Payroll Establishments and Employees
Construction is a large, dynamic, and complex industry dominated by establishments with fewer than 10 employees. From 2011-2021, those smaller firms made up about 82% of all payroll establishments in construction. By comparison, 0.1% were large establishments—those with more than 500 employees. Construction workers employed by smaller establishments also have a higher risk of fatal injuries. Their employers can be challenging to reach with safety and health information, as they typically work on small projects and are difficult to track. Monitoring the distribution of establishments by size over time also allows for industry changes to be observed, which can guide prevention efforts and safety resource allocation.
This interactive dashboard highlights data trends for payroll establishments and employees in the construction industry by state, size, and detailed subsector. The Year and Major subsector filters update both the charts and the bolded and underlined key findings.
Following the interactive dashboard, you will find more information on the data source, definitions, a downloadable data file, and recommended citation. This interactive data dashboard corresponds to a chapter in the upcoming PDF version of the Construction Chart Book-7th edition, which will be published this summer. Data will be updated annually as available. If you have any questions or comments, please email [email protected].
About the Data
Data come from the U.S. Census Bureau’s County Business Patterns, which is an annual series that provides economic data by industry and establishment size.
U.S. Census Bureau, 2011-2021 County Business Patterns. [dataset]. https://www.census.gov/programs-surveys/cbp/data.html.
- The data excludes self-employed and nonemployer establishments. These statistics are covered under Nonemployer Establishments. See:
Definitions
- Detailed subsector – 5-digit NAICS codes within construction (under NAICS 23).
- Establishment (in construction) – A single physical location occupied by a relatively permanent main or branch office in the construction industry (defined as NAICS 23). When multiple activities occur in one place under one ownership, a single establishment is counted by its major activity. The individual construction site and projects of such dispersed activities are not considered to be establishments.
- Payroll – Establishments that have paid employees. Payroll includes all forms of compensation, including salaries, wages, commissions, dismissal pay, etc.
- Establishment size – The number of employees working for an establishment reported in the mid-March pay period.
- Major subsector – 3-digit NAICS codes within construction (under NAICS 23).
Recommended Citation and Data File
Recommended Citation
CPWR-The Center for Construction Research and Training. [2024]. Construction Payroll Establishments and Employees [dashboard].
Data File
The Data File contains an average of all years included and annual data. If interested in additional year combinations, please contact us at: [email protected].