For release 10:00 a.m. (EDT) Tuesday, July 27, 2010 USDL-10-1045 

Technical information: (202) 691-6569 • oesinfo@bls.gov • www.bls.gov/oes 

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

OCCUPATIONAL EMPLOYMENT AND WAGES BY OWNERSHIP—MAY 2009

Retail salespersons and cashiers were the two largest occupations in the private sector in May 2009, the 

U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics reported today. Postal service mail carriers; correctional officers and 

jailers; and elementary school teachers, except special education, had the highest employment among all 

occupations in federal, state, and local government, respectively. 

These data are from the Occupational Employment Statistics (OES) program, which provides employment and wage estimates for wage and salary workers in 22 major occupational groups and 801 detailed 

occupations. In May 2010, OES released 2009 cross-ownership data by occupation for the nation, states, 

metropolitan areas, metropolitan divisions, and nonmetropolitan areas, and by occupation and industry 

for the nation. While OES has previously released occupational employment and wage estimates at the 

federal, state, and local government levels, these data did not include state and local government schools 

and hospitals. To meet user demand, in 2006 BLS began work necessary to produce OES data for private ownership and at a more detailed level for state and local government. In particular, new state and 

local government estimates consist of all state and local government establishments, including schools 

and hospitals, which before were only included with the estimates of privately owned schools and hospitals. Data by ownership are available from the OES homepage at www.bls.gov/oes. 

Occupational Employment and Wages by Ownership 

 Retail salespersons and cashiers combined represented almost 7 percent of total employment in 

the private sector, with employment levels of 4.2 and 3.4 million, respectively. The third largest 

occupation, combined food preparation and serving workers, accounted for slightly more than 2 

percent of total employment in the private sector. (See table 1.) 

 Four occupations specific to the U.S. Postal Service accounted for 23 percent of federal employment. (See table 2.) 

 Aside from occupations specific to the U.S. Postal Service, the largest occupations in federal 

government included: management analysts; detectives and criminal investigators; purchasing 

agents, except wholesale, retail, and farm products; all other business operations specialists; and 

compliance officers, except agriculture, construction, health and safety, and transportation. (See 

table 2.) 

 Employment in state government was more widely distributed by occupation than employment 

in federal and local government. Although correctional officers and jailers was the largest occupation, with an employment level of 257,280, it accounted for only about 6 percent of state government employment. With the exception of general office clerks that accounted for around 5 
- 2 - 

percent of total employment, all the remaining occupations in state government each represented 

less than 3 percent of total employment. (See table 3.) 

 Employment in local government was concentrated in teaching occupations. Three of the 

largest—elementary, middle, and secondary school teachers, except special education—

accounted for 20 percent of employment. Other large occupations were protective service 

occupations such as police and sheriff’s patrol officers and fire fighters. (See table 4.) 

 Many of the largest occupations in the private sector were relatively low paying, including 

waiters and waitresses with a mean hourly wage of $9.80. Some occupations, however, paid 

significantly more on average, such as registered nurses ($32.07) and general and operations 

managers ($53.77). (See table 1.) 

Occupational Employment and Wages in Elementary and Secondary Schools by Ownership 

 Local government-owned schools employed 1.4 million, 609,070, and 977,150 elementary, 

middle, and secondary school teachers, except special education, respectively. (See table 5.) 

 Wages for most of the largest occupations in elementary and secondary schools were higher in 

state and local government-owned schools than in privately owned schools. For example, the 

annual mean wages for elementary school teachers, except special education, in local and state 

government-owned schools were $54,110 and $53,400, respectively, compared with $42,320 

in privately owned schools. 

 Special education teachers accounted for a higher share of employment in local and state government-owned schools than in privately owned schools. For example, secondary school special 

education teachers accounted for 1.7 and 2.2 percent of employment in local and state government-owned schools, and 1.2 percent of employment in privately owned schools. 

 School bus drivers accounted for 2.9 percent of employment in local government-owned schools, 

and less than 1 percent of employment in private schools. 

 Education administrators accounted for 3.5 percent of employment in privately owned schools 

and 2.4 percent of employment in local government-owned schools. 

