1

Technical information: (202) 691-6569

 http://www.bls.gov/oes/

Media contact: 691-5902

USDL 05-877

For release: 10:00 A.M. EDT

Thursday, May 26, 2005

Chart 1. Mean hourly wage and percent of total employment by major occupational group

0 5,000,000 10,000,000 15,000,000 20,000,000 25,000,000

Food preparation and serving related ($8.43)

Farming, fishing, and forestry ($9.76)

Building and grounds cleaning and maintenance ($10.33)

Personal care and service ($10.48)

Healthcare support ($11.17)

Transportation and material moving ($13.41)

Office and administrative support ($13.95)

Production ($14.08)

Sales and related ($15.49)

Protective service ($16.75)

Community and social services ($17.52)

Installation, maintenance, and repair ($17.89)

Construction and extraction ($18.04)

Education, training, and library ($20.23)

Arts, design, entertainment, sports, and media ($21.01)

Life, physical, and social science ($26.89)

Business and financial operations ($27.10)

Healthcare practitioner and technical ($27.55)

Architecture and engineering ($29.69)

Computer and mathematical science ($31.50)

Legal ($38.42)

Management ($41.12)

Occupational group (with mean hourly wage shown in 

parentheses)

Employment level

.7%

4.8 %

 5.0%

.9%

1.2%

6.2%

4.8%

4.1%

1.3% 

2.3%

10.5%

7.9%

17.7%

7.5%

2.6%

2.4%

3.4%

.4%

8.2%

2.3%

1.9%

4.0%

OCCUPATIONAL EMPLOYMENT AND WAGES, MAY 2004

Retail salespersons and cashiers were the two largest occupations in the United States in May 2004,

with about 4.1 and 3.4 million wage and salary workers, respectively, according to the Bureau of Labor

Statistics of the U.S. Department of Labor. Other occupations with more than 2 million workers were

general office clerks; hand laborers and material movers; registered nurses; waiters and waitresses; combined food preparation and serving workers, including fast food; janitors and cleaners, except maids and

housekeeping cleaners; and customer service representatives. Among these large occupations, registered

nurses had the highest average hourly earnings—$26.06. For the other large occupations, average hourly

earnings ranged from $7.40 for combined food preparation and serving workers, including fast food to

$14.01 for customer service representatives. (See table 1.)
2

Management .....................................................

Business and financial operations .......................

Computer and mathematical ..............................

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

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

Community and social services ..........................

Legal................................................................

Education, training, and library ...........................

Arts, design, entertainment, sports, and media ....

Healthcare practitioner and technical .................

Healthcare support ............................................

Protective service .............................................

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

Building and grounds cleaning and

 maintenance .................................................

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

Sales and related...............................................

Office and administrative support.......................

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

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

Installation, maintenance, and repair ...................

Production ........................................................

Transportation and material moving....................

$17.00

 to

$21.49

$21.50

 to

$27.24

$27.25

 to

$34.49

Wage range

Under

 $8.50

 $8.50

 to

$10.74

Major occupational group $10.75

 to

$13.49

$13.50

 to

$16.99

$34.50

 to

$43.74

 Over

$43.75

 1.3

 1.6

 .6

 .5

1.6

 6.4

 1.1

 10.6

12.1

2.1

23.2

15.6

65.6

40.4

47.5

34.5

13.7

56.3

 6.3

6.5

16.5

25.2

1.0

 2.0

 1.2

1.5

3.5

10.4

 2.1

8.6

9.8

 4.6

31.1

14.9

18.1

25.2

22.8

17.1

18.9

18.0

11.7

10.0

19.3

19.3

 2.4

5.2

 3.1

3.9

 7.5

17.4

5.1

9.7

11.8

7.7

24.2

14.6

9.2

16.7

12.2

11.6

22.7

11.0

16.5

14.6

20.3

18.1

5.0

11.8

6.6

 7.8

12.5

21.2

10.3

14.4

14.8

11.9

14.0

14.9

 4.3

9.9

7.5

9.6

20.1

7.1

18.8

19.4

18.2

15.4

8.6

18.9

12.0

13.7

17.1

19.3

14.1

18.8

15.8

18.7

13.7

 1.9

 5.4

 4.8

 8.3

14.6

 4.3

17.9

21.3

12.8

11.6

13.2

21.6

17.8

20.3

18.5

14.2

13.8

17.0

13.8

21.1

1.5

13.1

.6

 1.8

 2.7

6.6

7.0

 2.1

14.8

17.2

8.5

6.3

15.9

17.8

21.8

21.1

16.1

 7.5

11.1

11.7

9.6

14.6

 .4

8.3

 .2

 .5

1.3

 4.6

 2.1

.8

9.5

 8.1

3.1

 2.2

17.4

11.6

20.5

18.2

12.0

2.7

11.0

5.4

6.1

8.1

.1

3.6

.1

.1

.7

3.2

.7

.3

3.6

2.3

.9

.8

35.2

9.5

16.4

13.1

11.3

.8

31.3

3.7

6.2

11.1

-

1.2

-

-

.6

4.5

.3

.1

1.0

.7

.2

1.0

Table A. Employment distribution by wage range and major occupational group, May 2004

(Percent distribution)

5.5

Healthcare practitioner and technical occupations such as specialist physicians and dentists accounted

for 13 out of the 15 highest-paying detailed occupations in May 2004. The average hourly wages for these

health-related occupations ranged from $87.31 for surgeons to $62.64 for dentists, all other specialists. The

lowest-paying occupation was fast food cooks, who earned $7.33 per hour. Five of the six lowest-paying

occupations were related to food preparation and serving.

