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Employment Projections
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Education and training data
The U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) provides information about education and training requirements for hundreds of occupations. Each of the occupations for which the Employment Projections (EP) program publishes data is assigned separate categories for education, work experience, and on-the-job training based on the path most workers need to enter and attain competency in the occupation.
Education, training, and work experience assignments for each detailed occupation are presented in EP table 1.2 and in Occupational Outlook Handbook (OOH) profiles. BLS economists determine the typical preparation needed for an occupation and apply it across all three categories. Multiple paths to entry are not captured by the classification system. For occupations with multiple paths to entry, the classification system captures the typical path, and the occupational profile narrative in the OOH gives a full description of alternate paths in the “How to Become One” section. This classification system was first used with the 2010–20 projections, and assignments are reviewed with each annual projections release.
Occupations can be grouped in order to create estimates of the outlook for occupations with various types of education or training needs. EP table 5.2 provides more information about projected employment for occupations that typically require each level of education for entry. These data reflect the sum of base year employment for occupations assigned to each education category. This is not the same as a count of the number of workers with each of these education levels. Workers may have educational attainment that is either higher or lower than the education typically needed for entry into the occupation in which they are employed.
Educational attainment
The level of education that is typically needed to enter an occupation is different than the measure of education that a worker has already completed. EP table 5.3 shows the percent of workers in detailed occupations that have attained each level of education. These data are from the U.S. Census Bureau’s American Community Survey (ACS).
BLS compiles median weekly earnings and unemployment rate data, by level of educational attainment, in EP table 5.1. This measure of educational attainment is collected via the Current Population Survey (CPS).
For more information
More information about education and training data, including a list of education and training data definitions, are available online.
For additional information about the EP program, please contact us at (202) 691-5700 or ep-info@bls.gov.
Last modified date: August 27, 2026