Technical information: (202) 691-6569 USDL 04-2320 http://www.bls.gov/oes/ For release: 10:00 A.M. EST Media contact: 691-5902 Friday, November 12, 2004 OCCUPATIONAL EMPLOYMENT AND WAGES, NOVEMBER 2003 Healthcare practitioner and technical occupations such as specialist physicians and dentists accounted for 8 out of the 10 highest-paying occupations in November 2003, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics of the U.S. Department of Labor. The average hourly wages for these health- related occupations ranged from $87.83 for surgeons to $62.04 for dentists. The lowest-paying occupation was fast food cooks who earned $7.28 per hour. Five of the six lowest-paying occupations were related to food preparation and serving. Retail salespersons and cashiers were the largest occupations in the United States, with about 4.1 million and 3.4 million employees, respec- tively. Other occupations with more than 2 million workers included general office clerks; hand laborers and material movers; registered nurses; waiters and waitresses; janitors and cleaners, except maids and housekeeping cleaners; and combined food preparation and serving workers, including fast food. The average hourly wages for these occupations ranged from $7.36 for combined food preparation and serving workers, including fast food to $11.44 for general office clerks, with the exception of registered nurses who earned $25.39. (See table 1.) These statistics for wage and salary workers are from the Occupational Employment Statistics (OES) survey, a federal-state cooperative program between BLS and State Workforce Agencies. The OES survey provides estimates of employment and hourly and annual wages for wage and salary workers in 22 major occupational groups and in 770 detailed occupations. Management and legal occupational groups were the highest paying of the 22 major occupational groups. Over 30 percent of the workers in these oc- cupational groups earned more than $43.75 per hour. (See table A.) The major occupational group with the highest employment level in November 2003 was office and administrative support workers, followed by sales and related workers, food preparation and serving workers, and production workers. The major occupational groups with the lowest average wages were food preparation and serving related; farming, fishing, and forestry; building and grounds cleaning and maintenance; and personal care and service. At least 40 percent of all workers in each of these groups earned less than $8.50 per hour. (See table A.) - 2 - Table A. Wage distribution by major occupational group, November 2003 (Percent distribution) ------------------------------------------------------------------------------ | Wage range Major |------------------------------------------------------------ occupational |Under|$8.50 |$10.75|$13.50|$17.00|$21.50|$27.25|$34.50| Over group |$8.50| to | to | to | to | to | to | to |$43.75 | |$10.74|$13.49|$16.99|$21.49|$27.24|$34.49|$43.74| ----------------|-----|------|------|------|------|------|------|------|----- Management.......| 1.3| 1.2| 2.8| 5.5 | 9.2| 13.5| 16.0| 17.0| 33.5 Business and | | | | | | | | | financial | | | | | | | | | operations.....| 1.7| 2.1| 5.6| 12.2 | 18.9| 21.4| 17.5| 11.1| 9.4 Computer and | | | | | | | | | mathematical | | | | | | | | | science........| .7| 1.4| 3.2| 7.0 | 12.6| 18.3| 21.9| 19.9| 14.9 Architecture and | | | | | | | | | engineering....| .6| 1.7| 4.1| 8.3 | 14.2| 20.7| 21.1| 17.7| 11.6 Life, physical, | | | | | | | | | and social | | | | | | | | | science .......| 1.9| 3.5| 7.2| 13.2 | 17.7| 18.9| 16.0| 11.4| 10.3 Community and | | | | | | | | | social | | | | | | | | | services.......| 7.0| 10.7| 17.9| 21.4 | 19.0| 13.7| 7.1| 2.4| .7 Legal............| 1.4| 2.2| 5.5| 10.7 | 14.5| 13.3| 11.2| 10.8| 30.3 Education, | | | | | | | | | training, and | | | | | | | | | library........| 11.3| 8.7| 9.9| 14.7 | 18.8| 16.8| 11.2| 5.2| 3.5 Arts, design, | | | | | | | | | entertainment, | | | | | | | | | sports, and | | | | | | | | | media..........| 12.2| 9.8| 12.2| 14.9 | 16.1| 13.6| 9.3| 5.8| 6.1 Healthcare | | | | | | | | | practitioner | | | | | | | | | and technical..| 2.4| 4.8| 8.0| 12.6 | 19.5| 21.0| 13.7| 7.5| 10.6 Healthcare | | | | | | | | | support | 24.4| 31.1| 23.8| 13.7 | 5.2| 1.3| .3| .1| - Protective | | | | | | | | | service........| 16.3| 14.6| 15.0| 14.8 | 13.7| 13.0| 8.2| 3.4| 1.0 Food preparation | | | | | | | | | and serving | | | | | | | | | related........| 66.4| 17.9| 9.0| 4.1 | 1.8| .6| .2| .1| - Building and | | | | | | | | | grounds clean- | | | | | | | | | ing and | | | | | | | | | maintenance....| 41.3| 25.2| 16.4| 9.7 | 5.2| 1.7| .4| .1| - Personal care | | | | | | | | | and service....| 48.7| 22.1| 12.1| 7.3 | 4.9| 2.5| 1.2| .6| .6 Sales and | | | | | | | | | related .......| 35.9| 16.9| 11.5| 9.5 | 8.2| 6.4| 4.4| 3.1| 4.2 Office and | | | | | | | | | administrative | | | | | | | | | support........| 14.8| 19.6| 22.7| 19.7 | 14.0| 6.5| 1.9| .6| .3 Farming, fishing,| | | | | | | | | and forestry...| 56.3| 17.5| 11.5| 7.3 | 4.3| 2.0| .7| .3| .1 Construction and | | | | | | | | | extraction.....| 6.9| 12.0| 16.5| 18.6 | 17.7| 14.8| 9.2| 3.3| .9 Installation, | | | | | | | | | maintenance, | | | | | | | | | and repair.....| 7.3| 10.4| 15.0| 19.5 | 20.8| 16.7| 7.7| 2.1| .7 Production.......| 17.3| 19.6| 20.5| 17.8 | 12.4| 8.4| 3.0| .8| .2 Transportation | | | | | | | | | and material | | | | | | | | | moving.........| 26.1| 19.3| 18.1| 15.1 | 11.3| 6.2| 2.2| .8| .9 ------------------------------------------------------------------------------ - 3 - Major groups in which 50 percent or more of the employment was concentrated in the middle three wage ranges (from $13.50 mean hourly wage to $27.24 mean hourly wage) included business and financial operations occupations; life, physical, and social science occupations; community and social services occu- pations; education, training, and library occupations; healthcare practitioner and technical occupations; construction and extraction occupations; and instal- lation, maintenance, and repair occupations. Table 1 shows employment and wage estimates for detailed occupations within each major group. The OES program also provides national occupational employment and wage data by industry, and cross-industry estimates for all states and 334 metropolitan areas. November 2003 OES data for states and metropolitan areas and the national employment and wage data by industry will be available on the BLS Web site in November. The OES survey is designed to estimate employment and wages at detailed indus- try and area levels with a desired level of reliability based on a sample of 1.2 million establishments, collected in six semiannual panels over a 3-year period. - 4 - Technical Note Scope of the survey The Occupational Employment Statistics (OES) survey is a semiannual mail survey measuring occupational employment and wage rates for wage and salary workers in nonfarm establishments, by industry, in the United States. (Guam, Puerto Rico, and the Virgin Islands also are surveyed, but their data are not included in this release.) In 2002, the OES survey switched from industry coding based on the Standard Industrial Classification (SIC) system to that based on the North American Industry Classification System (NAICS). In November 2002, the OES survey changed from an annual survey of 400,000 establishments to a semiannual survey of 200,000 establishments per panel. The OES survey samples and contacts establishments in May and November of each year and, over 3 years, or the equivalent of six panels, contacts ap- proximately 1.2 million establishments. The full 3-year sample allows the production of estimates at fine levels of geographic, industry, and occupa- tional detail. The nationwide response rate for the November 2003 panel was 79 percent for establishments, covering 73 percent of weighted employment. The Standard Occupational Classification system In 1999, the OES survey began using the Office of Management and Budget's (OMB) occupational classification system, the Standard Occupational Classifi- cation (SOC) system. The SOC system is the first OMB-required occupational classification system for federal agencies. The OES survey categorizes workers in 1 of about 770 detailed occupations. Together, these detailed occupations comprise 23 major occupational groups. The major groups are as follows: Management occupations Business and financial operations occupations Computer and mathematical science occupations Architecture and engineering occupations Life, physical, and social science occupations Community and social services occupations Legal occupations