Specialty Trade Contractors: NAICS 238

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About the Specialty Trade Contractors subsector

The specialty trade contractors subsector is part of the construction sector.

The Specialty Trade Contractors subsector comprises establishments whose primary activity is performing specific activities (e.g., pouring concrete, site preparation, plumbing, painting, and electrical work) involved in building construction or other activities that are similar for all types of construction, but that are not responsible for the entire project. The work performed may include new work, additions, alterations, maintenance, and repairs. The production work performed by establishments in this subsector is usually subcontracted from establishments of the general contractor type or operative builders, but especially in remodeling and repair construction, work also may be done directly for the owner of the property. Specialty trade contractors usually perform most of their work at the construction site, although they may have shops where they perform prefabrication and other work. Establishments primarily engaged in preparing sites for new construction are also included in this subsector.

North American Industry Classification System

The specialty trade contractors subsector consists of these industry groups:

  • Foundation, Structure, and Building Exterior Contractors: NAICS 2381
  • Building Equipment Contractors: NAICS 2382
  • Building Finishing Contractors: NAICS 2383
  • Other Specialty Trade Contractors: NAICS 2389

Workforce Statistics

This section provides information relating to employment in specialty trade contractors. These data are obtained from employer or establishment surveys. The following tables present an overview of the industry including the number of jobs, mass layoffs, data for occupations common to the industry, and projections of occupational employment change.

Employment and Layoffs

Data series Back
data		 Oct.
2011		 Nov.
2011		 Dec.
2011		 Jan.
2012

Employment (in thousands)

  

Employment, all employees (seasonally adjusted)
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 3,456.4 3,458.5 (P) 3,480.6 (P) 3,494.6

Employment, production and nonsupervisory employees
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 2,788.1 2,733.9 (P) 2,628.5  

Layoffs

  

Mass layoff events

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 42 72 112  

Initial claimants for unemployment benefits

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 2,835 5,434 7,689  

Footnotes
(P) Preliminary

(Source: Current Employment Statistics, Mass Layoff Statistics)

Extended Mass Layoffs

Data series Back
data		 1st quarter
2011		 2nd quarter
2011		 3rd quarter
2011		 4th quarter
2011

Extended mass layoff events
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 149 134 (P) 128 (P) 155

Separations
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 14,408 13,888 (P) 12,818 (P) 16,131

Initial claimants
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 20,110 19,066 (P) 17,104 (P) 16,152

Footnotes
(P) Preliminary

(Source: Mass Layoff Statistics)

Employment by Occupation

Data series Employment,
2010

Carpenters

 182,870

Construction laborers

 247,620

Electricians

 367,010

First-line supervisors/managers of construction trades and extraction workers

 173,040

Plumbers, pipefitters, and steamfitters

 255,670

(Source: Occupational Employment Statistics)

Projections

For projected (future) employment estimates, see the National Employment Matrix, which includes employment estimates by industry and occupation for specialty trade contractors.

(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 specialty trade contractors.

Earnings and Hours of All Employees

Data series Back
data		 Sep.
2011		 Oct.
2011		 Nov.
2011		 Dec.
2011

Average hourly earnings
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 $24.97 $25.03 $24.96 (P) $25.27

Average weekly hours
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 38.1 38.1 37.6 (P) 37.7

Footnotes
(P) Preliminary

(Source: Current Employment Statistics)

Earnings and Hours of Production and Nonsupervisory Employees

Data series Back
data		 Sep.
2011		 Oct.
2011		 Nov.
2011		 Dec.
2011

Average hourly earnings
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 $23.76 $23.78 $23.64 (P) $23.90

Average weekly hours
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 38.7 38.7 38.1 (P) 38.2

Footnotes
(P) Preliminary

(Source: Current Employment Statistics)

Earnings by Occupation

Data series Wages, 2010
Hourly Annual
Median Mean Median Mean

Carpenters

 $18.76 $21.19 $39,020 $44,080

Construction laborers

 $13.80 $15.63 $28,690 $32,500

Electricians

 $22.60 $24.77 $47,010 $51,530

First-line supervisors/managers of construction trades and extraction workers

 $27.84 $29.70 $57,910 $61,780

Plumbers, pipefitters, and steamfitters

 $22.21 $24.30 $46,190 $50,550

(Source: Occupational Employment 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 specialty trade contractors. 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 2007 2008 2009 2010

Fatalities

  

Number of fatalities

 690 570 487 (P) 431

Rate of injury and illness cases per 100 full-time workers

  

Total recordable cases

 5.7 5.1 4.6 4.3

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

 3.0 2.7 2.5 2.3

Cases involving days away from work

 2.1 1.9 1.7 1.7

Cases involving days of job transfer or restriction

 0.9 0.8 0.8 0.6

Footnotes
(P) Preliminary

(Source: Injuries, Illnesses, and Fatalities)

Workplace Trends

This section presents data on the number of establishments in specialty trade contractors.

Establishments

Data series Back
data		 3rd quarter
2010		 4th quarter
2010		 1st quarter
2011		 2nd quarter
2011

Number of establishments

  

Private industry
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 503,751 500,195 (P) 489,789 (P) 491,032

Local government
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 64 65 (P) 64 (P) 65

State government
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 2 1 (P) 1 (P) 1

Federal government
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Footnotes
(P) Preliminary

(Source: Quarterly Census of Employment and Wages)

Other BLS Resources

Career Guide to Industries

To learn about careers from an industry perspective, see the Career Guide to Industries.

 

Data extracted on: February 10, 2012