Wages of workers in largest occupations, May 2008
May 04, 2009
The 2 largest occupations in the U.S., retail salespersons and cashiers—both of which had employment of more than 3.0 million workers in May 2008—had mean annual wages of $25,050 and $18,880, respectively.
[Chart data—TXT]
Examples of other occupations with employment of more than 2.0 million workers include office clerks, general, (mean annual wages: $26,830) and combined food preparation and serving workers, including fast food ($17,400).
Among the occupations with employment of more than 2.0 million, registered nurses had mean annual wages ($65,130) that were at least twice as high as those of the other occupations.
These data are from the Occupational Employment Statistics program. To learn more, see "Occupational Employment and Wages, 2008" (HTML) (PDF), news release USDL 09-0457.
OF INTEREST
Recent editions of Spotlight on Statistics
- Fatal Injuries to Foreign-Born Hispanic or Latino Workers
Explores the industries, occupations, and events related to these fatalities.
- For-Profit, Nonprofit, and Government Sector Jobs in 2022
Compares the labor force characteristics and experiences of workers in the for-profit, nonprofit, government, and self-employed sectors.
- Union Membership, Activity, and Compensation in 2022
Focuses on trends in union membership, work stoppages, and pay and benefits among union members.
- A Look at a Neat Industry: Distilleries
Examines trends in employment, establishments, wages, and consumer prices for distilleries.
- Healthcare Occupations: Characteristics of the Employed
Compares the demographic characteristics of workers in healthcare occupations.
United States Department of Labor