Education, training, and library occupations Arts, design, entertainment, sports, and media occupations Healthcare practitioner and technical occupations Healthcare support occupations Protective service occupations Food preparation and serving related occupations Building and grounds cleaning and maintenance occupations Personal care and service occupations Sales and related occupations Office and administrative support occupations Farming, fishing, and forestry occupations Construction and extraction occupations Installation, maintenance, and repair occupations Production occupations Transportation and material moving occupations Military specific occupations (not surveyed in OES) For more information about the SOC system, please see the Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) Web site at http://www.bls.gov/soc. - 5 - The industry coding system As noted earlier, in 2002, the OES survey switched from using the Standard Industrial Classification (SIC) system to using the North American Industry Classification System (NAICS). For more information about NAICS, see the BLS Web site at http://www.bls.gov/bls/naics.htm. The OES survey includes establishments in NAICS sectors 11 (logging and agricultural support activities only), 21, 22, 23, 31-33, 42, 44-45, 48-49, 51, 52, 53, 54, 55, 56, 61, 62, 71, 72, 81 (except private households), state government, and local government. Data for the U.S. Postal Service and the federal government are universe counts obtained from the Postal Service and the Office of Personnel Management, respectively. An estab- lishment is defined as an economic unit that processes goods or provides services, such as a factory, mine, or store. The establishment is gener- ally at a single physical location and is engaged primarily in one type of economic activity. The OES survey covers all full- and part-time wage and salary workers in nonfarm industries. The survey does not include the self-employed owners and partners in unincorporated firms, household workers, or unpaid family workers. Survey coverage BLS funds the survey and provides the procedures and technical support, while the State Workforce Agencies (SWAs) collect the data. BLS produces cross-industry NAICS estimates for the nation, states, and metropolitan sta- tistical areas (MSAs). NAICS estimates are produced for sector, 3-digit, 4-digit, and selected 5-digit industry levels. BLS releases all cross-in- dustry and national estimates, and the SWAs release industry estimates at the state and MSA levels. State Unemployment Insurance (UI) files provide the universe from which the OES survey draws its sample. The employment benchmarks are obtained from reports submitted by employers to the UI program. Supplemental sources are used for rail transportation (NAICS 4821) and Guam because they do not report to the UI program. The OES survey sample is stratified by area, industry, and size class. Size classes are defined as follows: Size class Number of employees ____________________________________ 1 1 to 4 2 5 to 9 3 10 to 19 4 20 to 49 5 50 to 99 6 100 to 249 7 250 and above _____________________________________ UI reporting units with 250 or more employees are sampled with virtual certainty across a 3-year period. Generally, one-sixth of the certainty units are sampled in each panel in each state. - 6 - Concepts Occupational employment is the estimate of total wage and salary employment in an occupation across the industries in which that occupation was reported. The OES survey defines employment as the number of workers who can be classified as full-time or part-time employees, including workers on paid vacations or other types of leave; workers on unpaid short-term absences; salaried officers, executives, and staff members of incorporated firms; employees temporarily assigned to other units; and employees for whom the reporting unit is their permanent duty station regardless of whether that unit prepares their paycheck. The OES survey form sent to an establishment contains between 50 and 225 SOC occupations selected on the basis of the sampled establishment's industry classification and size class. To reduce paperwork and respondent burden, no survey form contains every SOC occupation. Thus, data for specific occupa- tions are collected primarily from establishments in industries that are the predominant employers of workers in those occupations. Each survey form is structured, however, to allow a respondent to provide detailed occupational information for each worker at the establishment; that is, unlisted occupa- tions can be added to the survey form. Wages for the OES survey are straight-time, gross pay, exclusive of premium pay. Base rate, cost-of-living allowances, guaranteed pay, hazardous-duty pay, incentive pay including commissions and production bonuses, tips, and on-call pay are included. Excluded are back pay, jury duty pay, overtime pay, severance pay, shift differentials, non-production bonuses, employer cost for supplementary benefits, and tuition reimbursements. The OES survey collects wage data in 12 intervals. Employers report the number of employees in an occupation for each wage range. The wage intervals used for the November 2003 survey are as follows: -------------------------------------------------------- | | Wages Interval |------------------------------------------- | Hourly | Annual ------------|-------------------|----------------------- Range A | Under $6.75 | Under $14,040 Range B | $6.75 to $8.49 | $14,040 to $17,679 Range C | $8.50 to $10.74 | $17,680 to $22,359 Range D | $10.75 to $13.49 | $22,360 to $28,079 Range E | $13.50 to $16.99 | $28,080 to $35,359 Range F | $17.00 to $21.49 | $35,360 to $44,719 Range G | $21.50 to $27.24 | $44,720 to $56,679 Range H | $27.25 to $34.49 | $56,680 to $71,759 Range I | $34.50 to $43.74 | $71,760 to $90,999 Range J | $43.75 to $55.49 | $91,000 to $115,439 Range K | $55.50 to $69.99 | $115,440 to $145,599 Range L | $70.00 and over | $145,600 and over -------------------------------------------------------- - 7 - Mean hourly wage. The mean hourly wage rate for an occupation is the total wages that all workers in the occupation earn in an hour divided by the total employment of the occupation. To calculate the mean hourly wage of each occupation, total weighted hourly wages are summed across all in- tervals and divided by the occupation's weighted survey employment. The mean wage for each interval is based on occupational wage data collected by the BLS Office of Compensation and Working Conditions for the National Compensation Survey (NCS). The mean hourly wage value for the highest wage interval, $70.00 and over, is calculated after excluding data for pilots. Pilots comprise a large portion of the employment from the NCS that falls into the high- est interval, and about 1 percent of the workers reported for the OES survey makes $70.00 and over. Since pilots work fewer hours than workers in other occupations, their hourly wage rates are much higher than other occupations. After excluding pilots from the calculation, the mean wage rate for the highest interval was computed separately for each panel or annual sample (November 2003, May 2003, November 2002, 2001, and 2000). Then the average of these five mean wage rates was derived and used for all of the $70.00 and over data in the November 2003 survey. The wage rates for this interval do not go through any wage updating procedures. Percentile wage. The p-th percentile wage range for an occupation is the wage where p percent of all workers earn that amount or less and where (100-p) percent of all workers earn that amount or more. This statistic is calculated by uniformly distributing the workers inside each wage interval, ranking the workers from lowest paid to highest paid, and calculating the product of the total employment for the occupation and the desired per- centile to determine the worker that earns the p-th percentile wage rate. Annual wage. Many employees are paid at an hourly rate by their em- ployers and may work more than or less than 40 hours per week. Annual wage estimates in this release are calculated by multiplying the mean hourly wage by a "year-round, full-time" figure of 2,080 hours (52 weeks by 40 hours). Thus, annual wage estimates may not represent the actual annual pay received by the employee if they work more or less than 2,080 hours per year. Alternatively, some workers are paid based on an annual amount, but they generally do not work the usual 2,080 hours per year. Since the OES survey does not collect the actual number of hours worked, hourly rates cannot be calculated with a reasonable degree of confidence from annual