Administrative and Support Services: NAICS 561

About the Administrative and Support Services subsector

The administrative and support services subsector is part of the administrative and support and waste management and remediation services sector.

Industries in the Administrative and Support Services subsector group establishments engaged in activities that support the day-to-day operations of other organizations. The processes employed in this sector (e.g., general management, personnel administration, clerical activities, cleaning activities) are often integral parts of the activities of establishments found in all sectors of the economy. The establishments classified in this subsector have specialization in one or more of these activities and can, therefore, provide services to clients in a variety of industries and, in some cases, to households. The individual industries of this subsector are defined on the basis of the particular process that they are engaged in and the particular services they provide.

North American Industry Classification System

The administrative and support services subsector consists of these industry groups:

Office Administrative Services: NAICS 5611
Facilities Support Services: NAICS 5612
Employment Services: NAICS 5613
Business Support Services: NAICS 5614
Travel Arrangement and Reservation Services: NAICS 5615
Investigation and Security Services: NAICS 5616
Services to Buildings and Dwellings: NAICS 5617
Other Support Services: NAICS 5619

NOTE: There was a change in the definition of this subsector between NAICS 2002 and NAICS 2007. Some of the data below reflect the 2002 definition and some reflect the 2007 definition. See the BLS implementation schedule for NAICS 2007 to find out which BLS programs have already implemented NAICS 2007.

Workforce Statistics

This section provides information relating to employment and unemployment in administrative and support services. 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	Oct. 2011	Nov. 2011	Dec. 2011	Jan. 2012
Employment (in thousands)
Employment, all employees (seasonally adjusted)	7,413.5	7,439.1	(P) 7,467.2	(P) 7,500.9
Employment, production and nonsupervisory employees	6,823.9	6,811.3	(P) 6,749.3
Unemployment
Unemployment rate	15.0%	13.8%	15.1%	16.3%
Layoffs
Mass layoff events	195	206	334
Initial claimants for unemployment benefits	15,719	16,714	31,805
Footnotes (P) Preliminary

(Source: Current Employment Statistics, Current Population Survey, Mass Layoff Statistics)

Extended Mass Layoffs


Data series	1st quarter 2011	2nd quarter 2011	3rd quarter 2011	4th quarter 2011
Extended mass layoff events	179	166	(P) 215	(P) 237
Separations	36,048	32,030	(P) 43,215	(P) 42,296
Initial claimants	31,856	37,045	(P) 62,370	(P) 39,416
Footnotes (P) Preliminary

(Source: Mass Layoff Statistics)

Employment by Occupation


Data series	Employment, 2010
Executive secretaries and administrative assistants	67,780
Janitors and cleaners, except maids and housekeeping cleaners	789,220
Laborers and freight, stock, and material movers, hand	332,570
Landscaping and groundskeeping workers	456,700
Office clerks, general	240,970
Security guards	612,170

(Source: Occupational Employment Statistics)

Projections

For projected (future) employment estimates, see the National Employment Matrix, which includes employment estimates by industry and occupation for administrative and support services.

(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 administrative and support services.

Earnings and Hours of All Employees


Data series	Sep. 2011	Oct. 2011	Nov. 2011	Dec. 2011
Average hourly earnings	$17.95	$18.01	$18.02	(P) $18.08
Average weekly hours	34.0	34.4	34.1	(P) 34.2
Footnotes (P) Preliminary

(Source: Current Employment Statistics)

Earnings and Hours of Production and Nonsupervisory Employees


Data series	Sep. 2011	Oct. 2011	Nov. 2011	Dec. 2011
Average hourly earnings	$15.98	$16.07	$16.10	(P) $16.03
Average weekly hours	33.8	34.0	33.7	(P) 33.8
Footnotes (P) Preliminary

(Source: Current Employment Statistics)

Earnings by Occupation


Data series	Wages, 2010
	Hourly		Annual
	Median	Mean	Median	Mean
Executive secretaries and administrative assistants	$19.03	$20.43	$39,590	$42,500
Janitors and cleaners, except maids and housekeeping cleaners	$9.50	$10.58	$19,760	$22,010
Laborers and freight, stock, and material movers, hand	$9.46	$10.67	$19,670	$22,200
Landscaping and groundskeeping workers	$11.15	$11.85	$23,200	$24,640
Office clerks, general	$12.06	$12.69	$25,080	$26,390
Security guards	$10.89	$12.04	$22,650	$25,030

(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 administrative and support services. 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	331	263	292	(P) 234
Rate of injury and illness cases per 100 full-time workers
Total recordable cases	3.1	2.9	(1) 2.7	(1) 2.7
Cases involving days away from work, job restriction, or transfer	1.7	1.6	(1) 1.5	(1) 1.5
Cases involving days away from work	1.1	1.1	(1) 1.0	(1) 1.1
Cases involving days of job transfer or restriction	0.5	0.6	(1) 0.5	(1) 0.4
Footnotes (1) Industry scope changed in 2009 (P) Preliminary

(Source: Injuries, Illnesses, and Fatalities)

Workplace Trends

This section presents data on the number of establishments in administrative and support services.

Establishments


Data series	3rd quarter 2010	4th quarter 2010	1st quarter 2011	2nd quarter 2011
Number of establishments
Private industry	445,080	447,554	(P) 442,054	(P) 446,505
Local government	1,958	1,962	(P) 1,995	(P) 2,001
State government	508	512	(P) 498	(P) 497
Federal government	117	127	(P) 125	(P) 115
Footnotes (P) Preliminary

(Source: Quarterly Census of Employment and Wages)

Other BLS Resources

Career Guide to Industries

See employment services in the Career Guide to Industries.

Data extracted on: February 10, 2012

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