Occupational Employment and Wages Summary

For release 10:00 a.m. (ET) Wednesday, April 2, 2025 				       USDL-25-0451

Technical information:  (202) 691-6569  *  oewsinfo@bls.gov  *  www.bls.gov/oes
Media contact:          (202) 691-5902  *  PressOffice@bls.gov


                          OCCUPATIONAL EMPLOYMENT AND WAGES -- MAY 2024


Production occupations had employment of 8.7 million in May 2024, representing 5.7 percent of
total national employment, the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics reported today. The largest
production occupations were miscellaneous assemblers and fabricators (1.5 million) and
first-line supervisors of production and operating workers (685,140). The annual mean wage
across all production occupations was $50,090, less than the U.S. average wage of $67,920.

The Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics (OEWS) program provides employment and wage
estimates for about 830 occupations in the nation, states, and approximately 530 areas.
National data are available by industry for approximately 410 industry classifications and by
ownership across all industries and for the educational services and hospitals industries.
This news release features production, architecture and engineering, and building and grounds 
cleaning and maintenance occupations, in addition to largest occupations and public sector
occupations. National employment and wage information for all occupations is shown in table 1.

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|												|
|        Changes to the Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics (OEWS) Data			|
|												|
| Effective with this news release, the OEWS program has implemented new metropolitan area	|
| definitions based on the 2020 decennial census and delineated by the Office of Management	|
| and Budget (OMB). This news release does not include data for Colorado and its areas because	|
| of quality concerns with Colorado's Quarterly Census of Employment and Wages (QCEW) data.	|
| See the box notes at the end of this news release for more information.			|
|_______________________________________________________________________________________________|

Production occupations

--The largest production occupations were miscellaneous assemblers and fabricators (1.5
  million); first-line supervisors of production and operating workers (685,140); inspectors,
  testers, sorters, samplers, and weighers (591,180); and welders, cutters, solderers, and
  brazers (424,040). (See table 1.)

--The highest paying production occupations were nuclear power reactor operators ($122,830),
  power distributors and dispatchers ($109,620), and power plant operators ($95,990). (See
  table 1.)

--The lowest paying production occupations were mostly related to textiles and apparel and
  included pressers, textile, garment, and related materials ($33,370); laundry and dry-
  cleaning workers ($33,990); and hand sewers ($34,810). (See table 1.) 

--The states with the highest concentrations of production occupations were Indiana (11.3
  percent of state employment) and Wisconsin (10.5 percent).

--Metropolitan areas with the highest concentrations of production occupations were Elkhart-
  Goshen, IN (32.8 percent of area employment); Sheboygan, WI (22.3 percent); and Dalton, GA
  (21.8 percent).

--Pay for production occupations in manufacturing industries varied widely. Industries with
  the highest wages were petroleum and coal products manufacturing ($86,760); pulp, paper,
  and paperboard mills ($66,230); and aerospace product and parts manufacturing ($66,010).

--Manufacturing industries with the lowest wages for production occupations included seafood
  product preparation and packaging ($38,140) and several apparel, textile, and leather
  products industries.

State data are available at www.bls.gov/oes/current/oessrcst.htm; metropolitan area data are
available at www.bls.gov/oes/current/oessrcma.htm.

National industry-specific data are available at www.bls.gov/oes/current/oessrci.htm.
 
Architecture and engineering occupations

--Architecture and engineering occupations had employment of 2.6 million and an annual mean
  wage of $103,980. (See table 1.)

--The largest architecture and engineering occupations were civil engineers (355,410),
  industrial engineers (350,230), and mechanical engineers (286,760). (See table 1.)

--The highest paying architecture and engineering occupations were computer hardware engineers
  ($156,770), petroleum engineers ($153,560), and aerospace engineers ($141,180). (See table 1.)

--The lowest paying occupations in this group included surveying and mapping technicians
  ($56,890); environmental engineering technologists and technicians ($63,070); and drafters,
  all other ($66,530). These were the only architecture and engineering occupations with 
  annual mean wages below the U.S. average of $67,920. (See table 1.)

--Architecture and engineering occupations made up 44.0 percent of employment in the
  architectural, engineering, and related services industry, compared with 1.7 percent of
  overall employment. Industries with the highest concentrations of architecture and 
  engineering occupations also included semiconductor and other electronic component 
  manufacturing (22.1 percent) and aerospace product and parts manufacturing (19.3 percent).

--Metropolitan areas with the highest concentrations of architecture and engineering
  occupations were Lexington Park, MD (8.1 percent of area employment); Huntsville, AL (7.7
  percent); and Columbus, IN (7.1 percent).