Occupational Employment and Wages in General Medical and Surgical Hospitals by Ownership 

 Wages for almost all of the largest occupations in general medical and surgical hospitals were 

lowest in local government-owned establishments. (See table 6.) 

 Staffing patterns of hospitals were similar among different ownerships. Some of the largest 

differences were among the nursing occupations. Registered nurses accounted for 29.4 percent of 

employment in privately owned hospitals, 26.2 percent in local and 24.2 percent of employment 

in state government-owned hospitals. 

 Nursing aides, orderlies, and attendants and licensed practical and licensed vocational nurses 

accounted for a slightly higher share of employment in local government-owned hospitals than in 

privately owned and state government-owned hospitals. 

Additional Information 

The Occupational Employment Statistics program produces cross-industry occupational employment 

and wage estimates nationwide and for all states, 377 metropolitan areas, 34 metropolitan divisions, 

and 174 nonmetropolitan areas. OES also publishes national industry-specific occupational employment 

and wage estimates for NAICS sectors and 3-, 4-, and selected 5-digit industries. In addition to mean 

hourly and annual wages, available wage data include 10th, 25th, 50th (median), 75th, and 90th per-
- 3 - 

centile wages, which can be used to show the distribution of wages within an occupation or industry. 

OES data are produced by a cooperative effort between BLS and State Workforce Agencies, and are 

based on a sample of 1.2 million business establishments, collected in 6 semiannual panels over a 3- 

year period. State and federal government estimates are based on an annual census, while local government estimates are based on a probability sample. For more information about OES concepts and 

methodology, visit www.bls.gov/oes/current/oes_tec.htm. Complete May 2009 Occupational Employment Statistics data are available from the OES Web site at www.bls.gov/oes. 
Frequently Asked Questions about OES Estimates 

How are the numbers in this release different from other OES estimates? 

Previously released data did not include separate tabulations by ownership. Up until now, BLS was not able to 

produce estimates of total private, state, or local employment. That is because state and local governmentowned schools and hospitals were included in their respective NAICS code with private schools and hospitals. 

Following changes in methodology introduced in 2006 (and now applied to a full 3-year sample rotation), these 

newly released data separate school and hospital data by ownership category. As a result, the new state and 

local government data include state and local government-owned schools and hospitals, while private-sector 

estimates do not include them. 

Can the OES data be used to compare private and government pay for similar work? 

Occupational wages in the different ownership groups (the private sector, and state, local, and federal 

governments) are influenced by many factors that the OES measures cannot take into account. Thus, while one 

can obtain OES data that compare estimates of mean and median wages paid in a wide range of detailed 

occupations across ownership groups, those comparisons do not explain why they might be different. Among 

the many reasons are: 

 Level of work performed. Workers may have different levels of responsibility, despite being in the same 

occupation. 

 Age and experience. More experienced workers tend to have higher wages. (As an example, data from 

the Current Population Survey show that federal workers, on average, are older and have far more work 

experience with their employer than the typical private-sector worker.) 

 Cost of living. Workers concentrated in large urban areas with higher costs of living are more likely to 

have higher wages than those working elsewhere. 

 Establishment size. Workers in large establishments generally have higher wages than workers in small 

establishments. 

 Work schedules. Full-time workers tend to earn higher hourly wages than part-time workers in the same 

occupation. (The OES annual wage estimates assume a full-time, year-round schedule of 2,080 hours.) 

 Unionization. Workers in unionized establishments may have different wages than non-union 

establishments. 

OES data are not designed for use in comparing federal and private sector pay because the OES data do not 

contain information about pay according to the level of work performed. BLS conducts a separate survey, the 

National Compensation Survey, which provides data by level of work for use by the President's Pay Agent. The 

President's Pay Agent, (the Directors of the Office of Personnel Management and the Office of Management 

and Budget, and the Secretary of Labor), is charged by law with recommending federal pay adjustments to the 

President. Questions about federal pay comparability should be directed to the U.S. Office of Personnel 

Management. 

Are data tabulated by industry and ownership available for different geographic detail? 

