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Bureau of Labor Statistics > Occupational Requirements Survey > Publications > Factsheets

Understanding response rates in the Occupational Requirements Survey

The Occupational Requirements Survey (ORS) publishes job-related information on physical demands; environmental conditions; education, training, and experience; as well as cognitive and mental requirements. ORS estimates reflect the requirements of jobs in the national economy.

The survey is designed to collect data over a multi-year period called a wave with preliminary data published each year until all annual samples are collected, see ‘wave’ definition in the concepts section in the ORS Handbook of Methods. ORS response rates reflect the percentage of establishments that responded to the survey out of the sampled establishments in the wave. For example, 2016 was the first sample of the first wave. The response rate in 2016 represents a single sample. In 2017, a second sample was added and the response rate was the percentage of responding establishments in 2016 and 2017. Then in 2019, when the first sample of the second wave was collected, the response rate only represented establishments from one sample.

ORS Response Rate =

Number of responding establishments

Number of establishments in the sample(s)

*100

For information on the response rates of other establishment and household surveys at the Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS), see the Office of Survey Methods and Research’s response rates page.

Where to find response rates

ORS response rates can be found in the database tools. The ORS databases factsheet walks through each of the database tools and how they can be used to view ORS estimates. Here are a few ways to locate the response rates using these tools:

Top picks – Select the check box for ‘Percent of responding establishments’ and then ‘Retrieve data’.
Data finder – Type ‘response rate’ in the search box. This should filter to the data series titled ‘Percent of responding establishments’. Select the check box for this series and click ‘View data’.
One-screen data search – Eight boxes appear on this search screen. The following selections must be made in each box to retrieve the response rates. Once these are selected, click ‘Add to selection’ and ‘Get Data’.
1. Select Occupation: 000 All workers
2. Select Requirement: R Response rates
3. Select Category: 999 Response rate
4. Select Estimate: 99999 Percent of responding establishments
5. Select Ownership: 1 Civilian workers
6. Select Industry: 0000 All workers
7. Select Job Characteristic: 000 All workers
8. Seasonal: Not seasonally adjusted

Response rates over time

Response rates in the ORS have been decreasing over time as is the case for many BLS surveys. In 2016 during the first wave of ORS, 80.2 percent of establishments responded. During 2020 and 2021, rates dropped below 70 percent and in 2024, 48.3 percent of establishments responded.

Response rates for 2020 and 2021 were impacted by the pandemic as personal visits were suspended between March 2020 and December 2021. The ORS sample size was expanded from approximately 10,000 targeted establishments to 15,000 for 2022 and 2023. The goal of the increased sample was to prioritize cooperative establishments and collect the occupational observations needed to meet publication standards. Collection efforts were minimized for establishments lacking engagement, refusing cooperation, or providing incomplete data, and lower response rates were expected.

Shown in Chart 2, the number of responding establishments at the end of the second wave was about 5,000 higher than at the end of the first wave. There were 88,800 occupational observations at the end of the first wave which consisted of three samples. After three samples in the second wave (2021), occupational observations were slightly lower at 84,800. By the end of the second wave, which included five samples, there were 148,600 occupational observations. The number of occupational observations can be found in the technical note of the ORS news releases.

Additional resources:

Articles:

For additional information on occupational requirements see the ORS homepage or download the ORS complete dataset to explore the latest estimates.

Last modified date: May 29, 2025