This report on automotive sector wages compensation is based on publicly available data that includes important analysis and identifies some important trends.

However, because the industry is so complex, provides so many different types of jobs, and changes so quickly, we want the reader to understand that publicly available data can provide important information but is insufficient to provide comprehensive insight into the total compensation provided by the broad sector to all occupations. Most of the publicly available data in this report relate to wages or salaries for production workers and for skilled trades, although we recognize that the sector employs workers of diverse skill levels, qualifications, and educational attainments.

The government statistics for particular sectors are organized by North American Industrial Classification System (NAICS) codes. The two NAICS codes directly associated with the automotive sector are NAICS 3361 (motor vehicle manufacturing) and NAICS 3363 (motor vehicle parts manufacturing). But many jobs other than those provided by automotive assemblers and by companies identified as motor vehicle parts manufacturers are dependent on the success of the industry. Significant numbers of jobs in plastic and glass product production, in metal products and in software production, and in computer and electronics manufacturing are dependent on the sector as well. Unfortunately, we are not able to include wage data from NAICS other than 3361 and 3363 because wage data is unavailable for jobs that are automotive specific but related to those other NAICS codes.