rates. For this reason, the annual salary is directly calculated from reported survey data, and only annual wages are estimated for these occupations. Occupations that typically have a work year of less than 2,080 hours include musical and entertainment occupations, pilots and flight attendants, and teachers. Hourly versus annual wage reporting. For each occupation, respondents are asked to report the number of employees paid within specific wage intervals. The intervals are defined both as hourly rates and the cor- responding annual rates, where the annual rate for an occupation is cal- culated by multiplying the hourly wage rate by a typical work year of 2,080 hours. The responding establishment can reference either the hourly or the annual rate, but they are instructed to report the hourly rate for part-time workers. - 8 - Estimation methodology Beginning in the November 2002, the OES survey samples approximately 200,000 establishments semiannually in November and May of each year, for a combined sample of 1.2 million different establishments over six semiannual panels. Until 2002, the survey sampled approximately 400,000 establishments in the fourth quarter of each year, for a 3-year combined sample size of 1.2 million. While estimates can be made from a single year or 2 years of data, the OES survey has been designed to produce estimates at a desired level of precision using the full 3 years, or 6 panels, of data. The 3-year sample allows the production of estimates at fine levels of geographic, industry, and occupational detail. Producing estimates using the 3 years of sample data provides significant sampling error reductions (particularly for small geographic areas and occu- pations); however, it also has some quality limitations in that it requires the adjustment of earlier year's data to the current reference period, a procedure referred to as "wage updating." Wage updating. As noted above, combining multiple years of data has both statistical advantages and limitations. Significant reductions in sampling error can be achieved by taking advantage of 3 years of data, which covers over 70 percent of the employment in the United States. This feature is particularly important in improving the reliability of estimates for small domains in the population (that is, wage and employment estimates for detailed occupations in small areas). Combining multiple years of data also has been necessary to obtain full coverage of establishments with 250 or more workers that are sampled with certainty. Starting with the 1997 estimates, the OES program has used the BLS Employment Cost Index to adjust survey data from prior years or panels before combining them with the current panel's data. The wage updating procedure assumes that each occupation's wage rate, as measured in the earlier year or panel, moves according to the average movement of the broader occupational division that encompasses it and that there are no major geographic, industry, or detailed occupational differences. November 2003 OES survey estimates. The November 2003 OES survey esti- mates are based on data collected from establishments in the November 2003, May 2003, and the November 2002, 2001, and 2000 samples. The November 2003 estimates used the wage-updating methodology introduced in 1997. In addi- tion, a "nearest neighbor" hot deck imputation procedure was used to impute occupational employment totals for establishments that reported no employ- ment data. For establishments that reported (or imputed) occupational em- ployment totals but did not report an employment distribution across the wage intervals, a variation of mean imputation was used to impute the dis- tribution. During estimates processing, OES employment data were bench- marked to the average employment for May and November 2003 from the BLS Quarterly Census of Employment and Wages. - 9 - Reliability of the estimates. Estimates calculated from a sample survey are subject to two types of error: sampling and nonsampling. Sampling error occurs when estimates are calculated from a subset (i.e., sample) of the population instead of the full population. When a sample of the population is surveyed, there is a chance that the sample estimate of the characteristic of interest may differ from the population value of that characteristic. Differences between the sample estimate and the population value will vary depending on the sample selected. This variability can be estimated by calculating the standard error (SE) of the sample estimate. If we were to repeat the sampling and estimation process countless times using the same survey design, approximately 90 percent of the intervals created by adding and subtracting 1.645 SEs from the sample estimate would include the popu- lation value. These intervals are called 90-percent confidence intervals. The OES survey, however, usually uses the relative standard error (RSE) of a sample estimate instead of its SE to measure sampling error. RSE is de- fined as the SE of a sample estimate divided by the sample estimate itself. This statistic provides the user with a measure of the relative precision of the sample estimate. RSEs are calculated for both occupational employment and mean wage rate estimates. Occupational employment RSEs are calculated using a subsample, random group replication technique called the Jackknife. Mean wage rate RSEs are calculated using a variance components model that accounts for both the observed and unobserved components of the wage data. The variances of the unobserved components are estimated using wage data from the BLS National Compensation Survey. In general, estimates based on many establishments have lower RSEs than estimates based on few establishments. If the distributional assumptions of the models are violated, the resulting con- fidence intervals may not reflect the prescribed level of confidence. Nonsampling error occurs for a variety of reasons, none of which are directly connected to sampling. Examples of nonsampling error include: nonresponse, data incorrectly reported by the respondent, mistakes made in entering collected data into the database, and mistakes made in editing and processing the collected data. Additional information The November 2003 OES national data by occupation, comparable to data in table 1, will be available soon on the Internet (http://www.bls.gov/oes). Users also may access each occupation's definition and percentile wages. The May 2003 cross-industry data for states and metropolitan areas will be available on the BLS Web site in November. Industry staffing patterns at the 3-, 4-, and selected 5-digit NAICS levels also will be available from the Internet beginning in November. These data will include industry- specific occupational employment and wage data. For additional information, contact the Office of Employment and Unemployment Statistics, Division of Occupational Employment Statistics, Room 2135, 2 Massachusetts Avenue, NE, Washington, DC, 20212; telephone 202-691-6569 (e-mail: oesinfo@bls.gov). Information in this release will be made available to sensory impaired individuals upon request. Voice phone: 202-691-5200; TDD message referral phone number: 1-800-877-8339. Table 1. National employment and wage data from the Occupational Employment Statistics survey by occupation, November 2003 Occupation Employment Mean wages Median hourly Hourly Annual(1) wages Management occupations Chief executives 372,170 $66.53 $138,380 $65.58 General and operations managers 1,841,470 42.94 89,310 35.86 Legislators 64,570 15.03 31,260 7.96 Advertising and promotions managers 64,390 35.60 74,050 29.52 Marketing managers 176,270 45.16 93,930 40.97 Sales managers 310,320 44.53 92,610 39.41 Public relations managers 54,490 37.00 76,960 32.60 Administrative services managers 266,330 31.11 64,710 27.95 Computer and information systems managers 257,860 46.13 95,960 43.51 Financial managers 509,690 42.54 88,470 38.02 Human resources managers 158,560 36.84 76,620 33.82 Industrial production managers 159,820 37.38 77,750 34.45 Purchasing managers 84,750 35.32 73,470 32.61 Transportation, storage, and distribution managers 90,940 34.06 70,830 31.19 Farm, ranch, and other agricultural managers 5,000 25.08 52,180 22.92 Construction managers 194,820 36.44 75,800 32.51 Education administrators, preschool and child care center/program 54,570 19.68 40,940 16.94 Education administrators, elementary and secondary school 208,850 (2) 75,420 (2) Education administrators, postsecondary 102,200 36.12 75,120 32.58 Engineering managers 188,350 48.31 100,490 45.98 Food service managers 218,920 20.18 41,980 18.24 Funeral directors 24,220 26.83 55,810 22.17 