November 2009 

Occupational Employment 

Statistics (OES) Highlights

An Occupational Analysis of Industries with the 

Most Job Losses 

Three industry sectors have accounted for nearly two-thirds of total job losses in the 

current recession: construction, manufacturing, and administrative and support 

services. This highlight looks at the occupational composition of these sectors as of 

May 2008, several months into the recession. Although not all occupations in an 

industry may be equally affected by job losses, this analysis illustrates the types of 

occupations that are prevalent in each industry and therefore may be at risk during 

an economic downturn. 

Chart 1: Employment and mean hourly wages for the largest

occupations in specialty trade contractors, May 2008

$23.77

$15.20

$23.80

$20.70

$29.28

$17.04 $19.63

$18.59 $21.51 $19.70

0

100,000

200,000

300,000

400,000

500,000

600,000

Electricians

Construction laborers

Plumbers, pipefitters,

and steamfitters

Carpenters

First‐line

supervisors/managers,

construction/extraction

workers

Painters, construction

and maintenance

Heating, air

conditioning, and

refrigeration

mechanics/installers

Cement masons and

concrete finishers

Operating engineers

and other construction

equipment operators

Drywall and ceiling tile

installers

Employment
2 

(See page 7 to view these data in table format.) 

Between December 2007 and October 2009, employment in the construction sector 

fell by almost 21 percent, or over 1.5 million jobs. Approximately 65 percent of jobs 

lost in this sector were among specialty trade contractors, which perform specific 

activities associated with construction projects, such as plumbing, masonry, or 

electrical work. 

Chart 1 shows the largest occupations in specialty trade contractors, representing 

about half of employment in this industry. Specialty trade contractors were the 

primary employer of nearly all of these occupations, and accounted for more than 

two-thirds of total employment in 6 of the 10 occupations. Construction laborers, 

who perform general physical labor for construction projects, were the secondlargest occupation in the industry, with employment of 352,300. Most of the 

remaining large occupations were associated with specific construction trades, 

including electricians, the largest occupation, with employment of 465,090; 

plumbers, pipefitters, and steamfitters (323,760); and carpenters (290,950). 

General office clerks and secretaries, except legal, medical, and executive (not 

shown) were the two largest support occupations in this industry, with employment 

of 102,150 and 96,850, respectively. 

The largest occupations in this industry tended to have wages within a few dollars of 

the U.S. average wage. For example, the mean wage for carpenters was $20.70, 

very close to the U.S. mean wage for all occupations of $20.32. Electricians ($23.77) 

and plumbers, pipefitters, and steamfitters ($23.80) had mean wages somewhat 

above the U.S. average, while wages for cement masons and concrete finishers 

($18.59) and drywall and ceiling tile installers ($19.70) were somewhat below the 

U.S. mean. The highest paid of the occupations shown, first-line 

supervisors/managers of construction trades and extraction workers, had a mean 

hourly wage of $29.28, while construction laborers, the lowest-paid occupation 

shown, had a mean hourly wage of $15.20. 

Of the over 1.1 million jobs lost since December 2007 in the administrative and 

support services sector, nearly 83 percent were in employment services, which 

include temporary help services. Employment in the temporary help services industry 
3 

may be particularly volatile in response to the business cycle—because employers 

may view these workers as a flexible source of labor, they may be the first to be 

hired during expansions, and the first to be laid off during recessions.1

Chart 2: Employment and mean hourly wages for the largest

occupations in employment services, May 2008

$10.02

$12.03 $10.63

$9.27 $9.99 $12.39 $13.22 $33.23 $25.44 $17.64

0

50,000

100,000

150,000

200,000

250,000

300,000

350,000

400,000

450,000

Laborers and freight, stock, and material

movers, hand

Office clerks, general

Team assemblers

Packers and packagers, hand

Helpers‐‐production workers

Construction laborers

Customer service representatives

Registered nurses

Employment, recruitment, and

placement specialists

Executive secretaries and administrative

assistants

Employment

(See page 7 to view these data in table format.) 

Chart 2 shows some of the largest occupations in employment services. While most 

of the largest jobs in specialty trade contractors were directly associated with 

performing construction tasks, the occupational composition of the employment 

services industry was more varied. The largest occupation in the industry—laborers 

and freight, stock, and material movers, hand—was from the transportation and 

material moving group, as was a second occupation, hand packers and packagers. 

Among the other large occupations in this industry were two production occupations 

(team assemblers and production worker helpers); three office and administrative 

support occupations (general office clerks, customer service representatives, and 

executive secretaries and administrative assistants); and one occupation each from 

the business and financial operations, healthcare practitioner and technical, and 

construction and extraction groups. 
4 

Most of the largest occupations in the employment services industry had mean 

hourly wages considerably below the U.S. average, and with few exceptions, lower 

than their counterparts in other industries. Seven of the 10 occupations shown in the 

chart had mean wages below $15.00 per hour, and three of them had mean hourly 

wages of approximately $10.00 or less: laborers and freight, stock, and material 

movers, hand ($10.02); hand packers and packagers ($9.27); and production 

worker helpers ($9.99). However, the employment services industry also contained 

several large occupations with moderate or relatively high wages. Executive 

secretaries and administrative assistants had a mean hourly wage of $17.64, similar 

to the wages for several of the construction trades occupations. Employment, 

recruitment, and placement specialists had a mean hourly wage of $25.44, while 

registered nurses were the highest paid of the occupations shown, with a mean 

hourly wage of $33.23. 

