Occupational Employment Statistics

Occupational Employment Statistics (OES) Highlights:

Retail salespersons and cashiers were the two largest occupations in May 2009, representing nearly 1 out of every 17 jobs. Just 15 occupations accounted for over one-quarter of U.S. employment. In addition to retail salespersons and cashiers, these occupations included general office clerks, janitors, heavy and tractor-trailer truck drivers, and elementary school teachers. Of the 15 largest occupations, only 3—general and operations managers, registered nurses, and elementary school teachers—had mean wages above the U.S. average of $20.90 per hour or $43,460 annually. (See chart 1.)

At the other end of the spectrum, occupations with employment of 5,000 or less accounted for about 0.1 percent of total U.S. employment. Some of the smallest occupations in the United States are shown in chart 2. More...

Previous OES Highlights

• How Jobseekers and Employers Can Use Occupational Employment Statistics (OES) Data during Wage and Salary Discussions (HTML) (PDF)
• An Occupational Analysis of Industries with Employment Gains (HTML) (PDF)

Occupational Employment and Wages by Ownership

July 27, 2010

Retail salespersons and cashiers were the two largest occupations in the private sector in May 2009. Postal service mail carriers; correctional officers and jailers; and elementary school teachers, except special education, had the highest employment among all occupations in federal, state, and local government, respectively. More...
(HTML) (PDF)

Occupational Employment and Wages

May 14, 2010

In 2009, occupations with employment larger than 700,000 accounted for 46 percent of total U.S. employment. Occupations with the highest employment included retail salespersons, cashiers, and general office clerks. Occupations with the lowest employment included watch repairers, astronomers, and radio operators. More...
(HTML) (PDF)

Current

• NEW Occupational Employment and Wages by Ownership, May 2009 (HTML) (PDF)
• Occupational Employment and Wages, May 2009 (HTML) (PDF)
• OES News Releases from BLS Regional Information Offices

Archived

• Archived Economic News Releases

Databases

Database Name	Special Notice	Top Picks	One Screen	Multi- Screen	Tables	Text Files
Employment and Wages from Occupational Employment Statistics (OES) survey

More Tools

• Download Estimates in Zipped XLS files

Featured Tables: May 2009 estimates

• Occupation Profiles
• Distribution of workers in each major occupational group by wage range
• Occupations with the largest employment

Current Tables: May 2009 estimates

• National Cross-Industry
• State Cross-Industry
• Metropolitan and Nonmetropolitan Area Cross-Industry
• Metropolitan and Nonmetropolitan Area Estimates listed by county or town
• National sector, 3-, 4-, and 5-digit NAICS Industry-Specific
• National by Ownership
• List of occupations in alphabetical order

Archived Tables

• Archived OES tables
• All OES downloadables

Documentation

• Technical Notes for May 2009 OES Estimates
• Survey Methods and Reliability Statement for May 2009 (PDF 87K)
• OES chapter in the BLS Handbook of Methods (PDF 87K)
• Current Metropolitan and Nonmetropolitan Area Definitions
• May 2009 cross-industry table formats
• May 2009 industry-specific table formats
• Archived OES Documentation

• Chart book: Occupational Employment and Wages, May 2008 -- Bureau of Labor Statistics; December 2009; Bulletin 2732

• "What do OES data have to say about increasing wage inequality?" by John I. Jones, Monthly Labor Review, June 2009, pp. 39-49.

• "How shifting occupational composition has affected the real average wage" by Rebecca Keller, Monthly Labor Review, June 2009, pp. 26-38.

• Chart book: Occupational Employment and Wages, May 2007 -- Bureau of Labor Statistics; February 2009; Bulletin 2717
  

• "Career beginnings for business majors" by Dina Itkin, Occupational Outlook Quarterly, Winter 2008-09, Vol. 52, Number 4, pp. 24-33

• "Occupational employment in the not-for-profit sector” by Zack Warren, Monthly Labor Review, November 2008, pp. 11-43

• "The effect of business ownership change on occupational employment and wages" by Dina Itkin, Monthly Labor Review, September 2008, pp. 3-23.

• Chart book: Occupational Employment and Wages, May 2006 -- Bureau of Labor Statistics; May 2008; Bulletin 2702
  
  
• Occupational Employment and Wages, May 2006 -- Bureau of Labor Statistics; June 2008; Bulletin 2703
• Employment and Wages of Typical U.S. Occupations
• "Beyond averages: Other ways to look at occupational wages ," by Ben Cover, Occupational Outlook Quarterly, Winter 2007-08 Vol. 51, Number 4, pp. 12-17.
  
