For release on 10:00 a.m. (EDT) Thursday, May 28, 2020 USDL-20-1102

Technical Information: (202) 691-6199 • ORSinfo@bls.gov • www.bls.gov/ors

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

OCCUPATIONAL REQUIREMENTS IN THE UNITED STATES – 2019

Interaction with the general public was required for 75.3 percent of civilian workers in 2019, the 

Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) reported today. For workers in office and administrative 

support occupations, 86.5 percent were required to interact with the general public. Within this 

occupational group, 61.3 percent of payroll and timekeeping clerks and 100 percent of bill and 

account collectors had this requirement. (See chart 1 and table 1.)

This release features cognitive and mental job requirements in the U.S. economy. These 

requirements refer to the ability to pause work, ability to telework, pace and control of workload, 

how often work is checked, interpersonal skills, problem solving, supervision of others, whether 

a supervisor is on-site, verbal interactions, interactions with the public, and working around 

crowds. 

For workers in food preparation and serving related occupations, 85.1 percent were required to 

interact with the general public. Within this occupational group, 28.1 percent of restaurant cooks

and 100 percent of bartenders had this requirement.

Interaction with the general public was not required for 24.7 percent of civilian workers. 

Interaction with the general public was also not required for 77.9 percent of software developers 

and 83.5 percent of industrial truck and tractor operators. 

0% 10% 20% 30% 40% 50% 60% 70% 80% 90% 100%

Office and administrative support

Food preparation and serving related

Architecture and engineering

Computer and mathematical

Production

Chart 1. Percentage of workers required to interact with the general public 

by occupational group, 2019

Required Not required

Beginning with this release the Occupational Requirements Survey estimates will no longer 

be published at the 8-digit occupation detail. The 2018 Standard Occupational Classification 

(SOC) system was used to calculate these estimates. Further information is available at 

www.bls.gov/ors/notices/2020/implementing-2018-soc.htm. 
Working around crowds was required for 4.3 percent of civilian workers and 48.3 percent of 

workers in protective service occupations. (See chart 2 and table 2.)

Within the protective services occupational group, 37.9 percent of correctional officers and 

jailers, 39.2 percent of security guards, 69.4 percent of firefighters, and 81.5 percent of police 

and sheriff’s patrol officers were required to work around crowds.

One hundred percent of compliance officers, industrial engineers, web developers, healthcare 

social workers, carpenters, and tellers were not required to work around crowds.

A varying work pace was required for 61.1 percent of civilian workers. (See chart 3 and table 3.)

A consistent, generally fast work pace was required for 47.2 percent of workers in production 

occupations. Within this occupational group, 67.3 percent of team assemblers and 90.4 percent 

of packaging and filling machine operators and tenders had a consistent, generally fast work pace

requirement.

A consistent, generally slow work pace was required for 24.7 percent of workers in healthcare 

support occupations and a consistent, generally fast, work pace was required for 21.9 percent. 

0% 10% 20% 30% 40% 50%

Office and administrative support

Transportation and material moving

Educational instruction and library

Food preparation and serving related

Personal care and service

Protective service

Chart 2. Percentage of workers required to work around crowds by 

occupational group, 2019

0% 10% 20% 30% 40% 50% 60% 70%

Consistent, generally slow

Consistent, generally fast

Varying

Chart 3. Percentage of civilian workers by work pace, 2019
Education, training, and experience - This requirement includes the minimum formal 

education, credentials, on-the-job training, and prior work experience necessary for average job 

performance. These requirements are combined to calculate the specific vocational preparation 

(SVP), which refers to the amount of preparation time required for a typical worker to learn the 

techniques, acquire the information, and develop the skill needed for average performance. 

Civilian workers 

• A bachelor’s degree was required for 18.1 percent of workers. No minimum formal

education was required for 31.0 percent of workers and a high school diploma was

required for 40.0 percent.

• On-the-job training was required for 80.1 percent of workers with a median of 14 days.

By occupation 

• A high school diploma was required for 100 percent of phlebotomists. Prior work

experience was not required for 70.7 percent and credentials were required for 48.7

percent of phlebotomists.