Gaming managers 3,580 31.19 64,880 27.85 Lodging managers 31,570 20.20 42,030 17.48 Medical and health services managers 223,940 35.74 74,340 31.90 Natural sciences managers 39,780 45.41 94,440 41.78 Postmasters and mail superintendents 26,230 24.55 51,050 24.38 Property, real estate, and community association managers 159,760 23.18 48,210 18.63 Social and community service managers 116,210 24.13 50,180 22.21 Business and financial operations occupations Agents and business managers of artists, performers, and athletes 12,240 32.76 68,150 26.78 Purchasing agents and buyers, farm products 14,940 24.05 50,020 21.03 Wholesale and retail buyers, except farm products 139,140 23.61 49,120 20.29 Purchasing agents, except wholesale, retail, and farm products 244,940 24.33 50,610 22.72 Claims adjusters, examiners, and investigators 236,810 22.54 46,890 21.17 Insurance appraisers, auto damage 11,260 21.72 45,170 21.46 Compliance officers, except agriculture, construction, health and safety, and transportation 159,640 24.12 50,160 22.32 Cost estimators 186,710 25.43 52,900 23.66 Emergency management specialists 9,800 23.65 49,180 21.69 Employment, recruitment, and placement specialists 171,660 23.14 48,140 19.70 Compensation, benefits, and job analysis specialists 87,090 23.79 49,480 22.54 Training and development specialists 196,880 22.85 47,530 21.28 Management analysts 433,830 35.15 73,110 30.33 Meeting and convention planners 33,290 20.42 42,470 18.78 Accountants and auditors 954,270 26.98 56,110 23.93 Appraisers and assessors of real estate 65,770 23.85 49,610 20.63 Budget analysts 53,430 27.90 58,030 26.49 Credit analysts 68,420 26.44 55,000 22.42 Financial analysts 171,170 34.06 70,850 29.39 Personal financial advisors 93,020 38.46 79,990 28.96 Insurance underwriters 93,770 25.96 53,990 23.25 Financial examiners 23,300 30.69 63,830 28.39 Loan counselors 31,620 18.36 38,190 16.19 Loan officers 262,920 27.19 56,550 22.85 Tax examiners, collectors, and revenue agents 69,950 22.78 47,390 20.79 Tax preparers 46,260 16.38 34,070 13.26 Computer and mathematical science occupations Computer and information scientists, research 23,770 40.98 85,240 39.81 Computer programmers 403,220 31.33 65,170 29.68 Computer software engineers, applications 410,580 36.66 76,260 35.30 Computer software engineers, systems software 292,520 38.36 79,790 37.14 Computer support specialists 480,520 20.74 43,140 19.18 Computer systems analysts 485,720 32.23 67,040 31.28 Database administrators 97,540 29.86 62,100 28.44 Network and computer systems administrators 244,610 28.90 60,100 27.43 Network systems and data communications analysts 156,270 29.92 62,220 28.51 Actuaries 14,550 41.84 87,040 36.19 Mathematicians 2,410 37.62 78,240 37.34 Operations research analysts 53,620 29.98 62,360 28.41 Statisticians 20,980 30.87 64,210 30.92 Mathematical technicians 1,790 20.56 42,760 17.97 Architecture and engineering occupations Architects, except landscape and naval 91,830 31.31 65,120 28.19 Landscape architects 18,730 26.45 55,010 24.41 Cartographers and photogrammetrists 9,150 23.19 48,230 21.90 Surveyors 51,430 21.54 44,800 20.16 Aerospace engineers 71,750 37.82 78,660 37.19 Agricultural engineers 2,780 27.90 58,040 25.17 Biomedical engineers 7,560 32.49 67,580 31.14 Chemical engineers 29,770 37.70 78,410 36.21 Civil engineers 211,280 31.55 65,620 30.21 Computer hardware engineers 70,110 39.44 82,040 38.02 Electrical engineers 149,540 35.27 73,370 34.05 Electronics engineers, except computer 131,240 35.96 74,800 35.32 Environmental engineers 44,930 31.76 66,070 30.79 Health and safety engineers, except mining safety engineers and inspectors 27,770 30.62 63,680 29.53 Industrial engineers 163,470 31.50 65,530 30.79 Marine engineers and naval architects 6,060 35.07 72,940 34.28 Materials engineers 22,030 32.16 66,900 31.25 Mechanical engineers 214,070 32.42 67,430 31.35 Mining and geological engineers, including mining safety engineers 4,680 32.31 67,200 30.86 Nuclear engineers 16,320 41.08 85,440 40.03 Petroleum engineers 13,340 42.33 88,050 40.73 Architectural and civil drafters 97,200 19.06 39,630 18.36 Electrical and electronics drafters 34,600 22.18 46,120 20.49 Mechanical drafters 74,620 21.35 44,410 20.37 Aerospace engineering and operations technicians 10,650 25.47 52,970 24.85 Civil engineering technicians 87,890 19.04 39,610 18.38 Electrical and electronic engineering technicians 181,550 22.20 46,190 21.82 Electro-mechanical technicians 23,640 20.22 42,070 19.58 Environmental engineering technicians 17,480 19.48 40,510 18.35 Industrial engineering technicians 66,050 22.33 46,440 20.61 Mechanical engineering technicians 47,010 21.22 44,140 20.51 Surveying and mapping technicians 57,970 15.54 32,320 14.41 Life, physical, and social science occupations Agricultural and food scientists 17,530 25.81 53,690 23.85 Biochemists and biophysicists 15,940 33.70 70,100 30.96 Microbiologists 13,970 27.69 57,600 25.05 Zoologists and wildlife biologists 14,340 24.83 51,650 23.71 Conservation scientists 14,130 25.09 52,200 24.60 Foresters 10,250 23.16 48,180 22.63 Epidemiologists 3,900 27.46 57,110 25.80 Medical scientists, except epidemiologists 66,020 32.77 68,170 28.94 Astronomers 810 40.12 83,440 41.30 Physicists 13,450 41.33 85,960 40.18 Atmospheric and space scientists 7,280 31.53 65,590 31.44 Chemists 81,750 28.82 59,940 26.42 Materials scientists 7,180 35.14 73,080 34.18 Environmental scientists and specialists, including health 63,520 26.25 54,600 24.07 Geoscientists, except hydrologists and geographers 25,190 37.26 77,490 32.97 Hydrologists 7,120 30.04 62,480 28.37 Economists 11,940 37.68 78,370 33.90 Market research analysts 153,130 29.87 62,130 26.36 Survey researchers 16,300 15.61 32,470 12.97 Clinical, counseling, and school psychologists 98,000 28.19 58,640 25.59 Industrial-organizational psychologists 1,590 35.06 72,930 32.57 Sociologists 3,300 28.90 60,120 26.74 Urban and regional planners 30,600 26.31 54,720 25.33 Anthropologists and archeologists 4,690 21.63 44,990 19.84 Geographers 740 27.35 56,890 27.06 Historians 2,450 22.19 46,160 20.37 Political scientists 4,700 39.14 81,400 39.27 Agricultural and food science technicians 18,220 15.09 31,390 14.03 Biological technicians 52,950 17.00 35,360 16.04 Life, physical, and social science occupations ¾ Continued Chemical technicians 61,870 18.82 39,130 18.09 Geological and petroleum technicians 10,310 20.88 43,420 19.60 Nuclear technicians 7,530 28.77 59,840 28.97 Environmental science and protection technicians, including health 28,070 18.11 37,660 17.21 Forensic science technicians 9,010 22.22 46,220 20.77 Forest and conservation technicians 18,090 16.43 34,160 15.38 Community and social services occupations Substance abuse and behavioral disorder counselors 64,900 16.15 33,580 15.15 Educational, vocational, and school counselors 217,570 22.52 46,850 21.63 Marriage and family therapists 20,850 19.92 41,420 18.37 Mental health counselors 86,650 16.86 35,060 15.41 Rehabilitation counselors 117,670 14.47 30,100 13.18 Child, family, and school social workers 252,870 17.88 37,190 16.49 Medical and public health social workers 103,040 19.49 40,540 18.83 Mental health and substance abuse social workers 102,110 17.24 35,860 16.18 Health educators 45,520 19.92 41,430 18.32 Probation officers and correctional treatment specialists 87,200 20.31 42,240 18.85 Social and human service assistants 326,050 12.29 25,570 11.54 Clergy 37,630 18.47 38,410 16.80 Directors, religious activities and education 12,120 16.33 33,960 14.06 Legal occupations Lawyers 512,070 51.56 107,250 44.58 Administrative law judges, adjudicators, and hearing officers 14,820 34.15 71,040 32.37 Arbitrators, mediators, and conciliators 4,710 29.88 62,150 25.80 Judges, magistrate judges, and magistrates 25,270 42.04 87,430 43.86 Paralegals and legal assistants 210,440 19.78 41,130 18.48 Court reporters 16,200 22.66 47,130 20.29 Law clerks 41,200 16.26 33,820 15.75 Title examiners, abstractors, and searchers 48,620 18.50 38,490 16.30 Education, training, and library occupations Business teachers, postsecondary 68,040 (2) 64,410 (2) Computer science teachers, postsecondary 37,090 (2) 57,480 (2) Mathematical science teachers, postsecondary 43,440 (2) 56,480 (2) Architecture teachers, postsecondary 5,730 (2) 64,680 (2) Engineering teachers, postsecondary 32,470 (2) 76,110 (2) Agricultural sciences teachers, postsecondary 10,620 (2) 67,010 (2) Biological science teachers, postsecondary 58,620 (2) 71,820 (2) Forestry and conservation science teachers, postsecondary 3,050 (2) 66,570 (2) Atmospheric, earth, marine, and space sciences teachers, postsecondary 8,880 (2) 68,940 (2) Chemistry