Occupational Employment and Wages, May 2018

43-2011 Switchboard Operators, Including Answering Service

Operate telephone business systems equipment or switchboards to relay incoming, outgoing, and interoffice calls. May supply information to callers and record messages.

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National estimates for this occupation
Industry profile for this occupation
Geographic profile for this occupation

National estimates for this occupation: Top

Employment estimate and mean wage estimates for this occupation:

Employment (1)	Employment RSE (3)	Mean hourly wage	Mean annual wage (2)	Wage RSE (3)
71,600	2.5 %	$15.04	$31,290	0.7 %

Percentile wage estimates for this occupation:

Percentile	10%	25%	50% (Median)	75%	90%
Hourly Wage	$10.12	$11.76	$14.14	$17.43	$21.46
Annual Wage (2)	$21,040	$24,450	$29,420	$36,260	$44,640

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Industry profile for this occupation: Top

Industries with the highest published employment and wages for this occupation are provided. For a list of all industries with employment in this occupation, see the Create Customized Tables function.

Industries with the highest levels of employment in this occupation:

Industry	Employment (1)	Percent of industry employment	Hourly mean wage	Annual mean wage (2)
Business Support Services	16,590	1.84	$13.87	$28,850
General Medical and Surgical Hospitals	14,720	0.27	$15.30	$31,820
Offices of Physicians	5,000	0.19	$14.65	$30,470
Traveler Accommodation	4,860	0.24	$16.15	$33,590
Automobile Dealers	2,960	0.23	$13.96	$29,030

Industries with the highest concentration of employment in this occupation:

Industry	Employment (1)	Percent of industry employment	Hourly mean wage	Annual mean wage (2)
Business Support Services	16,590	1.84	$13.87	$28,850
General Medical and Surgical Hospitals	14,720	0.27	$15.30	$31,820
Traveler Accommodation	4,860	0.24	$16.15	$33,590
Automobile Dealers	2,960	0.23	$13.96	$29,030
Outpatient Care Centers	1,970	0.21	$19.30	$40,150

Top paying industries for this occupation:

Industry	Employment (1)	Percent of industry employment	Hourly mean wage	Annual mean wage (2)
Local Government, excluding schools and hospitals (OES Designation)	2,570	0.05	$19.35	$40,250
Outpatient Care Centers	1,970	0.21	$19.30	$40,150
Securities, Commodity Contracts, and Other Financial Investments and Related Activities	60	0.01	$19.01	$39,540
Accounting, Tax Preparation, Bookkeeping, and Payroll Services	310	0.03	$18.34	$38,150
Facilities Support Services	60	0.04	$17.72	$36,860

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Geographic profile for this occupation: Top

States and areas with the highest published employment, location quotients, and wages for this occupation are provided. For a list of all areas with employment in this occupation, see the Create Customized Tables function.

States with the highest employment level in this occupation:

State	Employment (1)	Employment per thousand jobs	Location quotient (9)	Hourly mean wage	Annual mean wage (2)
California	10,330	0.61	1.23	$17.38	$36,160
Florida	4,910	0.57	1.15	$13.47	$28,020
Texas	4,700	0.39	0.78	$13.14	$27,320
New York	3,850	0.41	0.83	$18.28	$38,020
Ohio	3,310	0.61	1.23	$13.49	$28,070

States with the highest concentration of jobs and location quotients in this occupation:

State	Employment (1)	Employment per thousand jobs	Location quotient (9)	Hourly mean wage	Annual mean wage (2)
Nevada	1,600	1.19	2.40	$15.11	$31,430
Louisiana	1,870	0.98	1.98	$13.07	$27,180
Rhode Island	440	0.90	1.83	$15.43	$32,090
South Carolina	1,590	0.77	1.56	$13.11	$27,270
Georgia	3,240	0.74	1.49	$14.76	$30,700

Top paying States for this occupation:

State	Employment (1)	Employment per thousand jobs	Location quotient (9)	Hourly mean wage	Annual mean wage (2)
Connecticut	810	0.49	0.98	$20.64	$42,920
District of Columbia	260	0.36	0.73	$19.90	$41,390
Hawaii	470	0.73	1.49	$19.83	$41,250
New York	3,850	0.41	0.83	$18.28	$38,020
Oregon	750	0.40	0.80	$17.87	$37,170

Metropolitan areas with the highest employment level in this occupation:

Metropolitan area	Employment (1)	Employment per thousand jobs	Location quotient (9)	Hourly mean wage	Annual mean wage (2)
Los Angeles-Long Beach-Anaheim, CA	4,370	0.71	1.44	$16.32	$33,950
New York-Newark-Jersey City, NY-NJ-PA	3,980	0.42	0.85	$18.42	$38,320
Atlanta-Sandy Springs-Roswell, GA	2,310	0.86	1.74	$15.26	$31,750
Chicago-Naperville-Elgin, IL-IN-WI	2,170	0.47	0.94	$17.04	$35,440
Miami-Fort Lauderdale-West Palm Beach, FL	1,670	0.65	1.31	$14.29	$29,720
San Diego-Carlsbad, CA	1,490	1.02	2.05	$19.72	$41,010
Las Vegas-Henderson-Paradise, NV	1,380	1.40	2.82	$15.22	$31,670
Houston-The Woodlands-Sugar Land, TX	1,360	0.46	0.92	$14.03	$29,180
Detroit-Warren-Dearborn, MI	1,310	0.67	1.34	$14.89	$30,970
Dallas-Fort Worth-Arlington, TX	1,250	0.35	0.71	$13.46	$27,990