 

BLS publishes estimates by industry and ownership at the national level only. 
Table 1. Largest occupations in the private sector, May 2009

Hourly Annual 

Retail salespersons ......................................................................................................................... 4,197,760 3.86 $11.84 $24,630

Cashiers ........................................................................................................................................... 3,396,180 3.13 9.10 18,930

Combined food preparation and serving workers, including fast food ............................................. 2,539,750 2.34 8.61 17,910

Waiters and waitresses .................................................................................................................... 2,292,170 2.11 9.80 20,380

Office clerks, general ....................................................................................................................... 2,239,540 2.06 13.08 27,210

Customer service representatives ................................................................................................... 2,126,190 1.96 15.55 32,350

Registered nurses ............................................................................................................................ 2,124,540 1.96 32.07 66,700

Laborers and freight, stock, and material movers, hand .................................................................. 2,074,060 1.91 12.11 25,190

Stock clerks and order fillers ............................................................................................................ 1,823,910 1.68 11.15 23,180

Bookkeeping, accounting, and auditing clerks ................................................................................ 1,574,240 1.45 16.62 34,570

General and operations managers .................................................................................................. 1,561,600 1.44 53.77 111,840

Janitors and cleaners, except maids and housekeeping cleaners .................................................. 1,545,110 1.42 10.85 22,570

Truck drivers, heavy and tractor-trailer ............................................................................................ 1,519,880 1.40 18.88 39,270

Sales representatives, wholesale and manufacturing, except technical and scientific products ..... 1,409,170 1.30 29.52 61,410

Secretaries, except legal, medical, and executive ........................................................................... 1,339,180 1.23 14.53 30,230

Nursing aides, orderlies, and attendants ......................................................................................... 1,283,500 1.18 11.89 24,730

First-line supervisors/managers of office and administrative support workers ................................ 1,232,770 1.13 23.89 49,690

First-line supervisors/managers of retail sales workers ................................................................... 1,156,580 1.06 18.80 39,110

Executive secretaries and administrative assistants ....................................................................... 1,092,590 1.01 21.26 44,220

Maintenance and repair workers, general ........................................................................................ 1,036,410 .95 17.32 36,020

Team assemblers ............................................................................................................................ 997,020 .92 13.87 28,840

Receptionists and information clerks ............................................................................................... 991,750 .91 12.45 25,900

Accountants and auditors ................................................................................................................ 977,400 .90 32.79 68,200

Security guards ................................................................................................................................ 928,940 .85 12.42 25,840

Home health aides ........................................................................................................................... 923,710 .85 10.25 21,330

Cooks, restaurant ............................................................................................................................ 894,550 .82 11.11 23,100

Maids and housekeeping cleaners .................................................................................................. 852,440 .78 10.00 20,790

Truck drivers, light or delivery services ............................................................................................ 821,190 .76 14.93 31,060

Construction laborers ....................................................................................................................... 816,150 .75 15.91 33,100

Food preparation workers ................................................................................................................ 759,840 .70 9.67 20,120

Table 2. Largest occupations in federal government, May 2009 

Hourly Annual 

Postal service mail carriers .............................................................................................................. 339,030 12.73 $23.53 $48,940

Business operations specialists, all other ........................................................................................ 170,450 6.40 36.71 76,350

Postal service mail sorters, processors, and processing machine operators .................................. 162,860 6.12 23.20 48,260

Compliance officers, except agriculture, construction, health and safety, and transportation ......... 99,570 3.74 25.00 51,990

All other information and record clerks ............................................................................................ 84,450 3.17 19.01 39,530

Postal service clerks ........................................................................................................................ 73,050 2.74 24.96 51,920

Computer specialists, all other ......................................................................................................... 64,540 2.42 42.75 88,920

Registered nurses ............................................................................................................................ 62,920 2.36 37.39 77,780

Management analysts ...................................................................................................................... 50,310 1.89 40.53 84,290

Managers, all other .......................................................................................................................... 47,720 1.79 49.96 103,910

Detectives and criminal investigators .............................................................................................. 43,380 1.63 36.32 75,550

Claims adjusters, examiners, and investigators .............................................................................. 42,510 1.60 31.73 66,000

Purchasing agents, except wholesale, retail, and farm products ..................................................... 32,030 1.20 36.58 76,090

Lawyers ............................................................................................................................................ 31,570 1.19 61.30 127,490

Tax examiners, collectors, and revenue agents .............................................................................. 29,680 1.11 30.87 64,210

