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For release 10:00 a.m. (EDT) Tuesday, July 27, 2010 USDL-10-1045 Technical information: (202) 691-6569 * oesinfo@bls.gov * www.bls.gov/oes Media contact: (202) 691-5902 * PressOffice@bls.gov OCCUPATIONAL EMPLOYMENT AND WAGES BY OWNERSHIP -- MAY 2009 Retail salespersons and cashiers were the two largest occupations in the pri- vate sector in May 2009, the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics reported today. 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. These data are from the Occupational Employment Statistics (OES) program, which provides employment and wage estimates for wage and salary workers in 22 major occupational groups and 801 detailed occupations. In May 2010, OES released 2009 cross-ownership data by occupation for the nation, states, metropolitan areas, metropolitan divisions, and nonmetropolitan areas, and by occupation and industry for the nation. While OES has previously released occupational em- ployment and wage estimates at the federal, state, and local government levels, these data did not include state and local government schools and hospitals. To meet user demand, in 2006 BLS began work necessary to produce OES data for private ownership and at a more detailed level for state and local government. In particular, new state and local government estimates consist of all state and local government establishments, including schools and hospitals, which before were only included with the estimates of privately owned schools and hospitals. Data by ownership are available from the OES homepage at www.bls. gov/oes. Occupational Employment and Wages by Ownership --Retail salespersons and cashiers combined represented almost 7 percent of total employment in the private sector, with an employment level of 4.2 and 3.4 million, respectively. The third largest occupation, combined food preparation and serving workers, accounted for slightly more than 2 per- cent of total employment in the private sector. (See table 1.) --Four occupations specific to the U.S. Postal Service accounted for 23 per- cent of federal employment. (See table 2.) --Aside from occupations specific to the U.S. Postal Service, the largest oc- cupations in federal government included: management analysts; detectives and criminal investigators; purchasing agents, except wholesale, retail, and farm products; all other business operations specialists; and compli- ance officers, except agriculture, construction, health and safety, and transportation. (See table 2.) --Employment in state government was more widely distributed by occupation than employment in federal and local government. Although correctional of- ficers and jailers was the largest occupation, with an employment level of 257,280, it accounted for only about 6 percent of state government em- ployment. With the exception of general office clerks that accounted for around 5 percent of total employment, all the remaining occupations in state government each represented less than 3 percent of total employment. (See table 3.) --Employment in local government was concentrated in teaching occupations. Three of the largest--elementary, middle, and secondary school teachers, except special education--accounted for 20 percent of employment. Other large occupations were protective service occupations such as police and sheriff's patrol officers and fire fighters. (See table 4.) --Many of the largest occupations in the private sector were relatively low paying, including waiters and waitresses with a mean hourly wage of $9.80. Some occupations, however, paid significantly more on average, such as reg- istered nurses ($32.07) and general and operations managers ($53.77). (See table 1.) Occupational Employment and Wages in Elementary and Secondary Schools by Ownership --Local government-owned schools employed 1.4 million, 609,070, and 977,150 elementary, middle, and secondary school teachers, except special education, respectively. (See table 5.) --Wages for most of the largest occupations in elementary and secondary schools were higher in state and local government-owned schools than in privately owned schools. For example, the annual mean wages for elementary school teachers, except special education, in local and state government-owned schools were $54,110 and $53,400, respectively, compared with $42,320 in privately owned schools. --Special education teachers accounted for a higher share of employment in local and state government-owned schools than in privately owned schools. For example, secondary school special education teachers accounted for 1.7 and 2.2 percent of employment in local and state government-owned schools, and 1.2 percent of employment in privately owned schools. --School bus drivers accounted for 2.9 percent of employment in local government- owned schools, and less than 1 percent of employment in private schools. --Education administrators accounted for 3.5 percent of employment in privately owned schools and 2.4 percent of employment in local government-owned schools. Occupational Employment