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Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics
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The Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics (OEWS) program produces employment and wage estimates annually for approximately 830 occupations. These estimates are available for the nation as a whole, for individual states, and for metropolitan and nonmetropolitan areas; national occupational estimates for specific industries are also available.
Notices
- May 2024 OEWS data for Colorado and its areas are now available Read More »
- Notice Regarding Suspension of Publication of Colorado Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics Read More »
- Notice Regarding Suspension of Publication of Colorado Employment and Unemployment Data Read More »
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Respondents homepage.GRAPHICS
Click the graphic to enlarge chart: Major occupational groups as a percentage of total employment, May 2024.
Click the graphic to enlarge chart: Employment for the largest occupations, May 2024.
Click the graphic to enlarge chart: Annual mean wages for the largest occupations, May 2024.
Click the graphic to enlarge chart: Metropolitan areas with the highest concentrations of production occupations, May 2024.
Click the graphic to enlarge chart: Industries with the highest concentrations of architecture and engineering occupations, May 2024.
News Releases
Production occupations have mean wage of $50,090 in May 2024
04/02/2025
Production occupations had employment of 8.7 million and an annual mean wage of $50,090
in May 2024. Miscellaneous assemblers and fabricators (1.5 million) and first-line
supervisors of production and operating workers (685,140) were the largest production
occupations.
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Next Release
The May 2024 Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics were released on April 2, 2025.
read more »
Publications
The Economics Daily
Lifeguards had hourly mean wages over $21.00 in two states and the District of Columbia in 2024
In the heat of summer, it’s tempting to cool down by taking a dip at the pool or beach. Let’s take a closer look at the wages and employment of those who keep us safe while we enjoy our fun in the sun. read more »
Beyond the Numbers
Employment and wages for alternate definitions of science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) occupations
Analyzing data for STEM occupations can be challenging because many definitions of STEM exist. This Beyond the Numbers (BTN) article provides research and analysis of STEM occupations by presenting employment and wage data for different definitions of STEM, based on options for defining STEM developed by the interagency SOCPC. This article uses a special tabulation of May 2023 OEWS data to look at national STEM employment and wages for alternate SOCPC definitions. read more »
Spotlight on Statistics
A Look at Jobs Paying Less Than $15.00 Per Hour
In response to the Great Depression, the Fair Labor Standards Act of 1938 instituted numerous labor law reforms. These reforms included establishing a federal minimum wage of $0.25 per hour ($5.49 per hour in today’s dollars). The minimum wage was later increased, and its scope extended to cover more workers. The most recent update, bringing the federal minimum wage up to its current value of $7.25 per hour, became effective 15 years ago in 2009. read more »