Primary Metal Manufacturing: NAICS 331

About the Primary Metal Manufacturing subsector

The primary metal manufacturing subsector is part of the manufacturing sector.

The primary metal manufacturing subsector consists of these industry groups:

• Iron and Steel Mills and Ferroalloy Manufacturing: NAICS 3311
• Steel Product Manufacturing from Purchased Steel: NAICS 3312
• Alumina and Aluminum Production and Processing: NAICS 3313
• Nonferrous Metal (except Aluminum) Production and Processing: NAICS 3314
• Foundries: NAICS 3315

Workforce Statistics

This section provides information relating to employment and unemployment in primary metal manufacturing. While most data are obtained from employer or establishment surveys, information on industry unemployment comes from a national survey of households. The following tables present an overview of the industry including the number of jobs, the unemployment rate of those previously employed in the industry, mass layoffs, data for occupations common to the industry, and projections of occupational employment change.

Employment, Unemployment, and Layoffs

Data series	Back data	Oct. 2011	Nov. 2011	Dec. 2011	Jan. 2012
Employment (in thousands)
Employment, all employees (seasonally adjusted)		397.7	399.6	(P) 400.7	(P) 402.4
Employment, production and nonsupervisory employees (seasonally adjusted)		311.7	312.6	(P) 313.5	(P) 315.1
Unemployment
Unemployment rate		8.0%	7.7%	8.6%	7.3%
Layoffs
Mass layoff events		11	13	28
Initial claimants for unemployment benefits		1,021	1,092	3,104
Footnotes (P) Preliminary

(Source: Current Employment Statistics, Current Population Survey, 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		10	6	(P) 4	(P) 10
Separations		988	991	(P) 804	(P) 1,216
Initial claimants		933	812	(P) 498	(P) 1,147
Footnotes (P) Preliminary

(Source: Mass Layoff Statistics)

Employment by Occupation

Data series	Employment, 2010
Cutting, punching, and press machine setters, operators, and tenders, metal and plastic	11,630
First-line supervisors/managers of production and operating workers	16,860
Inspectors, testers, sorters, samplers, and weighers	12,290
Metal-refining furnace operators and tenders	12,820
Molding, coremaking, and casting machine setters, operators, and tenders, metal and plastic	11,680
Rolling machine setters, operators, and tenders, metal and plastic	16,370

(Source: Occupational Employment Statistics)

Projections

For projected (future) employment estimates, see the National Employment Matrix, which includes employment estimates by industry and occupation for primary metal manufacturing.

(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 primary metal manufacturing.

Earnings and Hours of All Employees

Data series	Back data	Oct. 2011	Nov. 2011	Dec. 2011	Jan. 2012
Average hourly earnings		$23.73	$23.61	(P) $23.81	(P) $23.67
Average weekly hours		43.7	43.5	(P) 43.9	(P) 44.5
Footnotes (P) Preliminary

(Source: Current Employment Statistics)

Earnings and Hours of Production and Nonsupervisory Employees

Data series	Back data	Oct. 2011	Nov. 2011	Dec. 2011	Jan. 2012
Average hourly earnings		$19.66	$19.58	(P) $20.03	(P) $20.26
Average weekly hours		43.9	44.0	(P) 44.5	(P) 44.3
Footnotes (P) Preliminary

(Source: Current Employment Statistics)

Earnings by Occupation

Data series	Wages, 2010
	Hourly		Annual
	Median	Mean	Median	Mean
Cutting, punching, and press machine setters, operators, and tenders, metal and plastic	$15.21	$15.76	$31,640	$32,790
First-line supervisors/managers of production and operating workers	$26.74	$27.50	$55,610	$57,210
Inspectors, testers, sorters, samplers, and weighers	$16.97	$17.49	$35,290	$36,370
Metal-refining furnace operators and tenders	$18.60	$19.33	$38,700	$40,200
Molding, coremaking, and casting machine setters, operators, and tenders, metal and plastic	$15.09	$15.83	$31,390	$32,930
Rolling machine setters, operators, and tenders, metal and plastic	$19.56	$19.96	$40,680	$41,520

(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 primary metal manufacturing. 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	20	41	16	(P) 19
Rate of injury and illness cases per 100 full-time workers
Total recordable cases	8.1	7.2	6.2	6.3
Cases involving days away from work, job restriction, or transfer	4.3	4.1	3.2	3.4
Cases involving days away from work	2.0	1.8	1.5	1.6
Cases involving days of job transfer or restriction	2.3	2.3	1.8	1.8
Footnotes (P) Preliminary

(Source: Injuries, Illnesses, and Fatalities)

Prices

This section provides industry-specific pricing information. The producer price index measures the percentage change in prices that domestic producers receive for goods and services. The prices included in the producer price index are from the first commercial transaction. The import price index reflects the percentage change in prices paid to foreign producers for their goods and services within the U.S., while the export price index measures the percentage change in prices received by U.S. producers for goods and services sold outside the U.S.

Data series	Back data	Sep. 2011	Oct. 2011	Nov. 2011	Dec. 2011
Producer price index		(P) 218.9	(P) 215.0	(P) 212.6	(P) 210.6
Percent change from previous month		(P) -0.8%	(P) -1.8%	(P) -1.1%	(P) -0.9%
Import index		(R) 196.5	(R) 189.1	(R) 181.2	182.3
Percent change from previous month		(R) 0.9%	(R) -3.8%	(R) -4.2%	(R) 0.6%
Export index		(R) 187.8	(R) 182.4	(R) 177.5	179.7
Percent change from previous month		(R) 3.1%	(R) -2.9%	(R) -2.7%	(R) 1.2%
Footnotes (R) Revised (P) Preliminary

(Source: Producer Price Indexes, International Price Program)

Workplace Trends

This section presents data on the number of establishments in primary metal manufacturing. Also included in this section is information on productivity, presented as the rate of change in output per hour of workers in the industry.

Establishments

Data series	Back data	3rd quarter 2010	4th quarter 2010	1st quarter 2011	2nd quarter 2011
Number of establishments
Private industry		5,810	5,815	(P) 5,716	(P) 5,718
Footnotes (P) Preliminary

(Source: Quarterly Census of Employment and Wages)

Productivity

Data series	Back data	2006	2007	2008	2009
Labor productivity index, output per hour		112.453	115.871	121.453	105.540
Percent change from previous year		-1.6	3.0	4.8	-13.1
Labor index, total labor hours		93.787	90.153	85.898	68.936
Percent change from previous year		0.0	-3.9	-4.7	-19.7
Output index		105.466	104.461	104.325	72.755
Percent change from previous year		-1.6	-1.0	-0.1	-30.3
Unit labor costs index		95.339	99.807	101.915	118.252
Percent change from previous year		1.9	4.7	2.1	16.0

(Source: Productivity and Costs)

Other BLS Resources

Career Guide to Industries

See steel manufacturing in the Career Guide to Industries.

 

Data extracted on: February 10, 2012