American Community Survey Reports

U.S. Department of Commerce

Economics and Statistics Administration

U.S. CENSUS BUREAU

U S C E N S U S B U R E A U

Helping You Make Informed Decisions

Construction, Extraction, Maintenance, 

and Repair Occupations: 2007 and 

2008 American Community Surveys

Introduction

This report is one of a series produced 

to highlight results from the 2008 

American Community Survey (ACS), 

focusing on changes between the 2007 

ACS and the 2008 ACS. The report 

series is designed to cover a variety of 

economic topics, such as poverty, occupation, home values, and labor force 

participation. This series provides information about the changing economic 

characteristics of the nation and states, 

the District of Columbia, and Puerto 

Rico. The ACS also provides detailed 

estimates of demographic, social, 

economic, and housing characteristics 

for congressional districts, counties, 

places, and other localities every year. 

A description of the ACS is provided 

in the text box “What Is the American 

Community Survey?” 

This report presents data on the construction, extraction, maintenance, and 

repair occupation group at the national 

and state levels based on the 2007 ACS 

and 2008 ACS. Occupational categories 

are based on the Standard Occupational 

Classification (SOC) 2000. The six major 

occupational categories based on this 

classification are management, professional, and related occupations; service 

occupations; sales and office occupations; farming, fishing, and forestry 

occupations; construction, extraction, 

maintenance, and repair occupations; 

Issued September 2009

ACSBR/08-4

By 

What Is the American Christin Hilgeman

Community Survey?

The American Community Survey (ACS) is 

a nationwide survey designed to provide 

communities with reliable and timely 

demographic, social, economic, and 

housing data every year. It has an annual 

sample size of about 3 million addresses 

across the United States and Puerto Rico 

and includes both housing units and 

group quarters. The ACS is conducted 

in every county throughout the nation 

and every municipio in Puerto Rico, 

where it is called the Puerto Rico 

Community Survey. 

Beginning in 2006, ACS data for 2005 

were released for geographic areas with 

populations of 65,000 and greater. In 

2008, the first set of multiyear estimates 

was released for data collected between 

January 2005 and December 2007. 

These 3-year estimates were published 

for geographic areas with populations 

of 20,000 and greater. The U.S. Census 

Bureau is planning to release the first 

5-year estimates in late 2010 for the 

smallest geographic areas based on data 

collected between January 2005 and 

December 2009.

The data contained in this report are 

based on the ACS sample interviewed 

in 2007 and 2008. For information on the 

ACS sample design and other topics, visit 

<www.census.gov/acs/www>.
2 U.S. Census Bureau

and production, transportation, 

and material-moving occupations.1

This report features the major 

occupational category construction, extraction, maintenance, and 

repair occupations in order to highlight changes in the occupational 

composition of the employed 

workforce in each state during the 

2007 to 2008 time period.2

The data contained in this report 

are based on ACS samples that 

were selected for interview in 2007 

and 2008 and are estimates of the 

1 Data on all occupational categories are 

available through the Economic Data Profile 

and Comparison Profile and Detailed Table 

B24010 “Sex by Occupation for the Civilian 

Employed Population 16 Years and Over” 

located on American FactFinder at 

<http://factfinder.census.gov>. 2 The employed workforce excludes the 

unemployed.

actual figures that could have been 

obtained by interviewing the entire 

population using the same methodology. All comparisons presented 

in this report have taken sampling 

error into account and are significant at the 90 percent confidence 

level unless noted otherwise. Due 

to rounding, some details may not 

sum to totals. For information on 

sampling and estimation methods, 

confidentiality protection, and 

sampling and nonsampling errors, 

please see the “2008 ACS Accuracy 

of the Data” document located at 

<www.census.gov/acs/www

/Downloads/ACS/accuracy2008

.pdf>. 