and Wages in General Medical and Surgical Hospitals by Ownership --Wages for almost all of the largest occupations in general medical and surgical hospitals were lowest in local government-owned establishments. (See table 6.) --Staffing patterns of hospitals were similar among different ownerships. Some of the largest differences were among the nursing occupations. Registered nurses accounted for 29.4 percent of employment in privately owned hospitals, 26.2 percent in local and 24.2 percent of employment in state government-owned hospitals. --Nursing aides, orderlies, and attendants and licensed practical and licensed vo- cational nurses accounted for a slightly higher share of employment in local government-owned hospitals than in privately owned and state government-owned hospitals. Additional Information The Occupational Employment Statistics program produces cross-industry occupational employment and wage estimates nationwide and for all states, 377 metropolitan areas, 34 metropolitan divisions, and 174 nonmetropolitan areas. OES also publishes national industry-specific occupational employment and wage estimates for NAICS sectors and 3-, 4-, and selected 5-digit industries. In addition to mean hourly and annual wages, available wage data include 10th, 25th, 50th (median), 75th, and 90th percentile wages, which can be used to show the distribution of wages within an occupation or industry. OES data are produced by a cooperative effort between BLS and State Work- force Agencies, and are based on a sample of 1.2 million business establishments, collected in 6 semiannual panels over a 3-year period. State and federal government estimates are based on an annual census, while local government estimates are based on a probability sample. For more information about OES concepts and methodology, visit www.bls.gov/oes/current/oes_tec.htm. Complete May 2009 Occupational Employment Statistics data are available from the OES Web site at www.bls.gov/oes.
Frequently Asked Questions about OES Estimates How are the numbers in this release different from other OES estimates? Previously released data did not include separate tabulations by owner- ship. Up until now, BLS was not able to produce estimates of total pri- vate, state, or local employment. That is because state and local govern- ment-owned schools and hospitals were included in their respective NAICS code with private schools and hospitals. Following changes in method- ology introduced in 2006 (and now applied to a full 3-year sample rota- tion), these newly released data separate school and hospital data by ownership category. As a result, the new state and local government data include state and local government-owned schools and hospitals, while private-sector estimates do not include them. Can the OES data be used to compare private and government pay for similar work? Occupational wages in the different ownership groups (the private sec- tor, and state, local, and federal governments) are influenced by many factors that the OES measures cannot take into account. Thus, while one can obtain OES data that compare estimates of mean and median wages paid in a wide range of detailed occupations across ownership groups, those comparisons do not explain why they might be different. Among the many reasons are: --Level of work performed. Workers may have different levels of responsibility, despite being in the same occupation. --Age and experience. More experienced workers tend to have higher wages. (As an example, data from the Current Population Survey show that federal workers, on average, are older and have far more work experience with their employer than the typical private-sector worker.) --Cost of living. Workers concentrated in large urban areas with higher costs of living are more likely to have higher wages than those working elsewhere. --Establishment size. Workers in large establishments generally have higher wages than workers in small establishments. --Work schedules. Full-time workers tend to earn higher hourly wages than part-time workers in the same occupation. (The OES annual wage estimates assume a full-time, year-round schedule of 2,080 hours.) --Unionization. Workers in unionized establishments may have different wages than non-union establishments. OES data are not designed for use in comparing federal and private sector pay because the OES data do not contain information about pay according to the level of work performed. BLS conducts a separate survey, the National Compen- sation Survey, which provides data by level of work for use by the President's Pay Agent. The President's Pay Agent, (the Directors of the Office of Person- nel Management and the Office of Management and Budget, and the Secretary of Labor), is charged by law with recommending federal pay adjustments to the President. Questions about federal pay comparability should be directed to the U.S. Office of Personnel Management. Are data tabulated by industry and ownership available for different geo- graphic detail? BLS publishes estimates by industry and ownership at the national level only.