teachers, postsecondary 17,880 (2) 63,040 (2) Environmental science teachers, postsecondary 3,850 (2) 65,440 (2) Physics teachers, postsecondary 12,500 (2) 68,400 (2) Anthropology and archeology teachers, postsecondary 4,910 (2) 65,310 (2) Area, ethnic, and cultural studies teachers, postsecondary 7,190 (2) 62,390 (2) Economics teachers, postsecondary 12,120 (2) 72,300 (2) Geography teachers, postsecondary 4,140 (2) 60,150 (2) Political science teachers, postsecondary 12,990 (2) 64,280 (2) Psychology teachers, postsecondary 28,370 (2) 59,780 (2) Sociology teachers, postsecondary 13,890 (2) 58,720 (2) Health specialties teachers, postsecondary 98,390 (2) 75,760 (2) Nursing instructors and teachers, postsecondary 35,170 (2) 54,860 (2) Education teachers, postsecondary 46,390 (2) 51,350 (2) Library science teachers, postsecondary 3,850 (2) 54,260 (2) Criminal justice and law enforcement teachers, postsecondary 9,900 (2) 49,440 (2) Law teachers, postsecondary 11,980 (2) 94,620 (2) Social work teachers, postsecondary 6,870 (2) 55,860 (2) Art, drama, and music teachers, postsecondary 62,010 (2) 52,210 (2) Communications teachers, postsecondary 20,910 (2) 52,610 (2) English language and literature teachers, postsecondary 57,290 (2) 52,080 (2) Foreign language and literature teachers, postsecondary 21,520 (2) 51,050 (2) History teachers, postsecondary 18,780 (2) 57,450 (2) Philosophy and religion teachers, postsecondary 16,780 (2) 54,990 (2) Graduate teaching assistants 116,520 (2) 27,340 (2) Home economics teachers, postsecondary 4,120 (2) 50,530 (2) Recreation and fitness studies teachers, postsecondary 15,250 (2) 47,000 (2) Vocational education teachers, postsecondary 116,570 20.80 43,320 19.10 Preschool teachers, except special education 363,790 11.26 23,430 9.83 Kindergarten teachers, except special education 163,250 (2) 43,530 (2) Elementary school teachers, except special education 1,418,570 (2) 44,960 (2) Middle school teachers, except special and vocational education 611,440 (2) 45,600 (2) Vocational education teachers, middle school 16,820 (2) 45,610 (2) Secondary school teachers, except special and vocational education 1,033,020 (2) 47,810 (2) Vocational education teachers, secondary school 100,660 (2) 47,160 (2) Special education teachers, preschool, kindergarten, and elementary school 202,100 (2) 45,230 (2) Special education teachers, middle school 96,160 (2) 47,750 (2) Special education teachers, secondary school 133,550 (2) 48,760 (2) Adult literacy, remedial education, and GED teachers and instructors 62,150 20.52 42,670 18.23 Self-enrichment education teachers 136,810 16.67 34,680 14.69 Archivists, curators, and museum technicians 22,080 19.40 40,360 17.39 Librarians 151,650 22.18 46,140 21.50 Library technicians 109,140 12.54 26,080 11.95 Audio-visual collections specialists 8,300 17.35 36,090 16.37 Farm and home management advisors 13,400 20.12 41,860 19.20 Instructional coordinators 100,760 24.20 50,330 22.86 Teacher assistants 1,242,800 (2) 20,100 (2) Arts, design, entertainment, sports, and media occupations Art directors 24,790 34.39 71,530 30.37 Fine artists, including painters, sculptors, and illustrators 9,370 20.48 42,610 17.80 Multi-media artists and animators 32,030 25.73 53,530 22.48 Commercial and industrial designers 32,940 26.97 56,110 25.04 Fashion designers 11,090 30.78 64,030 26.21 Floral designers 67,460 10.22 21,260 9.66 Graphic designers 156,220 20.01 41,620 17.75 Interior designers 45,810 21.42 44,550 19.43 Merchandise displayers and window trimmers 58,150 12.46 25,910 10.89 Set and exhibit designers 8,610 18.96 39,430 17.17 Actors 57,580 (2) 47,650 (2) Producers and directors 59,460 (2) 73,030 (2) Athletes and sports competitors 11,520 (2) 85,040 (2) Coaches and scouts 113,370 (2) 33,190 (2) Umpires, referees, and other sports officials 8,780 (2) 28,740 (2) Dancers 14,230 12.73 26,480 9.49 Choreographers 15,140 17.65 36,700 15.41 Music directors and composers 9,550 (2) 42,960 (2) Musicians and singers 50,750 (2) 51,450 (2) Announcers 48,760 14.48 30,110 10.33 News analysts, reporters and correspondents 61,200 19.38 40,320 15.25 Public relations specialists 157,050 23.36 48,590 20.70 Editors 106,540 23.18 48,210 20.41 Technical writers 43,860 26.56 55,250 25.08 Writers and authors 44,380 25.49 53,020 20.84 Interpreters and translators 25,310 17.55 36,500 16.44 Audio and video equipment technicians 40,060 17.12 35,610 14.98 Broadcast technicians 30,940 16.11 33,510 13.55 Radio operators 1,840 16.14 33,570 14.92 Sound engineering technicians 11,550 22.11 45,980 17.89 Photographers 56,210 14.63 30,430 12.47 Camera operators, television, video, and motion picture 22,580 20.25 42,120 17.96 Film and video editors 15,250 23.20 48,260 20.11 Healthcare practitioner and technical occupations Chiropractors 20,660 40.02 83,230 32.02 Dentists 98,800 62.04 129,040 57.90 Dietitians and nutritionists 46,630 20.93 43,520 20.50 Optometrists 22,760 46.45 96,610 41.99 Pharmacists 219,790 39.03 81,180 39.67 Anesthesiologists 22,280 86.72 180,380 (3) Family and general practitioners 111,160 67.24 139,860 66.19 Internists, general 53,330 76.84 159,820 (3) Obstetricians and gynecologists 19,510 84.92 176,630 (3) Pediatricians, general 25,440 68.18 141,800 65.62 Psychiatrists 19,730 66.63 138,590 65.12 Surgeons 53,410 87.83 182,690 (3) Physician assistants 61,850 32.02 66,600 32.79 Podiatrists 7,650 51.63 107,390 45.94 Registered nurses 2,280,170 25.39 52,810 24.53 Audiologists 10,480 25.47 52,990 24.04 Occupational therapists 83,220 26.39 54,890 25.63 Physical therapists 137,370 29.44 61,240 28.22 Radiation therapists 14,030 28.35 58,970 26.71 Recreational therapists 22,460 16.25 33,800 15.64 Respiratory therapists 89,300 20.64 42,930 20.22 Speech-language pathologists 89,370 25.80 53,670 24.47 Veterinarians 45,070 36.13 75,160 31.39 Medical and clinical laboratory technologists 148,710 21.82 45,380 21.37 Medical and clinical laboratory technicians 142,700 15.11 31,420 14.49 Dental hygienists 145,170 28.23 58,730 27.25 Cardiovascular technologists and technicians 43,150 18.73 38,950 18.17 Diagnostic medical sonographers 40,210 24.90 51,800 24.51 Nuclear medicine technologists 17,400 27.67 57,540 25.81 Radiologic technologists and technicians 175,800 20.87 43,410 20.12 Emergency medical technicians and paramedics 186,110 13.02 27,080 11.90 Dietetic technicians 25,690 12.04 25,030 10.99 Pharmacy technicians 226,200 11.80 24,540 11.26 Psychiatric technicians 59,200 13.55 28,180 12.34 Respiratory therapy technicians 25,530 17.64 36,700 17.29 Surgical technologists 77,980 16.27 33,830 15.94 Veterinary technologists and technicians 55,090 12.19 25,350 11.63 Licensed practical and licensed vocational nurses 691,110 16.31 33,930 15.92 Medical records and health information technicians 152,220 12.97 26,990 11.98 Opticians, dispensing 61,990 14.18 29,500 13.15 Orthotists and prosthetists 4,930 27.26 56,700 23.97 Occupational health and safety specialists and technicians 44,700 23.85 49,610 23.24 Athletic trainers 12,860 (2) 35,720 (2) Healthcare support occupations Home health aides 576,560 9.08 18,890 8.75 Nursing aides, orderlies, and attendants 1,363,310 10.27 21,370 9.98 Psychiatric aides 53,550 11.61 24,140 11.11 Occupational therapist assistants 19,990 18.33 38,130 18.33 Occupational therapist aides 5,830 12.49 25,970 11.09 Physical therapist assistants 54,240 17.92 37,270 17.93 Physical therapist aides 37,480 10.76 22,390 10.13 Massage therapists 29,550 16.83 35,000 14.40 Dental assistants 271,200 13.72 28,550 13.41 Medical assistants 376,300 12.08 25,130 11.69 Medical equipment preparers 39,330 11.92 24,800 11.51 Medical transcriptionists 96,340 13.72 28,530 13.36 Pharmacy aides 61,150 9.51 19,770 8.89 Veterinary assistants and laboratory animal caretakers 67,510 9.42 19,590 8.83 Protective service occupations First-line supervisors/managers of correctional officers 35,570 22.53 46,870 21.29 First-line supervisors/managers of police and detectives 98,750 30.68 63,820 30.38 First-line supervisors/managers of fire fighting and prevention workers 55,700 28.59 59,460 27.56 Fire fighters 274,590 18.66 38,810 17.99 Fire inspectors and investigators 12,250 22.88 47,600 22.03 Forest fire inspectors and prevention specialists 1,540 19.57 40,700 18.52 Bailiffs 16,690 16.83 35,000 16.48 Correctional officers and jailers 412,030 17.11 35,580 15.98 Detectives and criminal investigators 85,670 26.53 55,190 25.65 Fish and game wardens 7,010 23.43 48,730 20.40 Parking enforcement workers 9,690 14.30 29,740 13.64 Police and sheriff's patrol officers 612,420 21.90 45,560 21.41 Transit and railroad police 4,790 22.29 46,350 21.28 Animal control workers 