Announcement

With the enactment of the 2011 Federal budget, the Locality Pay Survey (LPS) portion of the National Compensation Survey (NCS) was eliminated. Occupational data by locality will still be available through the Occupational Employment Statistics (OES) program.

To continue to meet the requirement of the Federal Employees Pay Comparability Act of 1990, data from the OES and NCS programs will be used collaboratively. OES will provide wage data by occupations for all localities nationwide with the NCS providing detailed worker characteristics such as work levels, and part time or full time work schedules. For the history of how BLS occupational wage surveys were used for federal pay comparability, see http://www.bls.gov/opub/mlr/2009/09/art3full.pdf.

For information on historical NCS publications, see the archives links below.

On This Page

 

OCS News Releases

Archived OCS News Releases

 

OCS Databases

Archived Databases

Beginning with NCS data published after September 2006, occupations were classified using SOC and industries using NAICS. NCS data prior to the conversion to SOC and NAICS were classified using the Standard Industrial Classification (SIC) system and the Census of Population. Data are available from 1997 through 2006.

The NCS data queries can only extract wage data for civilian, full-time workers. Separate estimates for private industry, state and local government, all workers, and part-time workers are not available through the query system. Complete data for reference dates of December 2006 through December 2010 are also available in flat text files. Complete NCS data from archived bulletins can be obtained at www.bls.gov/ncs/ncspubs.htm.

Database Name Special
Notice		 Top
Picks		 Data
Finder		 One
Screen		 Multi-
Screen		 Tables Text Files
Pay
National Compensation Survey 2006-2010 (NAICS & SOC)
       Multi Screen Data Search Tables Text Files
National Compensation Survey 1997-2006 (SIC & Census of Population)
     One Screen Data Search Multi Screen Data Search Tables Text Files

 

More Tools

  • Series Report —Already know the series identifier for the statistic you want? Use this shortcut to retrieve your data.
  • Flat files FTP Site —For those who want it all. Download a flat file of the entire database or large subset of the database.
  • Wages Search--allows you to search through all National Compensation Survey - Occupational Wage publications and tables that are currently available electronically.

 

OCS Publications and Other Documentation

Archived Wage Publications

Archived Documentation

All NCS Publications (including benefits, compensation costs, and wages) »

 

OCS Frequently Asked Questions

Frequently Asked Questions

  1. What is the national average salary for my job?
  2. Where can I find information on changes in pay rates?
  3. Where can I get wage determinations data?
  4. Where can I obtain information on minimum wage and overtime laws and regulations?
  5. How can I obtain more information?
  6. What is the role of the Bureau of Labor Statistics in the Federal pay administration process?
  7. Are there any tables that reflect the national compensation for men and women?
  8. Where can I obtain statewide occupational survey data?

All OCS FAQs »

 

OCS Related Links

Related Links to Other BLS Programs

  • Benefits—comprehensive data on incidence and provisions of selected employee benefit plans.
  • Compensation Cost Trends—quarterly indexes measuring change over time in labor costs and quarterly data measuring level of average costs per hour worked.
  • Occupational Employment Statistics—data on employment and wages for over 800 occupations and for about 400 nonfarm industries for the nation, plus occupational data for States and metropolitan areas.
  • Occupational Outlook Handbook—provides data for 250 occupations, by nature of the work, working conditions, employment, job outlook and earnings, related occupations, sources of additional information, and training, other qualifications, and advancement.

Other Useful Links

 

Contact Us

Contacts

The Office of Compensation Levels and Trends, Branch of Survey Information and Publications, will be glad to assist you with questions about any of the components of the National Compensation Survey.

Ways to Contact BLS Directly

Email: Contact us

Telephone: (202) 691-6199 (Monday - Friday, 8:30 A.M. - 4:30 P.M.)

Question-by-FAX: (202) 691-6647

Information and assistance is also available from any BLS regional office.

TDD

Information voice phone: (202) 691-5200 The Federal Relay Service: 1-800-877-8339

Write or Personal Visit

Bureau of Labor Statistics
OCLT/SI&P
2 Massachusetts Ave., N.E. - Suite 4175
Washington, D.C. 20212-0001

Other Ways to Access our Data:

Libraries

Federal Depository Libraries provide free access to government documents. Many of these libraries receive BLS publications. Check with a location near you.