For release 10:00 a.m. (EDT) Friday, September 28, 2012 USDL-12-1941 

Technical information: (202) 691-6599 • ggs-occinfo@bls.gov • www.bls.gov/ggsocc 

Media contact: (202) 691-5902 • PressOffice@bls.gov 

OCCUPATIONAL EMPLOYMENT AND WAGES IN GREEN GOODS 

AND SERVICES — NOVEMBER 2011

In November 2011, transportation and material moving occupations accounted for 539,470 jobs, or 

approximately 28 percent of total employment, in establishments that received all of their revenue from 

green goods and services, the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics reported today. The production (208,180) 

and office and administrative support (194,440) occupational groups were the second- and third-largest 

in all-green establishments, representing about 11 and 10 percent of employment, respectively. (See 

chart 1 and table 1.) 

According to 2010 annual average data published by the Green Goods and Services (GGS) survey, about 

three-fifths of the 3.1 million jobs associated with green goods and services production were in 

establishments that received all of their revenue from green goods and services. This Occupational 

Employment and Wages in Green Goods and Services (GGS-OCC) release presents November 2011 

occupational employment and wage information for 1.9 million jobs in these all-green establishments. 

(See Technical Note for an explanation of the differences between the GGS and GGS-OCC data.) 

The GGS-OCC data are based on a sample of approximately 93,000 business establishments in 333 

industries identified as potentially producing green goods or providing green services. The data consist 

of occupational employment and wage information categorized by the percent of the establishments’ 

revenue received from green goods and services (GGS). The establishments covered in this release 

received 100 percent of their revenue from green goods and services. Occupational employment and 

wage data for in-scope establishments with no green revenue and with mixed green and nongreen 

revenue are available from the GGS-OCC web site at www.bls.gov/ggsocc/. More information about the 

GGS-OCC data is provided in the Technical Note. 

Occupations 

 Five of the 6 largest detailed occupations in all-green establishments were in the transportation 

and material moving occupational group. These 5 occupations were school or special client bus 

drivers (174,450); transit and intercity bus drivers (111,760); refuse and recyclable materials 

collectors (56,930); hand laborers and freight, stock, and material movers (54,890); and heavy 

and tractor-trailer truck drivers (39,060). (See chart 2 and table 2.) 

 
‐ 2 ‐ 

 The largest occupations in all-green establishments outside of the transportation and material 

moving group included forest and conservation technicians, with employment of 56,620; general 

and operations managers (32,030); secretaries and administrative assistants, except legal, 

medical, and executive (30,470); and bus and truck mechanics and diesel engine specialists 

(29,570). (See chart 2 and table 2.) 

 Annual mean wages for the largest occupations in all-green establishments ranged from $26,270 

for hand laborers and freight, stock, and material movers to $115,520 for general and operations 

managers. (See chart 3 and table 2.) 

 

0 5 10 15 20 25 30

Healthcare support

Food preparation andserving related

Communityand social service

Legal

Healthcare practitioners and technical

Education, training, andlibrary

Personal care andservice

Arts, design, entertainment, sports, and media

Computer andmathematical

Protective service

Farming, fishing, andforestry

Building and grounds cleaning and maintenance

Business and financial operations

Sales and related

Management

Architecture and engineering

Installation, maintenance, and repair

Construction andextraction

Life, physical, and socialscience

Office and administrative support

Production

Transportation andmaterialmoving

Percent of all‐green employment

Chart 1.Occupational groups as a percent of employment in all‐green

establishments,November 2011

NOTE: Data represent  occupational group employment as a percentof total employment in establishments

that are classified in industries covered by the Green Goods and Services(GGS) survey and receive all of

their revenue from the production of green goods or provision of green services.
‐ 3 ‐ 

Occupational groups by industries 

 The transportation and warehousing industry had 454,710 jobs in all-green establishments, more 

than any other industry. About 73 percent of these jobs were in transportation and material 

moving occupations. (See table 3.) 

 Other industries with large numbers of jobs in all-green establishments included public 

administration (276,020), administrative and waste services (274,700), and manufacturing 

(266,510). (See table 3.) 

0 50,000 100,000 150,000 200,000

Team assemblers

Bus and truck mechanics and diesel engine specialists

Secretaries and administrative assistants, exceptlegal,

medical, and executive

General and operations managers

Heavy and tractor‐trailertruck drivers

Laborers and freight, stock, and material movers, hand

Forest and conservation technicians

Refuse and recyclable material collectors

Bus drivers, transit and intercity

Bus drivers,school or special client

Employment

Chart 2. Employment for the largest occupationsin all‐green

establishments,November 2011

NOTE: Data represent  employment in establishments that are classified in industries covered by the Green

Goods and Services(GGS) survey and receive all of their revenue from the production of green goods or

provision of green services.
‐ 4 ‐ 

 Nearly 41 percent of jobs in all-green public administration establishments were in life, physical, 

and social science occupations. Transportation and material moving occupations made up about 

42 percent of the jobs in all-green administrative and waste services establishments. Over half of 

the jobs in all-green manufacturing establishments were in production occupations. (See table 3.) 

Detailed occupations in selected industries 

Utilities, construction, and professional, scientific, and technical services were among the industries with 

the highest percentage of revenue from green goods and services in 2010, based on results from the GGS 

survey. Selected data for these industries are shown in tables 4, 5, and 6 and highlighted below: 

 The utilities industry had 142,030 jobs in all-green establishments. About a quarter of these jobs 

were in production occupations, including water and wastewater treatment plant and system 

operators (20,200), power plant operators (4,530), and nuclear power reactor operators (4,380). 

