U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics U.S. Bureau of Labor StatisticsThe professional, scientific, and technical services sector is part of the professional and business services supersector.
The Professional, Scientific, and Technical Services sector comprises establishments that specialize in performing professional, scientific, and technical activities for others. These activities require a high degree of expertise and training. The establishments in this sector specialize according to expertise and provide these services to clients in a variety of industries and, in some cases, to households. Activities performed include: legal advice and representation; accounting, bookkeeping, and payroll services; architectural, engineering, and specialized design services; computer services; consulting services; research services; advertising services; photographic services; translation and interpretation services; veterinary services; and other professional, scientific, and technical services.
North American Industry Classification System
The professional, scientific, and technical services sector consists of a single subsector, Professional, Scientific, and Technical Services: NAICS 541. Data published under either the sector or subsector classification are included in the tables below. The subsector consists of these industry groups:
NOTE: There was a change in the definition of this subsector between NAICS 2002 and NAICS 2007. Some of the data below reflect the 2002 definition and some reflect the 2007 definition. See the BLS implementation schedule for NAICS 2007 to find out which BLS programs have already implemented NAICS 2007.
This section provides information relating to employment and unemployment in professional, scientific, and technical services. While most data are obtained from employer or establishment surveys, information on industry unemployment comes from a national survey of households. The following tables present an overview of the industry including the number of jobs, the unemployment rate of those previously employed in the industry, union membership and representation, mass layoffs, data for occupations common to the industry, and projections of occupational employment change.
| Data series | Back data |
Oct. 2011 |
Nov. 2011 |
Dec. 2011 |
Jan. 2012 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Employment (in thousands) |
|||||
Employment, all employees (seasonally adjusted) |
 |
7,772.1 | 7,787.1 | (P) 7,816.2 | (P) 7,846.5 |
|
6,122.6 | 6,155.8 | (P) 6,226.1 | ||
Unemployment |
|||||
|
6.8% | 5.9% | 5.4% | 5.4% | |
Layoffs |
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|
34 | 48 | 67 | ||
|
2,469 | 4,724 | 9,581 | ||
|
Footnotes |
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(Source: Current Employment Statistics, Current Population Survey, Mass Layoff Statistics)
| Data series | Back data |
2008 | 2009 | 2010 | 2011 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Union membership and representation |
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Members of unions (percent of wage and salary workers) |
|
1.3% | 1.1% | 1.4% | 1.2% |
Represented by unions (percent of wage and salary workers) |
|
1.8% | 1.5% | 1.9% | 1.8% |
(Source: Current Population Survey)
| Data series | Back data |
4th quarter 2010 |
1st quarter 2011 |
2nd quarter 2011 |
3rd quarter 2011 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
|
69 | 63 | (P) 96 | (P) 67 | |
|
11,295 | 8,772 | (P) 21,359 | (P) 10,154 | |
|
14,611 | 10,989 | (P) 23,393 | (P) 10,672 | |
|
Footnotes |
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(Source: Mass Layoff Statistics)
| Data series | Employment, 2010 |
|---|---|
| 360,800 | |
| 72,530 | |
| 377,810 | |
| 210,270 | |
(Source: Occupational Employment Statistics)
For projected (future) employment estimates, see the National Employment Matrix, which includes employment estimates by industry and occupation for professional, scientific, and technical services.
(Source: Office of Occupational Statistics and Employment Projections)
This section presents data on employee earnings and weekly hours. The latest industry averages of hourly earnings and weekly hours, as well as weekly earnings by union membership status, are shown. In addition, recent hourly and annual earnings are shown for occupations commonly found in real estate and rental and leasing. This section also contains information on the average cost of benefits paid by employers, as well as recent rates of change in wages and total compensation.
| Data series | Back data |
Sep. 2011 |
Oct. 2011 |
Nov. 2011 |
Dec. 2011 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
|
$35.33 | $35.88 | $35.42 | (P) $35.57 | |
|
36.3 | 37.5 | 36.3 | (P) 36.1 | |
|
Footnotes |
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(Source: Current Employment Statistics)
| Data series | Back data |
Sep. 2011 |
Oct. 2011 |
Nov. 2011 |
Dec. 2011 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
|
$30.23 | $30.72 | $30.40 | (P) $30.41 | |
|
35.8 | 36.8 | 35.7 | (P) 35.6 | |
|
Footnotes |
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(Source: Current Employment Statistics)
| Data series | Back data |
Median weekly earnings | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2008 | 2009 | 2010 | 2011 | ||
Union membership and representation |
|||||
|
$1,065 | $1,094 | $1,124 | $1,149 | |
|
$1,129 | $1,081 | $1,157 | $1,193 | |
|
$1,140 | $1,096 | $1,147 | $1,211 | |
|
$1,064 | $1,094 | $1,123 | $1,149 | |
(Source: Current Population Survey)
| Data series | Wages, 2010 | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Hourly | Annual | |||
| Median | Mean | Median | Mean | |
| $30.56 | $35.69 | $63,570 | $74,240 | |
| $22.29 | $23.32 | $46,370 | $48,510 | |
| $56.49 | $65.78 | $117,490 | $136,810 | |
| $40.87 | $46.87 | $85,010 | $97,490 | |
(Source: Occupational Employment Statistics)
| Data series | Back data |
1st quarter 2011 |
2nd quarter 2011 |
3rd quarter 2011 |
4th quarter 2011 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
12-month percent change |
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|
2.6% | 3.0% | 2.5% | 2.2% | |
|
2.5% | 3.1% | 2.6% | 2.0% | |
(Source: Compensation Cost Trends)
| Data series | Back data |
3rd quarter 2011 | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Compensation component ($ per hour worked) |
Percent of total compensation | ||
Compensation costs |
|||
|
44.11 | 100.0 | |
|
32.00 | 72.6 | |
|
12.11 | 27.4 | |
|
2.97 | 6.7 | |
|
1.32 | 3.0 | |
(Source: Compensation Cost Trends)
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 professional, scientific, and technical services. 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 |
||||
| 78 | 71 | 87 | (P) 78 | |
Rate of injury and illness cases per 100 full-time workers |
||||
| 1.3 | 1.1 | 1.2 | 1.0 | |
Cases involving days away from work, job restriction, or transfer |
0.5 | 0.5 | 0.5 | 0.4 |
| 0.3 | 0.3 | 0.3 | 0.3 | |
| 0.2 | 0.2 | 0.1 | 0.2 | |
|
Footnotes |
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(Source: Injuries, Illnesses, and Fatalities)
This section presents data on the number of establishments in professional, scientific, and technical services.
| Data series | Back data |
3rd quarter 2010 |
4th quarter 2010 |
1st quarter 2011 |
2nd quarter 2011 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Number of establishments |
|||||
|
1,022,552 | 1,030,920 | (P) 1,025,086 | (P) 1,033,177 | |
|
933 | 935 | (P) 947 | (P) 948 | |
|
392 | 384 | (P) 415 | (P) 395 | |
|
1,468 | 1,470 | (P) 1,483 | (P) 1,455 | |
|
Footnotes |
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(Source: Quarterly Census of Employment and Wages)
See industry studies in the subject matter index of The Editor's Desk (Current Edition).
See technological change in the Index of the Monthly Labor Review Online (Current Issue).
See advertising and public relations services, computer systems design and related services, management, scientific, and technical consulting services and scientific research and development services in the Career Guide to Industries.
Data extracted on: February 07, 2012