13,050 12.97 26,970 12.44 Private detectives and investigators 33,420 16.96 35,270 14.65 Gaming surveillance officers and gaming investigators 8,170 13.54 28,150 12.39 Security guards 961,660 10.48 21,790 9.60 Crossing guards 68,910 9.82 20,430 9.18 Food preparation and serving related occupations Chefs and head cooks 117,370 16.00 33,280 14.19 First-line supervisors/managers of food preparation and serving workers 705,070 13.03 27,100 12.01 Cooks, fast food 620,300 7.28 15,130 7.01 Cooks, institution and cafeteria 405,480 9.42 19,590 8.93 Cooks, restaurant 742,160 9.68 20,140 9.33 Cooks, short order 223,780 8.39 17,450 8.00 Food preparation workers 860,770 8.43 17,520 7.98 Bartenders 479,330 8.15 16,950 7.29 Combined food preparation and serving workers, including fast food 2,072,980 7.36 15,320 7.05 Counter attendants, cafeteria, food concession, and coffee shop 473,560 7.79 16,210 7.47 Waiters and waitresses 2,170,120 7.63 15,870 6.79 Food servers, nonrestaurant 184,180 8.44 17,560 7.82 Dining room and cafeteria attendants and bartender helpers 389,660 7.41 15,420 7.06 Dishwashers 486,090 7.47 15,550 7.27 Hosts and hostesses, restaurant, lounge, and coffee shop 299,190 7.79 16,210 7.45 Building and grounds cleaning and maintenance occupations First-line supervisors/managers of housekeeping and janitorial workers 202,410 15.15 31,510 14.02 First-line supervisors/managers of landscaping, lawn service, and groundskeeping workers 97,810 17.83 37,090 16.41 Janitors and cleaners, except maids and housekeeping cleaners 2,073,410 9.85 20,480 8.98 Maids and housekeeping cleaners 894,170 8.53 17,740 8.06 Pest control workers 58,340 13.12 27,290 12.38 Landscaping and groundskeeping workers 838,740 10.51 21,850 9.70 Pesticide handlers, sprayers, and applicators, vegetation 23,040 12.71 26,450 12.38 Tree trimmers and pruners 40,130 13.24 27,540 12.44 Personal care and service occupations Gaming supervisors 25,290 19.96 41,520 19.54 Slot key persons 15,400 12.07 25,110 10.95 First-line supervisors/managers of personal service workers 115,350 15.79 32,840 14.36 Animal trainers 7,480 12.86 26,740 10.99 Nonfarm animal caretakers 88,100 9.28 19,310 8.40 Gaming dealers 78,660 7.76 16,140 6.84 Gaming and sports book writers and runners 16,520 10.02 20,840 9.13 Motion picture projectionists 10,610 9.79 20,360 8.21 Ushers, lobby attendants, and ticket takers 106,740 8.03 16,690 7.17 Amusement and recreation attendants 234,560 7.99 16,610 7.35 Costume attendants 3,330 13.76 28,620 12.17 Locker room, coatroom, and dressing room attendants 22,800 8.77 18,240 8.40 Embalmers 8,010 17.59 36,590 16.59 Funeral attendants 29,550 9.83 20,450 9.15 Barbers 17,680 11.20 23,300 9.75 Hairdressers, hairstylists, and cosmetologists 334,660 10.66 22,170 9.28 Makeup artists, theatrical and performance 760 15.77 32,810 11.47 Manicurists and pedicurists 41,070 9.67 20,120 8.41 Shampooers 15,210 7.45 15,490 7.00 Skin care specialists 17,750 13.23 27,510 11.38 Baggage porters and bellhops 57,190 10.64 22,130 8.67 Concierges 17,740 11.72 24,370 11.03 Tour guides and escorts 28,140 9.86 20,500 9.17 Travel guides 5,240 16.49 34,310 13.47 Flight attendants 99,910 (2) 49,900 (2) Transportation attendants, except flight attendants and baggage porters 28,440 9.98 20,750 9.08 Child care workers 496,330 8.47 17,610 7.96 Personal and home care aides 507,410 8.31 17,290 8.05 Fitness trainers and aerobics instructors 177,890 14.58 30,340 11.83 Recreation workers 261,740 10.28 21,370 9.11 Residential advisors 50,040 11.08 23,040 10.27 Sales and related occupations First-line supervisors/managers of retail sales workers 1,128,280 17.49 36,380 15.18 First-line supervisors/managers of non-retail sales workers 313,500 32.98 68,600 27.26 Cashiers 3,425,840 8.21 17,070 7.68 Gaming change persons and booth cashiers 29,940 10.00 20,790 9.79 Counter and rental clerks 447,070 10.11 21,030 8.55 Parts salespersons 236,920 13.19 27,430 11.93 Retail salespersons 4,083,810 10.84 22,540 8.82 Advertising sales agents 141,840 23.35 48,560 18.85 Insurance sales agents 287,840 25.92 53,920 19.41 Securities, commodities, and financial services sales agents 239,990 41.23 85,760 30.14 Travel agents 98,410 14.15 29,430 13.11 Sales representatives, wholesale and manufacturing, technical and scientific products 385,020 31.82 66,190 27.80 Sales representatives, wholesale and manufacturing, except technical and scientific products 1,417,380 25.49 53,020 21.41 Demonstrators and product promoters 97,650 11.98 24,920 9.75 Models 1,520 14.59 30,340 10.88 Real estate brokers 42,670 35.63 74,100 26.14 Real estate sales agents 123,680 21.94 45,640 16.27 Sales engineers 69,220 35.16 73,120 32.94 Telemarketers 405,060 11.08 23,060 9.75 Door-to-door sales workers, news and street vendors, and related workers 18,730 13.64 28,370 11.06 Office and administrative support occupations First-line supervisors/managers of office and administrative support workers 1,402,290 20.66 42,960 19.19 Switchboard operators, including answering service 210,190 10.80 22,460 10.34 Telephone operators 39,440 14.61 30,390 13.98 Bill and account collectors 417,430 13.84 28,790 13.08 Billing and posting clerks and machine operators 490,960 13.26 27,590 12.76 Bookkeeping, accounting, and auditing clerks 1,762,390 14.06 29,250 13.45 Gaming cage workers 18,640 10.97 22,830 10.65 Payroll and timekeeping clerks 198,800 14.82 30,820 14.29 Procurement clerks 71,490 14.85 30,880 14.56 Tellers 538,860 10.15 21,100 10.01 Brokerage clerks 72,360 17.79 37,010 16.58 Correspondence clerks 23,680 13.75 28,600 13.14 Court, municipal, and license clerks 103,210 14.35 29,840 13.41 Credit authorizers, checkers, and clerks 72,930 14.40 29,940 13.29 Customer service representatives 1,920,600 13.81 28,720 12.79 Eligibility interviewers, government programs 94,390 16.03 33,340 15.69 File clerks 239,990 10.50 21,850 9.91 Hotel, motel, and resort desk clerks 186,630 8.81 18,320 8.43 Interviewers, except eligibility and loan 188,160 11.58 24,090 11.02 Library assistants, clerical 109,080 10.25 21,320 9.61 Loan interviewers and clerks 196,520 14.49 30,150 13.70 New accounts clerks 99,830 13.25 27,560 12.59 Order clerks 302,350 12.82 26,670 12.09 Human resources assistants, except payroll and timekeeping 161,890 15.56 32,370 15.06 Receptionists and information clerks 1,064,600 10.71 22,280 10.31 Reservation and transportation ticket agents and travel clerks 156,140 13.99 29,090 12.71 Cargo and freight agents 69,380 16.95 35,250 16.28 Couriers and messengers 117,460 10.17 21,160 9.56 Police, fire, and ambulance dispatchers 90,490 14.36 29,860 13.71 Dispatchers, except police, fire, and ambulance 161,570 15.83 32,920 14.72 Meter readers, utilities 50,740 15.14 31,490 14.26 Postal service clerks 76,800 19.69 40,950 19.60 Postal service mail carriers 344,090 20.87 43,410 21.41 Postal service mail sorters, processors, and processing machine operators 221,930 18.05 37,540 18.92 Production, planning, and expediting clerks 281,030 17.60 36,610 16.95 Shipping, receiving, and traffic clerks 757,750 12.25 25,490 11.53 Stock clerks and order fillers 1,540,270 10.44 21,710 9.55 Weighers, measurers, checkers, and samplers, recordkeeping 82,440 13.18 27,410 11.85 Executive secretaries and administrative assistants 1,436,190 17.35 36,080 16.51 Legal secretaries 273,900 17.94 37,310 17.17 Medical secretaries 361,780 13.11 27,260 12.53 Secretaries, except legal, medical, and executive 1,822,940 12.81 26,640 12.29 Computer operators 150,030 15.48 32,190 14.59 Data entry keyers 322,770 11.43 23,780 10.93 Word processors and typists 173,730 13.87 28,860 13.21 Desktop publishers 33,290 16.07 33,430 15.10 Insurance claims and policy processing clerks 235,120 14.47 30,090 13.86 Mail clerks and mail machine operators, except postal service 150,950 10.99 22,860 10.54 Office clerks, general 2,961,160 11.44 23,800 10.79 Office machine operators, except computer 92,880 11.71 24,360 11.03 Proofreaders and copy markers 22,560 12.75 26,520 11.80 Statistical assistants 19,940 15.14 31,490 14.42 Farming, fishing, and forestry occupations First-line supervisors/managers of farming, fishing, and forestry workers 19,810 18.43 38,340 17.09 Farm labor contractors 2,880 10.21 21,230 8.10 Agricultural inspectors 13,650 15.42 32,070 14.01 Animal breeders 1,520 14.73 30,630 12.29 Graders and sorters, agricultural products 51,960 8.64 17,970 7.95 Agricultural equipment operators 20,440 9.68 20,130 8.80 Farmworkers and laborers, crop, nursery, and greenhouse 236,710 8.01 16,660 7.55 Farmworkers, farm and ranch animals 42,290 9.01 18,740 8.27 Forest and conservation workers 9,330 11.24 23,380 9.39 Fallers 11,090 14.48 30,120 12.86 Logging