Janitors and cleaners, except maids and housekeeping cleaners .................................................. 27,820 1.04 19.70 40,980

Physicians and surgeons, all other .................................................................................................. 27,000 1.01 83.37 173,400

Eligibility interviewers, government programs ................................................................................. 26,860 1.01 21.73 45,190

Human resources, training, and labor relations specialists, all other ............................................... 25,800 .97 37.80 78,620

Secretaries, except legal, medical, and executive ........................................................................... 25,090 .94 22.35 46,490

Postmasters and mail superintendents ............................................................................................ 24,890 .93 28.65 59,600

Logisticians ...................................................................................................................................... 24,730 .93 37.90 78,820

Forest and conservation technicians ............................................................................................... 24,400 .92 17.36 36,110

General and operations managers .................................................................................................. 23,410 .88 56.01 116,500

Accountants and auditors ................................................................................................................ 23,360 .88 42.28 87,940

Engineers, all other .......................................................................................................................... 23,220 .87 51.47 107,060

Air traffic controllers ......................................................................................................................... 22,020 .83 52.49 109,170

Financial specialists, all other .......................................................................................................... 21,170 .80 36.56 76,040

Maintenance and repair workers, general ........................................................................................ 21,020 .79 24.19 50,320

Bookkeeping, accounting, and auditing clerks ................................................................................ 19,560 .73 20.84 43,340

Mean wage

Employment 

Percent of 

federal 

employment 

Mean wage

Occupations

Occupations

Employment 

Percent of 

private sector 

employment 
Table 3. Largest occupations in state government, May 2009 

Hourly Annual 

Correctional officers and jailers ....................................................................................................... 257,280 5.63 $21.02 $43,720

Office clerks, general ....................................................................................................................... 208,970 4.57 14.15 29,430

Registered nurses ............................................................................................................................ 128,080 2.80 31.26 65,020

Executive secretaries and administrative assistants ....................................................................... 117,160 2.56 19.54 40,630

Secretaries, except legal, medical, and executive ........................................................................... 110,600 2.42 15.99 33,260

Business operations specialists, all other ........................................................................................ 106,740 2.33 27.89 58,020

Graduate teaching assistants .......................................................................................................... 86,600 1.89 n.a. 31,800

Postsecondary teachers, all other .................................................................................................... 77,410 1.69 n.a. 68,240

Janitors and cleaners, except maids and housekeeping cleaners .................................................. 76,750 1.68 12.39 25,780

Police and sheriff's patrol officers .................................................................................................... 67,850 1.48 27.59 57,380

Child, family, and school social workers .......................................................................................... 64,490 1.41 20.90 43,480

Health specialties teachers, postsecondary ..................................................................................... 59,110 1.29 n.a. 105,210

First-line supervisors/managers of office and administrative support workers ................................ 57,860 1.27 25.14 52,280

Accountants and auditors ................................................................................................................ 51,320 1.12 25.84 53,750

Teachers and instructors, all other .................................................................................................. 51,240 1.12 n.a. 55,130

Probation officers and correctional treatment specialists ................................................................ 50,360 1.10 24.75 51,480

Education administrators, postsecondary ........................................................................................ 49,150 1.07 48.05 99,940

Social and human service assistants ............................................................................................... 48,230 1.05 17.18 35,740

Maintenance and repair workers, general ........................................................................................ 47,900 1.05 16.73 34,800

Bookkeeping, accounting, and auditing clerks ................................................................................ 46,380 1.01 16.94 35,240

Nursing aides, orderlies, and attendants ......................................................................................... 43,330 .95 13.25 27,570

Psychiatric technicians ..................................................................................................................... 42,470 .93 15.45 32,130

Management analysts ...................................................................................................................... 41,250 .90 27.69 57,590

Office and administrative support workers, all other ........................................................................ 39,790 .87 14.77 30,710

General and operations managers .................................................................................................. 37,810 .83 40.33 83,880

Lawyers ............................................................................................................................................ 37,020 .81 40.10 83,410

Compliance officers, except agriculture, construction, health and safety, and transportation ......... 36,360 .80 23.89 49,680

Civil engineers ................................................................................................................................. 34,900 .76 36.22 75,350

Managers, all other .......................................................................................................................... 33,950 .74 38.10 79,250

Computer systems analysts ............................................................................................................. 33,620 .74 31.53 65,570

n.a. = Not available.