Building and grounds cleaning and maintenance occupations

--Building and grounds cleaning and maintenance occupations had employment of 4.5 million
  and an annual mean wage of $39,540. (See table 1.)

--The largest building and grounds cleaning and maintenance occupations were janitors and
  cleaners, except maids and housekeeping cleaners (2.2 million) and landscaping and 
  groundskeeping workers (943,430). (See table 1.)

--All 10 building and grounds cleaning and maintenance occupations had annual mean wages
  below the U.S. average of $67,920. The highest paying building and grounds cleaning and
  maintenance occupations were first-line supervisors of landscaping, lawn service, and
  groundskeeping workers ($59,380) and tree trimmers and pruners ($54,970). (See table 1.)

--The lowest paying building and grounds cleaning and maintenance occupations were maids and
  housekeeping cleaners ($36,180) and janitors and cleaners, except maids and housekeeping
  cleaners ($37,460). (See table 1.)

--About 1.8 million building and grounds cleaning and maintenance jobs were in the services
  to buildings and dwellings industry, which includes janitorial services and landscaping
  services. Industries with the highest employment of this occupational group also included
  traveler accommodation (517,600) and elementary and secondary schools (354,970).

--Landscaping and groundskeeping workers, one of the largest building and grounds cleaning
  and maintenance occupations, had an annual mean wage of $40,880 nationally. Wages for this
  occupation varied by state from $32,310 in West Virginia to $49,130 in Massachusetts and
  the District of Columbia.

Largest occupations

--The largest occupation overall was home health and personal care aides, with employment of
  4.0 million, followed by retail salespersons and fast food and counter workers (each 3.8
  million). (See table 1.) 

--Eight of the 10 largest occupations had below-average wages, ranging from $31,350 for fast
  food and counter workers to $45,470 for general office clerks. (See table 1.) 

--Of the 10 largest occupations, only registered nurses ($98,430) and general and operations
  managers ($133,120) had above-average wages. (See table 1.)

Public sector occupations

--The public sector made up 14.5 percent of employment and had a different occupational mix
  from the private sector. 

--Several of the largest public sector occupations were related to education. These occupations
  included elementary school teachers, except special education (public sector employment of
  1.2 million); teaching assistants, except postsecondary (1.1 million); secondary school
  teachers, except special and career/technical education (920,980); and middle school teachers,
  except special and career/technical education (546,970).

--Outside of the educational instruction and library group, the occupations with the highest
  public sector employment were police and sheriff’s patrol officers (660,460); registered
  nurses (533,460); and janitors and cleaners, except maids and housekeeping cleaners (493,840).

Public/private sector ownership data are available at www.bls.gov/oes/current/oessrci.htm.


 _______________________________________________________________________________________________
|												|
|             Introduction of New Metropolitan and Nonmetropolitan Area Definitions		|
|												|
| With the May 2024 OEWS news release, the metropolitan area estimates have been updated to 	|
| reflect definitions based on the 2020 decennial census and delineated in OMB Bulletin 23-01,  |
| available at 											|
| www.bls.gov/bls/omb-bulletin-23-01-revised-delineations-of-metropolitan-statistical-areas.pdf.|
| As a result of this update, new metropolitan statistical areas (MSAs) have been added to	|
| publication, some existing MSAs have undergone name and/or compositional changes, and other	|
| existing areas have been removed from publication. Some nonmetropolitan areas have been added,|
| removed, or modified due to the new MSA delineations. For the six New England states, New	|
| England City and Town Areas (NECTAs) have been discontinued, and OEWS now publishes the MSAs	|
| and nonmetropolitan areas for these states. A spreadsheet of the new OEWS area definitions	|
| is available at www.bls.gov/oes/area_definitions_m2024.xlsx.					|
|_______________________________________________________________________________________________|


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|												|
|        Suspension of Publication of Colorado Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics	|
|												|
| On November 20, 2024, QCEW suspended publication of industry and substate data for Colorado	|
| because of data quality concerns caused by issues with the modernization of the state's	|
| unemployment insurance (UI) system. By February 19, 2025, the data quality concerns for	|
| Colorado had been sufficiently addressed to resume QCEW publication. 				|
| 												|
| OEWS uses QCEW employment data--which provide comprehensive counts of nonfarm payroll		|
| employment--to adjust estimates to represent all employment that is in scope for the OEWS	|
| survey. The updated Colorado employment data were not available in time to be used in this	|
| OEWS news release. As a result, data in this news release do not include substate data for	|
| Colorado and its areas. Therefore, this news release only contains data for about 520		|
| metropolitan and nonmetropolitan areas instead of the full count of approximately 530 areas.	|
| The OEWS national data may be marginally impacted by the quality issues in Colorado.		|
|												|
|_______________________________________________________________________________________________|