Table 1. Largest occupations in the private sector, May 2009 Percent Mean wage Employment of Occupations private Hourly Annual sector employment Retail salespersons ......................................................... 4,197,760 3.86 $11.84 $24,630 Cashiers .................................................................... 3,396,180 3.13 9.10 18,930 Combined food preparation and serving workers, including fast food .......... 2,539,750 2.34 8.61 17,910 Waiters and waitresses ...................................................... 2,292,170 2.11 9.80 20,380 Office clerks, general ...................................................... 2,239,540 2.06 13.08 27,210 Customer service representatives ............................................ 2,126,190 1.96 15.55 32,350 Registered nurses ........................................................... 2,124,540 1.96 32.07 66,700 Laborers and freight, stock, and material movers, hand ...................... 2,074,060 1.91 12.11 25,190 Stock clerks and order fillers .............................................. 1,823,910 1.68 11.15 23,180 Bookkeeping, accounting, and auditing clerks ................................ 1,574,240 1.45 16.62 34,570 General and operations managers ............................................. 1,561,600 1.44 53.77 111,840 Janitors and cleaners, except maids and housekeeping cleaners ............... 1,545,110 1.42 10.85 22,570 Truck drivers, heavy and tractor-trailer .................................... 1,519,880 1.40 18.88 39,270 Sales representatives, wholesale and manufacturing, except technical and scientific products ........................................................ 1,409,170 1.30 29.52 61,410 Secretaries, except legal, medical, and executive ........................... 1,339,180 1.23 14.53 30,230 Nursing aides, orderlies, and attendants .................................... 1,283,500 1.18 11.89 24,730 First-line supervisors/managers of office and administrative support workers 1,232,770 1.13 23.89 49,690 First-line supervisors/managers of retail sales workers ..................... 1,156,580 1.06 18.80 39,110 Executive secretaries and administrative assistants ......................... 1,092,590 1.01 21.26 44,220 Maintenance and repair workers, general ..................................... 1,036,410 .95 17.32 36,020 Team assemblers ............................................................. 997,020 .92 13.87 28,840 Receptionists and information clerks ........................................ 991,750 .91 12.45 25,900 Accountants and auditors .................................................... 977,400 .90 32.79 68,200 Security guards ............................................................. 928,940 .85 12.42 25,840 Home health aides ........................................................... 923,710 .85 10.25 21,330 Cooks, restaurant ........................................................... 894,550 .82 11.11 23,100 Maids and housekeeping cleaners ............................................. 852,440 .78 10.00 20,790 Truck drivers, light or delivery services ................................... 821,190 .76 14.93 31,060 Construction laborers ....................................................... 816,150 .75 15.91 33,100 Food preparation workers .................................................... 759,840 .70 9.67 20,120
Table 2. Largest occupations in federal government, May 2009 Percent Mean wage Employment of Occupations federal Hourly Annual employment Postal service mail carriers .................................................. 339,030 12.73 $23.53 $48,940 Business operations specialists, all other .................................... 170,450 6.40 36.71 76,350 Postal service mail sorters, processors, and processing machine operators ..... 162,860 6.12 23.20 48,260 Compliance officers, except agriculture, construction, health and safety, and transportation .............................................................. 99,570 3.74 25.00 51,990 All other information and record clerks ....................................... 84,450 3.17 19.01 39,530 Postal service clerks ......................................................... 73,050 2.74 24.96 51,920 Computer specialists, all other ............................................... 64,540 2.42 42.75 88,920 Registered nurses ............................................................. 62,920 2.36 37.39 77,780 Management analysts ........................................................... 50,310 1.89 40.53 84,290 Managers, all other ........................................................... 47,720 1.79 49.96 103,910 Detectives and criminal investigators ......................................... 43,380 1.63 36.32 75,550 Claims adjusters, examiners, and investigators ................................ 42,510 1.60 31.73 66,000 Purchasing agents, except wholesale, retail, and farm products ................ 32,030 1.20 36.58 76,090 Lawyers ....................................................................... 