Employment 

Percent of 

state 

government 

employment 

Mean wage

Occupations
Table 4. Largest occupations in local government, May 2009

Hourly Annual 

Elementary school teachers, except special education ................................................................... 1,403,250 9.52 n.a. $54,110

Teacher assistants ........................................................................................................................... 980,160 6.65 n.a. 24,580

Secondary school teachers, except special and vocational education ............................................ 979,120 6.64 n.a. 55,740

Middle school teachers, except special and vocational education .................................................. 609,590 4.13 n.a. 54,220

Police and sheriff's patrol officers .................................................................................................... 556,420 3.77 $26.47 55,070

Janitors and cleaners, except maids and housekeeping cleaners .................................................. 440,720 2.99 13.57 28,230

Teachers and instructors, all other .................................................................................................. 385,580 2.62 n.a. 36,380

Office clerks, general ....................................................................................................................... 351,170 2.38 14.12 29,380

Secretaries, except legal, medical, and executive ........................................................................... 322,800 2.19 15.66 32,560

Fire fighters ...................................................................................................................................... 279,530 1.90 23.01 47,860

Bus drivers, school .......................................................................................................................... 270,310 1.83 13.37 27,810

Registered nurses ............................................................................................................................ 268,230 1.82 30.44 63,310

Special education teachers, preschool, kindergarten, and elementary school ................................ 201,520 1.37 n.a. 54,700

Education administrators, elementary and secondary school .......................................................... 190,310 1.29 n.a. 88,650

Maintenance and repair workers, general ........................................................................................ 163,600 1.11 18.44 38,360

Correctional officers and jailers ....................................................................................................... 160,400 1.09 19.89 41,360

Kindergarten teachers, except special education ............................................................................ 152,980 1.04 n.a. 52,670

Executive secretaries and administrative assistants ....................................................................... 150,140 1.02 21.66 45,060

Educational, vocational, and school counselors .............................................................................. 146,660 .99 29.34 61,030

Child care workers ........................................................................................................................... 145,870 .99 11.33 23,560

Cooks, institution and cafeteria ........................................................................................................ 142,090 .96 10.95 22,770

Combined food preparation and serving workers, including fast food ............................................. 137,630 .93 10.05 20,900

Special education teachers, secondary school ................................................................................ 133,240 .90 n.a. 56,790

Bookkeeping, accounting, and auditing clerks ................................................................................ 117,690 .80 17.13 35,630

Landscaping and groundskeeping workers ..................................................................................... 105,280 .71 14.30 29,740

Librarians ......................................................................................................................................... 104,050 .71 26.61 55,350

Highway maintenance workers ........................................................................................................ 103,140 .70 16.81 34,960

Recreation workers .......................................................................................................................... 102,940 .70 12.25 25,470

Nursing aides, orderlies, and attendants ......................................................................................... 99,040 .67 12.43 25,860

Special education teachers, middle school ...................................................................................... 96,260 .65 n.a. 55,040

n.a. = Not available.

Mean wage

Occupations Employment 

Percent of 

local 

government 

employment 
Table 5. Largest occupations in elementary and secondary schools, by ownership, May 2009

Employment Percent of employment Annual mean wage Employment Percent of employment Annual mean wage Employment 

e

Elementary school teachers, except special education ....................................... 119,380 17.30 $42,320 1,401,530 17.93 $54,110 10,790 Secondary school teachers, except special and vocational education ................ 96,890 14.04 50,100 977,150 12.50 55,760 8,160 Teacher assistants ............................................................................................ 69,640 10.09 23,920 947,190 12.12 24,530 6,350 

Middle school teachers, except special and vocational education ...................... 50,710 7.35 46,150 609,070 7.79 54,220 1,280 

Teachers and instructors, all other ..................................................................... 15,700 2.28 36,510 355,870 4.55 34,790 7,610 Janitors and cleaners, except maids and housekeeping cleaners ...................... 18,530 2.69 27,340 333,320 4.26 28,180 2,700 