Occupation

In 2008, 9.3 percent of the United 

States’ employed workforce, or 

13.6 million people, worked in the 

construction, extraction, maintenance, and repair occupations—

down from 9.7 percent (13.8 

million) the previous year. At the 

national level, the job losses in 

this occupation group were concentrated in the construction and 

extraction occupations.3

Decreases in these occupations 

occurred primarily in the South 

(Florida, Georgia, South Carolina, 

and Virginia) and the West (Arizona, 

California, Idaho, and Utah). 

3 The number of workers in installation, 

maintenance, and repair occupations was not 

statistically different between 2007 and 2008.

Sources: U.S. Census Bureau, American Community Survey, 2007 and 2008; and 

Puerto Rico Community Survey, 2007 and 2008.

* DC is represented at 4.5 times the scale of other continental states.

MT

AK

NM

OR MN

KS

SD

ND

MO

WA

FL

IL IN

WI NY

PA

MI

OH

IA

ME

MA 

CT 

AZ

NV

TX

CA CO

WY

UT

ID

NE

OK

GA

AR

AL

NC

MS

LA

TN

KY

VA

SC

WV

RI 

DE 

MD 

NJ 

HI

VT NH

PR

DC*

Increased

Decreased

No statistical change

Difference in Percentage Employed in Construction, 

Extraction, Maintenance, and Repair Occupations by State

and Puerto Rico: 2007 to 2008 

 

 

Difference in percentage 

employed in construction,

extraction, maintenance,

and repair occupations 
U.S. Census Bureau 3

Michigan also experienced a loss 

of workers in these occupations. 

Florida and California had the 

largest number of job losses in 

these occupations with about 

80,000 each.4 In contrast, the 

number of workers in these 

occupations increased in Kansas, 

Oklahoma, and Texas, with Texas 

4 California’s estimate was not statistically 

different from Florida’s estimate.

showing the largest increase 

(about 67,000).

In 2008, the share of the employed 

workforce in construction, 

extraction, maintenance, and 

repair occupations ranged from 

15.5 percent in Wyoming to 3.0 

percent in the District of Columbia. 

The map illustrates the relative 

change in the distribution of 

this occupation group in each 

state over the last year. Thirteen 

states showed a percentage-point 

decline between 2007 and 2008: 

Arizona, Arkansas, California, 

Florida, Georgia, Idaho, Michigan, 

Minnesota, New York, Pennsylvania, 

South Carolina, Utah, and Virginia. 

Notably, Oklahoma was the only 

state with an increase in the 

proportion of workers in these 

occupations.
4 U.S. Census Bureau

Employment in Construction, Extraction, Maintenance, and Repair Occupations Among 

the Civilian Employed Population Aged 16 and Older by State and Puerto Rico: 2007 

and 2008

(For information on confi dentiality protection, sampling error, nonsampling error, and defi nitions, see www.census.gov/acs/www)

Area

2007 2008 Change in construction, extraction,

maintenance, and repair occupations 

(2008 less 2007)

Construction, extraction, maintenance,

and repair occupations

Construction, extraction, maintenance,

and repair occupations

Estimate

Margin 

of

error1

(±)

Percentage

of employed 

population

Margin 

of 

error1 

(±) Estimate

Margin 

of 

error1

(±)

Percentage

of employed 

population

Margin 

of 

error1 

(±) Estimate

Margin 

of 

error1

(±)

Percentage 

point 

change

Margin 

of 

error1

(±)

 United States . . . 13,795,740 57,727 9.7 0.1 13,612,976 63,859 9.3 0.1 *–182,764 86,084 *–0.4 0.1

Alabama . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 228,784 7,742 11.3 0.4 224,851 7,686 10.8 0.4 –3,933 10,909 –0.5 0.5

Alaska . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 39,692 3,175 12.0 1.0 43,006 3,663 12.7 1.0 3,314 4,848 0.6 1.4

Arizona . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 345,088 10,550 12.2 0.4 328,873 11,038 11.2 0.4 *–16,215 15,269 *–1.0 0.5

Arkansas . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 131,129 6,119 10.6 0.5 124,730 5,114 9.8 0.4 –6,399 7,975 *–0.8 0.6

California . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1,554,074 22,605 9.2 0.1 1,470,289 21,812 8.6 0.1 *–83,785 31,412 *–0.6 0.2

Colorado . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 274,821 10,318 11.0 0.4 279,047 9,399 10.8 0.4 4,226 13,957 –0.2 0.6

Connecticut . . . . . . . . . . . . 144,196 6,571 8.2 0.4 137,490 6,655 7.7 0.4 –6,706 9,353 –0.5 0.5

Delaware . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 42,881 3,319 10.3 0.8 39,860 3,051 9.5 0.7 –3,021 4,508 –0.8 1.1

District of Columbia . . . . . . 10,767 1,914 3.7 0.7 9,100 1,645 3.0 0.5 –1,667 2,523 –0.7 0.8

Florida . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 921,418 18,661 11.0 0.2 843,666 16,807 10.0 0.2 *–77,752 25,114 *–1.0 0.3

Georgia . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 468,734 12,500 10.6 0.3 445,086 12,995 9.8 0.3 *–23,648 18,031 *–0.8 0.4

Hawaii . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 64,633 4,461 10.7 0.7 65,347 4,447 10.4 0.7 714 6,299 –0.3 1.0

Idaho . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 86,225 4,457 12.1 0.6 79,772 4,299 11.0 0.6 *–6,453 6,192 *–1.1 0.9

Illinois . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 508,263 10,146 8.2 0.2 509,343 11,850 8.0 0.2 1,080 15,600 –0.2 0.3

Indiana . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 290,278 9,066 9.6 0.3 284,205 7,612 9.2 0.2 –6,073 11,838 –0.4 0.4

Iowa . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 137,843 4,243 8.9 0.3 138,675 4,700 8.7 0.3 832 6,332 –0.2 0.4

Kansas . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 127,502 5,491 9.1 0.4 137,389 6,076 9.5 0.4 *9,887 8,190 0.4 0.6

Kentucky . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 194,064 7,839 10.2 0.4 191,161 7,546 10.0 0.4 –2,903 10,881 –0.2 0.5

Louisiana . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 243,445 8,666 12.9 0.4 249,659 8,237 12.5 0.4 6,214 11,956 –0.3 0.6

Maine . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 67,361 3,169 10.2 0.5 66,769 3,929 10.1 0.6 –592 5,048 –0.1 0.8

Maryland . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 255,696 9,374 9.0 0.3 259,810 7,816 8.8 0.3 4,114 12,205 –0.2 0.4

Massachusetts . . . . . . . . . . 239,874 8,432 7.3 0.3 246,362 7,580 7.3 0.2 6,488 11,339 –0.1 0.3

Michigan . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 367,852 8,612 8.1 0.2 347,258 8,650 7.6 0.2 *–20,594 12,206 *–0.5 0.3

Minnesota . . . . . . . . . . . . . 228,846 6,445 8.3 0.2 225,120 6,164 8.0 0.2 –3,726 8,918 *–0.4 0.3

Mississippi . . . . . . . . . . . . . 137,148 6,424 11.4 0.5 142,119 6,560 11.3 0.5 4,971 9,181 –0.1 0.7

Missouri . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 269,834 7,999 9.6 0.3 272,856 8,081 9.4 0.3 3,022 11,370 –0.2 0.4

Montana . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 56,056 3,013 11.9 0.6 55,525 3,459 11.5 0.7 –531 4,587 –0.5 1.0

Nebraska . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 84,683 4,262 9.2 0.5 83,009 3,932 8.7 0.4 –1,674 5,799 –0.5 0.6

Nevada . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 152,350 6,599 12.2 0.5 148,914 7,086 11.7 0.6 –3,436 9,683 –0.5 0.8

New Hampshire . . . . . . . . . 66,503 3,623 9.5 0.5 64,064 3,735 8.9 0.5 –2,439 5,204 –0.6 0.7