$0 $25,000 $50,000 $75,000 $100,000 $125,000

Team assemblers

Bus and truck mechanics and diesel engine specialists

Secretaries and administrative assistants, exceptlegal,

medical, and executive

General and operations managers

Heavy and tractor‐trailertruck drivers

Laborers and freight, stock, and material movers, hand

Forest and conservation technicians

Refuse and recyclable material collectors

Bus drivers, transit and intercity

Bus drivers,school or special client

Annual mean wage

Chart 3. Annual mean wagesforthe largest occupationsin all‐green

establishments,November 2011

NOTE: Data represent  annual mean wages in establishments that are classified in industries covered by the

Green Goods and Services(GGS) survey and receive all of their revenue from the production of green

goods or provision of green services.
‐ 5 ‐ 

Outside of the production group, the largest occupations in all-green utilities establishments 

included nuclear engineers (8,170), security guards (5,270), and industrial machinery mechanics 

(5,100). (See table 4.) 

 With an annual mean wage of $96,270, nuclear engineers was among the highest paying of the 

largest occupations in all-green utilities establishments. The lowest paying of these occupations 

included security guards ($43,580) and water and wastewater treatment plant and system 

operators ($44,560). (See table 4.) 

 The construction industry had 92,130 jobs in all-green establishments. Fifty-eight percent of 

these jobs were in construction and extraction occupations, including floor, ceiling, and wall 

insulation workers (8,210); carpenters (7,860); and construction laborers (7,680). These three 

occupations made up over one-quarter of employment in all-green construction establishments. 

Heating, air conditioning, and refrigeration mechanics and installers (5,190) was one of the 

largest occupations outside of the construction and extraction occupational group. (See table 5.) 

 Floor, ceiling, and wall insulation workers was one of the lowest paying occupations in all-green 

construction establishments, with an annual mean wage of $30,390. The highest paying of the 

largest occupations in all-green construction establishments included construction managers 

($86,130) and first-line supervisors of construction trades and extraction workers ($62,870). 

(See table 5.) 

 Professional, scientific, and technical services had 138,360 jobs in all-green establishments. 

More than half of these jobs were in life, physical, and social science occupations or in 

architecture and engineering occupations. The largest occupation in all-green professional, 

scientific, and technical services establishments was environmental scientists and specialists, 

including health, with employment of 12,130. (See table 6.) 

 Several of the largest occupations in all-green professional, scientific, and technical services 

establishments had relatively high annual mean wages, including general and operations 

managers ($132,580), mechanical engineers ($88,750), and architects, except landscape and 

naval ($83,560). (See table 6.) 
Technical Note 

Overview 

The Occupational Employment and Wages in Green 

Goods and Services (GGS-OCC) program provides 

occupational employment and wage information for 

businesses that produce green goods or provide green 

services. The GGS-OCC data are based on a sample of 

approximately 93,000 business establishments classified in 

333 industries in which establishments potentially produce 

green goods or provide green services as their primary 

activity. 

The GGS-OCC estimates are produced by linking data 

from two different surveys at the establishment level: the 

percent of the establishment’s revenue received from green 

goods and services, from the Green Goods and Services 

(GGS) survey; and occupational employment and wage 

information, from the Occupational Employment Statistics 

(OES) survey. These data are used to produce occupational 

employment and wage estimates for three groups of 

establishments: those that receive none of their revenue 

from green goods and services, those that receive all of 

their revenue from green goods and services, and those with 

revenue from a mix of green and nongreen goods and 

services. This release covers only those establishments that 

receive 100 percent of their revenue from green goods and 

services. Data are available at the national level by industry 

sector for in-scope industries and for all in-scope industries 

combined. These data represent all employment at 

establishments in a given revenue category; not all jobs in 

establishments with mixed green and nongreen revenue are 

associated with production of green goods and services. 

The GGS-OCC estimates are based on the BLS output 

approach to measuring green jobs: jobs in businesses that 

produce goods or provide services that benefit the 

environment or conserve natural resources. More 

information about the BLS green jobs initiative is available 

from the green jobs homepage at www.bls.gov/green. 

Concepts 

Green goods and services are defined as goods and services 

that benefit the environment or conserve natural resources. 

These goods and services are sold to customers and include 

research and development, installation, and maintenance 

services. Green goods and services fall into one or more of 

the following five categories: 

1. Energy from renewable sources. Electricity, heat, or 

fuel generated from renewable sources. These energy 

sources include wind, biomass, geothermal, solar, 

ocean, hydropower, and landfill gas and municipal solid 

waste. 

2. Energy efficiency. Products and services that improve 

energy efficiency. Included in this group are energyefficient equipment, appliances, buildings, and vehicles, 

as well as products and services that improve the 

energy efficiency of buildings and the efficiency of 

energy storage and distribution, such as Smart Grid 

technologies. 

3. Pollution reduction and removal, greenhouse gas 

reduction, and recycling and reuse. These are products 

and services that: 

 Reduce or eliminate the creation or release of 

pollutants or toxic compounds, or remove 

pollutants or hazardous waste from the 

environment. 

 Reduce greenhouse gas emissions through 

methods other than renewable energy generation 

and energy efficiency, such as electricity 

generated from nuclear sources. 

 Reduce or eliminate the creation of waste 

materials; collect, reuse, remanufacture, recycle, 

or compost waste materials or wastewater. 

4. Natural resources conservation. Products and services 

that conserve natural resources. Included in this group 

are products and services related to organic agriculture 

and sustainable forestry; land management; soil, water, 

or wildlife conservation; and storm water management. 

5. Environmental compliance, education and training, and 

public awareness. These are products and services that: 

 Enforce environmental regulations. 

 Provide education and training related to green 

technologies and practices. 

 Increase public awareness of environmental 

issues. 

An establishment is generally a single physical location at 

which economic activity occurs (e.g., store, factory, 

restaurant, etc.). When a single physical location 

encompasses two or more distinct economic activities, it is 

treated as two or more separate establishments if separate 

payroll records are available and certain other criteria are 

met. 