Environmental conditions - These requirements include the various tangible or concrete 

hazards or difficulties that are in the vicinity of where a job’s critical tasks are performed. 

Civilian workers 

• Exposure to the outdoors was required for 33.4 percent of workers, where 4.2 percent had

constant exposure and 14.5 percent had occasional exposure.

• A loud noise intensity level was present for 8.6 percent of workers, a quiet noise intensity

level was present for 14.2 percent, and a moderate noise intensity level was present for

76.9 percent.

By occupation 

• All construction laborers (100 percent) were exposed to the outdoors, where 67.7 percent

had constant outdoor exposure. A loud noise intensity level was present for 28.4 percent

of these workers while a moderate noise intensity level was present for 71.2 percent.

Physical demands - These requirements include the physical activities workers are required to 

perform for critical job tasks. The presence and, in some cases, duration of these requirements 

are published. 

Civilian workers 

• Keyboarding was required for 64.4 percent of workers and 30.6 percent were required to

keyboard occasionally.

• A median maximum weight of 20 pounds was lifted or carried by workers in support of

critical tasks. A sedentary strength level was required for 27.0 percent of workers,

medium strength level was required for 28.5 percent, and a light strength level was

required for 33.8 percent.

By occupation 

• Keyboarding was required for 99.9 percent of physical therapists and 82.4 percent were

required to keyboard occasionally. The median maximum weight lifted or carried was

50 pounds and a medium strength level was required for 63.5 percent of physical

therapists.
Table 1. Percentage of civilian workers required to interact with the general public, 2019

Occupation and occupational group Required Not required

Standard 

error

All workers 75.3 24.7 0.7

 Management occupations 82.2 17.8 2.0

 General and operations managers 80.3 19.7 4.3

 Financial managers 70.1 29.9 5.6

 Industrial production managers 51.6 48.4 8.4

 Human resources managers 82.9 17.1 4.9

 Architectural and engineering managers 47.1 52.9 10.5

 Medical and health services managers 89.8 10.2 2.7

 Business and financial operations occupations 72.5 27.5 2.8

 Training and development specialists 57.8 42.2 8.0

 Market research analysts and marketing specialists 39.2 60.8 5.3

 Accountants and auditors 61.8 38.2 6.5

 Budget analysts 44.5 55.5 9.6

 Financial and investment analysts 31.2 68.8 9.1

 Computer and mathematical occupations 37.7 62.3 3.9

 Computer systems analysts 45.2 54.8 10.3

 Computer network support specialists 31.4 68.6 6.3

 Computer user support specialists 59.6 40.4 6.6

 Network and computer systems administrators 40.2 59.8 8.8

 Architecture and engineering occupations 44.6 55.4 4.8

 Industrial engineers 45.2 54.8 13.3

 Mechanical engineers 53.1 46.9 8.4

 Life, physical, and social science occupations 57.8 42.2 11.8

 Arts, design, entertainment, sports, and media occupations 86.5 13.5 2.7

 Graphic designers 72.5 27.5 7.6

 Food preparation and serving related occupations 85.1 14.9 1.6

 Cooks, institution and cafeteria 66.9 33.1 4.2

 Cooks, restaurant 28.1 71.9 8.4

 Food preparation workers 69.6 30.4 8.7

 Building and grounds cleaning and maintenance occupations 60.7 39.3 6.6

 Janitors and cleaners, except maids and housekeeping cleaners 52.5 47.5 8.5

 Landscaping and groundskeeping workers 44.2 55.8 10.3
Table 1. Percentage of civilian workers required to interact with the general public, 2019 -- continued

Occupation and occupational group Required Not required

Standard 

error

 Office and administrative support occupations 86.5 13.5 1.9

 First-line supervisors of office and administrative support workers 81.6 18.4 5.2

 Bookkeeping, accounting, and auditing clerks 66.7 33.3 3.5

 Production, planning, and expediting clerks 74.5 25.5 7.4

 Shipping, receiving, and inventory clerks 49.5 50.5 6.3

 Office clerks, general 84.7 15.3 3.9

 Construction and extraction occupations 42.8 57.2 3.8

 First-line supervisors of construction trades and extraction workers 78.5 21.5 5.3

