U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics

Industries at a Glance

Support Activities for Mining: NAICS 213

About the Support Activities for Mining subsector

The support activities for mining subsector is part of the mining, quarrying, and oil and gas extraction sector.

Industries in the Support Activities for Mining subsector group establishments primarily providing support services, on a contract or fee basis, required for the mining and quarrying of minerals and for the extraction of oil and gas. Establishments performing exploration (except geophysical surveying and mapping) for minerals, on a contract or fee basis, are included in this subsector. Exploration includes traditional prospecting methods, such as taking core samples and making geological observations at prospective sites.

The activities performed on a contract or fee basis by establishments in the Support Activities for Mining subsector are also often performed in-house by mining operators.

North American Industry Classification System

The support activities for mining subsector consists of a single industry group, Support Activities for Mining: NAICS 2131.

Workforce Statistics

This section provides information relating to employment in support activities for mining. These data are obtained from employer or establishment surveys. The following tables present an overview of the industry including the number of jobs, mass layoffs, data for occupations common to the industry, and projections of occupational employment change.

Employment and Layoffs


Data series	Jan. 2012	Feb. 2012	Mar. 2012	Apr. 2012
Employment (in thousands)
Employment, all employees (seasonally adjusted)	371.8	377.5	(P) 375.7	(P) 375.4
Employment, production and nonsupervisory employees	296.5	302.9	(P) 300.2
Layoffs
Mass layoff events	3	-	4	3
Initial claimants for unemployment benefits	154	-	235	168
Footnotes (P) Preliminary

(Source: Current Employment Statistics, Mass Layoff Statistics)

Extended Mass Layoffs


Data series	2nd quarter 2011	3rd quarter 2011	4th quarter 2011	1st quarter 2012
Extended mass layoff events	4	-	(P) 6	(1) (P) -
Separations	1,356	-	(P) 829	(1) (P) -
Initial claimants	344	-	(P) 887	(1) (P) -
Footnotes (1) Data do not meet BLS or state agency disclosure standards. (P) Preliminary

(Source: Mass Layoff Statistics)

Employment by Occupation


Data series	Employment, 2011
Derrick operators, oil and gas	17,010
First-line supervisors/managers of construction trades and extraction workers	16,370
Rotary drill operators, oil and gas	16,540
Roustabouts, oil and gas	39,070
Service unit operators, oil, gas, and mining	38,570

(Source: Occupational Employment Statistics)

Projections

For projected (future) employment estimates, see the National Employment Matrix, which includes employment estimates by industry and occupation for support activities for mining.

(Source: Office of Occupational Statistics and Employment Projections)

Earnings and Hours

This section presents data on employee earnings and weekly hours. The latest industry averages of hourly earnings and weekly hours are shown. In addition, recent hourly and annual earnings are shown for occupations commonly found in support activities for mining.

Earnings and Hours of All Employees


Data series	Dec. 2011	Jan. 2012	Feb. 2012	Mar. 2012
Average hourly earnings	$27.81	$26.94	$28.09	(P) $28.20
Average weekly hours	44.4	45.5	44.6	(P) 44.0
Footnotes (P) Preliminary

(Source: Current Employment Statistics)

Earnings and Hours of Production and Nonsupervisory Employees


Data series	Dec. 2011	Jan. 2012	Feb. 2012	Mar. 2012
Average hourly earnings	$24.83	$24.18	$25.69	(P) $25.97
Average weekly hours	49.1	50.1	49.5	(P) 49.4
Footnotes (P) Preliminary

(Source: Current Employment Statistics)

Earnings by Occupation


Data series	Wages, 2011
	Hourly		Annual
	Median	Mean	Median	Mean
Derrick operators, oil and gas	$21.54	$22.31	$44,800	$46,410
First-line supervisors/managers of construction trades and extraction workers	$31.11	$33.41	$64,710	$69,500
Rotary drill operators, oil and gas	$24.25	$27.45	$50,440	$57,100
Roustabouts, oil and gas	$15.88	$16.63	$33,040	$34,590
Service unit operators, oil, gas, and mining	$19.24	$21.13	$40,020	$43,950

(Source: Occupational Employment Statistics)

Work-related Fatalities, Injuries, and Illnesses

This section presents data for the industry on the number of workplace fatalities and the rates of workplace injuries and illnesses per 100 full-time workers in support activities for mining. An injury or illness is considered to be work-related if an event or exposure in the work environment either caused or contributed to the resulting condition or significantly aggravated a pre-existing condition.


Data series	2007	2008	2009	2010
Fatalities
Number of fatalities	113	104	59	100
Rate of injury and illness cases per 100 full-time workers
Total recordable cases	3.2	3.2	2.3	2.2
Cases involving days away from work, job restriction, or transfer	1.9	2.2	1.3	1.4
Cases involving days away from work	1.2	1.4	0.8	0.9
Cases involving days of job transfer or restriction	0.7	0.9	0.4	0.5

(Source: Injuries, Illnesses, and Fatalities)

Prices

This section provides industry-specific pricing information. The producer price index measures the percentage change in prices that domestic producers receive for goods and services. The prices included in the producer price index are from the first commercial transaction.