The Construction Chart Book 4th Edition

Section 10: Occupational Classification and Distribution in Construction

The U.S. Census Bureau defines "construction workers" as workers directly engaged in construction operations.¹ This definition includes journeymen, mechanics, apprentices, laborers, truck drivers and helpers, equipment operators, and on-site record keepers, but does not include individuals working in the construction industry in occupations such as executives, purchasing, accounting personnel, professionals, technical personnel, and those engaged in routine office functions. Supervisory employees above the working foreman level are not counted as construction workers. Following these definitions, the proportion of construction workers in the construction industry has declined from 86% in 1967 to 74% in 2002 (chart 10a).

Household surveys such as the Current Population Survey (CPS, see chart book page 9) and the American Community Survey (see chart book page 14) collect detailed information on respondent's occupation, such as job title or type of work reported by the respondent. Beginning in 2003, these household surveys adopted the 2002 Census Occupational Classification – a system developed to be consistent with the 2000 Standard Occupational Classification (SOC) system.²

Using this coding system, CPS recodes the civilian workforce into 10 major occupational groups:

• Management, business, and financial occupations (0010-0950)
• Professional and related occupations (1000-3540) • Service occupations (3600-4650)
• Sales and related occupations (4700-4960)
• Office and administrative support occupations (5000-5930)
• Farming, fishing, and forestry occupations (6000-6130)
• Construction and extraction occupations (6200-6940)
• Installation, maintenance, and repair occupations (7000-7620)
• Production occupations (7700-8960)
• Transportation and material moving occupations (9000-9750)

Drawing on CPS data, chart 10b depicts the number and proportion of employment by detailed occupational categories with the corresponding codes. Some related occupations are combined; for example, installation, maintenance, and repair workers are listed under the repairer occupation. As the CPS provides detailed demographic and employment information on an individual level, much of this chart book's demographic and employment data are taken from the CPS. Except for special notes, the regrouped categories are used consistently in this book for pages on demographics and employment by occupations. The numbers presented in this chart book may differ from other published counts because occupations may be grouped in different ways.

Some pages in this chart book, such as page 11, distinguish between "production" (or blue-collar) and "non-production" (or white-collar) workers. "Production workers" (coded in the CPS as 6200 to 9750) include skilled craft workers, construction laborers, helpers, and other occupations related to production, which account for a major proportion (77.7%) of the construction workforce (chart 10b). The balance are defined as "nonproduction workers," consisting of managerial and administrative support workers (coded 0010 to 5930). Very few respondents in construction (< 0.1%) were in farming, fishing, and forestry occupations (coded 6000-6130)

10b. Occupational classification and distribution in construction, 2005
(16 years and older)

Occupation	Code	Description	Number (thousands)	Percent
Carpenter	6230	Carpenter	1,622	14.5
Laborer	6260	Construction laborer	1,427	12.8
Foreman	6200	First-line supervisor/ manager of construction trade	897	8.0
Construction manager	0220	Construction manager	838	7.5
Admin support	5000-5930	Administrative support	644	5.8
Electrician	6350	Electrician	636	5.7
Painter	6420, 6430	Painter and paperhanger	621	5.6
Manager	0010-0430 (except 0220)	Manager (except construction manager)	460	4.1
Plumber	6440	Pipelayer, plumber, pipefitter, and steamfitter	455	4.1
Professional	0500-3650	Professional	383	3.4
Op engineer	6320	Operating engineer and other construction equipment operator	318	2.8
Repairer	7000-8960 (except 7310, 7410, 8140)	Installation, maintenance, and repair worker	309	2.8
Roofer	6510	Roofer	264	2.4
Heat A/C mech	7310	Heating, air conditioning, and refrigeration mechanic	261	2.3
Carpet and tile	6240	Carpet, floor, and tile installer and finisher	253	2.3
Drywall	6330	Drywall installer, and ceiling tile installer	239	2.1
Brickmason	6220	Brickmason, blockmason, and stonemason	213	1.9
Truck driver	9130	Driver/sales worker and truck driver	176	1.6
Service	3700-4980	Service/sales	162	1.4
Helper	6600	Construction helper	125	1.1
Concrete	6250	Cement mason, concrete finisher, and terrazzo worker	105	0.9
Welder	8140	Welding, soldering, and brazing worker	103	0.9
Highway maint	6730	Highway maintenance worker	81	0.7
Material moving	9000-9750 (except 9130, 9520)	Transportation and material moving	78	0.7
Sheet metal	6520	Sheet metal worker	77	0.7
Dredge	9520	Dredge, excavating, and loading machine operator	64	0.6
Plasterer	6460	Plasterer an d stucco mason	49	0.4
Ironworker	6530	Structural iron and steel worker	48	0.4
Insulation	6400	Insulation worker	39	0.4
Fence erector	6710	Fence erector	33	0.3
Power installer	7410	Electrical power -line installer and repairer	29	0.3
Misc worker	6760	Miscellaneous construction and related worker	29	0.3
Inspector	6660	Construction and building inspector	27	0.2
Driller	6820	Earth driller, except oil and gas	20	0.2
Paving	6300	Paving, surfacing, and tamping equipment operator	20*	0.2
Glazier	6360	Glazier	20*	0.2
Elevator	6700	Elevator installers and repairer	14*	0.1
Iron reinforcement	6500	Reinforcing iron and rebar worker	13*	0.1
Boilermaker	6210	Boilermaker	7*	0.1
Other		Includes farming/fishing/forestry, HAZMAT removal, explosives, etc.	17	0.2
TOTAL			11,178	100.0

Download MS PowerPoint version of Chart 10a

Download PDF version of Chart 10b

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Note:
Chart 10a - Yearly figures are based on quarterly averages. Construction workers are defined as nonsupervisory and nonclerical.

Chart 10b - Operating engineers maintain and run heavy equipment, such as bulldozers and tower cranes. A brazer joins metals using lower heat than welders use. "Other" includes farming/fishing/forestry, hazardous material removal worker, explosives worker, pile-driver operator, rail-track laying and maintenance equipment operator, and septic tank servicer and sewer pipe cleaner. * = sample size < 30. If a number (thousands) < 35, use with caution because relatively small sample sizes may make findings less reliable.

Source:
Chart 10a - U.S. Census Bureau, 2002 Economic Census and previous years, Construction.

Chart 10b - U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, 2005 Current Population Survey. Calculations by CPWR Data Center.

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