Oregon Labor Market Information System
Industry Report for NAICS 237 - Heavy and Civil Engineering Construction
Industry Description
The Heavy and Civil Engineering Construction subsector comprises establishments whose primary activity is the construction of entire engineering projects (e.g., highways and dams), and specialty trade contractors, whose primary activity is the production of a specific component for such projects. Specialty trade contractors in Heavy and Civil Engineering Construction generally are performing activities that are specific to heavy and civil engineering construction projects and are not normally performed on buildings. (more...)

The work performed may include new work, additions, alterations, or maintenance and repairs. Specialty trade activities are classified in this subsector if the skills and equipment present are specific to heavy or civil engineering construction projects. For example, specialized equipment is needed to paint lines on highways. This equipment is not normally used in building applications so the activity is classified in this subsector. Traffic signal installation, while specific to highways, uses much of the same skills and equipment that are needed for electrical work in building projects and is therefore classified in Subsector 238, Specialty Trade Contractors. Construction projects involving water resources (e.g., dredging and land drainage) and projects involving open space improvement (e.g., parks and trails) are included in this subsector. Establishments whose primary activity is the subdivision of land into individual building lots usually perform various additional site-improvement activities (e.g., road building and utility line installation) and are included in this subsector. Establishments in this subsector are classified based on the types of structures that they construct. This classification reflects variations in the requirements of the underlying production processes. (hide description)


Employment, Payroll and Business Establishmentsdownload spreadsheet
for NAICS 237 - Heavy and Civil Engineering Construction
in the Oregon-Washington WIRED Region

Year Avg
Emp
Total
Payroll
Avg Pay
per Worker
Business
Estabs.
2003 6,397 $331,537,630 $51,827 579
2004 7,032 $378,903,694 $53,883 558
2005 7,478 $410,116,891 $54,843 595
2006 7,704 $442,885,382 $57,488 620
2007 8,199 $486,482,934 $59,334 644
2008 7,770 $470,936,229 $60,610 615
2009 6,634 $427,698,870 $64,471 548

The above data is taken from quarterly unemployment tax records.

Employment changes between December and January of each year may be due in part to corrections to industry classification and/or geographic classification of some firms.

Source: Oregon Employment Department


Detailed Industry Breakoutdownload spreadsheet
for the Oregon-Washington WIRED Region

Industry NAICS 2009
Avg
Emp
2009
Total
Payroll
2009
Avg Pay
per Worker
2009
Business
Estabs.
Heavy and Civil Engineering Construction 237 6,634 $427,698,870 $64,471 548
Water and Sewer System Construction 23711 1,900 $116,043,073 $61,075 132
Oil and Gas Pipeline Construction 23712 135 $8,921,140 $66,083 8
Power/Communication System Construction 23713 1,293 $86,256,256 $66,710 67
Land Subdivision 23721 419 $25,622,499 $61,152 124
Highway, Street, and Bridge Construction 23731 2,031 $132,214,333 $65,098 130
Other Heavy Construction 23799 857 $58,641,569 $68,427 87

Source: Oregon Employment Department



Employment Projectionsdownload spreadsheet
for the Oregon-Washington WIRED Region

Industry NAICS 2008
Employment
2018
Employment
Change % Change
All Industries - 1,235,695 1,362,997 127,302 10.3%
Construction 23 71,573 73,416 1,843 2.6%
Heavy and Civil Engineering Construction 237 7,798 7,871 73 0.9%

Source: Oregon Employment Department


Shift-Sharedownload spreadsheet
for the Oregon-Washington WIRED Region, 2003 to 2009

Industry NAICS 2009
Location
Quotient
Employment
Growth
2003 - 2009
National
Growth
Industry
Mix
Regional
Shift
Construction 23 1.07 -823 366 -6,612 5,423
Heavy and Civil Engineering Construction 237 0.87 237 41 -335 531

Location Quotient: The ratio of the local percentage of employment in a given industry to the national percentage of employment in the same industry. An LQ greater than 1 indicates a higher-than-average concentration of employment in the given industry.

National Growth: The change in local employment that would have occurred for a specific industry had it grown at the national growth rate of all industries combined.

Industry Mix: The additional gain (or loss) in local employment that would have occurred for a specific industry (additional to the national growth effect) due to the industry growing faster (or slower) nationally than the rate of all industries combined.

Regional Shift: The additional gain (or loss) in local employment for a specific industry beyond the national growth and industry mix effects resulting from the industry growing faster (or slower) than the same industry nationally.

