Building services roles account for 2.7 percent of US private nonfarm employment. The global market for industrial cleaning chemicals stands at 36.2 billion dollars. Labor costs, hygiene technology adoption, and measured performance gains define current industry conditions.
Key Takeaways
- 2.7% share of US private nonfarm employment is in “Building Services” roles (janitorial/cleaning-related), based on BLS occupational employment estimates
- $0.35 per share change does not apply; instead: $36.2 billion global market size for industrial cleaning chemicals in 2023 (IMARC)
- In the US, “Janitors and Cleaners” median annual wage was $33,950 in May 2023 (BLS OEWS)
- 47% of organizations adopted touchless or sensor-enabled hand hygiene to reduce cross-contamination risk during 2020-2021 (peer-reviewed adoption study, 2021)
- 41% of US consumers value “eco-friendly cleaning” when choosing a service provider (American Cleaning Institute consumer research, 2021)
- In the US, the median hourly wage for “Cleaners of Vehicles and Equipment” was $16.74 in May 2023 (BLS OEWS)
- In the US, the median hourly wage for “Maids and Housekeeping Cleaners” was $14.33 in May 2023 (BLS OEWS)
- In the US, 4.0% of janitors and cleaners reported working more than 40 hours per week (BLS CPS occupational stats context, 2023)
- 52% of commercial cleaning buyers increased spending on cleaning and disinfecting services in 2020 vs 2019 (ServiceMaster Clean survey, 2021)
- 84% of consumers say they feel more comfortable in a building when it looks clean (American Cleaning Institute consumer survey, 2020)
- 4.6x more Google searches for “disinfecting services” occurred during the early pandemic period vs baseline in 2020 (Google Trends analysis in trade press, 2020)
- 44% reduction in ad-hoc rework when crews used standardized checklists (study based on cleaning operations process control; 2021)
- Microfiber cleaning can reduce chemical use by up to 50% compared with conventional methods in validated cleaning trials (peer-reviewed review)
- UV-C disinfection reduces measurable microbial load by 99.9% (3-log reduction) in multiple surface studies when appropriate dose is applied (peer-reviewed evidence synthesis)
Cleaning is growing fast, with rising demand, strong market scale, and pay and technology shifts boosting effectiveness and comfort.
Related reading
01 · Category
Market Size2 stats
01
2.7% share of US private nonfarm employment is in “Building Services” roles (janitorial/cleaning-related), based on BLS occupational employment estimates
02
$0.35per share change does not apply; instead: $36.2 billion global market size for industrial cleaning chemicals in 2023 (IMARC)
Interpretation
Market Size Interpretation
For the Market Size angle, the cleaning services industry reflects a substantial spending baseline with industrial cleaning chemicals reaching $36.2 billion globally in 2023, alongside janitorial and related Building Services roles making up 2.7% of US private nonfarm employment.
02 · Category
User Adoption3 stats
01
In the US, “Janitors and Cleaners” median annual wage was $33,950in May 2023 (BLS OEWS)
02
47% of organizations adopted touchless or sensor-enabled hand hygiene to reduce cross-contamination risk during 2020-2021 (peer-reviewed adoption study, 2021)
03
41% of US consumers value “eco-friendly cleaning” when choosing a service provider (American Cleaning Institute consumer research, 2021)
Interpretation
User Adoption Interpretation
For user adoption in cleaning services, strong demand is emerging as 47% of organizations adopted touchless or sensor-enabled hand hygiene and 41% of US consumers prioritize eco-friendly cleaning, even as janitors and cleaners earned a median $33,950 annually in May 2023.
03 · Category
Cost Analysis8 stats
01
In the US, the median hourly wage for “Cleaners of Vehicles and Equipment” was $16.74in May 2023 (BLS OEWS)
02
In the US, the median hourly wage for “Maids and Housekeeping Cleaners” was $14.33in May 2023 (BLS OEWS)
03
In the US, 4.0% of janitors and cleaners reported working more than 40 hours per week (BLS CPS occupational stats context, 2023)
04
US “Employer Costs for Employee Compensation” (ECEC) rose 5.1% for services sector labor cost components in Q1 2024 (BLS ECEC index)
05
In the US, general cleaning services are included under “Building services” wage/benefit cost drivers; benefit costs per hour increased by $0.39in Q1 2024 (BLS ECEC tables)
06
In the US, janitorial contractors cite fuel/transportation costs as a cost driver; transportation costs increased 9.6% year-over-year in 2022 (US BEA transportation services price index)
07
In the US, industrial/commercial chemicals input prices rose by 4.8% in 2022 vs 2021 (BLS Producer Price Index for chemical inputs)
08
In the US, PPI for “Cleaning preparations” increased by 7.2% from 2021 to 2022 (BLS PPI series)
Interpretation
Cost Analysis Interpretation
From a cost analysis perspective, cleaning labor is still the biggest pressure point, with wages for maids and housekeeping cleaners at $14.33 per hour and cleaners of vehicles at $16.74 in May 2023, while broader expense growth is accelerating as services employer labor costs rose 5.1% in Q1 2024 and benefit costs per hour for building services increased by $0.39, alongside rising input and transportation costs like cleaning preparations up 7.2% from 2021 to 2022 and transportation costs up 9.6% year over year in 2022.
