The 2010 Standard Occupational Classification (SOC) system is used by Federal statistical agencies to classify workers into occupational categories for the purpose of collecting, calculating, or disseminating data. All workers are classified into one of 840 detailed occupations according to their occupational definition. To facilitate classification, detailed occupations are combined to form 461 broad occupations, 97 minor groups, and 23 major groups. Detailed occupations in the SOC with similar job duties, and in some cases skills, education, and/or training, are grouped together. General questions concerning the SOC may be sent by email or faxed to 202-691-6444.

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2010 SOC System

  • The 2010 Standard Occupational Classification System - Contains links to major groups, the complete hierarchical structure, broad occupational definitions, and detailed occupational definitions
  • Alphabetical Index to the 2010 Standard Occupational Classification System:

    • A   B   C   D   E   F   G   H   I   J   K   L   M   N   O   P   Q   R   S   T   U   V   W   X   Y   Z  

 

2010 SOC, Downloadable Materials

  • The 2010 SOC User Guide (entire guide, PDF):
    • What’s New in the 2010 SOC (PDF)
    • Classification Principles and Coding Guidelines, 2010 SOC (PDF)
    • Standard Occupational Classification and Coding Structure, 2010 SOC (PDF)
    • FAQs and Acknowledgements, 2010 SOC (PDF)
  • 2010 SOC Structure (PDF) (XLS)
  • 2010 SOC Definitions (PDF) (XLS)
  • Type of change by detailed occupation, 2010 SOC (XLS)
  • Crosswalk from the 2000 SOC to the 2010 SOC (XLS)
    • Explanatory note on crosswalk from the 2000 SOC to the 2010 SOC (PDF)
  • Alphabetical Index to the 2010 SOC (HTML) (XLS)
  • Direct Match Title File, 2010 SOC (XLS, PDF, 254 pages)
    • Sorted by Direct Match title (PDF, 221 pages)
  • Spanish Translation of the 2010 SOC, forthcoming

 

2010 SOC Publications

 

SOC Revision Process

On January 21, 2009, the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) published a Federal Register notice detailing the final decisions for the 2010 SOC. Please refer to the PDF version available below for more detailed information.

  • Federal Register Notice, January 21, 2009 (PDF)
  • Federal Register Notice, May 22, 2008 (PDF)
  • Federal Register Notice, May 16, 2006 (PDF)

As noted in the Federal Register notice of January 21, 2009, the SOCPC responses to the comments received are provided below.

Note on plans for the next SOC revision

The next major review and revision of the SOC is expected to begin in 2013 in preparation for the 2018 SOC. The intent of this revision schedule is to minimize disruption to data providers, producers, and users by promoting simultaneous adoption of revised occupational and industry classification systems for those data series that use both. Given the multiple interdependent programs that rely on the SOC, this is best accomplished by timing revisions of the SOC for the years following North American Industry Classification System (NAICS) revisions, which occur for years ending in 2 and 7. The next such year is 2018, which has the additional benefit of coinciding with the beginning year of the American Community Survey 5-year set of surveys that bracket the 2020 Decennial Census. Thus, OMB intends to consider revisions of the SOC for 2018 and every 10 years thereafter.

 

Archived Materials on the 2000 SOC

Note: The documents below refer to the 2000 SOC

 

Other Useful Links

  • Selected crosswalks are available from the National Crosswalk Service Center (NCSC), a federally-funded national clearinghouse for classification information about occupations, training programs and industries.  The NCSC has been operated by the State of Iowa since 1983 under a series of grants from federal agencies.  Funding for the Center has been provided by the Employment and Training Administration, U.S. Department of Labor since 1996. The NCSC provides specialized tools (files, reports, software) and technical assistance to users and producers of occupational information.

 

Contact Us

Contacts

For additional information concerning the Standard Occupational Classification (SOC) system , contact us at:
  • Email: Contact us
  • Telephone number: 202-691-6500
  • 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