equipment operators 27,910 13.93 28,970 13.37 Log graders and scalers 4,470 13.90 28,910 12.89 Construction and extraction occupations First-line supervisors/managers of construction trades and extraction workers 518,660 25.32 52,660 23.75 Boilermakers 17,970 21.25 44,190 20.77 Brickmasons and blockmasons 109,660 20.60 42,850 20.23 Stonemasons 14,420 17.43 36,260 16.44 Carpenters 873,840 18.04 37,520 16.77 Carpet installers 38,860 17.01 35,370 15.79 Floor layers, except carpet, wood, and hard tiles 15,030 16.99 35,330 15.81 Floor sanders and finishers 7,000 14.49 30,140 13.28 Tile and marble setters 37,710 18.03 37,500 17.08 Cement masons and concrete finishers 187,900 16.25 33,790 14.88 Terrazzo workers and finishers 6,820 15.02 31,250 13.45 Construction laborers 845,890 13.85 28,810 12.03 Paving, surfacing, and tamping equipment operators 60,210 15.69 32,630 14.12 Pile-driver operators 4,170 23.12 48,090 23.42 Operating engineers and other construction equipment operators 343,600 18.47 38,410 16.85 Drywall and ceiling tile installers 111,980 17.90 37,230 16.37 Tapers 32,380 19.64 40,850 18.95 Electricians 575,980 21.29 44,290 20.16 Glaziers 45,910 17.45 36,300 15.49 Insulation workers 52,590 16.55 34,420 14.57 Painters, construction and maintenance 245,560 15.49 32,210 14.21 Paperhangers 7,930 16.59 34,500 15.77 Pipelayers 53,900 15.44 32,120 13.96 Plumbers, pipefitters, and steamfitters 422,360 20.97 43,620 19.70 Plasterers and stucco masons 52,410 17.36 36,110 15.98 Reinforcing iron and rebar workers 33,740 19.49 40,540 17.17 Roofers 116,070 16.15 33,580 14.63 Sheet metal workers 189,130 18.43 38,330 17.02 Structural iron and steel workers 71,090 20.79 43,240 20.10 Helpers--brickmasons, blockmasons, stonemasons, and tile and marble setters 59,250 13.15 27,350 11.85 Helpers--carpenters 101,740 11.01 22,910 10.51 Helpers--electricians 90,790 11.97 24,900 11.27 Helpers--painters, paperhangers, plasterers, and stucco masons 27,760 10.63 22,110 9.74 Helpers--pipelayers, plumbers, pipefitters, and steamfitters 77,940 11.56 24,040 10.87 Helpers--roofers 21,310 10.52 21,890 9.92 Construction and building inspectors 82,080 21.59 44,910 20.72 Elevator installers and repairers 21,910 26.80 55,750 26.88 Fence erectors 23,090 12.29 25,560 11.14 Hazardous materials removal workers 37,710 17.47 36,330 15.90 Highway maintenance workers 139,810 14.42 29,990 14.00 Rail-track laying and maintenance equipment operators 12,120 16.71 34,750 17.23 Septic tank servicers and sewer pipe cleaners 17,270 14.81 30,810 13.81 Segmental pavers 1,860 13.67 28,440 12.97 Derrick operators, oil and gas 14,130 15.40 32,030 14.59 Rotary drill operators, oil and gas 13,480 18.22 37,890 16.78 Service unit operators, oil, gas, and mining 14,030 16.28 33,860 14.83 Earth drillers, except oil and gas 18,730 16.67 34,670 15.88 Explosives workers, ordnance handling experts, and blasters 5,170 17.55 36,510 17.07 Continuous mining machine operators 8,300 17.75 36,920 17.83 Mine cutting and channeling machine operators 4,580 17.75 36,920 17.79 Rock splitters, quarry 3,350 13.33 27,730 12.48 Roof bolters, mining 4,070 18.57 38,620 18.60 Roustabouts, oil and gas 35,010 11.74 24,420 10.53 Helpers--extraction workers 27,260 13.35 27,770 12.68 Installation, maintenance, and repair occupations First-line supervisors/managers of mechanics, installers, and repairers 447,750 24.92 51,820 23.70 Computer, automated teller, and office machine repairers 142,910 17.04 35,450 16.32 Radio mechanics 6,320 18.41 38,280 17.55 Telecommunications equipment installers and repairers, except line installers 193,780 22.55 46,900 23.43 Avionics technicians 21,020 21.06 43,800 20.95 Electric motor, power tool, and related repairers 25,130 16.66 34,650 15.78 Electrical and electronics installers and repairers, transportation equipment 17,130 19.26 40,070 19.17 Electrical and electronics repairers, commercial and industrial equipment 72,680 20.19 41,990 20.04 Electrical and electronics repairers, powerhouse, substation, and relay 20,310 24.90 51,790 25.35 Electronic equipment installers and repairers, motor vehicles 15,070 13.99 29,090 12.52 Electronic home entertainment equipment installers and repairers 34,700 14.20 29,540 13.36 Security and fire alarm systems installers 47,690 17.80 37,020 16.39 Aircraft mechanics and service technicians 113,470 21.52 44,770 21.15 Automotive body and related repairers 168,630 17.35 36,080 16.04 Automotive glass installers and repairers 18,040 13.59 28,260 13.08 Automotive service technicians and mechanics 689,630 16.19 33,680 15.18 Bus and truck mechanics and diesel engine specialists 249,230 17.37 36,120 16.90 Farm equipment mechanics 31,850 13.72 28,550 13.30 Mobile heavy equipment mechanics, except engines 112,070 18.27 38,010 17.87 Rail car repairers 16,790 19.04 39,600 19.42 Motorboat mechanics 17,990 14.85 30,890 14.30 Motorcycle mechanics 15,000 14.28 29,690 13.39 Outdoor power equipment and other small engine mechanics 25,010 12.44 25,870 11.89 Bicycle repairers 7,560 9.87 20,530 9.52 Recreational vehicle service technicians 12,520 14.45 30,060 13.63 Tire repairers and changers 85,030 10.72 22,300 10.01 Mechanical door repairers 10,730 15.62 32,480 14.11 Control and valve installers and repairers, except mechanical door 35,900 20.61 42,870 20.81 Heating, air conditioning, and refrigeration mechanics and installers 217,130 17.93 37,290 17.15 Home appliance repairers 36,810 15.47 32,170 14.56 Industrial machinery mechanics 199,090 19.16 39,850 18.63 Maintenance and repair workers, general 1,245,160 15.20 31,620 14.49 Maintenance workers, machinery 85,060 16.30 33,890 15.73 Millwrights 60,470 21.14 43,970 20.76 Refractory materials repairers, except brickmasons 3,740 18.44 38,360 18.02 Electrical power-line installers and repairers 99,290 22.95 47,730 23.62 Telecommunications line installers and repairers 146,410 19.63 40,840 19.72 Camera and photographic equipment repairers 4,220 15.61 32,470 14.81 Medical equipment repairers 24,390 18.92 39,360 18.39 Musical instrument repairers and tuners 5,260 15.34 31,920 13.68 Watch repairers 3,750 15.25 31,710 13.56 Coin, vending, and amusement machine servicers and repairers 35,540 13.78 28,660 13.32 Commercial divers 2,660 18.13 37,700 16.38 Fabric menders, except garment 1,990 14.72 30,610 14.07 Locksmiths and safe repairers 18,730 15.06 31,330 14.11 Manufactured building and mobile home installers 14,470 11.50 23,920 10.99 Riggers 12,780 17.01 35,390 16.51 Signal and track switch repairers 7,600 21.44 44,590 21.12 Helpers--installation, maintenance, and repair workers 151,820 11.26 23,420 10.23 Production occupations First-line supervisors/managers of production and operating workers 690,910 22.65 47,120 21.23 Aircraft structure, surfaces, rigging, and systems assemblers 19,830 17.40 36,190 16.95 Coil winders, tapers, and finishers 28,400 12.28 25,550 11.76 Electrical and electronic equipment assemblers 228,100 12.45 25,890 11.54 Electromechanical equipment assemblers 51,040 13.12 27,290 12.60 Engine and other machine assemblers 47,520 16.97 35,290 16.30 Structural metal fabricators and fitters 88,190 14.72 30,620 14.03 Fiberglass laminators and fabricators 31,600 12.41 25,810 11.94 Team assemblers 1,185,060 12.23 25,430 11.26 Timing device assemblers, adjusters, and calibrators 4,390 13.75 28,590 12.86 Bakers 159,420 10.90 22,680 10.13 Butchers and meat cutters 131,250 13.21 27,470 12.51 Meat, poultry, and fish cutters and trimmers 142,640 9.35 19,440 8.90 Slaughterers and meat packers 130,880 10.10 21,000 9.95 Food and tobacco roasting, baking, and drying machine operators and tenders 17,450 12.44 25,870 11.67 Food batchmakers 80,080 11.40 23,710 10.67 Food cooking machine operators and tenders 38,780 10.74 22,330 10.05 Computer-controlled machine tool operators, metal and plastic 123,700 14.98 31,170 14.43 Numerical tool and process control programmers 17,370 19.62 40,800 18.78 Extruding and drawing machine setters, operators, and tenders, metal and plastic 90,940 13.20 27,450 12.82 Forging machine setters, operators, and tenders, metal and plastic 40,600 13.76 28,620 12.91 Rolling machine setters, operators, and tenders, metal and plastic 40,330 14.44 30,040 14.01 Cutting, punching, and press machine setters, operators, and tenders, metal and plastic 249,360 12.80 26,620 12.23 Drilling and boring machine tool setters, operators, and tenders, metal and plastic 46,360 14.44 30,030 13.46 Grinding, lapping, polishing, and buffing machine tool setters, operators, and tenders, metal and plastic 95,740 14.00 29,120 12.99 Lathe and turning machine tool setters, operators, and tenders, metal and plastic 73,080 14.99 31,170 14.48 Milling