Computer and Electronic Product Manufacturing: NAICS 334

About the Computer and Electronic Product Manufacturing subsector

The computer and electronic product manufacturing subsector is part of the manufacturing sector.

Industries in the Computer and Electronic Product Manufacturing subsector group establishments that manufacture computers, computer peripherals, communications equipment, and similar electronic products, and establishments that manufacture components for such products. The Computer and Electronic Product Manufacturing industries have been combined in the hierarchy of NAICS because of the economic significance they have attained. Their rapid growth suggests that they will become even more important to the economies of all three North American countries in the future, and in addition their manufacturing processes are fundamentally different from the manufacturing processes of other machinery and equipment. The design and use of integrated circuits and the application of highly specialized miniaturization technologies are common elements in the production technologies of the computer and electronic subsector.

North American Industry Classification System

The computer and electronic product manufacturing subsector consists of these industry groups:

  • Computer and Peripheral Equipment Manufacturing: NAICS 3341
  • Communications Equipment Manufacturing: NAICS 3342
  • Audio and Video Equipment Manufacturing: NAICS 3343
  • Semiconductor and Other Electronic Component Manufacturing: NAICS 3344
  • Navigational, Measuring, Electromedical, and Control Instruments Manufacturing: NAICS 3345
  • Manufacturing and Reproducing Magnetic and Optical Media: NAICS 3346

Workforce Statistics

This section provides information relating to employment and unemployment in computer and electronic product manufacturing. 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, mass layoffs, data for occupations common to the industry, and projections of occupational employment change.

Employment, Unemployment, and Layoffs

Data series Back
data
Jan.
2013
Feb.
2013
Mar.
2013
Apr.
2013

Employment (in thousands)

 

Employment, all employees (seasonally adjusted)

Jump to page with historical data
1,086.3 1,084.5 (P) 1,084.0 (P) 1,082.0

Employment, production and nonsupervisory employees (seasonally adjusted)

Jump to page with historical data
625.2 626.8 (P) 624.8 (P) 625.5

Unemployment

 

Unemployment rate

Jump to page with historical data
6.1% 6.2% 6.1% 4.3%

Layoffs

 

Mass layoff events

Jump to page with historical data
15 12 12 17

Initial claimants for unemployment benefits

Jump to page with historical data
1,287 684 1,002 1,184

Footnotes
(P) Preliminary

(Source: Current Employment Statistics, Current Population Survey, Mass Layoff Statistics)

Extended Mass Layoffs

Data series Back
data
2nd quarter
2012
3rd quarter
2012
4th quarter
2012
1st quarter
2013

Extended mass layoff events

Jump to page with historical data
15 29 (P) 21 (P) 9

Separations

Jump to page with historical data
2,878 3,361 (P) 3,116 (P) 971

Initial claimants

Jump to page with historical data
1,980 3,502 (P) 2,704 (P) 999

Footnotes
(P) Preliminary

(Source: Mass Layoff Statistics)

Employment by Occupation

Data series Employment,
2012

Computer hardware engineers

31,280

Computer software engineers, applications

 

Computer software engineers, systems software

 

Electrical and electronic engineering technicians

37,660

Electrical and electronic equipment assemblers

97,650

Semiconductor processors

20,260

(Source: Occupational Employment Statistics)

Projections

For projected (future) employment estimates, see the National Employment Matrix, which includes employment estimates by industry and occupation for computer and electronic product manufacturing.

(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 computer and electronic product manufacturing.

