PEO for Construction and trades: What to Ask and Verify
Construction and trades buyers ask a PEO questions that are specific to this trade. This guide is being verified against primary sources; nothing here is published as data until each field carries a source link and a verification date, and the checklist below is what we can stand behind today.
| NAICS sectors | 23 source (opens in new window) |
|---|---|
| Median annual wage | $61,370 source (opens in new window) |
| Sector employment | 8,298,380 source (opens in new window) |
| Workers' comp class codes (Washington state-bureau list, state codes (not NCCI)) | 510 Wood Frame Building Construction and Alterations, 513 Interior Finish Carpentry, 516 Building Repair, Remodeling and Carpentry, NOC, 601 Electrical Wiring: Buildings and Structures, 507 Roof Work - Construction and Repair, 302 Masonry Construction, 306 Plumbing, 217 Concrete Work - Foundations and Flatwork, 101 Excavation, Road Construction, Land Clearing, NOC, 504 Painting: Building and Structures - Exterior Work source (opens in new window) |
| Workers' comp class codes by state — Pennsylvania (state-bureau list) | 652 Carpentry - Detached One or Two Family Dwellings, 653 Masonry, N.O.C., 659 Roofing - All Kinds, 661 Electrical Wiring in Buildings - By Contractor, 663 Pipe Laying for House or Service Connections, by Plumbing Contractor, 609 Excavation or Grading by Contractor (incl. blasting contractor operations), 601 Highway Maintenance, Scraping, Paving or Repaving - By Contractor, 655 Steel Erection, N.O.C. (Iron or Steel Erection, Structural), 645 Drywall Installation - Including Taping and Seaming source (opens in new window) |
| Workers' comp class codes by state — Nebraska (state-bureau list) | 5022, 5102, 5183, 5190, 5221, 5437, 5474, 5535, 5551, 5645, 6217 source (opens in new window) |
| Workers' comp class codes by state — Wisconsin (state-bureau list) | 5022 Masonry NOC, 5102 Door and Window Installation, 5183 Plumbing NOC and Drivers, 5190 Electrical Wiring within Buildings, 5221 Concrete or Cement Work - Floors, Driveways, Yards or Sidewalks, 5437 Carpentry - Installation of Cabinet Work or Interior Trim, 5474 Painting or Paperhanging NOC and Shop Operations, 5535 Sheet Metal Work - Installation and Drivers, 5551 Roofing All Kinds and Drivers, 5645 Carpentry - Construction of Residential Dwellings (not exceeding three stories), 6217 Excavation and Drivers source (opens in new window) |
| Workers' comp class codes by state — Montana (state-bureau list) | 5022 Masonry NOC, 5102 Door and Window Installation, 5183 Plumbing NOC and Drivers, 5190 Electrical Wiring within Buildings, 5221 Concrete or Cement Work - Floors, Driveways, Yards or Sidewalks, 5437 Carpentry - Installation of Cabinet Work or Interior Trim, 5474 Painting or Paperhanging NOC and Shop Operations, 5535 Sheet Metal Work - Installation and Drivers, 5551 Roofing All Kinds and Drivers, 5645 Carpentry - Construction of Residential Dwellings (not exceeding three stories), 6217 Excavation and Drivers source (opens in new window) |
| Workers' comp class codes by state — Minnesota (state-bureau list) | 5022 Masonry NOC, 5102 Door and Window Installation, 5183 Plumbing NOC and Drivers, 5190 Electrical Wiring within Buildings, 5221 Concrete or Cement Work - Floors, Driveways, Yards or Sidewalks, 5437 Carpentry - Installation of Cabinet Work or Interior Trim, 5474 Painting or Paperhanging NOC and Shop Operations, 5551 Roofing All Kinds and Drivers, 5645 Carpentry - Construction of Residential Dwellings (not exceeding three stories), 6217 Excavation and Drivers source (opens in new window) |
| Workers' comp class codes by state — Utah (state-bureau list) | 5022 Masonry NOC, 5102 Door and Window Installation, 5183 Plumbing NOC and Drivers, 5190 Electrical Wiring within Buildings, 5221 Concrete or Cement Work - Floors, Driveways, Yards or Sidewalks, 5437 Carpentry - Installation of Cabinet Work or Interior Trim, 5474 Painting or Paperhanging NOC and Shop Operations, 5535 Sheet Metal Work - Installation and Drivers, 5551 Roofing All Kinds and Drivers, 5645 Carpentry - Construction of Residential Dwellings (not exceeding three stories), 6217 Excavation and Drivers source (opens in new window) |
| Workers' comp class codes by state — Idaho (state-bureau list) | 5022, 5102, 5183, 5190, 5221, 5437, 5474, 5535, 5551, 5645, 6217 source (opens in new window) |
What buyers in this trade should ask
Construction buyers approach a PEO with a different set of questions than any office-based trade, and the first one is nearly always workers' compensation. Every employee in this trade carries a class-code label that drives premium, and the codes change with the work — carpentry, electrical, roofing and excavation are rated differently from each other and from the office staff on the same jobsite. Before any PEO conversation starts, ask which class codes the provider's master workers' compensation policy can carry, whether your experience modifier survives the move, and what happens to both if you leave mid-policy-year. Those three answers decide whether the arrangement saves or costs money, and none of them comes from a marketing page.
Payroll in construction is fragmented by nature: multiple jobsites, multiple states, prevailing-wage requirements on public work, and crew members whose hours change week to week. A PEO's payroll engine either handles that fragmentation cleanly or it does not, and the difference shows up in underpayments and penalties rather than in the quote. Ask how a provider handles jobsite-level cost allocation, out-of-state project work, and the paperwork a public project demands. Providers that serve this trade well can usually describe their approach to these mechanics in writing.
The second question is benefits. Construction crews are hard to retain, and the industry's stated answer is usually a better package — but a PEO's benefit plans are only as good as the carrier network and the plan design behind them. Compare the plan document, not the brochure.
What the May 2025 BLS data shows. The Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics program places this trade in NAICS 23 and reports national employment of 8,298,380 with an all-occupations median annual wage of $61,370 and a mean of $72,150 in the sector for May 2025. Construction is also one of the sectors where the all-occupations median understates what skilled tradespeople earn individually, so treat the sector line as a baseline for quote modeling, not as a per-role salary table. What remains unverified for this trade is the class-code machinery: the NCCI or state-bureau codes that apply to construction work, and each tracked provider's master-policy scope for carrying those codes. Those items stay on the research queue until they carry a primary source and a verification date. The same discipline applies to provider claims about carrying this trade–™s class codes: a claim without a policy document and a date is treated as unverified.
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