 Installation, maintenance, and repair occupations 63.5 36.5 3.0

 Maintenance and repair workers, general 71.6 28.4 5.5

 Production occupations 10.2 89.8 2.1

 Bakers 50.1 49.9 10.5

 Water and wastewater treatment plant and system operators 47.9 52.1 8.8

 Inspectors, testers, sorters, samplers, and weighers 15.2 84.8 4.1

 Transportation and material moving occupations 58.8 41.2 3.1

 First-line supervisors of material-moving machine and vehicle 

operators

50.7 49.3 11.0

 Heavy and tractor-trailer truck drivers 83.7 16.3 2.6

 Industrial truck and tractor operators 16.5 83.5 3.8

 Packers and packagers, hand 22.0 78.0 5.7

 Stockers and order fillers 70.1 29.9 7.2

Note: Due to rounding, sum of estimates may not equal 100 percent.

Source: U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, Occupational Requirements Survey
Table 2. Percentage of civilian workers required to work around crowds, 2019

Occupation and occupational group Required Not 

required

Standard 

error

All workers 4.3 95.7 [1]

 Educational instruction and library occupations 6.5 93.5 0.7

 Secondary school teachers, except special and career/technical education 16.2 83.8 4.1

 Protective service occupations 48.3 51.7 2.7

 Firefighters 69.4 30.6 5.9

 Correctional officers and jailers 37.9 62.1 8.7

 Police and sheriff's patrol officers 81.5 18.5 5.4

 Security guards 39.2 60.8 7.5

 Food preparation and serving related occupations 9.4 90.6 1.0

 Waiters and waitresses 29.1 70.9 4.8

 Building and grounds cleaning and maintenance occupations 3.7 96.3 0.9

 Janitors and cleaners, except maids and housekeeping cleaners 7.6 92.4 1.8

 Personal care and service occupations 12.7 87.3 2.6

 Office and administrative support occupations 0.5 99.5 [1]

 Transportation and material moving occupations 3.1 96.9 0.6

[1] Standard error is less than 0.5. Due to rounding, estimates may not sum to 100 percent.

Note: Due to rounding, sum of estimates may not equal 100 percent.

Source: U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, Occupational Requirements Survey
Table 3. Percentage of civilian workers by work pace, 2019

