U.S. flag

An official website of the United States government

Department of Labor Logo United States Department of Labor
Dot gov

The .gov means it's official.
Federal government websites often end in .gov or .mil. Before sharing sensitive information, make sure you're on a federal government site.

Https

The site is secure.
The https:// ensures that you are connecting to the official website and that any information you provide is encrypted and transmitted securely.

Occupational Requirements Survey
Bureau of Labor Statistics > Occupational Requirements Survey > About > Info for Survey Participants

Information for Survey Participants

General Information

  • Social Security endorsement letter (PDF)
  • Combined infographics (PDF)
    • Why it Matters? (PDF)
    • What is it? (PDF)
  • We Need Your Help (PDF)
  • Respondent reference guide (PDF)

    Overview

    ORS captures durations for some physical demands and environmental conditions based on the ranges below:

    Duration Category

    Overall range

    8-Hour day

    40-Hour week

    Seldom

    Up to 2%

    Less than 10 minutes

    Less than 45 minutes

    Occasionally

    2% up to 1/3

    10 minutes up to 2 1/2 hours

    45 minutes up to 13 hours

    Frequently

    1/3 up to 2/3

    2 1/2 hours up to 5 1/2 hours

    13 hours up to 3 1/2 days

    Constantly

    2/3 or more

    5 1/2 hours or more

    3 1/2 days or more

    For each of the selected jobs, please provide the following information:

    Job Information & Requirements

    For each of the jobs we will be talking about today, we will need the following information:

        • The number of full-time and part-time workers
        • The typical or average work schedule (e.g., 8 hours a day, 40 hours a week)
        • The below hiring requirements, when applicable:
          • Educational requirements (e.g., high school diploma, college degree)
          • Other special training requirements (e.g., certificates, licenses, vocational training)
          • Related, professional work experience

    Job Function and Tasks

        • What are the most important things this job does for your organization?
        • What is the purpose of this job?
        • What do workers in this job do in a regular day?

    Supervisory Information

        • Does this job supervise anyone?
        • Is their supervisor in the area where they typically work?
        • How does their supervisor check the quality of their work?

    Cognitive Demands

        • How fast work is performed?
        • How often must this job verbally interact with others?
        • How closely the job is supervised?

    Physical Demands

    Pushing/pulling - Do workers push or pull anything that requires a significant amount of force?

    Nurse pushing patient in wheelchair Worker pulling cart of boxes

    Reaching/manipulation - Do any tasks require gross manipulation (e.g., seizing, holding, grasping, turning, or otherwise working with the hand)?

    Woman holding books Woman inspecting an item while working in a warehouse gross manipulation trimming shrubs

    Do any of tasks require fine manipulation? Fine manipulation includes touching, picking, pinching, keyboarding, or otherwise working primarily with fingers rather than with the whole hand or arm, as in gross manipulation.

    Technician fixing computers Lab technician using a pipette

    Postural - Do any tasks requires them to use low postures (e.g., stooping, crouching, kneeling, or crawling)?

    A maid stooping Crouching photographer Man crouching while lowering a jack at the rear of a travel trailer

     

    Environmental Conditions

    Do workers encounter any of the following while performing the job?

        • Outdoors
        • Extreme Heat (non-weather related)
        • Extreme Cold (non-weather related)
        • Wetness
        • Humidity
        • Heavy Vibration
        • Hazardous Contaminants*
        • Proximity to Moving Mechanical Parts*
        • High, Exposed Places*
        • Noise Intensity Level*

    * Is personal protective equipment (PPE) used (e.g., ear plugs, hearing protection, safety harnesses)?

  • Additional respondent resources
  • Your compensation companion: a practical guide to BLS data (PDF)

Collection forms

Collection manuals

The procedures and instructions used by BLS during ORS data collection are reviewed annually in conjunction with the fielding of each sample. The first wave of collection consisted of three samples and correspond to reference year 2018 estimates. The second wave of collection includes five samples and correspond to preliminary estimates each year until final reference year 2023 estimates are published. Similarly, the third wave of collection will contain five samples captured over a five-year period.

  • Current third wave collection manual (PDF)
  • Final second wave collection manual (PDF)
  • First wave (three sample groups for the following collection periods)
    • 2017-2018 (PDF)
    • 2016-2017 (PDF)
    • 2015-2016 (PDF)

Visual Aids

Environmental conditions visual overview (PDF)

Physical demands visual overview (PDF)