An industry is a group of establishments that produce 

similar products or provide similar services. For example, 

all establishments that manufacture automobiles are in the 

same industry. A given industry, or even a particular 

establishment in that industry, might have employees in 
dozens of occupations. In the GGS-OCC data, similar 

establishments are grouped into industries based on the 

2007 North American Industry Classification System 

(NAICS). More information about the NAICS is available 

from www.bls.gov/bls/naics.htm. 

An occupation is a set of activities or tasks that employees 

are paid to perform. Workers are classified into occupations 

based on their job duties and, in some cases, on the skills, 

education, and/or training required. Workers with similar 

job duties are classified in the same occupation, regardless 

of the industry in which they are employed. 

Employees are all part-time and full-time workers who are 

paid a wage or salary. The estimates do not cover the selfemployed, owners and partners in unincorporated firms, 

household workers, or unpaid family workers. 

Industry coverage

The GGS-OCC estimates are based on data for 333 of the 

nearly 1,200 detailed (6-digit) 2007 NAICS industries. BLS 

identified these 333 industries as those in which businesses 

potentially produced green goods or provided green 

services as their primary activity, based on the definition of 

green goods and services above. The GGS-OCC scope 

contains 20 percent of employment covered by state or 

federal unemployment insurance, or about 19 percent of 

total U.S. employment. A list of GGS-OCC in-scope 

industries is available in PDF format at 

www.bls.gov/green/final_green_def_8242010_pub.pdf or 

in Excel format at 

www.bls.gov/green/final_green_def_8242010_pub.xls. 

The occupational classification system 

The GGS-OCC occupational classifications are based on 

the Office of Management and Budget’s Standard 

Occupational Classification (SOC) system 

(www.bls.gov/soc/). The GGS-OCC estimates are based on 

data collected under both the 2000 SOC and the revised 

2010 SOC systems. Almost all the occupations in this 

release are 2010 SOC occupations; however, some are not. 

In some cases an occupation is a combination of data 

reported for one or more occupations in the 2000 SOC and 

one or more 2010 SOC occupations. Some of these 

combination occupations match occupations in the 2000 

SOC. In other cases, occupations from the two structures 

were combined into a hybrid occupation that is not found in 

either the 2000 or 2010 SOC. Some of these hybrid 

occupations have the same title as a 2010 SOC occupation, 

but not the same content. These occupations are marked 

with an asterisk (*) and given a temporary code for the 

GGS-OCC data. For more information on how data 

collected under the two structures were combined, 

including a downloadable concordance between the SOC 

and GGS-OCC structures, see 

www.bls.gov/oes/oes_ques.htm#Ques41. 

Survey sample 

The GGS-OCC estimates are based on a sample of 

approximately 93,000 private sector and federal, state, and 

local government establishments in the 50 states and the 

District of Columbia. The GGS-OCC sample is restricted to 

the 333 in-scope NAICS industries, and is a subset of units 

in both the GGS sample and either the regular OES sample 

or a supplement to the OES sample. Both the GGS and OES 

samples are drawn primarily from the BLS Quarterly 

Census of Employment and Wages (QCEW), which 

consists of businesses reporting to state unemployment 

insurance (UI) programs. 

The full GGS sample of 120,000 establishments was 

selected by stratifying the sampling frame by industry and 

state, and sampling larger employers with a higher 

probability than smaller employers. The GGS sample also 

includes an “environmental allocation” of approximately 

6,500 units, selected from a list of 13,000 establishments 

that BLS had previously identified as being involved in 

green activity. 

The full OES sample consists of approximately 1.2 million 

business establishments, collected in 6 semiannual survey 

panels over a 3-year period. The GGS-OCC estimates are 

based on OES microdata collected with reference dates of 

November 2011, May 2011, November 2010, May 2010, 

November 2009, and May 2009. The OES sample is 

stratified by metropolitan or nonmetropolitan area, industry, 

and size. To provide the most occupational coverage, larger 

employers are more likely to be selected than smaller 

employers. 

Approximately 41,300 establishments in the initial GGS 

sample overlapped naturally with units in the 2009-2011 

OES sample. In order to increase the overlap between the 

two surveys, a swapping algorithm was used to replace 

23,400 nonoverlapping GGS units with similar units that 

were already part of the OES sample. The GGS-OCC 

sample also included 3,300 federal government units and a 

25,000-unit supplement to the OES survey, designed to 

cover agricultural industries excluded from OES and to 

provide additional coverage of certain other industries. 

Data collection

Establishments in the GGS-OCC sample received two mail 

survey forms, one for the GGS survey and one for the OES 

survey. Among GGS-OCC sample units, the overall 

national response rates for the GGS survey were 66.4 

percent based on establishments and 59.9 percent based on 

weighted employment. Response rates for the OES survey 

were 66.7 percent based on establishments and 65.3 percent 

based on weighted employment. About 48.6 percent of 

sampled establishments, representing 42.6 percent of 

weighted sample employment, responded to both surveys. 
The GGS survey asked establishments to report the percent 

of their previous fiscal year’s revenue received from green 

goods and services. Survey forms listed examples of green 

goods and services meeting the BLS definition. 

Establishments that did not generate revenue, such as 

government establishments, nonprofits, or startups without 

positive revenue, were asked to provide the percent of 

employment associated with the production of green goods 

or provision of green services. 

The OES survey form asked respondents to provide total 

employment for the sampled establishment, as well as the 

number of workers, by occupation, in each of 12 specific 

wage intervals. The wage intervals were defined in terms of 

both hourly rates and the corresponding annual rates, where 

the annual rate for an occupation is calculated by 

multiplying the hourly wage rate by a typical work year of 

2,080 hours. Full-time workers could be reported by either 

hourly rates or annual salaries, depending on how the 

worker was paid. 

