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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. The job requirements reflect those necessary for workers to perform critical tasks in support of the critical job functions, and not the capabilities of individual workers.
The ORS publishes five strength levels (sedentary, light, medium, heavy, and very heavy), which are part of the published physical demands, and are calculated from the weight and duration associated with lifting, carrying, and in some cases, standing.[1]
Sedentary | Light | Medium | Heavy | Very Heavy | |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
Civilian workers |
28.5% | 33.3% | 28.2% | 8.9% | 1.1% |
Duration levels are used to calculate the amount of time spent lifting or carrying. There are four duration levels in relation to a job's workday schedule: seldom (up to 2 percent), occasional (2 percent to 1/3), frequent (1/3 to 2/3), and constant (2/3 or more).
For example, if workers deliver items weighing between 26-50 pounds occasionally, then the job would be classified as a medium strength level. However, if they delivered slightly heavier items (51-100 pounds) or the duration of carrying or lifting 26-50 pounds increased to being performed frequently, then the job would be classified as a heavy strength level. “Negligible weight” includes anything lifted or carried weighing less than one pound. (See Table 1.)
Strength level | Duration of lifting or carrying | Percent of workday standing[1] | |||
---|---|---|---|---|---|
Seldom | Occasionally | Frequently | Constantly | ||
Sedentary work |
Up to 10 pounds | Up to 10 pounds | Negligible weight[2] | No weight | Less than or equal to 1/3[3] |
Light work |
11–25 pounds | 11–25 pounds | 1–10 pounds | Negligible weight[2] | |
Medium work |
26–50 pounds | 26–50 pounds | 11–25 pounds | 1–10 pounds | |
Heavy work |
51–100 pounds | 51–100 pounds | 26–50 pounds | 11–25 pounds | |
Very heavy work |
>100 pounds | >100 pounds | >50 pounds | >25 pounds | |
[1] Standing estimates includes time spent standing, walking, and in low postures. [2] Negligible weight includes anything lifted or carried weighing less than 1 pound. [3] When the sedentary lifting or carrying requirements are met, and more than 1/3 of the workday is spent standing, light work is required. Source: U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, Occupational Requirements Survey. |
Sedentary strength level
Strength is considered sedentary when none of the conditions in the strength chart are met and standing is required less than or equal to 1/3 of the work schedule or workday.
Occupations with critical tasks where workers typically spend the day sitting and occasionally lift items of little weight, like a pen or a few pieces of paper, require sedentary strength. (See Table 2.)
Occupation | Estimate | Standard Error |
---|---|---|
Statistical assistants |
100.0 | [1] |
Architectural and civil drafters |
99.2 | 0.9 |
Software developers |
98.8 | 0.6 |
Financial and investment analysts |
98.2 | 0.7 |
Computer programmers |
97.6 | 1.3 |
Management analysts |
97.2 | 1.3 |
Editors |
97.1 | 1.8 |
Bill and account collectors |
96.9 | 2.2 |
Clinical and counseling psychologists |
96.6 | 4.0 |
Public safety telecommunicators |
96.3 | 1.0 |
Insurance sales agents |
95.9 | 2.3 |
Billing and posting clerks |
94.8 | 2.2 |
Budget analysts |
93.0 | 5.2 |
Human resources specialists |
91.8 | 1.6 |
Human resources assistants, except payroll and time keeping |
91.5 | 2.6 |
[1] Standard error is less than 0.5. Source: U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, Occupational Requirements Survey |
Light strength level
If the work level of an occupation does not meet the conditions for the other strength levels, including sedentary, a light strength level is required.[2] Examples of occupations with light strength level requirements include:
Hosts and hostesses (96 percent light strength required) may do activities such as carrying menus and raising and lowering pagers for customers in a queue for 2/3 or more of the workday.
Music directors and composers (80.8 percent light strength required) may carry an instrument over 1 pound for 1/3 to 2/3 of the workday.
Occupation | Estimate | Standard Error |
---|---|---|
Hairdressers, hairstylists, and cosmetologists |
97.7 | 2.3 |
Hosts and hostesses, restaurant, lounge, and coffee shop |
96.0 | 1.4 |
Gambling managers |
89.4 | 8.5 |
Substitute teachers, short-term |
88.9 | 5.1 |
Hearing aid specialists |
87.5 | 13.1 |
Hotel, motel, and resort desk clerks |
83.1 | 7.2 |
Biological science teachers, post secondary |
81.9 | 4.1 |
Physics teachers, post secondary |
81.9 | 8.0 |
Recreation workers |
78.2 | 12.9 |
First-line supervisors of gambling services workers |
78.1 | 19.1 |
Waiters and waitresses |
77.4 | 3.9 |
Opticians, dispensing |
75.7 | 15.8 |
Dental assistants |
74.1 | 5.2 |
Teaching assistants, preschool, elementary, middle, and secondary school, except special education |
73.3 | 3.2 |
Ushers, lobby attendants, and ticket takers |
72.9 | 8.4 |
Source: U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, Occupational Requirements Survey |
Medium strength level
For civilian workers, 28.2 percent of workers were required to work at a medium strength level. Examples of occupations with medium strength level requirements include:
Animal caretakers may lift 30 pound bags of grain to feed horses at the racetrack for up to 2 percent of the workday.
