 2025	Nov. 2025	12-month change: Nov. 2024 - Nov. 2025
Employment (all employees, in thousands)
Manufacturing
Motor vehicles and parts manufacturing
Motor vehicles manufacturing
Alabama		22.7	23.1	23.2	(p)23.2	(p)0.2
California		28.7	24.4	22.9	(p)22.9	(p)-2.1
Kentucky		24.0	23.5	23.0	(p)23.1	(p)-0.6
Michigan		48.6	47.3	47.1	(p)46.2	(p)-2.7
Missouri		13.2	13.0	10.0	(p)9.9	(p)-4.1
Ohio		20.3	18.9	18.9	(p)18.9	(p)-1.3
Texas		16.2	15.9	15.7	(p)15.8	(p)-0.2
Motor vehicle bodies and trailers
Indiana		39.5	37.9	38.1	(p)37.8	(p)-1.0
Motor vehicle parts manufacturing
Alabama		30.3	30.1	30.2	(p)30.1	(p)-0.1
Indiana		54.2	51.9	51.9	(p)51.7	(p)-1.7
Kentucky		34.6	34.1	33.6	(p)33.5	(p)-0.5
Michigan		118.3	113.8	113.9	(p)112.9	(p)-3.7
Mississippi		5.9	5.9	5.9	(p)5.9	(p)0.1
New York		8.6	8.4	8.4	(p)8.4	(p)-0.2
Ohio		65.7	64.7	64.9	(p)64.7	(p)-0.4
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)
  • Motor vehicles manufacturing (NAICS 3361)
  • Motor vehicle bodies and trailer (NAICS 3362)
  • Motor vehicle parts manufacturing (NAICS 3363)

Wholesale trade

• Motor vehicle and parts wholesalers (NAICS 4231)

Retail trade

• Motor vehicle and parts dealers (NAICS 441)
  • Automobile dealers  (NAICS 4411)
  • Other motor vehicle dealers  (NAICS 4412)
  • Auto parts, accessories, and tire stores  (NAICS 4413)

Other services

• Automotive repair and maintenance (NAICS 8111)

Data extracted on: January 09, 2026