Estimation methodology

Wage updating

The OES survey is designed to produce estimates at 

detailed levels of geography, industry, and occupation by 

combining 6 panels of data collected over a 3-year period. 

Wages for the most recent panel need no adjustment. 

Wages for earlier panels are updated to the reference period 

based on movements in the BLS Employment Cost Index 

(ECI) for the most closely corresponding occupational 

category. 

Nonresponse

GGS-OCC nonrespondents fell into three categories: (1) 

units that responded to neither GGS nor OES; (2) units that 

responded to OES, but not GGS; and (3) units that 

responded to GGS, but not OES. To compensate for 

nonrespondents in categories 1 and 2, the weights of 

responding units were adjusted through the use of 

nonresponse adjustment factors (NRAFs). For 

nonrespondents in category 3, a nearest neighbor hot deck 

procedure was used to impute occupational staffing 

patterns, and a variant of mean wage imputation was used 

to impute missing occupational wages. 

Weighting and benchmarking

Sampled establishments were weighted to represent all 

establishments for the GGS-OCC scope and reference 

period. Each establishment was initially assigned a weight 

based on the reciprocal of its probability of selection into 

the GGS sample. For units in the OES supplemental 

sample, the GGS sampling weight was adjusted to account 

for its probability of being subsequently subsampled in the 

supplement. Weights were also modified by NRAFs in 

order to adjust for units that did not respond to the GGS 

survey. Finally, the GGS-OCC data were benchmarked to 

the average of QCEW employment levels for May and 

November 2011. 

Employment and wage estimation

The share of green revenue from GGS was used to divide 

establishments into groups of businesses reporting no 

revenue from green goods and services, all revenue from 

green goods and services, and a mix of green and nongreen 

revenue. Occupational employment estimates were 

calculated by multiplying each establishment’s reported 

employment in an occupation by the establishment’s final 

weight, and summing the resulting weighted employment 

across all establishments reporting the occupation. 

Because GGS-OCC wage data were collected by wage 

range rather than by wage rate, additional information was 

required to estimate mean and median wages. Data from the 

BLS National Compensation Survey (NCS) were used to 

calculate interval means for employees in each of the 12 

wage intervals; these interval means were used in 

combination with the reported data on occupational 

employment by wage interval to calculate the GGS-OCC 

wage estimates. 

GGS-OCC and GGS estimates 

Although the GGS-OCC data have some similarities to the 

green jobs estimates from the GGS survey, the two datasets 

also have important conceptual differences and are not 

designed to be compared. Both the GGS-OCC and GGS 

estimates are based on the BLS output approach to 

measuring green jobs, have the same industry scope, and 

have overlapping samples. Both datasets also use the 

percent of each sampled establishment’s revenue received 

from green goods and services, as reported to the GGS 

survey, to produce their estimates. However, the two sets of 

estimates use the green revenue percentage differently. The 

GGS survey multiplies each establishment’s employment 

by its green revenue share in order to produce estimates of 

the total number of green jobs. For example, if an 

establishment that produces both green and nongreen 

products employs 100 people and obtains 40 percent of its 

revenue from the sale of its green products, the GGS survey 

would count 40 of that establishment's employees as green. 

Unlike the GGS survey, the GGS-OCC program does not 

provide explicit estimates of the number of green jobs. In 

particular, the GGS-OCC data do not represent 

occupational breakdowns of the green employment 

estimates from the GGS survey. Instead, the GGS-OCC 

program uses the green revenue shares from GGS to group 

establishments into categories based on the percent of their 

revenue received from green goods and services. For each 

revenue category, the GGS-OCC program provides 

occupational employment and wage estimates for all 

employees in establishments in that category. The two 

datasets also have different reference periods: the GGS data 
represent 2010 annual averages, and the GGS-OCC data 

have a November 2011 reference date. For more 

information about the GGS survey, see www.bls.gov/ggs/. 

Data available

The GGS-OCC data consist of employment, mean wage, 

and median wage estimates by occupation, presented for 

three groups of establishments: those with none, all, or 

some, but not all, of their revenue from green goods and 

services. Estimates are available at the national level for 2-

digit NAICS industries and for all industries combined. 

For more information 

Answers to frequently asked questions about the GGS-OCC 

data are available at www.bls.gov/ggsocc/faq.htm. Detailed 

technical information about the GGS-OCC estimates is 

available in our Survey Methods and Reliability Statement 

at www.bls.gov/ggsocc/survey_methods.pdf. 

Information in this release will be made available to 

sensory impaired individuals upon request. Voice phone: 

(202) 691-5200; Federal Relay Service: (800) 877-8339. 
Occupational group Employment

Percent of 

employment in 

all-green 

establishments

Annual mean 

wage

1

All occupations2 ................................................. 1,949,520 100.0 $48,210

Management ................................................... 95,360 4.9 110,220

Business and financial operations ........................... 83,740 4.3 71,250

Computer and mathematical................................. 25,540 1.3 77,270

Architecture and engineering .............................. 105,670 5.4 77,130

Life, physical, and social science ........................... 174,930 9.0 57,660

Community and social service .............................. 3,030 0.2 47,170

Legal ............................................................ 6,670 .3 115,150

Education, training, and library .............................. 13,090 .7 53,440

Arts, design, entertainment, sports, and media ............ 22,200 1.1 50,750

Healthcare practitioners and technical ..................... 7,900 .4 66,640

Healthcare support ........................................... 70 (3

) 35,260

Protective service ............................................. 26,320 1.4 44,090

Food preparation and serving related ....................... 2,160 .1 27,190

Building and grounds cleaning and maintenance ......... 35,620 1.8 29,080

Personal care and service .................................... 18,780 1.0 24,320

Sales and related ............................................. 84,560 4.3 38,020

Office and administrative support ........................... 194,440 10.0 37,260

Farming, fishing, and forestry .............................. 29,260 1.5 25,670

Construction and extraction ................................. 137,060 7.0 44,910

Installation, maintenance, and repair ..................... 135,470 6.9 49,140

Production .................................................... 208,180 10.7 39,240

Transportation and material moving ........................ 539,470 27.7 35,390

 2Detail may not add to totals due to rounding.

