(CN) - Nearly 5.6 million people worked in the construction and extraction trades in 2016, earning an annual mean wage of $48,900.
The Labor Department reported Thursday construction and the related extraction trade jobs made up 4 percent of total national employment. Over 4.2 million of these jobs were in construction trades occupations, including construction laborers (912,100), carpenters (676,980), and electricians (607,120).
The highest paying construction and extraction occupations were elevator installers and repairers ($76,860) and first-line supervisors of construction trades and extraction workers ($68,040).
The lowest paying construction and extraction occupation was construction trades helpers ($30,900). The annual mean wage across all construction and extraction occupations was $48,900, slightly below the U.S. average wage of $49,630 for all occupations combined.
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