Bus drivers, school ............................................................................................ 5,340 .77 27,860 228,360 2.92 27,360 190 Secretaries, except legal, medical, and executive .............................................. 15,050 2.18 31,050 201,470 2.58 31,940 940 

Education administrators, elementary and secondary school ............................. 24,170 3.50 78,760 189,280 2.42 88,630 1,620 

Special education teachers, preschool, kindergarten, and elementary school 12,320 1.78 49,480 199,290 2.55 54,760 2,030 

Kindergarten teachers, except special education ............................................... 17,360 2.52 40,380 152,690 1.95 52,690 200 Child care workers ............................................................................................. 16,590 2.40 22,540 125,680 1.61 23,690 1,410 

Special education teachers, secondary school ................................................... 8,540 1.24 53,110 132,470 1.69 56,820 1,430 

Educational, vocational, and school counselors ................................................. 8,230 1.19 54,730 129,290 1.65 61,640 1,160 

Combined food preparation and serving workers, including fast food ................. 4,780 .69 20,500 129,950 1.66 20,790 100 Cooks, institution and cafeteria .......................................................................... 4,910 .71 23,330 117,740 1.51 22,210 630 Office clerks, general ......................................................................................... 11,070 1.60 26,420 104,800 1.34 27,870 1,300 

Special education teachers, middle school ......................................................... 4,570 .66 50,230 95,910 1.23 55,050 800 Vocational education teachers, secondary school .............................................. 1,420 .21 47,830 86,760 1.11 54,660 1,540 

Food preparation workers .................................................................................. 2,940 .43 21,600 61,890 .79 23,230 740 

Table 6. Largest occupations in general medical and surgical hospitals, by ownership, May 2009

Employment Percent of employment Annual mean wage Employment Percent of employment Annual mean wage Employment 

e

Registered nurses ............................................................................................. 1,273,970 29.44 $67,960 172,560 26.17 $66,280 45,470 Nursing aides, orderlies, and attendants ............................................................ 326,560 7.55 26,750 57,280 8.69 25,040 12,520 Licensed practical and licensed vocational nurses ............................................. 126,340 2.92 40,500 27,870 4.23 37,300 4,170 Radiologic technologists and technicians ........................................................... 108,770 2.51 55,190 15,730 2.39 51,690 3,320 Maids and housekeeping cleaners ..................................................................... 97,720 2.26 23,160 16,910 2.57 21,410 3,050 Medical secretaries ............................................................................................ 98,060 2.27 31,740 13,250 2.01 28,540 4,890 Medical and health services managers .............................................................. 86,580 2.00 97,760 13,240 2.01 90,730 2,960 Medical and clinical laboratory technologists ...................................................... 82,300 1.90 56,400 11,200 1.70 54,230 5,650 Office clerks, general ......................................................................................... 73,840 1.71 29,370 17,730 2.69 29,640 7,210 Interviewers, except eligibility and loan .............................................................. 74,670 1.73 30,040 13,070 1.98 28,570 2,380 Respiratory therapists ........................................................................................ 70,690 1.63 54,230 9,940 1.51 51,610 2,500 Physicians and surgeons, all other ..................................................................... 56,900 1.32 129,540 10,580 1.60 109,730 4,210 Medical and clinical laboratory technicians ......................................................... 57,930 1.34 38,930 8,530 1.29 37,180 3,040 Healthcare support workers, all other ................................................................. 56,700 1.31 30,510 6,780 1.03 27,460 1,730 Secretaries, except legal, medical, and executive .............................................. 56,240 1.30 33,390 6,080 .92 30,660 2,500 Surgical technologists ........................................................................................ 54,860 1.27 40,810 7,280 1.10 36,800 1,760 Medical records and health information technicians ........................................... 52,590 1.22 35,990 8,910 1.35 34,680 2,110 Medical assistants ............................................................................................. 50,170 1.16 30,890 8,120 1.23 29,740 2,620 Janitors and cleaners, except maids and housekeeping cleaners ...................... 49,730 1.15 25,670 7,610 1.15 24,690 2,850 Pharmacists ....................................................................................................... 47,960 1.11 105,920 6,740 1.02 109,510 2,540 

OccupationsOccupations

Private ownership Local government State Private ownership Local government State