Source: Oregon Employment Department


Industry Staffing Patterns: Major Occupationsdownload spreadsheet
related to NAICS 237 - Heavy and Civil Engineering Construction in the Oregon-Washington WIRED Region

Occupation 2008 Employment,
This Industry Only
Occupational
Percent of
Total Industry
Industry
Percent of
Total Occupation
Construction Laborers 1,585 20.3% 21.3%
Operating Engineers and Other Construction Equipment Operators 968 12.4% 44.7%
Supervisors and Managers of Construction Trades and Extraction Workers 517 6.6% 10.8%
Truck Drivers, Heavy and Tractor-Trailer 311 4.0% 2.0%
Construction Managers 290 3.7% 11.8%
Office Clerks, General 229 2.9% 0.9%
Carpenters 228 2.9% 2.1%
Pipelayers 222 2.8% 61.8%
Maintenance and Repair Workers, General 172 2.2% 1.9%
Electrical Power-Line Installers and Repairers 170 2.2% 19.7%
Cement Masons and Concrete Finishers 166 2.1% 9.2%
Bookkeeping, Accounting, and Auditing Clerks 163 2.1% 0.9%
Cost Estimators 156 2.0% 6.1%
Paving, Surfacing, and Tamping Equipment Operators 156 2.0% 39.8%
General and Operations Managers 139 1.8% 0.9%
Telecommunications Line Installers and Repairers 133 1.7% 11.2%
Earth Drillers, Water and Construction 130 1.7% 73.4%
Mobile Heavy Equipment Mechanics, Except Engines 127 1.6% 11.2%
Civil Engineers 115 1.5% 3.6%
Painters, Construction and Maintenance 106 1.4% 3.0%

Source: Oregon Employment Department


All-Industry Projections for Major Occupationsdownload spreadsheet
related to NAICS 237 - Heavy and Civil Engineering Construction in the Oregon-Washington WIRED Region

Occupation 2008
Employment
2018
Employment

Change
% Change Projected
Annual
Growth
Openings
Projected
Annual
Replacement
Openings
Projected
Total
Annual
Openings
Construction Laborers 8,232 8,535 303 3.7% 30 56 86
Operating Engineers and Other Construction Equipment Operators 2,203 2,227 24 1.1% 2 38 40
Supervisors and Managers of Construction Trades and Extraction Workers 5,201 5,392 191 3.7% 19 102 122
Truck Drivers, Heavy and Tractor-Trailer 15,610 16,569 959 6.1% 96 288 384
Construction Managers 3,111 3,229 118 3.8% 12 25 37
Office Clerks, General 25,131 27,793 2,662 10.6% 266 361 627
Carpenters 12,393 12,737 344 2.8% 34 157 191
Pipelayers 384 399 15 3.9% 2 8 9
Maintenance and Repair Workers, General 8,996 9,719 723 8.0% 72 144 216
Electrical Power-Line Installers and Repairers 866 888 22 2.5% 2 31 33
Cement Masons and Concrete Finishers 1,836 1,862 26 1.4% 3 47 49
Bookkeeping, Accounting, and Auditing Clerks 18,314 20,072 1,758 9.6% 176 231 406
Cost Estimators 2,587 2,692 105 4.1% 11 59 69
Paving, Surfacing, and Tamping Equipment Operators 392 397 5 1.3% 1 7 7
General and Operations Managers 14,951 16,304 1,353 9.0% 135 453 588
Telecommunications Line Installers and Repairers 1,189 1,197 8 0.7% 1 18 19
Earth Drillers, Water and Construction 182 183 1 0.5% 0 3 3
Mobile Heavy Equipment Mechanics, Except Engines 1,143 1,198 55 4.8% 6 22 28
Civil Engineers 3,200 3,598 398 12.4% 40 57 97
Painters, Construction and Maintenance 4,187 4,248 61 1.5% 6 72 78

Source: Oregon Employment Department


Occupational Wages (All Industries, 2010)download spreadsheet
All-industry wages for major occupations related to NAICS 237 - Heavy and Civil Engineering Construction