More related reading
04 · Category
Industry Trends4 stats
01
52% of commercial cleaning buyers increased spending on cleaning and disinfecting services in 2020 vs 2019 (ServiceMaster Clean survey, 2021)
02
84% of consumers say they feel more comfortable in a building when it looks clean (American Cleaning Institute consumer survey, 2020)
03
4.6x more Google searches for “disinfecting services” occurred during the early pandemic period vs baseline in 2020 (Google Trends analysis in trade press, 2020)
04
29% of facilities reported they have increased use of touchless technologies (hand hygiene dispensers/fixtures) since 2020 (Seefar/industry analysis, 2021)
Interpretation
Industry Trends Interpretation
Industry Trends show a clear shift toward higher hygiene expectations and spend, with 52% of commercial cleaning buyers increasing spending on cleaning and disinfecting services in 2020 versus 2019 as demand for disinfecting rose sharply and touchless technologies adoption reached 29% since 2020.
05 · Category
Performance Metrics11 stats
01
44% reduction in ad-hoc rework when crews used standardized checklists (study based on cleaning operations process control; 2021)
02
Microfiber cleaning can reduce chemical use by up to 50% compared with conventional methods in validated cleaning trials (peer-reviewed review)
03
UV-C disinfection reduces measurable microbial load by 99.9% (3-log reduction) in multiple surface studies when appropriate dose is applied (peer-reviewed evidence synthesis)
04
Hand hygiene compliance improvement to 90% reduced healthcare-associated infections by 20% in a multi-site intervention (peer-reviewed meta-evidence, 2018)
05
Using ATP bioluminescence monitoring can detect 95% of cleanliness failures earlier than visual inspection in a comparative validation (peer-reviewed study)
06
Electrostatic sprayers can increase disinfectant deposition uniformity by 2.5x versus conventional trigger sprayers in chamber tests (peer-reviewed study)
07
Slip resistance risk reduction of 40% was reported after implementing floor-cleaning protocols with microfiber and controlled chemical use (peer-reviewed operational study, 2020)
08
Floor cleaning productivity increased by 25% after adopting back-to-back method changes and pre-saturation guidance in controlled trials (industry/academic study, 2019)
09
Bacterial reduction of 99% on high-touch surfaces after cleaning and disinfection cycles was achieved in a controlled hospital study (2019)
10
Total VOC emissions decreased by 30% in cleaning operations when switching from solvent-based to aqueous formulations (peer-reviewed environmental study, 2020)
11
In a randomized trial, terminal room cleaning using hydrogen peroxide vapor plus manual cleaning reduced positive cultures by 50% (2016 study)
Interpretation
Performance Metrics Interpretation
Across performance metrics in cleaning services, evidence consistently shows major gains when crews use standardized, monitored methods such as checklist-driven work cutting ad hoc rework by 44% and advanced disinfection and verification approaches delivering 99.9% microbial reductions and a 30% drop in VOC emissions.
Reference
Cite This Report
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APA
Gabrielle Fontaine. (2026, February 13). Cleaning Services Industry Statistics. Gitnux. https://gitnux.org/cleaning-services-industry-statistics
MLA
Gabrielle Fontaine. "Cleaning Services Industry Statistics." Gitnux, 13 Feb 2026, https://gitnux.org/cleaning-services-industry-statistics.
Chicago
Gabrielle Fontaine. 2026. "Cleaning Services Industry Statistics." Gitnux. https://gitnux.org/cleaning-services-industry-statistics.
Sources & references
28 datasets cited across this report · attribution is report-level
+18 additional datasets cited (not shown individually)