Occupation and occupational group

Consistent, 

generally slow

Consistent, 

generally fast Varying

Estimate Standard 

error

Estimate Standard 

error

Estimate Standard 

error

All workers 11.0 0.5 27.9 0.8 61.1 0.7

 Management occupations 11.5 1.7 31.0 1.9 57.5 2.1

 General and operations managers 11.1 2.9 40.4 5.7 48.5 6.6

 Human resources managers 13.0 3.3 29.3 6.1 57.8 6.5

 Business and financial operations occupations 11.0 1.2 28.7 3.8 60.3 3.5

 Human resources specialists 8.3 2.2 27.9 7.3 63.8 7.8

 Architecture and engineering occupations 13.2 3.0 26.4 3.8 60.5 3.5

 Life, physical, and social science occupations 13.0 3.8 18.5 4.4 68.5 7.4

 Community and social service occupations 13.3 3.8 28.6 5.3 58.1 7.3

 Educational instruction and library occupations 16.5 2.1 23.5 2.1 60.0 2.8

 Elementary school teachers, except special education 15.1 4.2 21.6 3.6 63.2 5.2

 Secondary school teachers, except special and 

career/technical education 12.0 2.4 28.8 7.3 59.2 6.2

 Teaching assistants, preschool, elementary, middle, 

and secondary school, except special education 13.4 3.3 29.2 5.4 57.4 5.8

 Healthcare practitioners and technical occupations 7.0 1.5 35.4 3.6 57.6 3.3

 Nuclear medicine technologists 5.7 1.3 44.9 10.7 49.4 10.7

 Healthcare support occupations 24.7 4.6 21.9 3.2 53.3 4.3

 Building and grounds cleaning and maintenance 

occupations 25.0 6.6 26.2 4.9 48.9 4.6

 Janitors and cleaners, except maids and housekeeping 

cleaners 33.3 9.7 17.8 4.5 48.9 9.3

 Maids and housekeeping cleaners 29.3 8.7 18.5 4.7 52.2 6.0

 Personal care and service occupations 13.9 3.3 19.7 3.2 66.4 4.2

 Sales and related occupations 5.9 1.5 14.5 1.3 79.5 1.4

 Office and administrative support occupations 12.3 1.2 28.3 1.7 59.4 2.4

 Bookkeeping, accounting, and auditing clerks 19.9 4.3 20.0 3.5 60.2 4.3

 Receptionists and information clerks 12.4 3.6 17.7 5.0 69.9 5.9

 Secretaries and administrative assistants, except legal, 

medical, and executive 12.5 2.7 17.9 4.2 69.5 3.4

 Office clerks, general 19.4 5.7 27.7 4.6 52.8 5.1

 Construction and extraction occupations 10.3 2.8 36.1 3.9 53.7 4.7

 Installation, maintenance, and repair occupations 9.1 1.5 23.8 3.7 67.2 3.7

 Production occupations 10.2 1.9 47.2 3.5 42.7 3.3

 Transportation and material moving occupations 8.0 1.8 41.5 4.3 50.5 3.9

 Heavy and tractor-trailer truck drivers 17.2 2.5 28.1 5.2 54.7 5.1

Note: Due to rounding, sum of estimates may not equal 100 percent.

Source: U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, Occupational Requirements Survey
Technical Note

The Occupational Requirements Survey (ORS) provides job-related information about the 

physical demands; environmental conditions; education, training, and experience; as well as 

cognitive and mental requirements in the U.S. economy. Additional job requirement estimates 

are available at www.bls.gov/web/ors/ors-complete-dataset.xlsx and www.bls.gov/ors/data.htm. 

For information on estimation concepts and methods see the Handbook of Methods at 

www.bls.gov/opub/hom/ors/home.htm and www.bls.gov/ors/questions-and-answers.htm.

Sample size: The ORS is a nationally representative establishment-based survey. Estimates are 

produced from a probability sample of 10,000 establishments. There were 6,900 private industry 

and state and local government responding establishments that provided approximately 33,300 

occupational observations. The 2019 estimates represent 141,915,000 civilian workers. 

These estimates are from one of five sample groups and are considered preliminary. Data from 

all five sample groups collected between September 2018 and July 2023 will be aggregated to 

produce the final estimates with an expected reference year of 2023. 

Standard errors: To assist users in ascertaining the reliability of ORS estimates, standard errors 

are made available with the release. Standard errors provide users a measure of the precision of 

an estimate to ensure that it is within an acceptable range for their intended purpose. Collected 

and imputed data are included in the standard error calculation. For further information and how 

to use the standard errors see www.bls.gov/ors/se.htm. 

Major terms: Additional terminology and concepts are explained in the collection manual at 

www.bls.gov/ors/information-for-survey-participants/pdf/occupational-requirements-surveycollection-manual-082018.pdf and the Handbook of Methods at 

www.bls.gov/opub/hom/ors/home.htm. 

Critical job function - This is the main purpose and the primary pay factor for the job. It consists 

of critical tasks that are integral to the job.

Critical tasks - Activities workers must perform to carry out their critical job function(s).

Crowds - Working around crowds is present when the following five conditions are met: (1) 

many unfamiliar people are present considering the space available, (2) movement is restricted, 

(3) any given arrangement of the crowd is temporary, (4) a certain level of disorganization is

present, and (5) workers are not separated from unfamiliar people by counters, dividers, or other

objects.

General public - Includes interacting with individuals other than coworkers to perform critical 

tasks.

Strength levels - Reflect the amount of weight workers are required to lift or carry, how often, 

and whether standing or walking is required to perform critical tasks in the workday. The 

strength levels indicate whether physical requirements are considered as sedentary, light work, 

medium work, heavy work, and very heavy work.