December 12, 2011 (The Editor’s Desk is updated each business day.)

Construction employment and wages, May 2010

Employment and mean hourly wages for workers in the largest construction occupations, May 2010
Occupation	Employment	Mean hourly wage
Construction laborers	777,000	$16.15
Highway maintenance workers	142,530	17.23
Painters, construction, and maintenance	189,840	18.08
Cement masons and concrete finishers	140,950	18.89
Carpenters	620,410	21.10
Operating engineers and other construction equipment operators	334,730	21.55
Sheet metal workers	131,600	21.98
Plumbers, pipefitters, and steamfitters	358,790	24.21
Electricians	514,760	24.91
First-line supervisors of construction trades and extraction workers	474,510	29.93

These data are featured in the TED article, Construction employment and wages, May 2010.

Mean hourly wages and employment for workers in construction occupations with the highest mean hourly wages, May 2010
Occupation	Mean hourly wage	Employment
Elevator installers and repairers	$33.66	20,430
First-line supervisors of construction trades and extraction workers	29.93	474,510
Boilermakers	26.80	19,030
Construction and building inspectors	26.11	89,270
Pile-drive operators	25.01	4,230
Electricians	24.91	514,760
Plumbers, pipefitters, and steamfitters	24.21	358,790
Brickmasons and block masons	24.09	68,520

These data are featured in the TED article, Construction employment and wages, May 2010.

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