Automotive Industry: Employment, Earnings, and Hours

The automotive industry includes industries associated with the production, wholesaling, retailing, and maintenance of motor vehicles. This industry is not formally defined in the North American Industry Classification System (NAICS), but the Bureau of Labor Statistics is referring to a group of detailed industries as the “automotive industry” for purposes of analysis. This list is not exhaustive, but includes industries that can be directly impacted by changes in U.S. production and sales of motor vehicles. Below are definitions of these industries

National Employment

Data series	Back data	One year ago: Mar. 2019	Jan. 2020	Feb. 2020	Mar. 2020	1-month change: Feb. 2020 – Mar. 2020	12-month change: Mar. 2019 – Mar. 2020
Employment (all employees, in thousands)
Manufacturing
Motor vehicles and parts manufacturing		1,005.8	990.4	998.9	996.7	-2.2	-9.1
Retail Trade
Motor vehicle and parts dealers		2,022.6	2,064.3	2,064.4	2,059.7	-4.7	37.1
Automobile dealers		1,298.5	1,310.1	1,310.9	1,307.3	-3.6	8.8

(Source: Current Employment Statistics)

Data series	Back data	Annual average: 2019	Jan. 2020	Feb. 2020	Mar. 2020	12-month changes:
						Feb. 2019 – Feb. 2020	Mar. 2019 – Mar. 2020
Employment (all employees, in thousands)
Manufacturing
Motor vehicles and parts manufacturing		998.5	989.2	1,004.1	1,003.6	-10.9	-8.1
Motor vehicles manufacturing		237.2	235.0	245.7		3.2
Motor vehicle bodies and trailers		165.7	166.6	167.9		2.5
Motor vehicle parts manufacturing		595.6	587.6	590.5		-16.6
Wholesale Trade
Motor vehicle and parts wholesalers		359.5	360.5	360.7		3.8
Retail Trade
Motor vehicle and parts dealers		2,034.7	2,047.5	2,050.6	2,049.9	47.5	36.9
Automobile dealers		1,300.0	1,305.2	1,308.1	1,304.2	15.9	9.0
Other motor vehicle dealers		163.9	156.3	158.7	160.5	3.9	2.9
Auto parts, accessories, and tire stores		570.9	586.0	583.8	585.2	27.7	25.0
Other Services
Automotive repair and maintenance		948.8	950.8	962.7		32.3

(Source: Current Employment Statistics)

Data series	Back data	Annual average: 2019	Jan. 2020	Feb. 2020	Mar. 2020	12-month change: Mar. 2019 – Mar. 2020
Average hourly earnings (of production and nonsupervisory workers)
Manufacturing
Motor vehicles and parts manufacturing		$23.50	$23.81	$23.90	$23.80	$0.56
Motor vehicles manufacturing		29.64	29.81	29.92
Motor vehicle bodies and trailers		20.25	20.59	20.53
Motor vehicle parts manufacturing		21.68	22.07	22.01
Wholesale Trade
Motor vehicle and parts wholesalers		22.22	22.10	22.25
Retail Trade
Motor vehicle and parts dealers		21.02	21.16	21.14
Automobile dealers		22.85	23.00	22.90
Other motor vehicle dealers		20.04	19.98	19.80
Auto parts, accessories, and tire stores		16.88	17.15	17.34
Other Services
Automotive repair and maintenance		20.02	20.33	20.46

(Source: Current Employment Statistics)

Data series	Back data	One year ago: Mar. 2019	Jan. 2020	Feb. 2020	Mar. 2020	1-month change: Feb. 2020 – Mar. 2020
Average weekly hours (of production and nonsupervisory workers)
Manufacturing
Motor vehicles and parts manufacturing		43.3	43.0	43.4	43.3	-0.1

(Source: Current Employment Statistics)

Data series	Back data	Annual average: 2019	Jan. 2020	Feb. 2020	Mar. 2020	12-month changes:
						Feb. 2019 – Feb. 2020	Mar. 2019 – Mar. 2020
Average weekly hours (of production and nonsupervisory workers)
Manufacturing
Motor vehicles and parts manufacturing		43.3	42.5	43.1	43.5	-0.6	-0.1
Motor vehicles manufacturing		45.0	44.5	45.4		0.5
Motor vehicle bodies and trailers		41.0	41.0	42.0		1.0
Motor vehicle parts manufacturing		43.3	42.1	42.4		-1.5
Wholesale Trade
Motor vehicle and parts wholesalers		37.7	37.3	37.5		-0.1
Retail Trade
Motor vehicle and parts dealers		37.2	37.0	37.7		1.0
Automobile dealers		37.5	37.1	37.9		0.8
Other motor vehicle dealers		35.4	35.1	35.7		1.2
Auto parts, accessories, and tire stores		37.1	37.2	37.6		1.2
Other Services
Automotive repair and maintenance		35.3	34.9	35.2		0.6

(Source: Current Employment Statistics)

Data series	Back data	Annual average: 2019	Jan. 2020	Feb. 2020	Mar. 2020	12-month change: Mar. 2019 – Mar. 2020
Employment (all employees, in thousands)
Manufacturing
Motor vehicles and parts manufacturing
Motor vehicles manufacturing
Alabama		14.0	14.5	14.7	14.9	1.3
California		17.8	17.2	17.1	17.1	-2.3
Kentucky		22.3	22.7	22.6	22.6	0.5
Michigan		38.2	40.2	40.3	39.6	-0.7
Missouri		11.5	9.6	10.7	10.8	-0.8
Ohio		22.3	22.0	22.1	21.8	0.3
Texas		12.4	12.7	12.7	12.7	0.6
Motor vehicle bodies and trailers
Indiana		41.6	41.9	42.5	42.6	-0.6
Motor vehicle parts manufacturing
Alabama		24.8	24.2	24.0	23.9	-1.4
California
Indiana		65.3	64.6	64.8	64.7	-1.0
Kentucky		35.4	35.5	35.3	34.9	-1.1
Michigan		132.9	130.9	131.5	131.3	-4.6
Mississippi		6.1	6.0	6.0	5.9	-0.2
New York		11.0	10.7	10.9	10.8	-0.3
Ohio		75.5	75.8	75.8	74.7	-1.0
Wisconsin

(Source: State and Metro Area Employment, Hours, & Earnings )

 

The automotive industry includes industries associated with the production, wholesaling, retailing, and maintenance of motor vehicles. This industry is not formally defined in the North American Industry Classification System (NAICS), but the Bureau of Labor Statistics is referring to a group of detailed industries as the “automotive industry” for purposes of analysis. This list is not exhaustive, but includes industries that can be directly impacted by changes in U.S. production and sales of motor vehicles. Below are definitions of these industries. Current and historical data back to 1990 are available for these industries. Data provided are for establishments that are located in the United States; the data do not distinguish between domestic and foreign ownership. Employment data are for all employees; average hourly earnings and average weekly hours are for production and nonsupervisory workers.

Manufacturing

• Motor vehicles and parts manufacturing (NAICS 3361,2,3)

Wholesale trade

Retail trade

Other services

Data extracted on:

April 17, 2020