Occupation | Estimate | Standard Error |
---|---|---|
Animal caretakers |
88.4 | 6.5 |
Tool and die makers |
86.5 | 4.3 |
Production workers, all other |
85.1 | 9.4 |
Magnetic resonance imaging technologists |
76.8 | 16.1 |
Helpers--production workers |
76.5 | 5.5 |
Museum technicians and conservators |
75.7 | 14.8 |
Cooks, fast food |
74.6 | 7.6 |
Chefs and head cooks |
73.9 | 8.7 |
Multiple machine tool setters, operators, and tenders, metal and plastic |
68.9 | 13.4 |
Landscaping and groundskeeping workers |
66.7 | 6.6 |
Grinding, lapping, polishing, and buffing machine tool setters, operators, and tenders, metal and plastic |
66.0 | 11.4 |
Preschool teachers, except special education |
65.3 | 7.2 |
Packaging and filling machine operators and tenders |
64.4 | 9.7 |
Team assemblers |
63.3 | 8.3 |
Carpenters |
62.5 | 6.3 |
Source: U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, Occupational Requirements Survey |
Heavy strength level
For civilian workers, 8.9 percent of workers were required to work at a heavy strength level. Examples of occupations with heavy strength level requirements include:
Construction laborers at a building site may wear a 30 pound tool belt from 1/3 to 2/3 of the workday.
Shipping, receiving, and inventory clerks might lift 15 pound crates for 2/3 or more of the workday.
Occupation | Estimate | Standard Error |
---|---|---|
Light truck drivers |
70.1 | 5.0 |
Electrical power-line installers and repairers |
57.8 | 13.3 |
Heating, air conditioning, and refrigeration mechanics and installers |
54.9 | 9.4 |
Bus and truck mechanics and diesel engine specialists |
46.3 | 7.7 |
Construction laborers |
38.8 | 5.7 |
Highway maintenance workers |
36.0 | 6.9 |
Carpenters |
34.7 | 6.4 |
Coating, painting, and spraying machine setters, operators, and tenders |
34.2 | 10.1 |
Recreational vehicle service technicians |
34.1 | 10.0 |
First-line supervisors of material-moving machine and vehicle operators |
30.8 | 9.0 |
Heavy and tractor-trailer truck drivers |
28.6 | 3.0 |
Shipping, receiving, and inventory clerks |
28.1 | 6.5 |
Multiple machine tool setters, operators, and tenders, metal and plastic |
27.4 | 13.4 |
Lifeguards, ski patrol, and other recreational protective service workers |
25.1 | 9.0 |
Furnace, kiln, oven, drier, and kettle operators and tenders |
23.8 | 10.7 |
Source: U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, Occupational Requirements Survey |
Very heavy strength level
For civilian workers, 1.1 percent required a very heavy strength level, which indicates requirements beyond the conditions set for heavy work. Examples of occupational groups with heavy strength level requirements include:
Laborers in construction and extraction occupations may lift items that weigh 50 pounds or more, like bags of cement or sheets of plywood, for more than 1/3 of the workday.
Workers in healthcare support occupations may lift patients to and from their beds for 10 minutes during an 8-hour shift.
Occupation | Estimate | Standard Error |
---|---|---|
Construction and extraction occupations |
1.9 | 0.6 |
Transportation and material moving occupations |
1.6 | 0.5 |
Health care support occupations |
1.4 | [1] |
Community and social service occupations |
0.7 | [1] |
Personal care and service occupations |
0.7 | [1] |
Production occupations |
0.3 | [1] |
Management occupations |
0.1 | [1] |
[1] Standard error is less than 0.5. Source: U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, Occupational Requirements Survey |
Additional resources:
Articles:
Use of personal protective equipment to mitigate noise exposure in 2020
Civilian occupations required to spend the most time outdoors in 2020
Three-fourths of workers had to interact with the public in 2019; 4.3 percent worked around crowds
Occupational requirements and benefits for nurses in the United States in 2018
All The Economics Daily (TED) articles on ORS
A look at teachers’ job requirements, employer costs, and benefits (PDF)
Occupational Requirements Survey: results from a job observation pilot test
The Occupational Requirements Survey: estimates from preproduction testing
For additional information on occupational requirements see the ORS homepage or download the ORS complete dataset to explore the latest estimates.
[1] See the sitting and standing factsheet for more information on these requirements.
[2] For more information on work levels, see National Compensation Survey: Guide for Evaluating Your Firm's Jobs and Pay and the Calculation section of the Handbook of Methods.