Overview of BLS Statistics by Industry

Workplaces are classified into industries based on their principal product or activity, as determined from information on annual sales volume. Two examples of industries are manufacturing and retail trade.

As of December 2003, some BLS industry data are classified using the North American Industry Classification System (NAICS). However, some BLS data are still based on the 1987 Standard Industrial Classification (SIC) system. The conversion of BLS data to NAICS is expected to be completed early in 2006.  (See the BLS NAICS implementation schedule for more information.)

BLS statistics by industry:

Industry at a Glance

Industry at a Glance consists of profiles of 12 industry supersectors. Each profile contains a variety of facts about the industry supersector, and includes links to additional statistics. 

Employment, Hours, and Earnings—National, State and Area 

The Current Employment Statistics survey is a monthly survey of the payroll records of business establishments that provides data on employment, hours, and earnings at national, State, and selected local levels. The following additional employment information is available by industry:

• Annual and quarterly employment and wage data by industry for counties;
• Employment projections by industry;
• Career Guide to Industries

Occupations

National estimates of employment and wages by occupation for more than 700 occupations are available for specific industries from the Occupational Employment Statistics program.

Safety and Health

This program provides annual data on illnesses and injuries sustained on the job, as well as a complete count of all worker fatalities. State and national data are available by industry for injuries and illnesses, and national data only are available by industry for fatalities.

Producer Price Index (PPI)

BLS produces and disseminates monthly data on changes in the selling prices received by domestic producers of goods and services. Price indexes are available for the output of many industries (including expanding coverage of the service sector) and more than 10,000 specific products and product classes.

Employment Cost Trends

This program provides quarterly indexes measuring change over time in labor costs (also called employment or compensation costs) and quarterly data measuring the level of costs per hour worked.

Labor Productivity and Costs and Multifactor Productivity

This program provides labor productivity, multifactor productivity, and unit labor costs for the U.S. business sector, nonfarm business sector, manufacturing sector, and many individual industries. Quarterly and annual statistics are available for the sectors, while only annual statistics are available for individual industries.

In addition to what is shown on the BLS home page under "Industries," BLS has the following information by industry:

Unemployment, Layoffs, and Job Openings and Labor Turnover

• Unemployment statistics are available by industry: Monthly, quarterly, and annual data on unemployment by industry are from the Current Population Survey.
• Data on the number of layoffs by industry also are provided: Monthly and quarterly reports identify, describe, and track the effects of major job cutbacks—referred to as mass layoffs
• Statistics on job openings, hires, and separations are available on a monthly basis by industry (not seasonally adjusted)

Demographic Employment Statistics by Industry

National data by industry, age, sex, race, and ethnicity are available from the Current Population Survey.

What BLS Does Not Have:

BLS does not publish information on sales volume by industry—sales figures by industry are available from the U.S. Census Bureau.

Last Modified Date: December 31, 2003

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