 3Less than 0.05 percent.

 NOTE: Data represent occupational employment and wages for establishments that received all of their 

revenue from green goods and services. Establishments that did not generate revenue, such as government 

establishments, nonprofits, or startups without positive revenue, reported all of their employment associated 

with the production of green goods or provision of green services.

Table 1. Employment, percent of employment, and annual mean wages for all-green 

establishments, by occupational group, November 2011

 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 an hourly mean wage is not published, the 

annual wage has been directly calculated from the reported survey data.
Table 2. Employment, percent of employment, and annual mean wages for all-green establishments,

 by selected occupational groups and detailed occupations, November 2011

Occupation1 Employment

Percent of 

employment in 

all-green 

establishments

Annual 

mean 

wage2

All occupations ........................................................................ 1,949,520 100.0 $48,210

Management occupations ............................................................ 95,360 4.9 110,220

General and operations managers ................................................... 32,030 1.6 115,520

Administrative services managers ................................................. 6,050 0.3 79,610

Architectural and engineering managers .......................................... 7,720 .4 128,700

Natural sciences managers ......................................................... 7,630 .4 98,820

Managers, all other ................................................................. 7,240 .4 104,860

Business and financial operations occupations ................................ 83,740 4.3 71,250

Purchasing agents, except wholesale, retail, and farm products ............... 8,950 .5 63,330

Compliance officers .................................................................. 6,580 .3 67,670

Management analysts ............................................................... 8,530 .4 87,420

Business operations specialists, all other* ........................................ 22,720 1.2 73,000

Accountants and auditors ........................................................... 12,480 .6 71,380

Computer and mathematical occupations ....................................... 25,540 1.3 77,270

Software developers, applications ................................................. 6,260 .3 91,250

Architecture and engineering occupations ...................................... 105,670 5.4 77,130

Architects, except landscape and naval ........................................... 6,050 .3 83,390

Civil engineers ........................................................................ 9,600 .5 80,550

Electrical engineers .................................................................. 7,250 .4 86,290

Environmental engineers ............................................................ 16,620 .9 87,030

Mechanical engineers ............................................................... 9,030 .5 86,340

Nuclear engineers ..................................................................... 9,050 .5 97,590

Engineers, all other ................................................................... 5,460 .3 87,590

Life, physical, and social science occupations ..................................... 174,930 9.0 57,660

Zoologists and wildlife biologists ................................................... 5,810 .3 64,500

Biological scientists, all other ....................................................... 8,840 .5 63,780

Conservation scientists .............................................................. 10,860 .6 65,280

Foresters ................................................................................ 5,090 .3 57,100

Chemists ............................................................................... 7,990 .4 62,960

Environmental scientists and specialists, including health ..................... 25,540 1.3 78,070

Geoscientists, except hydrologists and geographers ........................... 5,740 .3 68,850

Physical scientists, all other ..................................................... 7,490 .4 101,550

Biological technicians ............................................................ 6,070 .3 35,760

Chemical technicians ............................................................. 5,380 .3 41,500

Environmental science and protection technicians, including health ......... 11,550 .6 45,860

Forest and conservation technicians ............................................ 56,620 2.9 40,110

Legal occupations ............................................................... 6,670 .3 115,150

Lawyers .......................................................................... 5,600 .3 125,570

Education, training, and library occupations ............................... 13,090 .7 53,440

Arts, design, entertainment, sports, and media occupations ............. 22,200 1.1 50,750

Public relations specialists ....................................................... 5,630 .3 65,180

Healthcare practitioners and technical occupations ...................... 7,900 .4 66,640

See footnotes at end of table.
Table 2. Employment, percent of employment, and annual mean wages for all-green establishments,

by selected occupational groups and detailed occupations, November 2011—Continued

Occupation1 Employment

Percent of 

employment in 

all-green 

establishments

Annual 

mean 

wage2

Protective service occupations ................................................ 26,320 1.4 $44,090

Security guards ................................................................... 7,810 0.4 42,190

Protective service workers, all other* ........................................... 9,370 .5 33,600

Building and grounds cleaning and maintenance occupations ........... 35,620 1.8 29,080

Janitors and cleaners, except maids and housekeeping cleaners ............. 7,520 .4 30,260

Landscaping and groundskeeping workers .................................... 22,560 1.2 26,580

Personal care and service occupations ...................................... 18,780 1.0 24,320

Childcare workers ............................................................... 10,620 .5 20,780

Sales and related occupations ................................................. 84,560 4.3 38,020

First-line supervisors of retail sales workers ................................... 5,660 .3 33,630

Cashiers .......................................................................... 20,900 1.1 24,530

Retail salespersons .............................................................. 27,650 1.4 20,440

Sales representatives, services, all other ....................................... 8,000 .4 53,960

Sales representatives, wholesale and manufacturing, except technical and 

 scientific products ............................................................ 10,600 .5 65,200

Office and administrative support occupations ............................ 194,440 10.0 37,260

First-line supervisors of office and administrative support workers .......... 12,210 .6 54,920

Bookkeeping, accounting, and auditing clerks ................................. 18,040 .9 38,630

Customer service representatives .............................................. 15,310 .8 36,240

Receptionists and information clerks ........................................... 5,250 .3 30,840

