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Professional and Business Services Industry


   

The professional and business services supersector is made up of three parts: the professional, scientific, and technical services sector (sector 54), the management of companies and enterprises sector (sector 55), and the administrative and support and waste management and remediation services sector (sector 56).

The professional, scientific, and technical services sector comprises establishments that specialize in performing professional, scientific, and technical activities for others. 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.

The management of companies and enterprises sector comprises (1) establishments that hold the securities of (or other equity interests in) companies and enterprises for the purpose of owning a controlling interest or influencing management decisions or (2) establishments (except government establishments) that administer, oversee, and manage establishments of the company or enterprise and that normally undertake the strategic or organizational planning and decisionmaking role of the company or enterprise.

The administrative and support and waste management and remediation services sector comprises establishments performing routine support activities for the day-to-day operations of other organizations. These essential activities are often undertaken in-house by establishments in many sectors of the economy. Activities performed include: office administration, hiring and placing of personnel, document preparation and similar clerical services, solicitation, collection, security and surveillance services, cleaning, and waste disposal services.

Quarterly Census of Employment and Wages data show that, in the economy as a whole:

  • professional, scientific, and technical services represents about 5.2 percent of all employment yet makes up about 10.5 percent of all establishments;

  • management of companies and enterprises makes up about 1.3 percent of all employment, and about 0.5 percent of all establishments;

  • administrative and support and waste management and remediation services is about 5.9 percent of all employment, and about 5.0 percent of all establishments.

Estimates from the Current Employment Statistics for the 1994 - 2003 period show annual average employment in professional and business services at 12,174,000 at the beginning of the period and peaking at 16,666,000 in 2000. In 2003, the employment in professional and business services was 15,997,000, on average.

Employment in professional and business services

  • The number of nonsupervisory employees in professional and business services averaged 10,078,000 in 1994, and their average annual employment peaked at 13,790,000 in 2000. Nonsupervisory employment in professional and business services averaged 12,923,000 in 2003

  • The annual average of the average weekly hours of nonsupervisory workers in professional and business services was 34.1 in 2003, just above the 2003 private industry average of 33.7 for production and nonsupervisory workers.

  • In professional and business services, the average hourly earnings of nonsupervisory workers were $17.20 in 2003, compared to an average of $15.35 for production and nonsupervisory workers in all private industry.

Average hourly earnings of nonsupervisory workers in professional and business services

In 2003, according to the Current Population Survey, the unemployment rate of persons most recently employed in professional and business services was 8.2 percent; the overall unemployment rate was 6.0 percent that year.

Data from the Mass Layoff Statistics program show that in 2002

  • in professional, scientific, and technical services, there were 259 extended mass layoff events, resulting in 57,907 separations of workers from their jobs, and 45,670 initial claimants for unemployment insurance;

  • in management of companies and enterprises, there were 20 extended mass layoff events, resulting in 4,959 separations of workers from their jobs, and 5,154 initial claimants for unemployment insurance;

  • in administrative and support and waste management and remediation services, there were 608 extended mass layoff events, 134,536 separations, and 143,137 initial claimants.

Employment Projections data indicate that employment in the professional and business services sector will increase 30.4 percent over the 2002-12 period, the second-highest rate of growth of all sectors. (Education and health services is projected to have a larger percentage change over the period.) Total employment for all industry sectors is projected to grow 14.8 percent.

The Productivity and Costs program publishes estimates of labor productivity for selected professional and business services industries.

The Producer Price Index program publishes data for many industries in professional and business services.

In 2003, there were 452 fatal occupational injuries in professional and business services and 288,900 nonfatal injuries and illnesses, according to data from the Injuries, Illnesses, and Fatalities program. The nonfatal injuries and illnesses incidence rate was 2.5 per 100 full-time workers in professional and business services and 5.0 per 100 full-time workers in all private industry.

Some businesses in this industry are:

Accounting Firm
Administrative Service Business
Advertising Agency
Advertising Consulting
Advertising Material Distribution Services
Agricultural Consultant
Architectural Engineering
Architectural Services
Armored Car Services
Art Packaging Installation
Art Shipping
Auditing Services
Automated Accounting Systems
Building Inspection Services
Business Support
Carpet and Upholstery Cleaning Services
Certified Public Accountants
Cleaning Service
Collection Agencies
Computer Related Services
Convention and Trade Show Organizers
Convention and Visitors Bureaus
Copy Shops
Corporate, Subsidiary, and Regional Managing Offices
Court Reporting
Credit Bureaus
Drafting Services
Employment Agencies
Engineering Services
Environmental Consulting Services
Exterminating and Pest Control Services
Geophysical Surveying and Mapping Services
Graphic Design Services
Hazardous Waste Collection
Human Resources Consulting Services
Industrial Design Services
Interior Design Services
Investigation Services
Janitorial Services
Landscape Architects
Landscaping Services
Lawyers
Locksmiths
Marketing Consulting Services
Marketing Research
Notaries
Office Administration Services
Packaging and Labeling Services
Payroll Services
Photography Studios
Private Mail Centers
Public Opinion Polling
Public Relations Agencies
Repossession Services
Research and Development Agencies
Security Guards
Security Systems Services
Septic TankServices
Solid Waste Collection
Sports Tour Operators
Stenotype Services
Surveying and Mapping Services
Tax Preparation Services
Telemarketing Bureaus
Telephone Answering Services
Temporary Services
Testing Laboratories
Title Abstract and Settlement Offices
Travel Tour Operators
Translation and Interpretation Services
Travel Agencies
Veterinary Services
Web Design

 

Information courtesy of the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics.

 

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