Professional and Business Services Snapshot

According to the U.S. Department of Labor, Bureau of Labor Statistics:

The professional and business services super sector 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 decision making 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.

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

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

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

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 are projected to have a larger percentage change over the period.) Total employment for all industry sectors is projected to grow 14.8 percent.