Information and record clerks, all other ........................................ 6,210 .3 44,820

Dispatchers, except police, fire, and ambulance .............................. 9,610 .5 45,730

Shipping, receiving, and traffic clerks ........................................... 7,800 .4 33,440

Stock clerks and order fillers ................................................... 12,990 .7 26,960

Executive secretaries and executive administrative assistants ................. 10,980 .6 47,720

Secretaries and administrative assistants, except legal, medical, and 

 executive ..................................................................... 30,470 1.6 35,610

Office clerks, general ............................................................ 29,090 1.5 30,740

Farming, fishing, and forestry occupations .................................. 29,260 1.5 25,670

Farmworkers and laborers, crop, nursery, and greenhouse .................. 14,350 .7 21,580

Construction and extraction occupations .................................... 137,060 7.0 44,910

First-line supervisors of construction trades and extraction workers ......... 14,190 .7 61,960

Carpenters ....................................................................... 10,340 .5 40,920

Construction laborers ............................................................ 15,040 .8 38,030

Operating engineers and other construction equipment operators ............ 15,760 .8 46,570

Electricians ....................................................................... 11,600 .6 56,420

Insulation workers, floor, ceiling, and wall ..................................... 8,210 .4 30,390

Plumbers, pipefitters, and steamfitters .......................................... 8,810 .5 44,850

Hazardous materials removal workers ......................................... 21,980 1.1 42,820

Septic tank servicers and sewer pipe cleaners ................................ 7,230 .4 35,500

Installation, maintenance, and repair occupations ......................... 135,470 6.9 49,140

First-line supervisors of mechanics, installers, and repairers .................. 13,550 .7 67,090

Automotive service technicians and mechanics ................................ 6,390 .3 35,610

Bus and truck mechanics and diesel engine specialists ........................ 29,570 1.5 46,130

See footnotes at end of table.
Table 2. Employment, percent of employment, and annual mean wages for all-green establishments,

by selected occupational groups and detailed occupations, November 2011—Continued

Occupation1 Employment

Percent of 

employment in 

all-green 

establishments

Annual 

mean 

wage2

Heating, air conditioning, and refrigeration mechanics and installers ......... 6,710 0.3 $45,250

Industrial machinery mechanics ................................................. 13,140 .7 53,820

Maintenance and repair workers, general ...................................... 25,700 1.3 43,800

Helpers—installation, maintenance, and repair workers ...................... 5,240 .3 32,930

Production occupations ......................................................... 208,180 10.7 39,240

First-line supervisors of production and operating workers .................. 17,980 .9 60,700

Electrical and electronic equipment assemblers ................................ 5,220 .3 32,090

Team assemblers ................................................................ 29,350 1.5 29,430

Welders, cutters, soldiers, and brazers ........................................ 9,240 .5 36,180

Power plant operators ........................................................... 5,500 .3 56,440

Water and wastewater treatment plant and system operators ................ 26,260 1.3 44,090

Inspectors, testers, sorters, samplers, and weighers .......................... 14,130 .7 35,510

Helpers—production workers .................................................. 7,320 .4 28,370

Transportation and material moving occupations ......................... 539,470 27.7 35,390

First-line supervisors of helpers, laborers, and material movers, hand ..... 5,010 .3 50,910

First-line supervisors of transportation and material-moving machine and 

 vehicle operators ............................................................. 16,300 .8 57,090

Bus drivers, transit and intercity ................................................ 111,760 5.7 41,580

Bus drivers, school or special client ............................................ 174,450 8.9 30,460

Heavy and tractor-trailer truck drivers ......................................... 39,060 2.0 37,470

Light truck or delivery services drivers ........................................ 7,020 .4 30,910

Taxi drivers and chauffeurs ...................................................... 6,640 .3 25,900

Subway and streetcar operators ................................................. 7,720 .4 58,920

Transportation attendants, except flight attendants ............................ 8,770 .4 21,810

Industrial truck and tractor operators .......................................... 11,780 .6 31,980

Cleaners of vehicles and equipment ............................................ 9,420 .5 36,150

Laborers and freight, stock, and material movers, hand ...................... 54,890 2.8 26,270

Refuse and recyclable material collectors ..................................... 56,930 2.9 34,670

 NOTE: Data represent occupational employment and wages for establishments that received all of their revenue from

green goods and services. Establishments that did not generate revenue, such as government establishments, nonprofits,

or startups without positive revenue, reported all of their employment associated with the production of green goods or

provision of green services.

 2 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 an hourly mean wage is not published, the annual wage has been directly 

calculated from the reported survey data.

 1 Includes only occupations and occupational groups with employment of more than 5,000 in establishments receiving 

all their revenue from green goods and services. Occupational data will not sum to the major group and all-occupations 

totals because totals include occupations for which data are not shown separately. 

 * Occupation titles followed by an asterisk (*) have similar titles, but not necessarily the same content, as 2010 SOC 

occupations. 
All in-scope 

industries2

Agriculture, 

forestry, 

fishing, and 

hunting

Utilities Construction Manufacturing Wholesale 

trade Retail trade

Transportation 

and 

warehousing

All occupations3

 ....................................... 1,949,520 41,840 142,030 92,130 266,510 80,640 66,570 454,710

Management .......................................... 95,360 1,200 7,760 5,450 13,470 3,740 780 9,010

Business and financial operations .................. 83,740 650 6,980 3,270 8,340 2,350 550 6,740

Computer and mathematical ........................ 25,540 120 2,150 380 3,810 (

4

) (4) 1,190

Architecture and engineering ........................ 105,670 260 18,810 2,000 19,110 (

4

) (4) 1,970

Life, physical, and social science .................. 174,930 5,000 7,620 50 1,580 (

