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

Strength levels

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]

Chart A. Percentage of civilian workers by strength level

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.)

Table 1. Determining strength level based on lifting or carrying duration or percentage of the workday spent standing
Strength level	Duration of lifting or carrying				Percent of workday standing^[1]
Strength level	Seldom	Occasionally	Frequently	Constantly	Percent of workday standing^[1]
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 light strength requirements are met and standing is required less than or equal to 1/3 of the work schedule or workday.

For civilian workers, 30.6 percent of workers were required to work at a sedentary strength level. 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.)

Table 2. Percentage of civilian workers with a sedentary strength level by occupation, 2024
Occupation	Estimate	Standard error
Loan interviewers and clerks	>99.5	^[1]
Management analysts	>99.5	^[1]
Payroll and timekeeping clerks	>99.5	^[1]
Public safety telecommunicators	>99.5	^[1]
Switchboard operators, including answering service	>99.5	^[1]
Software developers	99.3	0.7
Accountants and auditors	99.1	0.6
Billing and posting clerks	97.9	2.2
Administrative services managers	97.7	1.9
Bookkeeping, accounting, and auditing clerks	97.4	1.2
Financial managers	97.4	1.5
Computer systems analysts	95.4	3.4
Human resources managers	95.1	2.3
Purchasing agents, except wholesale, retail, and farm products	93.0	3.9
Executive secretaries and executive administrative assistants	92.1	3.2
^[1] The standard error is not available for this estimate. 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. For civilian workers, 33.3 percent of workers were required to work at a light strength level. Examples of occupations with light strength level requirements include:

Hosts and hostesses 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.
Hotel, motel, and resort desk clerks might spend more than 1/3 of their workday standing.

Table 3. Percentage of civilian workers with a light strength level by occupation, 2024
Occupation	Estimate	Standard error
Middle school teachers, except special and career/technical education	95.6	2.6
Hosts and hostesses, restaurant, lounge, and coffee shop	95.2	3.1
Phlebotomists	93.3	5.4
Elementary school teachers, except special education	91.6	2.4
Cleaners of vehicles and equipment	90.9	6.1
Laundry and dry-cleaning workers	88.9	3.8
Secondary school teachers, except special and career/technical education	87.0	4.6
Waiters and waitresses	85.3	2.0
Hotel, motel, and resort desk clerks	82.9	4.6
Food service managers	79.7	6.4
Special education teachers, elementary school	77.0	5.9
First-line supervisors of helpers, laborers, and material movers, hand	76.4	12.4
Security guards	76.3	8.1
Dental assistants	75.9	5.2
Library assistants, clerical	73.2	7.7
^[1] The standard error is not available for this estimate. Source: U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, Occupational Requirements Survey

Medium strength level

For civilian workers, 29.0 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.

Table 4. Percentage of civilian workers with a medium strength level by occupation, 2024
Occupation	Estimate	Standard error
Helpers–production workers	91.8	3.7
Childcare workers	81.0	3.7
Automotive service technicians and mechanics	79.7	8.0
Merchandise displayers and window trimmers	79.5	16.8
Construction laborers	77.9	7.2
Industrial machinery mechanics	74.5	14.2
Landscaping and groundskeeping workers	73.6	9.7
Stockers and order fillers	72.4	5.7
Maintenance and repair workers, general	70.8	6.5
Bus and truck mechanics and diesel engine specialists	68.2	9.8
Cooks, short order	66.7	12.3
Animal caretakers	64.2	7.6
Nursing assistants	63.3	11.2
Licensed practical and licensed vocational nurses	63.1	12.9
Industrial truck and tractor operators	61.7	7.9
^[1] The standard error is not available for this estimate. Source: U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, Occupational Requirements Survey

Heavy strength level

For civilian workers, 6.4 percent of workers were required to work at a heavy strength level. Examples of occupations with heavy strength level requirements include:

Bus and truck mechanics and diesel engine specialists might occasionally lift truck parts weighing over 50 pounds.

Table 5. Percentage of civilian workers with a heavy strength level by occupation, 2024
Occupation	Estimate	Standard error
Butchers and meat cutters	67.5	9.3
Highway maintenance workers	42.8	11.3
Bakers	<35	^[1]
Laborers and freight, stock, and material movers, hand	34.1	7.4
Police and sheriff’s patrol officers	32.4	6.4
Correctional officers and jailers	29.5	8.4
Parts salespersons	27.4	5.4
Lifeguards, ski patrol, and other recreational protective service workers	23.4	10.4
Exercise trainers and group fitness instructors	22.7	5.3
Firefighters	22.7	9.4
Industrial machinery mechanics	21.0	13.6
Bus and truck mechanics and diesel engine specialists	20.8	9.3
First-line supervisors of police and detectives	20.7	10.8
Chefs and head cooks	<20	^[1]
Heavy and tractor-trailer truck drivers	<20	^[1]
^[1] The standard error is not available for this estimate. Source: U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, Occupational Requirements Survey

Very heavy strength level

For civilian workers, 0.7 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.

Table 6. Percentage of civilian workers with a very heavy strength level by occupational group, 2024
Occupation	Estimate	Standard error
Protective service occupations	15.2	3.3
Construction and extraction occupations	2.5	0.8
Installation, maintenance, and repair occupations	0.9	0.7
Transportation and material moving occupations	0.9	<0.5
Healthcare practitioners and technical occupations	0.6	<0.5
^[1] The standard error is not available for this estimate. Source: U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, Occupational Requirements Survey

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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.