The PayScale Index (US): Trends in Compensation

2012: All of those hard-working, hammer-wielding construction workers who enjoyed good news in late 2011 heard some more in Q1 2012. Their earnings grew 0.6 percent quarter-over-quarter.

2007-2011: The strong growth years of 2007 and 2008 were good for construction occupations, with wage trends outpacing the national averages. However, the earnings peak at the end of 2008 was followed by years of declining wages. While most industries saw their wage trends bottom out in 2009, and at least flatten in 2010, construction had wage losses approaching 3 percent both years. Finally, continued declines at the beginning of 2011 stopped and wages posted gains by Q4.

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The construction (SOC Codes 11-9020.00 Construction Managers; 47-0000.00 Construction and Extraction Occupations) jobs category includes all of the people who build things – houses, roads, office towers – and those who extract oil, gas and minerals out of the ground. From plumbers to roustabouts, these workers can be found in a variety of industries, including highway maintenance and carpet sales and installation. Despite the wide variety, all of this employment falls into one category, construction.

The SOC (Standard Occupational Classification) system is used by Federal statistical agencies to classify workers into occupational categories for the purpose of collecting, calculating, or disseminating data. Source: Bureau of Labor Statistics.

The PayScale Index tracks quarterly changes in total cash compensation for full-time, private industry employees in the United States. In addition to a national index, it includes separate indices for specific industries, metropolitan areas, job categories, and company sizes. The PayScale Index uses 2006 average total cash compensation as a baseline.

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