Heavy Civil Engineering

Heavy and Civil Engineering Construction

About the Heavy and Civil Engineering Construction subsector

The heavy and civil engineering construction subsector is part of the construction sector.

The Heavy and Civil Engineering Construction subsector comprises establishments whose primary activity is the construction of entire engineering projects (e.g., highways and dams), and specialty trade contractors, whose primary activity is the production of a specific component for such projects. Specialty trade contractors in Heavy and Civil Engineering Construction generally are performing activities that are specific to heavy and civil engineering construction projects and are not normally performed on buildings. The work performed may include new work, additions, alterations, or maintenance and repairs.

North American Industry Classification System

The heavy and civil engineering construction subsector consists of these industry groups:

Utility System Construction: NAICS 2371
Land Subdivision: NAICS 2372
Highway, Street, and Bridge Construction: NAICS 2373
Other Heavy and Civil Engineering Construction: NAICS 2379

Workforce Statistics

This section provides information relating to employment in heavy and civil engineering construction. 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	Aug. 2008	Sep. 2008	Oct. 2008	Nov. 2008
Employment (in thousands)
Employment, all employees (seasonally adjusted)	952.8	943.6	(P) 934.3	(P) 922.3
Employment, production workers	802.1	791.7	(P) 789.0
Layoffs
Mass layoff events	26	44	52
Initial claimants for unemployment benefits	1,979	3,627	3,958
Footnotes (P) Preliminary

(Source: Current Employment Statistics, Mass Layoff Statistics)

Extended Mass Layoffs


Data series	4th quarter 2007	1st quarter 2008	2nd quarter 2008	3rd quarter 2008
Extended mass layoff events	350	103	(P) 54	(P) 49
Separations	47,916	11,737	(P) 7,562	(P) 5,635
Initial claimants	54,738	15,071	(P) 11,217	(P) 5,654
Footnotes (P) Preliminary

(Source: Mass Layoff Statistics)

Employment by Occupation


Data series	Employment, 2007
Carpenters	29,100
Construction laborers	206,180
First-line supervisors/managers of construction trades and extraction workers	67,230
Operating engineers and other construction equipment operators	119,800
Truck drivers, heavy and tractor-trailer	43,390

(Source: Occupational Employment Statistics)

Projections

For projected (future) employment estimates, see the National Employment Matrix, which includes employment estimates by industry and occupation for heavy and civil engineering construction.

(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 for production or nonsupervisory employees are shown. In addition, recent hourly and annual earnings are shown for occupations commonly found in heavy and civil engineering construction.

Earnings and Hours of Production Workers


Data series	Jul. 2008	Aug. 2008	Sep. 2008	Oct. 2008
Average hourly earnings	$22.19	$22.56	$22.73	(P) $22.63
Average weekly hours	42.7	43.1	42.8	(P) 42.6
Footnotes (P) Preliminary

(Source: Current Employment Statistics)

Earnings by Occupation


Data series	Wages, 2007
	Hourly		Annual
	Median	Mean	Median	Mean
Carpenters	$19.27	$21.48	$40,080	$44,670
Construction laborers	$13.71	$16.07	$28,510	$33,430
First-line supervisors/managers of construction trades and extraction workers	$27.00	$28.39	$56,150	$59,050
Operating engineers and other construction equipment operators	$19.45	$21.51	$40,460	$44,740
Truck drivers, heavy and tractor-trailer	$15.95	$17.33	$33,170	$36,050

(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 heavy and civil engineering construction. 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	2004	2005	2006	2007
Fatalities
Number of fatalities	262	293	277	(P) 250
Rate of injury and illness cases per 100 full-time workers
Total recordable cases	5.9	5.6	5.3	4.9
Cases involving days away from work, job restriction, or transfer	3.2	3.1	3.0	2.6
Cases involving days away from work	2.1	2.1	2.0	1.6
Cases involving days of job transfer or restriction	1.0	1.1	1.0	1.0
Footnotes (P) Preliminary

(Source: Injuries, Illnesses, and Fatalities)

Workplace Trends

This section presents data on the number of establishments in heavy and civil engineering construction.

Establishments


Data series	2nd quarter 2007	3rd quarter 2007	4th quarter 2007	1st quarter 2008
Number of establishments
Private industry	58,205	58,424	58,342	(P) 57,887
Local government	4,391	4,393	4,386	(P) 4,390
State government	1,801	1,801	1,801	(P) 1,782
Federal government	1	1	1	(P) 1
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: December 12, 2008