U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics

Occupational Employment Statistics

Occupational Employment and Wages,

May 2008

47-2061 Construction Laborers

Perform tasks involving physical labor at building, highway, and heavy construction projects, tunnel and shaft

excavations, and demolition sites. May operate hand and power tools of all types: air hammers, earth tampers, cement

mixers, small mechanical hoists, surveying and measuring equipment, and a variety of other equipment and

instruments. May clean and prepare sites, dig trenches, set braces to support the sides of excavations, erect scaffolding,

clean up rubble and debris, and remove asbestos, lead, and other hazardous waste materials. May assist other craft

workers. Exclude construction laborers who primarily assist a particular craft worker, and classify them under

"Helpers, Construction Trades" (47-3011 through 47-3016).

National estimates for this occupation

Industry profile for this occupation

State profile for this occupation

Metropolitan area profile for this occupation

National estimates for this occupation: Top

Employment estimate and mean wage estimates for this occupation:

Percentile wage estimates for this occupation:

Industry profile for this occupation: Top

Industries with the highest published employment and wages for this occupation are provided. For a list of all

industries with employment in this occupation, see the Create Customized Tables function.

Employment (1) Employment

RSE (3)

Mean hourly

wage

Mean annual

wage (2) Wage RSE (3)

1,020,290 0.8 % $15.51 $32,250 0.4 %

Percentile 10% 25% 50%

(Median) 75% 90%

Hourly Wage $8.67 $10.74 $13.71 $18.57 $25.98

Annual Wage (2) $18,030 $22,340 $28,520 $38,620 $54,030

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Industries with the highest levels of employment in this occupation:

Top paying industries for this occupation:

State profile for this occupation: Top

States with the highest published employment concentrations and wages for this occupation are provided. For a list of

all States with employment in this occupation, see the Create Customized Tables function.

States with the highest concentration of workers in this occupation:

Top paying States for this occupation:

Industry Employment Hourly mean

wage

Annual mean

wage

Other Specialty Trade Contractors 153,650 $15.30 $31,820

Nonresidential Building Construction 131,230 $17.17 $35,710

Foundation, Structure, and Building Exterior

Contractors 123,080 $15.17 $31,560

Residential Building Construction 116,070 $14.98 $31,150

Employment Services 108,110 $12.39 $25,780

Industry Employment Hourly mean

wage

Annual mean

wage

Iron and Steel Mills and Ferroalloy Manufacturing 40 $26.73 $55,590

Rail Transportation 390 $22.41 $46,620

Electric Power Generation, Transmission and

Distribution 1,180 $21.37 $44,450

General Medical and Surgical Hospitals 330 $20.81 $43,290

Coal Mining 660 $20.05 $41,700

State Employment Hourly mean

wage

Annual mean

wage

Percent of

State

employment

New Mexico 12,180 $11.57 $24,060 1.486%

Texas 123,750 $10.96 $22,790 1.191%

Utah 13,840 $12.68 $26,380 1.125%

Alaska 3,430 $23.34 $48,540 1.114%

Arizona 28,300 $13.61 $28,320 1.073%

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Metropolitan area profile for this occupation: Top

Metropolitan areas with the highest published employment concentrations and wages for this occupation are provided.

For a list of all Metropolitan areas with employment in this occupation, see the Create Customized Tables function.

Metropolitan areas with the highest concentration of workers in this occupation:

Top paying metropolitan areas for this occupation:

State Employment Hourly mean

wage

Annual mean

wage

Percent of

State

employment

Alaska 3,430 $23.34 $48,540 1.114%

Hawaii 5,800 $22.46 $46,710 0.947%

New York 48,760 $22.38 $46,560 0.565%

New Jersey 21,210 $21.75 $45,240 0.532%

Massachusetts 15,380 $21.36 $44,430 0.475%

MSA Employment Hourly mean

wage

Annual mean

wage

Percent of

MSA

employment

Farmington, NM 1,420 $12.71 $26,440 2.759%

Lake Havasu City-Kingman, AZ 940 $13.11 $27,270 1.861%

Idaho Falls, ID 950 $13.40 $27,870 1.818%

Odessa, TX 1,060 $11.94 $24,830 1.776%

St. George, UT 900 $12.78 $26,570 1.733%

MSA Employment Hourly mean

wage

Annual mean

wage

Percent of

MSA

employment

New York-White Plains-Wayne,

NY-NJ Metropolitan Division 27,340 $25.45 $52,930 0.529%

Anchorage, AK 1,870 $24.88 $51,750 1.135%

Rockford, IL 540 $24.20 $50,330 0.350%

Boston-Cambridge-Quincy, MA

NECTA Division 6,500 $24.01 $49,950 0.379%

Honolulu, HI 3,440 $23.61 $49,110 0.775%

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About May 2008 National, State, Metropolitan, and Nonmetropolitan Area Occupational Employment and Wage

Estimates

These estimates are calculated with data collected from employers in all industry sectors in metropolitan and

nonmetropolitan areas in every State and the District of Columbia. The top five employment and wage figures are

provided above. The complete list is available in the downloadable Excel files (XLS).

Percentile wage estimates show the percentage of workers in an occupation that earn less than a given wage and the

percentage that earn more. The median wage is the 50th percentile wage estimate--50 percent of workers earn less

than the median and 50 percent of workers earn more than the median. More about percentile wages.

(1) Estimates for detailed occupations do not sum to the totals because the totals include occupations not shown

separately. Estimates do not include self-employed workers.

(2) Annual wages have been calculated by multiplying the hourly mean wage by a "year-round, full-time" hours figure

of 2,080 hours; for those occupations where there is not an hourly mean wage published, the annual wage has been

directly calculated from the reported survey data.

(3) The relative standard error (RSE) is a measure of the reliability of a survey statistic. The smaller the relative

standard error, the more precise the estimate.

Other OES estimates and related information:

May 2008 National Occupational Employment and Wage Estimates

May 2008 State Occupational Employment and Wage Estimates

May 2008 Metropolitan and Nonmetropolitan Area Occupational Employment and Wage Estimates

May 2008 National Industry-Specific Occupational Employment and Wage Estimates

List of Occupations in SOC Code Number Order

List of Occupations in Alphabetical Order

Download May 2008 Occupational Employment and Wage Estimates in Zipped Excel files

Technical Notes

Last Modified Date: May 04, 2009

U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics Division of Occupational Employment Statistics Suite 2135, 2

Massachusetts Avenue, NE Washington, DC 20212-0001

http://www.bls.gov/OES | Telephone: (202) 691-6569 | Fax: (202) 691-6444 Do you have an OES data question?

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