WASHINGTON, D.C., Nov. 12 – Associated Builders and Contractors (ABC), Construction Labor Market Analyzer (CLMA) and NCCER today pushed back against media reports this week that have misrepresented the income of welders in commercial and industrial construction.
“The media’s mischaracterization of the incomes earned by welders, particularly in the construction industry, is not based in fact,” said ABC Vice President of Environment, Health, Safety and Workforce Development Greg Sizemore. “By using Bureau of Labor Statistics data out of context, several media reports have woefully underestimated the average income earned by welders. Lumping welders in with other classifications and only including base salary paints an incomplete picture of welders’ average earnings.
According to analysis of BLS data completed by CLMA, annual median compensation for a 40 hour work week for Heavy Industrial Welder Crafts exceeds $75,000 ($75,516.38), compared to BLS’ figure for Standard Occupational Classification (SOC) code 51-4121 (Welders, Cutters, Solderers and Brazers of $37,420. When adding per diem at the federal minimum, this average annual compensation expands to $86,556.38 and when overtime is factored in for welders who exceed a 40 hour work week, the median wage exceeds six figures. Additionally, annual median compensation for Specialty Welder Crafts, based on a 40 hour work week, is $68,632.73 and increases to nearly $80,000 after federal minimum per diem is added. When overtime is factored in for welders who exceed a 40 hour work week, the median wage is $98,150.77.
For the entire set of welder income data compiled by CLMA, click here.
NCCER is a not-for-profit 501(c)(3) education foundation created by the construction industry to develop standardized curriculum with portable credentials and to help address the skilled construction workforce shortage. NCCER is recognized by the industry as the training, assessment, certification and career development standard for the construction and maintenance craft professional. For more information, visit nccer.org or contact NCCER customer service at 888.622.3720.
The Construction Labor Market Analyzer® (CLMA) is an online application owned by Construction Industry Resources, LLC that helps construction owners, contractors, unions, labor providers and the construction industry overall understand the skilled labor market and manage project labor risk. For more information visit myCLMA.com.