4

) (4) 210

Community and social service ..................... 3,030 100 (

4

) (4) (4) (4) 80 40

Legal ................................................... 6,670 (

4

) 160 30 40 (

4

) (4) 240

Education, training, and library ..................... 13,090 (

4

) 40 (

4

) (4) (4) 120 290

Arts, design, entertainment, sports, and media ... 22,200 100 610 (

4

) (4) (4) (4) 230

Healthcare practitioners and technical ............ 7,900 50 1,140 140 470 (

4

) (4) 290

Healthcare support .................................... 70 (

4

) (4) (4) (4) (4) (4) (4)

Protective service .................................... 26,320 990 6,300 (

4

) 460 180 550 5,260

Food preparation and serving related ............... 2,160 40 (

4

) (4) (4) (4) (4) 1,070

Building and grounds cleaning and maintenance 35,620 180 1,180 40 920 360 400 2,740

Personal care and service ........................... 18,780 (

4

) (4) (4) (4) (4) (4) 12,250

Sales and related ....................................... 84,560 450 440 2,770 7,440 5,550 47,040 4,840

Office and administrative support .................. 194,440 2,340 17,530 8,650 23,500 11,060 10,350 28,310

Farming, fishing, and forestry ..................... 29,260 26,770 (

4

) (4) 110 (

4

) (4) (4)

Construction and extraction ........................ 137,060 70 12,260 53,100 5,990 960 (

4

) 8,150

Installation, maintenance, and repair ............ 135,470 800 20,930 10,650 23,190 4,140 (

4

) 38,260

Production ............................................. 208,180 300 35,890 1,510 135,510 12,110 1,600 1,380

Transportation and material moving ............... 539,470 2,360 2,120 3,830 21,340 39,360 4,820 332,250

See footnotes at end of table.

Table 3. Employment in all-green establishments, by occupational group and industry, November 2011

Occupational group

Industry1
Information

Professional 

and technical 

services

Management 

of companies 

and 

enterprises

Administrative 

and waste 

services

Educational 

services

Arts, 

entertainment, 

and recreation

Other services, 

except public 

administration

Public 

administration

All occupations3

 ....................................... 25,460 138,360 7,870 274,700 18,010 28,260 36,190 276,020

Management .......................................... 1,320 11,610 1,240 12,800 1,300 1,580 3,880 20,200

Business and financial operations .................. 330 10,630 1,560 5,340 770 1,360 3,040 31,840

Computer and mathematical ........................ 930 7,930 (

4

) 1,260 720 310 420 6,140

Architecture and engineering ........................ (

4

) 34,400 730 4,820 (

4

) 200 160 23,110

Life, physical, and social science .................. (

4

) 38,790 (

4

) 2,920 (

4

) 2,790 3,070 112,530

Community and social service ..................... (

4

) (4) (4) (4) 610 (

4

) 1,590 500

Legal ................................................... (

4

) 510 (

4

) 70 (

4

) (4) 330 5,270

Education, training, and library ..................... 1,790 160 (

4

) (4) 7,810 1,240 760 860

Arts, design, entertainment, sports, and media ... 8,970 3,670 (

4

) 210 130 740 2,350 3,560

Healthcare practitioners and technical ............ (

4

) 420 (

4

) 1,760 1,120 440 (

4

) 1,840

Healthcare support .................................... (

4

) (4) (4) (4) (4) (4) (4) (4)

Protective service .................................... (

4

) 200 (

4

) 180 320 3,570 (

4

) 8,280

Food preparation and serving related ............... (

4

) (4) (4) (4) 160 250 310 (

4

)

Building and grounds cleaning and maintenance 210 820 (

4

) 21,390 730 2,500 620 3,510

Personal care and service ........................... (

4

) (4) (4) 40 170 4,320 870 (

4

)

Sales and related ..................................... 3,120 3,010 70 6,480 (

4

) 1,110 1,230 830

Office and administrative support .................. 4,750 15,980 2,270 32,670 3,190 3,130 5,350 25,320

Farming, fishing, and forestry ..................... (

4

) (4) (4) 30 50 260 120 1,890

Construction and extraction ........................ (

4

) 3,060 (

4

) 43,910 70 470 800 8,200

Installation, maintenance, and repair ............ 250 1,800 810 15,340 360 2,480 9,480 6,910

Production ............................................. 1,260 4,440 (

4

) 10,950 (

4

) 130 670 2,400

Transportation and material moving ............... 2,460 930 (

4

) 114,540 90 1,340 980 12,140

green goods and services. Establishments that did not generate revenue, such as government establishments, nonprofits,

or startups without positive revenue, reported all of their employment associated with the production of green goods or

provision of green services.

Table 3. Employment in all-green establishments, by occupational group and industry, November 2011—Continued

2

 Data represent occupational employment and wages for establishments that received all of their revenue from

1 Includes only industries that are in scope for GGS within each sector. For more information on the industry scope for the GGS-OCC estimates, see the Technical Note.

3 Occupations listed will not sum to all-occupations totals because the totals include occupational groups for which data are not shown.

4 Estimate not released.

Occupational group

Industry1
Table 4. All-green utilities establishments: employment, percent of total employment, and annual 

mean wages for the largest occupations, November 2011

Occupation Employment1

Percent of 

total 

employment

Annual 

mean 

wage

2

All occupations 3................................................................ 142,030 100.0 $62,500

Water and wastewater treatment plant and system operators ...... 20,200 14.2 44,560

Nuclear engineers ......................................................... 8,170 5.8 96,270

Security guards ............................................................ 5,270 3.7 43,580

Industrial machinery mechanics ....................................... 5,100 3.6 61,830

Power plant operators ................................................... 4,530 3.2 57,620

Nuclear power reactor operators ....................................... 4,380 3.1 77,660

First-line supervisors of production and operating workers ......... 4,020 2.8 69,930

Maintenance and repair workers, general .............................. 3,880 2.7 47,180

Nuclear technicians ...................................................... 3,630 2.6 75,370

Office clerks, general ...................................................... 3,520 2.5 37,640

 NOTE: Data represent occupational employment and wages for establishments that received all of their 

revenue from green goods and services. Establishments that did not generate revenue, such as government 

establishments, nonprofits, or startups without positive revenue, reported all of their employment associated 

with the production of green goods or provision of green services.