Earnings and Hours of All Employees

Data series Back
data
Jan.
2013
Feb.
2013
Mar.
2013
Apr.
2013

Average hourly earnings

Jump to page with historical data
$33.17 $32.93 (P) $32.96 (P) $33.06

Average weekly hours

Jump to page with historical data
39.7 39.9 (P) 39.8 (P) 39.8

Footnotes
(P) Preliminary

(Source: Current Employment Statistics)

Earnings and Hours of Production and Nonsupervisory Employees

Data series Back
data
Jan.
2013
Feb.
2013
Mar.
2013
Apr.
2013

Average hourly earnings

Jump to page with historical data
$23.29 $23.28 (P) $23.36 (P) $23.50

Average weekly hours

Jump to page with historical data
40.0 40.6 (P) 40.7 (P) 40.6

Footnotes
(P) Preliminary

(Source: Current Employment Statistics)

Earnings by Occupation

Data series Wages, 2012
Hourly Annual
Median Mean Median Mean

Computer hardware engineers

$49.79 $51.01 $103,560 $106,110

Computer software engineers, applications

       

Computer software engineers, systems software

       

Electrical and electronic engineering technicians

$25.22 $26.04 $52,460 $54,160

Electrical and electronic equipment assemblers

$13.98 $15.12 $29,080 $31,460

Semiconductor processors

$15.90 $16.69 $33,060 $34,700

(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 computer and electronic product manufacturing. 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 2008 2009 2010 2011

Fatalities

 

Number of fatalities

14 8 11 6

Rate of injury and illness cases per 100 full-time workers

 

Total recordable cases

1.8 1.6 1.5 1.4

Cases involving days away from work, job restriction, or transfer

0.9 0.8 0.8 0.7

Cases involving days away from work

0.4 0.4 0.4 0.4

Cases involving days of job transfer or restriction

0.5 0.4 0.4 0.3

Blank cells indicate no data reported or data that do not meet publication criteria.

(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. The import price index reflects the percentage change in prices paid to foreign producers for their goods and services within the U.S., while the export price index measures the percentage change in prices received by U.S. producers for goods and services sold outside the U.S.

Data series Back
data
Jan.
2013
Feb.
2013
Mar.
2013
Apr.
2013

Producer price index

Jump to page with historical data
(P) 89.4 (P) 89.5 (P) 89.4 (P) 89.5

Percent change from previous month

  (P) 0.6% (P) 0.1% (P) -0.1% (P) 0.1%

Import index

Jump to page with historical data
(R) 81.6 81.5 (R) 81.2 81.1

Percent change from previous month

  (R) -0.2% (R) -0.1% (R) -0.4% (R) -0.1%

Export index

Jump to page with historical data
89.2 (R) 89.4 (R) 89.3 88.9

Percent change from previous month

  0.2% (R) 0.2% (R) -0.1% (R) -0.4%

Footnotes
(R) Revised
(P) Preliminary

(Source: Producer Price Indexes, International Price Program)

Workplace Trends

This section presents data on the number of establishments in computer and electronic product manufacturing. Also included in this section is information on productivity, presented as the rate of change in output per hour of workers in the industry.

Establishments

Data series Back
data
4th quarter
2011
1st quarter
2012
2nd quarter
2012
3rd quarter
2012

Number of establishments

 

Private industry

Jump to page with historical data
18,748 (P) 18,630 (P) 18,737 (P) 18,815

Local government

Jump to page with historical data
6 (P) 6 (P) 6 (P) 6

State government

Jump to page with historical data
1 (P) 1 (P) 1 (P) 1

Footnotes
(P) Preliminary

(Source: Quarterly Census of Employment and Wages)

Productivity

Data series Back
data
2008 2009 2010 2011

Labor productivity index, output per hour

Jump to page with historical data
161.282 154.096 167.911 175.307

Percent change from previous year

Jump to page with historical data
2.8 -4.5 9.0 4.4

Labor index, total labor hours

Jump to page with historical data
86.196 77.464 75.058 74.790

Percent change from previous year

Jump to page with historical data
0.4 -10.1 -3.1 -0.4

Output index

Jump to page with historical data
139.019 119.369 126.031 131.113

Percent change from previous year

Jump to page with historical data
3.2 -14.1 5.6 4.0

Unit labor costs index

Jump to page with historical data
75.860 78.544 75.767 75.757

Percent change from previous year

Jump to page with historical data
-6.0 3.5 -3.5 0.0

(Source: Productivity and Costs)

Other BLS Resources

Career Guide to Industries

See computer and electronic product manufacturing in the Career Guide to Industries.

 

Data extracted on: May 22, 2013