Wage Theft by Industry
Industries ranked by total back wages owed from DOL Wage and Hour Division enforcement. Covers $2.92B in back wages across 99,959 WHD cases. Data from OSHA enforcement records and the DOL Wage and Hour Division, covering workplace safety and wage violations across all 50 states; see our methodology.
| # | Industry | WHD Cases | Employees Affected | Avg per Employee | Total Back Wages |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Construction 12,973 employers with WHD cases | 13,972 | 290,517 | $2K | $488.45M |
| 2 | Accommodation & Food Services 22,882 employers with WHD cases | 24,972 | 500,015 | $954 | $476.83M |
| 3 | Healthcare & Social Assistance 13,805 employers with WHD cases | 14,911 | 448,459 | $980 | $439.48M |
| 4 | Administrative & Waste Services 7,133 employers with WHD cases | 7,976 | 302,173 | $1K | $305.29M |
| 5 | Transportation & Warehousing 3,730 employers with WHD cases | 4,382 | 128,972 | $1K | $161.85M |
| 6 | Professional & Technical Services 2,740 employers with WHD cases | 2,926 | 64,586 | $2K | $159.39M |
| 7 | Retail Trade 8,514 employers with WHD cases | 9,082 | 160,033 | $928 | $148.48M |
| 8 | Manufacturing 4,687 employers with WHD cases | 5,070 | 147,408 | $1K | $147.92M |
| 9 | Other 2,155 employers with WHD cases | 2,425 | 104,548 | $1K | $121.63M |
| 10 | Mining, Quarrying, Oil & Gas 718 employers with WHD cases | 755 | 37,777 | $3K | $97.74M |
| 11 | Agriculture, Forestry, Fishing & Hunting 2,940 employers with WHD cases | 3,460 | 118,173 | $611 | $72.17M |
| 12 | Other Services 3,208 employers with WHD cases | 3,398 | 75,671 | $947 | $71.66M |
| 13 | Public Administration 546 employers with WHD cases | 622 | 31,126 | $2K | $62.86M |
| 14 | Wholesale Trade 1,621 employers with WHD cases | 1,698 | 33,699 | $1K | $43.60M |
| 15 | Information 775 employers with WHD cases | 887 | 27,430 | $1K | $33.71M |
| 16 | Finance & Insurance 645 employers with WHD cases | 696 | 26,289 | $920 | $24.19M |
| 17 | Real Estate & Rental 907 employers with WHD cases | 939 | 16,306 | $1K | $20.86M |
| 18 | Arts, Entertainment & Recreation 810 employers with WHD cases | 869 | 36,387 | $449 | $16.34M |
| 19 | Educational Services 520 employers with WHD cases | 591 | 10,296 | $1K | $14.67M |
| 20 | Utilities 244 employers with WHD cases | 257 | 8,337 | $2K | $13.45M |
| 21 | Management of Companies 67 employers with WHD cases | 69 | 3,289 | $984 | $3.24M |
| 22 | Unknown 2 employers with WHD cases | 2 | 89 | $219 | $20K |
About This Data
Back wages data from the U.S. Department of Labor Wage and Hour Division (WHD), covering enforcement of the Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA) including minimum wage, overtime pay, and child labor standards. Industries based on 2-digit NAICS sector codes. Average per-employee figures show the mean back wages owed per affected worker, a measure of violation severity by industry. Data sourced from data.dol.gov.
Every figure on PlainWorker is rendered directly from official U.S. Department of Labor OSHA and Wage & Hour Division enforcement records, no number is typed in by an editor. See our editorial standards & corrections policy, the methodology behind these numbers, or report a data error.