Chart 3: Employment and mean hourly wages for the largest

occupations in manufacturing, May 2008

$13.51 $30.90 $19.60 $16.30

$12.86 $16.51 $11.66 $18.17

$25.87

$14.00

0

100,000

200,000

300,000

400,000

500,000

600,000

700,000

800,000

900,000

Teamassemblers

First‐line

supervisors/managers of

productionandoperating

workers

Machinists

Laborers andfreight,

stock, andmaterial

movers, hand

Inspectors,testers,

sorters,samplers, and

weighers

Helpers‐‐production

workers

Welders, cutters,

solderers, andbrazers

Maintenanceandrepair

workers, general

Packaging andfilling

machineoperators and

tenders

Salesrepresentatives,

wholesale/manufacturing,

excepttechnical/scientific

products

Employment

(See page 8 to view these data in table format.) 

Unlike the two sectors discussed above, in which the majority of job losses were 

concentrated in specific industries, job losses in the manufacturing sector were 

spread across a variety of industries. While the greatest number of manufacturing 

jobs lost were in fabricated metal product manufacturing, machinery manufacturing, 
5 

and transportation equipment manufacturing, these three industries combined 

accounted for only about 41 percent of over 2.1 million jobs lost in manufacturing 

since the beginning of the recession. For this reason, chart 3 shows the largest 

occupations in the manufacturing sector as a whole, rather than for a specific 

manufacturing industry. 

Of the 10 large occupations shown in the chart, all but 3 are production occupations 

directly associated with the performance of manufacturing tasks. The largest of these 

occupations was team assemblers, with employment of 833,870. The largest 

occupations in manufacturing also included one transportation and material moving 

occupation (laborers and freight, stock, and material movers, hand); one installation, 

maintenance, and repair occupation (general maintenance and repair workers); and 

one sales and related occupation (sales representatives, wholesale and 

manufacturing, except technical and scientific products). 

While the mean hourly wage in manufacturing of $20.80 was close to the U.S. 

average of $20.32, several of the largest manufacturing occupations were relatively 

low paying. For example, production worker helpers earned a mean hourly wage of 

$11.66, while packaging and filling machine operators earned an average of $13.51. 

Although team assemblers ($14.00) and laborers and freight, stock, and material 

movers, hand ($12.86) had wages below the U.S. average, both occupations had 

higher wages in manufacturing than in employment services, where they were also 

among the largest occupations. Of the occupations shown, only two—first-line 

supervisors/managers of production and operating workers and sales 

representatives, wholesale and manufacturing, except technical and scientific 

products—had above-average wages, with mean hourly wages of $25.87 and 

$30.90, respectively. 

Employment changes by industry are based on seasonally adjusted data from the 

Current Employment Statistics program (www.bls.gov/ces/); data for October 2009 

are preliminary. Detailed occupational employment and wage data, including 

complete data for the industries featured in this highlight, are available from the OES 
6 

 web site at www.bls.gov/oes/. This highlight was prepared by Audrey Watson and 

Fatemeh Hajiha; for more information, please contact the OES program at 

www.bls.gov/oes/home.htm#contact.

 

1

 Kilcoyne, Patrick, “Occupations in the Temporary Help Services Industry,” Occupational Employment 

and Wages, May 2004, Bureau of Labor Statistics, September 2005, Bulletin 2575, pp. 8-9. Available 

online at www.bls.gov/oes/2004/may/temp.pdf. 
7 

Table 1. Employment and mean hourly wages for the largest occupations in 

specialty trade contractors, May 2008 

Occupation Employment Percent of 

total 

industry 

employment 

Mean 

hourly 

wage 

Electricians 465,090 9.8 $23.77

Construction laborers 352,300 7.4 15.20

Plumbers, pipefitters, and steamfitters 323,760 6.8 23.80

Carpenters 290,950 6.1 20.70

First-line supervisors/managers of construction 

trades and extraction workers 

223,250 4.7 29.28

Painters, construction and maintenance 180,430 3.8 17.04

Heating, air conditioning, and refrigeration mechanics 

and installers 

178,740 3.8 19.63

Cement masons and concrete finishers 140,170 3.0 18.59

Operating engineers and other construction 

equipment operators 

122,940 2.6 21.51

Drywall and ceiling tile installers 113,740 2.4 19.70

Industry total 4,736,940 20.99

Table 2. Employment and mean hourly wages for the largest occupations in 

employment services, May 2008 

Occupation Employment Percent of 

total 

industry 

employment 

Mean 

hourly 

wage 

Laborers and freight, stock, and material movers, 

hand 

386,000 11.3 $10.02

Office clerks, general 185,100 5.4 12.03

Team assemblers 174,220 5.1 10.63

Packers and packagers, hand 138,980 4.1 9.27

Helpers—production workers 130,270 3.8 9.99

Construction laborers 108,110 3.2 12.39

Customer service representatives 103,050 3.0 13.22

Registered nurses 91,980 2.7 33.23

Employment, recruitment, and placement specialists 83,530 2.5 25.44

Executive secretaries and administrative assistants 69,050 2.0 17.64

Industry total 3,408,230 15.64
8 

Table 3. Employment and mean hourly wages for the largest occupations in 

manufacturing, May 2008 

Occupation Employment Percent of 

total 

industry 

employment 

Mean 

hourly 

wage 

Team assemblers 833,870 6.1 $14.00

First-line supervisors/managers of production and 

operating workers 

487,880 3.6 25.87

Machinists 334,020 2.4 18.17

Laborers and freight, stock, and material movers, 

hand 

325,310 2.4 12.86

Inspectors, testers, sorters, samplers, and weighers 324,910 2.4 16.51

Helpers—production workers 320,240 2.3 11.66

Welders, cutters, solderers, and brazers 261,070 1.9 16.30

Maintenance and repair workers, general 246,180 1.8 19.60

Packaging and filling machine operators and tenders 242,090 1.8 13.51

Sales representatives, wholesale and manufacturing, 

except technical and scientific products 

233,010 1.7 30.90

Industry total 13,655,340 20.80