For release 10:00 a.m. (EST) Thursday, December 17, 2015          USDL-15-2393

Technical information:  (202) 691-5700  •  oohinfo@bls.gov  •  www.bls.gov/ooh
Media contact:          (202) 691-5902  •  PressOffice@bls.gov


                   THE 2016-17 OCCUPATIONAL OUTLOOK HANDBOOK                   


The 2016–17 Occupational Outlook Handbook (OOH) was released today by the 
U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics. The OOH reflects BLS employment 
projections for the 2014–24 decade. The OOH is one of the nation’s most widely 
used sources of career information. It provides details on hundreds of 
occupations and is used by career counselors, students, parents, teachers, 
jobseekers, career changers, education and training officials, and researchers. 
The OOH is available online at www.bls.gov/ooh.

OOH Profiles

The 2016–17 OOH includes 329 occupational profiles covering 576 detailed 
occupations, or about 83 percent of total employment in 2014. Each occupational 
profile describes: what workers do, where they work, typical education and
training requirements, wages, job outlook, state and area data, and contacts
for more information.

A detailed description about the information included in OOH profiles is available 
at www.bls.gov/ooh/about/occupational-information-included-in-the-ooh.htm.

New in the 2016–17 OOH

Each occupational profile in the 2016-17 OOH includes a new State and Area Data 
tab with links to occupational profiles from the Occupational Employment Statistics 
survey. Users can access detailed national, state, and metropolitan or nonmetropolitan 
employment and wage data for their selected occupation. 

The new tab also provides a link to state occupational projections available at 
www.projectionscentral.com. State occupational employment projections are developed 
for all states by Labor Market Information (LMI) offices. Information on this site 
allows users to compare projected occupational employment growth among states or 
within one state.

The 2014–24 Employment Projections

The 10-year projections of industry and occupational employment are revised every 2 
years. The Employment Projections news release issued on December 8, 2015, covering 
the 2014–24 projections is available at www.bls.gov/news.release/ecopro.toc.htm. 

More detailed information on the 2014–24 projections appears in five articles in 
the Monthly Labor Review. These articles are available at 
www.bls.gov/emp/publications.htm.

A graphic representation of projections highlights appears in the Career Outlook, 
available online at www.bls.gov/careeroutlook. 

Information about projections methods is available online at 
www.bls.gov/emp/ep_projections_methods.htm. 

Information in this release will be made available to sensory impaired individuals 
upon request. Voice phone: (202) 691-5200; Federal Relay Service: (800) 877-8339.