Occupation 10th
Percentile
Wage
25th
Percentile
Wage
50th
Percentile
Wage
75th
Percentile
Wage
90th
Percentile
Wage
Avg
Hourly
Wage
Avg
Annual
Wage
Construction Laborers $10.66 $12.41 $15.36 $20.67 $25.44 $16.90 $35,158
Operating Engineers and Other Construction Equipment Operators $17.83 $21.15 $25.65 $30.57 $34.80 $25.93 $53,928
Supervisors and Managers of Construction Trades and Extraction Workers $19.61 $24.05 $30.94 $37.79 $44.56 $31.24 $64,990
Truck Drivers, Heavy and Tractor-Trailer $13.95 $16.29 $18.91 $22.43 $25.89 $19.43 $40,408
Construction Managers $24.43 $31.02 $39.77 $50.78 $65.78 $43.01 $89,470
Office Clerks, General $9.61 $11.37 $13.98 $17.15 $20.16 $14.58 $30,323
Carpenters $13.10 $15.44 $19.96 $27.55 $33.16 $21.74 $45,227
Pipelayers $14.79 $18.18 $22.53 $26.56 $31.20 $22.43 $46,646
Maintenance and Repair Workers, General $11.45 $14.04 $17.86 $22.63 $27.28 $18.57 $38,629
Electrical Power-Line Installers and Repairers $25.83 $32.71 $36.43 $40.05 $43.84 $35.26 $73,328
Cement Masons and Concrete Finishers $14.57 $16.82 $20.75 $26.56 $31.88 $21.92 $45,609
Bookkeeping, Accounting, and Auditing Clerks $12.44 $14.31 $17.11 $20.34 $24.48 $17.76 $36,946
Cost Estimators $16.64 $21.46 $28.97 $36.39 $44.70 $29.44 $61,221
Paving, Surfacing, and Tamping Equipment Operators $14.36 $18.19 $21.44 $24.63 $28.57 $21.26 $44,211
General and Operations Managers $25.25 $33.23 $46.57 $64.99 NA $53.83 $111,957
Telecommunications Line Installers and Repairers $17.82 $22.82 $26.74 $29.48 $31.88 $25.55 $53,141
Earth Drillers, Water and Construction $13.23 $14.31 $16.04 $20.47 $23.62 $17.29 $35,966
Mobile Heavy Equipment Mechanics, Except Engines $15.50 $19.04 $22.62 $26.26 $30.23 $22.73 $47,259
Civil Engineers $23.83 $28.89 $35.76 $44.04 $50.85 $36.37 $75,652
Painters, Construction and Maintenance $11.72 $13.24 $15.23 $18.24 $22.14 $16.16 $33,617

Source: Oregon Employment Department

Source: Oregon Employment Department


Oreogn Employment Service Job Applicants - January 2011download spreadsheet

Occupation Oregon Job Applicants by Experience Level
None <1 Year 1-4 Years 5-9 Years 10+ Years Oregon Total
Construction Laborers 796 1,307 3,829 1,635 1,964 9,531
Operating Engineers and Other Construction Equipment Operators 335 225 855 539 912 2,866
Supervisors and Managers of Construction Trades and Extraction Workers 347 118 658 524 1,023 2,670
Truck Drivers, Heavy and Tractor-Trailer 272 285 900 637 1,374 3,468
Construction Managers 251 84 474 369 675 1,853
Office Clerks, General 1,005 1,805 6,687 3,466 5,204 18,167
Carpenters 496 466 1,545 949 1,831 5,287
Pipelayers 269 188 383 183 176 1,199
Maintenance and Repair Workers, General 453 618 1,920 839 922 4,752
Electrical Power-Line Installers and Repairers 148 29 62 26 26 291
Cement Masons and Concrete Finishers 310 438 657 267 415 2,087
Bookkeeping, Accounting, and Auditing Clerks 664 671 2,352 1,172 2,092 6,951
Cost Estimators 187 65 315 220 309 1,096
Paving, Surfacing, and Tamping Equipment Operators 246 232 390 130 168 1,166
General and Operations Managers 290 145 1,340 1,153 1,844 4,772
Telecommunications Line Installers and Repairers 139 63 220 110 132 664
Earth Drillers, Water and Construction 92 31 55 31 39 248
Mobile Heavy Equipment Mechanics, Except Engines 237 183 528 295 433 1,676
Civil Engineers 95 13 81 34 102 325
Painters, Construction and Maintenance 304 693 1,628 670 1,005 4,300

Occupational experience is largely self-reported.

Applicants counts include only those registered with the Oregon Employment Department. They do not represent all job applicants across the WIRED region.

Applicants may be listed under multiple occupational categories, so summing applicant counts across occupational classifications will result in some double-counting.

Source: Oregon Employment Department


The Oregon-Washington WIRED Region consists of Clackamas, Columbia, Marion, Multnomah, Polk, Washington and Yamhill counties in Oregon, and Clark, Cowlitz and Wahkiakum counties in Washington.