and planing machine setters, operators, and tenders, metal and plastic 29,110 14.82 30,820 14.49 Machinists 361,240 16.56 34,440 16.15 Metal-refining furnace operators and tenders 17,070 15.96 33,190 15.55 Pourers and casters, metal 13,540 14.51 30,180 13.69 Model makers, metal and plastic 8,300 21.57 44,860 21.43 Patternmakers, metal and plastic 5,730 18.68 38,840 18.11 Foundry mold and coremakers 18,680 13.95 29,010 13.03 Molding, coremaking, and casting machine setters, operators, and tenders, metal and plastic 148,840 12.40 25,800 11.57 Multiple machine tool setters, operators, and tenders, metal and plastic 95,650 14.71 30,600 13.84 Tool and die makers 101,090 21.13 43,940 20.59 Welders, cutters, solderers, and brazers 350,230 15.16 31,530 14.39 Welding, soldering, and brazing machine setters, operators, and tenders 50,280 15.12 31,460 14.03 Heat treating equipment setters, operators, and tenders, metal and plastic 25,120 14.57 30,310 14.01 Lay-out workers, metal and plastic 11,040 15.88 33,040 15.39 Plating and coating machine setters, operators, and tenders, metal and plastic 38,200 13.35 27,760 12.62 Tool grinders, filers, and sharpeners 20,730 15.08 31,370 14.41 Bindery workers 76,510 12.02 24,990 11.03 Bookbinders 6,660 14.84 30,870 14.06 Job printers 58,410 15.85 32,970 15.06 Prepress technicians and workers 80,290 15.91 33,090 15.17 Printing machine operators 182,740 15.30 31,820 14.30 Laundry and dry-cleaning workers 217,360 8.66 18,010 8.16 Pressers, textile, garment, and related materials 84,270 8.54 17,760 8.20 Sewing machine operators 251,370 9.16 19,040 8.53 Shoe and leather workers and repairers 7,830 9.92 20,640 9.40 Shoe machine operators and tenders 5,000 10.39 21,620 9.81 Sewers, hand 15,490 9.68 20,140 8.76 Tailors, dressmakers, and custom sewers 31,540 11.49 23,900 10.43 Textile bleaching and dyeing machine operators and tenders 22,960 10.69 22,230 10.44 Textile cutting machine setters, operators, and tenders 27,300 10.46 21,760 9.90 Textile knitting and weaving machine setters, operators, and tenders 45,860 11.34 23,590 11.32 Textile winding, twisting, and drawing out machine setters, operators, and tenders 56,140 11.19 23,280 10.73 Extruding and forming machine setters, operators, and tenders, synthetic and glass fibers 24,580 13.79 28,680 13.64 Fabric and apparel patternmakers 10,450 16.69 34,720 14.19 Upholsterers 38,830 12.84 26,710 12.10 Cabinetmakers and bench carpenters 126,490 12.69 26,390 11.98 Furniture finishers 27,720 11.82 24,590 11.17 Model makers, wood 3,610 14.29 29,710 12.10 Patternmakers, wood 3,060 15.55 32,350 14.85 Sawing machine setters, operators, and tenders, wood 54,280 11.28 23,470 10.81 Woodworking machine setters, operators, and tenders, except sawing 88,340 11.29 23,470 10.78 Nuclear power reactor operators 4,010 30.56 63,560 30.42 Power distributors and dispatchers 9,300 27.62 57,450 27.36 Power plant operators 33,770 24.60 51,170 24.78 Stationary engineers and boiler operators 48,430 21.46 44,650 21.09 Water and liquid waste treatment plant and system operators 95,130 16.99 35,340 16.43 Chemical plant and system operators 60,200 21.33 44,370 21.29 Gas plant operators 10,890 23.85 49,600 23.86 Petroleum pump system operators, refinery operators, and gaugers 40,950 23.09 48,030 24.06 Chemical equipment operators and tenders 51,070 18.81 39,120 18.64 Separating, filtering, clarifying, precipitating, and still machine setters, operators, and tenders 37,850 16.08 33,440 15.53 Crushing, grinding, and polishing machine setters, operators, and tenders 41,390 13.39 27,840 12.68 Grinding and polishing workers, hand 42,320 11.96 24,870 11.16 Mixing and blending machine setters, operators, and tenders 113,690 13.99 29,110 13.41 Cutters and trimmers, hand 28,450 11.74 24,430 10.70 Cutting and slicing machine setters, operators, and tenders 68,920 13.31 27,690 12.74 Extruding, forming, pressing, and compacting machine setters, operators, and tenders 72,010 13.76 28,630 13.07 Furnace, kiln, oven, drier, and kettle operators and tenders 30,230 14.95 31,100 14.24 Inspectors, testers, sorters, samplers, and weighers 489,020 14.91 31,010 13.56 Jewelers and precious stone and metal workers 28,120 14.68 30,540 13.22 Dental laboratory technicians 45,980 15.94 33,160 14.62 Medical appliance technicians 11,230 15.09 31,380 13.68 Ophthalmic laboratory technicians 26,180 11.93 24,810 11.04 Packaging and filling machine operators and tenders 401,520 11.44 23,790 10.56 Coating, painting, and spraying machine setters, operators, and tenders 92,710 13.07 27,200 12.46 Painters, transportation equipment 47,390 17.80 37,020 16.52 Painting, coating, and decorating workers 28,980 11.84 24,620 10.73 Photographic process workers 28,730 11.05 22,970 9.84 Photographic processing machine operators 54,090 10.09 20,990 9.15 Semiconductor processors 43,970 13.85 28,810 13.21 Cementing and gluing machine operators and tenders 24,850 12.11 25,190 11.29 Cleaning, washing, and metal pickling equipment operators and tenders 16,650 12.36 25,710 11.46 Cooling and freezing equipment operators and tenders 7,980 11.90 24,740 10.64 Etchers and engravers 8,840 12.23 25,440 10.86 Molders, shapers, and casters, except metal and plastic 37,210 12.67 26,350 11.77 Paper goods machine setters, operators, and tenders 109,210 14.57 30,300 14.11 Tire builders 16,400 17.35 36,080 18.64 Helpers--production workers 457,200 10.24 21,290 9.58 Transportation and material moving occupations Aircraft cargo handling supervisors 8,580 19.12 39,760 16.65 First-line supervisors/managers of helpers, laborers, and material movers, hand 159,780 19.42 40,400 18.37 First-line supervisors/managers of transportation and material-moving machine and vehicle operators 211,960 22.88 47,590 21.32 Airline pilots, copilots, and flight engineers 76,940 (2) 129,230 (2) Commercial pilots 19,940 (2) 58,720 (2) Air traffic controllers 22,610 45.31 94,240 46.64 Airfield operations specialists 4,670 20.22 42,050 17.65 Ambulance drivers and attendants, except emergency medical technicians 18,420 9.80 20,380 9.10 Bus drivers, transit and intercity 187,900 14.77 30,730 13.96 Bus drivers, school 471,130 11.11 23,100 10.92 Driver/sales workers 397,630 11.34 23,580 9.79 Truck drivers, heavy and tractor-trailer 1,520,740 16.49 34,290 15.98 Truck drivers, light or delivery services 951,400 12.86 26,750 11.65 Taxi drivers and chauffeurs 131,880 10.23 21,280 9.25 Locomotive engineers 30,070 25.98 54,050 24.45 Locomotive firers 630 22.73 47,290 22.22 Rail yard engineers, dinkey operators, and hostlers 6,020 18.81 39,130 17.60 Railroad brake, signal, and switch operators 15,310 23.26 48,370 21.97 Railroad conductors and yardmasters 35,120 25.21 52,430 22.25 Subway and streetcar operators 8,720 22.52 46,850 23.49 Sailors and marine oilers 27,170 15.25 31,710 14.33 Captains, mates, and pilots of water vessels 24,050 25.52 53,090 24.47 Motorboat operators 3,130 17.42 36,230 16.04 Ship engineers 10,230 27.20 56,570 26.23 Bridge and lock tenders 3,490 16.48 34,270 17.61 Parking lot attendants 109,890 8.54 17,770 8.08 Service station attendants 96,450 8.86 18,420 8.22 Traffic technicians 5,980 16.97 35,300 16.20 Transportation inspectors 23,860 24.07 50,060 23.79 Conveyor operators and tenders 52,920 12.73 26,480 12.17 Crane and tower operators 44,610 18.48 38,430 17.65 Dredge operators 2,190 14.33 29,810 13.39 Excavating and loading machine and dragline operators 67,540 16.31 33,920 15.29 Loading machine operators, underground mining 3,520 16.04 33,370 15.79 Hoist and winch operators 6,440 17.63 36,660 15.18 Industrial truck and tractor operators 605,390 13.50 28,080 12.72 Cleaners of vehicles and equipment 321,630 9.28 19,290 8.34 Laborers and freight, stock, and material movers, hand 2,269,700 10.45 21,740 9.61 Machine feeders and offbearers 150,190 11.21 23,320 10.59 Packers and packagers, hand 868,390 8.86 18,430 8.17 Gas compressor and gas pumping station operators 5,250 21.56 44,840 21.07 Pump operators, except wellhead pumpers 10,540 18.01 37,470 17.04 Wellhead pumpers 8,640 15.95 33,170 15.60 Refuse and recyclable material collectors 137,510 12.98 27,000 12.06 Shuttle car operators 3,220 18.03 37,510 18.66 Tank car, truck, and ship loaders 15,910 16.73 34,800 15.59 1 Annual wages have been calculated by multiplying the hourly mean wage by a "year-round, full-time" hours figure of 2,080 hours; for those occupations where there is not an hourly mean wage published, the annual wage has been directly calculated from the reported survey data. 2 Hourly wage rates for occupations where workers typically work fewer than 2,080 hours per year are not available. 3 Represents a wage above $70.00 per hour.