New Jersey . . . . . . . . . . . . 342,257 9,627 8.1 0.2 345,531 10,770 7.9 0.2 3,274 14,446 –0.2 0.3

New Mexico . . . . . . . . . . . . 109,862 5,438 12.4 0.6 108,160 5,905 12.0 0.6 –1,702 8,028 –0.4 0.9

New York . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 713,099 14,671 7.8 0.2 705,220 15,272 7.5 0.2 –7,879 21,177 *–0.4 0.2

North Carolina . . . . . . . . . . 456,451 10,842 10.8 0.3 464,885 11,882 10.6 0.3 8,434 16,085 –0.2 0.4

North Dakota . . . . . . . . . . . 36,459 2,406 10.7 0.7 35,865 2,720 10.3 0.8 –594 3,631 –0.4 1.0

Ohio . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 443,454 10,531 8.2 0.2 446,679 10,415 8.0 0.2 3,225 14,811 –0.1 0.3

Oklahoma . . . . . . . . . . . . . 180,758 6,591 10.9 0.4 196,009 5,530 11.5 0.3 *15,251 8,604 *0.6 0.5

Oregon . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 164,927 6,075 9.1 0.3 162,761 6,502 8.8 0.4 –2,166 8,899 –0.3 0.5

Pennsylvania . . . . . . . . . . . 522,899 9,917 8.8 0.2 513,919 9,624 8.5 0.2 –8,980 13,819 *–0.3 0.2

Rhode Island . . . . . . . . . . . 40,159 3,699 7.7 0.7 41,017 2,822 7.9 0.5 858 4,652 0.2 0.9

South Carolina . . . . . . . . . . 222,987 9,337 11.2 0.5 207,507 7,774 10.3 0.4 *–15,480 12,150 *–0.9 0.6

South Dakota . . . . . . . . . . . 35,696 2,313 8.6 0.6 39,375 3,047 9.3 0.7 3,679 3,825 0.7 0.9

Tennessee . . . . . . . . . . . . . 283,959 8,919 10.0 0.3 281,371 8,874 9.6 0.3 –2,588 12,581 –0.3 0.4

Texas . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1,268,894 20,062 11.6 0.2 1,335,763 20,358 11.7 0.2 *66,869 28,582 0.1 0.3

Utah . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 145,487 6,678 11.4 0.5 128,556 6,475 9.8 0.5 *–16,931 9,302 *–1.6 0.7

Vermont . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 33,474 2,120 10.0 0.6 33,658 2,310 9.9 0.7 184 3,135 –0.1 0.9

Virginia . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 371,385 9,894 9.8 0.3 356,253 10,231 9.2 0.3 *–15,132 14,233 *–0.6 0.4

Washington . . . . . . . . . . . . 296,519 8,536 9.5 0.3 299,408 9,091 9.3 0.3 2,889 12,470 –0.2 0.4

West Virginia . . . . . . . . . . . 98,828 4,556 13.0 0.5 102,222 4,958 13.0 0.6 3,394 6,733 0.0 0.8

Wisconsin . . . . . . . . . . . . . 245,104 6,625 8.5 0.2 251,529 6,412 8.5 0.2 6,425 9,220 0.0 0.3

Wyoming . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 43,042 2,670 15.4 1.0 43,933 2,961 15.5 1.0 891 3,987 0.1 1.4

Puerto Rico . . . . . . . . . . . . 127,466 5,492 10.8 0.5 132,319 5,097 10.6 0.4 4,853 7,493 –0.2 0.6

* Statistically different from zero at the 90 percent confi dence level.

1

 Data are based on a sample and are subject to sampling variability. A margin of error is a measure of an estimate’s variability. The larger the margin of error in relation to 

the size of the estimate, the less reliable the estimate. When added to and subtracted from the estimate, the margin of error forms the 90 percent confi dence interval.

Sources: U.S. Census Bureau, American Community Survey, 2007 and 2008; and Puerto Rico Community Survey, 2007 and 2008.