31,570 1.19 61.30 127,490 Tax examiners, collectors, and revenue agents ................................. 29,680 1.11 30.87 64,210 Janitors and cleaners, except maids and housekeeping cleaners ................. 27,820 1.04 19.70 40,980 Physicians and surgeons, all other ............................................ 27,000 1.01 83.37 173,400 Eligibility interviewers, government programs ................................. 26,860 1.01 21.73 45,190 Human resources, training, and labor relations specialists, all other ......... 25,800 .97 37.80 78,620 Secretaries, except legal, medical, and executive ............................. 25,090 .94 22.35 46,490 Postmasters and mail superintendents .......................................... 24,890 .93 28.65 59,600 Logisticians .................................................................. 24,730 .93 37.90 78,820 Forest and conservation technicians ........................................... 24,400 .92 17.36 36,110 General and operations managers ............................................... 23,410 .88 56.01 116,500 Accountants and auditors ...................................................... 23,360 .88 42.28 87,940 Engineers, all other .......................................................... 23,220 .87 51.47 107,060 Air traffic controllers ....................................................... 22,020 .83 52.49 109,170 Financial specialists, all other .............................................. 21,170 .80 36.56 76,040 Maintenance and repair workers, general ....................................... 21,020 .79 24.19 50,320 Bookkeeping, accounting, and auditing clerks .................................. 19,560 .73 20.84 43,340
Table 3. Largest occupations in state government, May 2009 Percent Mean wage Employment of state Occupations government Hourly Annual employment Correctional officers and jailers ........................................... 257,280 5.63 $21.02 $43,720 Office clerks, general ...................................................... 208,970 4.57 14.15 29,430 Registered nurses ........................................................... 128,080 2.80 31.26 65,020 Executive secretaries and administrative assistants ......................... 117,160 2.56 19.54 40,630 Secretaries, except legal, medical, and executive ........................... 110,600 2.42 15.99 33,260 Business operations specialists, all other .................................. 106,740 2.33 27.89 58,020 Graduate teaching assistants ................................................ 86,600 1.89 n.a. 31,800 Postsecondary teachers, all other ........................................... 77,410 1.69 n.a. 68,240 Janitors and cleaners, except maids and housekeeping cleaners ............... 76,750 1.68 12.39 25,780 Police and sheriff's patrol officers ........................................ 67,850 1.48 27.59 57,380 Child, family, and school social workers .................................... 64,490 1.41 20.90 43,480 Health specialties teachers, postsecondary .................................. 59,110 1.29 n.a. 105,210 First-line supervisors/managers of office and administrative support workers 57,860 1.27 25.14 52,280 Accountants and auditors .................................................... 51,320 1.12 25.84 53,750 Teachers and instructors, all other ......................................... 51,240 1.12 n.a. 55,130 Probation officers and correctional treatment specialists ................... 50,360 1.10 24.75 51,480 Education administrators, postsecondary ..................................... 49,150 1.07 48.05 99,940 Social and human service assistants ......................................... 48,230 1.05 17.18 35,740 Maintenance and repair workers, general ..................................... 47,900 1.05 16.73 34,800 Bookkeeping, accounting, and auditing clerks ................................ 46,380 1.01 16.94 35,240 Nursing aides, orderlies, and attendants .................................... 43,330 .95 13.25 27,570 Psychiatric technicians ..................................................... 42,470 .93 15.45 32,130 Management analysts ......................................................... 41,250 .90 27.69 57,590 Office and administrative support workers, all other ........................ 39,790 .87 14.77 30,710 General and operations managers ............................................. 37,810 .83 40.33 83,880 Lawyers ..................................................................... 37,020 .81 40.10 83,410 Compliance officers, except agriculture, construction, health and safety, and transportation ........................................................ 36,360 .80 23.89 49,680 Civil engineers ............................................................. 34,900 .76 36.22 75,350 Managers, all other ......................................................... 33,950 .74 38.10 79,250 Computer systems analysts ................................................... 33,620 .74 31.53 65,570 n.a. = Not available.