 1 GGS-OCC data for utilities include the following North American Industry Classification System (NAICS) 

industries: Hydroelectric power generation (NAICS 221111), Nuclear electric power generation (NAICS 

221113), Other electric power generation (NAICS 221119), Water supply and irrigation systems (NAICS 

221310), Sewage treatment facilities (NAICS 221320), and Steam and air-conditioning supply (NAICS 221330). 

For more information on the industry scope for the GGS-OCC estimates, see the Technical Note.

 2 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 an hourly mean wage is not published, the annual wage has 

been directly calculated from the reported survey data.

 3 Occupations listed will not sum to all-occupations total because the total includes occupations for which data 

are not shown.
Occupation Employment1

Percent of 

total 

employment

Annual 

mean 

wage2

All occupations3 ................................................................................. 92,130 100.0 $47,850

Insulation workers, floor, ceiling, and wall ................................................ 8,210 8.9 30,390

Carpenters .................................................................................... 7,860 8.5 39,900

Construction laborers ........................................................................ 7,680 8.3 38,020

First-line supervisors of construction trades and extraction workers .................. 5,830 6.3 62,870

Electricians .................................................................................... 5,390 5.9 54,230

Heating, air conditioning, and refrigeration mechanics and installers .................. 5,190 5.6 43,010

Plumbers, pipefitters, and steamfitters ...................................................... 4,730 5.1 41,330

Secretaries and administrative assistants, except legal, medical, and executive ...... 2,810 3.1 35,200

Construction managers ...................................................................... 2,610 2.8 86,130

Operating engineers and other construction equipment operators ..................... 2,440 2.6 53,510

 NOTE: Data represent occupational employment and wages for establishments that received all of their revenue from green

goods and services. Establishments that did not generate revenue, such as government establishments, nonprofits, or

startups without positive revenue, reported all of their employment associated with the production of green goods or

provision of green services.

Table 5. All-green construction establishments: employment, percent of total employment, and annual mean wages for 

the largest occupations, November 2011

 1 GGS-OCC data for construction include the following North American Industry Classification System (NAICS) industries: 

Construction of buildings (NAICS 236); Water and sewer line and related structures construction (NAICS 237110); Power and 

communication line and related structures construction (NAICS 237130); Land subdivision (NAICS 237210); Other heavy and 

civil engineering construction (NAICS 237990); and Specialty trade contractors (NAICS 238). For more information on the 

industry scope for the GGS-OCC estimates, see the Technical Note.

 2 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 an hourly mean wage is not published, the annual wage has been directly calculated from the 

reported survey data.

 3 Occupations listed will not sum to all-occupations total because the total includes occupations for which data are not shown.
Occupation Employment1

Percent of 

total 

employment

Annual 

mean 

wage2

All occupations3 ................................................................................. 138,360 100.0 $68,350

Environmental scientists and specialists, including health .............................. 12,130 8.8 67,700

Environmental engineers ..................................................................... 7,990 5.8 82,060

Environmental science and protection technicians, including health .................. 7,250 5.2 43,150

Architects, except landscape and naval ................................................... 5,770 4.2 83,560

Chemists ....................................................................................... 4,710 3.4 55,660

General and operations managers ......................................................... 4,650 3.4 132,580

Geoscientists, except hydrologists and geographers .................................... 4,280 3.1 66,700

Secretaries and administrative assistants, except legal, medical, and executive ...... 3,980 2.9 36,210

Mechanical engineers ........................................................................ 3,970 2.9 88,750

Chemical technicians ........................................................................ 3,310 2.4 38,600

 NOTE: Data represent occupational employment and wages for establishments that received all of their revenue from green

goods and services. Establishments that did not generate revenue, such as government establishments, nonprofits, or

startups without positive revenue, reported all of their employment associated with the production of green goods or

provision of green services.

Table 6. All-green professional, scientific, and technical services establishments: employment, percent of total 

employment, and annual mean wages for the largest occupations, November 2011

 1 GGS-OCC data for professional, scientific, and technical services include the following North American Industry 

Classification System (NAICS) industries: Offices of lawyers (NAICS 541110); Architectural services (NAICS 541310); 

Landscape architectural services (NAICS 541320); Engineering services (NAICS 541330); Building inspection services 

(NAICS 541350); Geophysical surveying and mapping services (NAICS 541360); Other surveying and mapping services 

(NAICS 541370); Testing laboratories (NAICS 541380); Interior design services (NAICS 541410); Industrial design services 

(NAICS 541420); Graphic design services (NAICS 541430); Custom computer programming services (NAICS 541511); 

Computer systems design services (NAICS 541512); Process and logistics consulting services (NAICS 541614); Environmental 

consulting services (NAICS 541620); Other technical consulting services (NAICS 541690); Research and development in 

biotechnology (NAICS 541711); Research and development in the physical, engineering, and life sciences (except 

biotechnology) (NAICS 541712); Advertising agencies (NAICS 541810); Public relations agencies (NAICS 541820); and 

Commercial photography (NAICS 541922). For more information on the industry scope for the GGS-OCC estimates, see the 

Technical Note.

 2 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 an hourly mean wage is not published, the annual wage has been directly calculated from the 

reported survey data.

 3 Occupations listed will not sum to all-occupations total because the total includes occupations for which data are not shown.