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Employment and wages for newly defined occupations, May 2021

June 15, 2022

Software developers (with employment of nearly 1.4 million), project management specialists (743,860), and school bus drivers (361,420) were among the largest newly defined occupations in the 2018 Standard Occupational Classification (SOC) system. These were among more than 50 occupations for which employment and wage estimates were published for the first time in the May 2021 Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics data.

Employment and annual mean wages for new occupations, May 2021
Occupation Employment Annual mean wage

Management

Public relations managers

59,850 $138,000

Fundraising managers

23,190 119,400

Administrative services managers

224,620 113,030

Facilities managers

101,230 101,970

Entertainment and recreation managers, except gambling

17,800 73,810

Personal service managers, all other

7,350 59,580

Business and financial operations

Project management specialists

743,860 98,420

Financial and investment analysts

291,880 103,020

Financial risk specialists

54,320 110,610

Computer and mathematical

Database administrators

85,870 96,550

Database architects

50,440 121,840

Software developers

1,364,180 120,990

Software quality assurance analysts and testers

190,120 97,710

Web developers

84,820 81,320

Web and digital interface designers

82,380 95,460

Data scientists

105,980 108,660

Architecture and engineering

Calibration technologists and technicians

8,500 62,800

Life, physical, and social science

Clinical and counseling psychologists

58,100 99,640

School psychologists

57,110 82,770

Agricultural technicians

13,560 44,850

Food science technicians

11,530 47,870

Geological technicians, except hydrologic technicians

9,210 59,080

Hydrologic technicians

3,550 71,760

Educational instruction and library

Tutors

147,100 41,780

Arts, design, entertainment, sports, and media

Lighting technicians

4,280 58,020

Healthcare practitioners and technical

Cardiologists

18,610 353,970

Dermatologists

9,230 302,740

Emergency medicine physicians

36,180 310,640

Neurologists

7,120 267,660

Physicians, pathologists

11,010 267,180

Radiologists

29,530 301,720

Ophthalmologists, except pediatric

11,610 270,090

Orthopedic surgeons, except pediatric

16,260 306,220

Pediatric surgeons

820 290,310

Acupuncturists

7,250 71,770

Medical dosimetrists

2,400 124,750

Emergency medical technicians

161,400 36,690

Paramedics

96,510 49,500

Medical records specialists

180,570 48,310

Health information technologists and medical registrars

37,900 61,410

Surgical assistants

17,250 59,170

Protective service

First-line supervisors of security workers

55,450 55,080

School bus monitors

55,310 30,220

Personal care and service

First-line supervisors of entertainment and recreation workers, except gambling services

66,860 47,130

First-line supervisors of personal service workers

101,030 45,730

Crematory operators

2,040 39,660

Construction and extraction

Earth drillers, except oil and gas

15,800 53,600

Explosives workers, ordnance handling experts, and blasters

5,370 57,070

Underground mining machine operators, all other

3,150 60,290

Transportation and material moving

Bus drivers, school

361,420 38,750

Shuttle drivers and chauffeurs

175,660 32,570

Taxi drivers

13,950 30,050

Aircraft service attendants

12,170 38,640

The computer and mathematical and healthcare practitioners and technical groups had the largest numbers of new occupations. After software developers, the new computer and mathematical occupations with the highest employment were software quality assurance analysts and testers (with employment of 190,120) and data scientists (105,980). The largest healthcare practitioners and technical occupations with new data were medical records specialists (180,570) and emergency medical technicians (161,400).

Some occupations new to the 2018 SOC were much smaller, including pediatric surgeons (820), crematory operators (2,040), and medical dosimetrists (2,400).

Several types of specialty physicians and surgeons were among the highest-paying new occupations, including cardiologists; emergency medicine physicians; orthopedic surgeons, except pediatric; and dermatologists. These occupations had annual mean wages of more than $300,000 and were also among the highest paying occupations overall.

The lowest paying new occupations were taxi drivers ($30,050), school bus monitors ($30,220), and shuttle drivers and chauffeurs ($32,570), all with mean wages below the U.S. all-occupations average of $58,260.

These data are from the Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics (OEWS) program. The chart shows occupations that were created as part of the 2018 SOC revision and for which estimates were published for the first time in the May 2021 OEWS data release. Disc jockeys, except radio, for which OEWS publishes only hourly wage estimates, is not shown. For more information, see the 2018 SOC home page, OEWS 2018 SOC implementation page, and OEWS frequently asked questions.

SUGGESTED CITATION

Bureau of Labor Statistics, U.S. Department of Labor, The Economics Daily, Employment and wages for newly defined occupations, May 2021 at https://www.bls.gov/opub/ted/2022/employment-and-wages-for-newly-defined-occupations-may-2021.htm (visited March 29, 2024).

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