Table 4. Largest occupations in local government, May 2009 Percent Mean wage Employment of local Occupations government Hourly Annual employment Elementary school teachers, except special education ....................... 1,403,250 9.52 n.a. $54,110 Teacher assistants ......................................................... 980,160 6.65 n.a. 24,580 Secondary school teachers, except special and vocational education ......... 979,120 6.64 n.a. 55,740 Middle school teachers, except special and vocational education ............ 609,590 4.13 n.a. 54,220 Police and sheriff's patrol officers ....................................... 556,420 3.77 $26.47 55,070 Janitors and cleaners, except maids and housekeeping cleaners .............. 440,720 2.99 13.57 28,230 Teachers and instructors, all other ........................................ 385,580 2.62 n.a. 36,380 Office clerks, general ..................................................... 351,170 2.38 14.12 29,380 Secretaries, except legal, medical, and executive .......................... 322,800 2.19 15.66 32,560 Fire fighters .............................................................. 279,530 1.90 23.01 47,860 Bus drivers, school ........................................................ 270,310 1.83 13.37 27,810 Registered nurses .......................................................... 268,230 1.82 30.44 63,310 Special education teachers, preschool, kindergarten, and elementary school . 201,520 1.37 n.a. 54,700 Education administrators, elementary and secondary school .................. 190,310 1.29 n.a. 88,650 Maintenance and repair workers, general .................................... 163,600 1.11 18.44 38,360 Correctional officers and jailers .......................................... 160,400 1.09 19.89 41,360 Kindergarten teachers, except special education ............................ 152,980 1.04 n.a. 52,670 Executive secretaries and administrative assistants ........................ 150,140 1.02 21.66 45,060 Educational, vocational, and school counselors ............................. 146,660 .99 29.34 61,030 Child care workers ......................................................... 145,870 .99 11.33 23,560 Cooks, institution and cafeteria ........................................... 142,090 .96 10.95 22,770 Combined food preparation and serving workers, including fast food ......... 137,630 .93 10.05 20,900 Special education teachers, secondary school ............................... 133,240 .90 n.a. 56,790 Bookkeeping, accounting, and auditing clerks ............................... 117,690 .80 17.13 35,630 Landscaping and groundskeeping workers ..................................... 105,280 .71 14.30 29,740 Librarians ................................................................. 104,050 .71 26.61 55,350 Highway maintenance workers ................................................ 103,140 .70 16.81 34,960 Recreation workers ......................................................... 102,940 .70 12.25 25,470 Nursing aides, orderlies, and attendants ................................... 99,040 .67 12.43 25,860 Special education teachers, middle school .................................. 96,260 .65 n.a. 55,040 n.a. = Not available.
Table 5. Largest occupations in elementary and secondary schools, by ownership, May 2009 Occupations Private ownership Local government State government Employment Percent of Annual Employment Percent of Annual Employment Percent of Annual employment mean employment mean employment mean wage wage wage Elementary school teachers, except special education .......... 119,380 17.30 $42,320 1,401,530 17.93 $54,110 10,790 16.22 $53,400 Secondary school teachers, except special and vocational education ................................................... 96,890 14.04 50,100 977,150 12.50 55,760 8,160 12.27 50,470 Teacher assistants ............................................ 69,640 10.09 23,920 947,190 12.12 24,530 6,350 9.55 25,780 Middle school teachers, except special and vocational education 50,710 7.35 46,150 609,070 7.79 54,220 1,280 1.93 44,230 Teachers and instructors, all other ........................... 15,700 2.28 36,510 355,870 4.55 34,790 7,610 11.44 52,840 Janitors and cleaners, except maids and housekeeping cleaners . 18,530 2.69 27,340 333,320 4.26 28,180 2,700 4.06 30,160 Bus drivers, school ........................................... 