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Percentage of women in service occupations highest among 16- to 19-year-olds, at 46.8 percent

April 30, 2026

The types of jobs people hold often shift over time as they attain education, build new skills, and experience changes in their lives and personal preferences. In 2025, employment patterns in the six major occupational groups varied significantly across different age groups for both women and men.

Women ages 16 to 19 were more likely than men of the same ages to be employed in service occupations (46.8 percent compared with 37.6 percent) and in sales and office occupations (32.9 percent compared with 21.6 percent). Women ages 20 to 24 were less likely than their younger counterparts to work in service occupations (33.1 percent) and in sales and office occupations (26.3 percent). Women age 55 and over were more likely to be employed in sales and office occupations than were women ages 25 to 54.

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Percent of employed women and men by major occupation and age, 2025 annual averages
Age group	Management, business, and financial operations occupations	Professional and related occupations	Service occupations	Sales and office occupations	Natural resources, construction, and maintenance occupations	Production, transportation, and material moving occupations
Women
16–19	2.5	9.3	46.8	32.9	1.7	6.8
20–24	7.8	23.7	33.1	26.3	1.3	7.7
25–34	17.8	34.5	18.4	22.3	1.2	5.7
35–44	21.7	33.2	17.3	21.2	1.0	5.6
45–54	21.8	32.1	16.9	21.9	1.1	6.2
55–64	20.2	27.0	18.8	25.9	1.1	6.9
65+	17.8	25.6	20.2	29.4	0.9	6.1
Men
16–19	2.7	5.9	37.6	21.6	12.3	19.9
20–24	7.6	13.6	21.0	18.2	18.9	20.6
25–34	16.2	22.4	13.4	14.7	16.2	17.1
35–44	21.5	22.0	11.3	13.2	16.3	15.7
45–54	24.1	20.1	10.8	12.5	15.9	16.5
55–64	23.0	18.6	10.9	13.1	15.6	18.9
65+	24.6	20.9	11.5	15.0	11.4	16.6
NOTE: Annual estimates for 2025 are 11-month averages that exclude October. (Data for October 2025 were not collected due to the federal government shutdown.) As a result, 2025 annual estimates are not strictly comparable with annual averages for other years.

In 2025, about one-third of employed women ages 25 to 54 were employed in professional and related occupations. Men in the same age groups also gravitated towards professional occupations, though at lower rates than women.

For production, transportation, and material moving occupations, about one-fifth of men ages 16 to 19 were employed in these occupations, compared with less than one-tenth of women ages 16 to 19. The share of men employed in these occupations and in natural resources, construction, and maintenance occupations were much higher than the shares of women, across all age groups. Similarly, employed men ages 45 to 54 were more likely than women in the same age group to work in management, business, and financial operations (24.1 percent versus 21.8 percent, respectively). Nearly one in four employed men age 45 and over were in these occupations, higher than the share of employed men in younger age groups.

These data are from the Current Population Survey. To read more about recent trends in women’s employment, including breakdowns of these categories and more, check out the “Women in the labor force, 2024” report. Also, see these videos and charts for additional labor force statistics from the Current Population Survey.

SUGGESTED CITATION

Bureau of Labor Statistics, U.S. Department of Labor, The Economics Daily, Percentage of women in service occupations highest among 16- to 19-year-olds, at 46.8 percent at https://www.bls.gov/opub/ted/2026/percentage-of-women-in-service-occupations-highest-among-16-to-19-year-olds-at-46-8-percent.htm (visited May 02, 2026).

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