  
• Occupational Employment and Wages, May 2005 -- Bureau of Labor Statistics; May 2007; Bulletin 2585
  • Employment and Wages by Major Occupational Group and Industry
  • Occupational Shares in Growing and Shrinking Establishments
  • Wages and Employment of Workers in Automobile Manufacturing
  • Wage and Employment Patterns in the Mining Sector
  • Examining Social Science Occupations
  • A Concise Look at Occupations in the Life and Physical Sciences
  • Crime Fighters
  • Occupational Composition of the Elder Care Industries, May 2005
  • Employment Changes from 2001 to 2005 for Occupations Concentrated in the Finance Industries
• Establishment wage differentials," by Julia I. Lane, Laurie A. Salmon, and James R. Spletzer, Monthly Labor Review, April 2007, pp. 3-17.
• Occupational Employment and Wages, May 2004 -- Bureau of Labor Statistics; September 2005; Bulletin 2575
  • Employment and wages by major occupational group and industry
  • Occupations in the Temporary Help Services Industry
  • Occupational Structure and Urban Growth
  • A Comparison of Occupational Employment and Wages in Metropolitan Areas and Nonmetropolitan Areas
  • Employment Compositon: Variation Across States and Metropolitan Areas
• Occupational Employment and Wages, May 2003 -- Bureau of Labor Statistics; September 2004; Bulletin 2567
  • The role of occupational composition in state wage differentials
  • An investigation of industry and size effects on wage dispersion
  • Occupational employment by establishment size
• Occupational Employment and Wages, 2001 -- Bureau of Labor Statistics; June 2003; Bulletin 2559
  • An Examination of the Employment and Wages of FAA-certified and FAA-noncertified Aircraft Mechanics and Service Technicians
  • New and emerging occupations
  • Employment and wages in elementary and secondary schools
  • High tech occupations by Metropolitan area
  • Concentration of entertainment employment by metropolitan areas
• Occupational Employment and Wages, 2000 -- Bureau of Labor Statistics; April 2002; Bulletin 2549.
  
  
• Occupational Employment and Wages, 1999 -- Bureau of Labor Statistics; September 2001; Bulletin 2545.
  • Occupational wages by industry
  • An analysis of the correlation between occupational mean wage levels and the employment of a MSA
  • Healthcare employment and wages
  • Occupational employment and wages by state

Frequently Asked Questions

1. What does the OES program produce?
2. What are the OES data used for?
3. What basic concepts are essential to understanding the OES survey?
4. What are the differences between the Bureau's Occupational Employment Statistics (OES) wage estimates and National Compensation Survey (NCS) wage estimates?
5. Does the BLS have OES estimates for specific industries?
6. Does the BLS have OES estimates for individual States?
7. Does the BLS have OES estimates for metropolitan and nonmetropolitan areas?

All OES FAQs »

• Notice about comparing occupational wages across ownership groups

• Notice about employment and wage data for selected occupations in Florida

• Notice about May 2008 wage data for 3 postal service occupations

• Notice about wage data for flight attendants and airline pilots, copilots, and flight engineers

• NAICS 2012 Comment Period Open

• Notice about wage estimates for teaching occupations in New York for November 2003 to May 2006

• Upcoming Reduction in Sample Size of Occupational Employment Statistics Survey

  Due to budget constraints, Occupational Employment Statistics has reduced the sample size of the May 2008 panel by 20 percent. Because OES estimates are produced from three years of pooled data, this one-time sample reduction will affect estimates for May 2008, May 2009, and May 2010. This reduction is expected to decrease the number of published employment estimates by at least five percent, or about 25,000 estimates, and will decrease the accuracy of the remaining estimates. The number and quality of wage estimates are also expected to decline. These cutbacks are being implemented in response to a reduction in funding to the BLS that resulted from The 2008 Consolidated Appropriations Act enacted on December 26, 2007.

• With the issuance of data for May 2005, the OES program has incorporated redefined metropolitan areas as designated by the Office of Management and Budget. OES data are available for 375 metropolitan statistical areas and 34 metropolitan divisions.

• Change in Occupational Employment Statistics Publication Schedule
  Due to budget constraints in the Occupational Employment Statistics (OES) program, beginning with the release of the May 2005 estimates in the Spring of 2006, OES will return to once a year publication. Estimates for November 2005 will not be published.

• The Bureau of Labor Statistics is able to produce the occupational employment and wage estimates displayed on this website because of the timely co-operation of employers throughout the United States. If your workplace received an Occupational Employment Statistics survey form please complete it and return it to the State employment security agency that sent it to you. If you have returned a completed survey form, Thank you!

• Occupational Employment Statistics Respondents Home Page
  • information to assist employers in filling out the Occupational Employment Report.
• Standard Occupational Classification
  • The SOC system is used by government agencies to classify workers into occupational categories for the purpose of collecting, calculating, or disseminating data.
• National Compensation Survey
  • over 800 occupations classified according to the 2000 Standard Occupational Classification (SOC) system; data include information on the level of difficulty and complexity of work.
• Employment Projections
  • employment trends by industry and occupation
• Current Population Survey
  • national data on employment, unemployment, earnings, and other labor market topics by demographic characteristics.

Contacts

For additional information concerning the Occupational Employment Statistics (OES) Survey, contact an OES staff member at:

• Email: Contact us
• Telephone number: 202-691-6569
• Fax number: 202-691-6444
• Mail address: Office of Employment and Unemployment Statistics, Occupational Employment Statistics, Suite 2135, 2 Massachusetts Avenue, NE, Washington DC 20212-0001

All OES CONTACT INFORMATION »