5,340 .77 27,860 228,360 2.92 27,360 190 .28 29,070 Secretaries, except legal, medical, and executive ............. 15,050 2.18 31,050 201,470 2.58 31,940 940 1.42 35,930 Education administrators, elementary and secondary school ..... 24,170 3.50 78,760 189,280 2.42 88,630 1,620 2.44 89,890 Special education teachers, preschool, kindergarten, and elementary school ........................................... 12,320 1.78 49,480 199,290 2.55 54,760 2,030 3.06 47,290 Kindergarten teachers, except special education ............... 17,360 2.52 40,380 152,690 1.95 52,690 200 .31 46,610 Child care workers ............................................ 16,590 2.40 22,540 125,680 1.61 23,690 1,410 2.13 21,460 Special education teachers, secondary school .................. 8,540 1.24 53,110 132,470 1.69 56,820 1,430 2.15 53,770 Educational, vocational, and school counselors ................ 8,230 1.19 54,730 129,290 1.65 61,640 1,160 1.74 57,920 Combined food preparation and serving workers, including fast food ........................................................ 4,780 .69 20,500 129,950 1.66 20,790 100 .15 20,850 Cooks, institution and cafeteria .............................. 4,910 .71 23,330 117,740 1.51 22,210 630 .95 28,020 Office clerks, general ........................................ 11,070 1.60 26,420 104,800 1.34 27,870 1,300 1.96 29,460 Special education teachers, middle school ..................... 4,570 .66 50,230 95,910 1.23 55,050 800 1.20 50,820 Vocational education teachers, secondary school ............... 1,420 .21 47,830 86,760 1.11 54,660 1,540 2.32 58,740 Food preparation workers ...................................... 2,940 .43 21,600 61,890 .79 23,230 740 1.12 24,250
Table 6. Largest occupations in general medical and surgical hospitals, by ownership, May 2009 Occupations Private ownership Local government State government Employment Percent of Annual Employment Percent of Annual Employment Percent of Annual employment mean employment mean employment mean wage wage wage Registered nurses ............................................. 1,273,970 29.44 $67,960 172,560 26.17 $66,280 45,470 24.18 $66,990 Nursing aides, orderlies, and attendants ...................... 326,560 7.55 26,750 57,280 8.69 25,040 12,520 6.65 27,960 Licensed practical and licensed vocational nurses ............. 126,340 2.92 40,500 27,870 4.23 37,300 4,170 2.22 42,020 Radiologic technologists and technicians ...................... 108,770 2.51 55,190 15,730 2.39 51,690 3,320 1.77 55,530 Maids and housekeeping cleaners ............................... 97,720 2.26 23,160 16,910 2.57 21,410 3,050 1.62 23,040 Medical secretaries ........................................... 98,060 2.27 31,740 13,250 2.01 28,540 4,890 2.60 35,340 Medical and health services managers .......................... 86,580 2.00 97,760 13,240 2.01 90,730 2,960 1.57 91,030 Medical and clinical laboratory technologists ................. 82,300 1.90 56,400 11,200 1.70 54,230 5,650 3.00 60,780 Office clerks, general ........................................ 73,840 1.71 29,370 17,730 2.69 29,640 7,210 3.83 29,200 Interviewers, except eligibility and loan ..................... 74,670 1.73 30,040 13,070 1.98 28,570 2,380 1.27 31,390 Respiratory therapists ........................................ 70,690 1.63 54,230 9,940 1.51 51,610 2,500 1.33 55,460 Physicians and surgeons, all other ............................ 56,900 1.32 129,540 10,580 1.60 109,730 4,210 2.24 98,680 Medical and clinical laboratory technicians ................... 57,930 1.34 38,930 8,530 1.29 37,180 3,040 1.61 41,220 Healthcare support workers, all other ......................... 56,700 1.31 30,510 6,780 1.03 27,460 1,730 .92 31,380 Secretaries, except legal, medical, and executive ............. 56,240 1.30 33,390 6,080 .92 30,660 2,500 1.33 35,480 Surgical technologists ........................................ 54,860 1.27 40,810 7,280 1.10 36,800 1,760 .94 40,140 Medical records and health information technicians ............ 52,590 1.22 35,990 8,910 1.35 34,680 2,110 1.12 37,900 Medical assistants ............................................ 50,170 1.16 30,890 8,120 1.23 29,740 2,620 1.39 32,880 Janitors and cleaners, except maids and housekeeping cleaners . 49,730 1.15 25,670 7,610 1.15 24,690 2,850 1.52 24,870 Pharmacists ................................................... 47,960 1.11 105,920 6,740 1.02 109,510 2,540 1.35 102,920