These statistics are from the Occupational Employment Statistics (OES) survey, a federal-state cooperative program between BLS and State Workforce Agencies. The OES survey provides estimates of employment and hourly and annual wages for wage and salary workers in 22 major occupational groups and in 801

detailed occupations.

Management and legal occupational groups were the highest paying of the 22 major occupational groups.

Over 30 percent of the workers in these occupational groups earned more than $43.75 per hour. (See

table A.) The major occupational group with the highest employment level in May 2004 was office and

administrative support workers, followed by sales and related workers, food preparation and serving

workers, and production workers. (See chart 1.)
3

The major occupational groups with the lowest average wages were food preparation and serving related;

farming, fishing, and forestry; building and grounds cleaning and maintenance; and personal care and service.

At least 40 percent of all workers in each of these groups earned less than $8.50 per hour.

Major groups in which 50 percent or more of the employment was concentrated in the middle three

wage ranges (from $13.50 mean hourly wage to $27.24 mean hourly wage) included business and financial operations occupations; community and social services occupations; education, training, and library

occupations; healthcare practitioner and technical occupations; construction and extraction occupations;

and installation, maintenance, and repair occupations.

Table 1 shows national cross-industry employment and wage estimates for detailed occupations within

each major group. The OES program also provides national occupational employment and wage data by

detailed industry, and cross-industry estimates for all states and 334 metropolitan areas based on a sample

of 1.2 million establishments, collecting information on over 80 million workers in six semiannual panels. May

2004 OES data for states and metropolitan areas and the national employment and wage data by industry

will be available on the BLS Web site in early June.
Technical Note

Scope of the survey

The Occupational Employment Statistics (OES) survey is a

semiannual mail survey measuring occupational employment

and wage rates for wage and salary workers in nonfarm

establishments in the United States. Guam, Puerto Rico, and

the Virgin Islands also are surveyed, but their data are not

included in this release. Data are collected from panels of

about 200,000 establishments each in May and November.

Estimates from the program use data collected over a 3-year

(six-panel) period and are based on a total sample of about 1.2

million establishments. Each year, the survey samples and

contacts two panels of about 200,000 establishments each in

May and November. The nationwide response rate for the

May 2004 survey was 78.8 percent for establishments, covering

72.7 percent of weighted employment. The survey included

establishments sampled in the May 2004, November 2003, May

2003, November 2002, and 2001 panels, in addition to some

certainty units from the 2000 sample.

The occupational coding system

The OES survey uses the Office of Management and

Budget’s (OMB) occupational classification system, the

Standard Occupational Classification (SOC) system. The SOC

system is the first OMB-required occupational classification system for federal agencies. The OES survey categorizes workers in 1 of 801 detailed occupations. Together,

these detailed occupations comprise 23 major occupational

groups, one of which—military specific occupations—is not

included in the OES survey. The major groups are as follows:

For more information about the SOC system, please see the

Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) Web site at http://

www.bls.gov/soc.

The industry coding system

The OES survey uses the North American Industry

Classification System (NAICS). For more information about

NAICS, see the BLS Web site at http://www.bls.gov/bls/

naics.htm.

The OES survey includes establishments in NAICS sectors

11 (logging and agricultural support activities only), 21, 22, 23,

31-33, 42, 44-45, 48-49, 51, 52, 53, 54, 55, 56, 61, 62, 71, 72, 81

(except private households), state government, and local

government. Data for the United States Postal Service and the

federal government are universe counts obtained from the

Postal Service and the Office of Personnel Management,

respectively. An establishment is defined as an economic unit

that processes goods or provides services, such as a factory,

mine, or store. The establishment is generally at a single

physical location and is engaged primarily in one type of

economic activity.

The OES survey covers all full- and part-time wage and

salary workers in nonfarm industries. The survey does not

include the self-employed owners and partners in

unincorporated firms, household workers, or unpaid family

workers.

Survey sample

BLS funds the survey and provides the procedures and

technical support, while the State Workforce Agencies

(SWAs) collect the most of the data. BLS produces crossindustry and industry-specific estimates for the nation, states,

and metropolitan statistical areas (MSAs). Industry estimates

are produced for the NAICS sector, 3-digit, 4-digit, and selected

5-digit industry levels. BLS releases all cross-industry and

national estimates, and the SWAs release industry estimates

at the state and MSA levels.

State Unemployment Insurance (UI) files provide the

universe from which the OES survey draws its sample. The

employment benchmarks are obtained from reports submitted

by employers to the UI program. Supplemental sources are

used for rail transportation (NAICS 4821) and Guam because

they do not report to the UI program. The OES survey sample

is stratified by area, industry, and size class. Size classes are

defined based on number of employees in the establishment as

follows:

A census of federal government and the post office is taken

every panel. A census of state government and Hawaii’s local

government is taken every November panel. Units in rail

1 1 to 4

2 5 to 9

3 10 to 19

4 20 to 49

5 50 to 99

6 100 to 249

7 250 and above

Size class Number of employees

 Management occupations

Business and financial operations occupations

Computer and mathematical science occupations

Architecture and engineering occupations

Life, physical, and social science occupations

Community and social services occupations

Legal occupations

Education, training, and library occupations

Arts, design, entertainment, sports, and media occupations

Healthcare practitioner and technical occupations

Healthcare support occupations

Protective service occupations

Food preparation and serving related occupations

Building and grounds cleaning and maintenance occupations

Personal care and service occupations

Sales and related occupations

Office and administrative support occupations

Farming, fishing, and forestry occupations

Construction and extraction occupations

Installation, maintenance, and repair occupations

Production occupations

Transportation and material moving occupations

Military specific occupations (not surveyed in OES)
Interval Hourly

Wages

Annual

Range A Under $6.75 Under $14,040

Range B $6.75 to $8.49 $14,040 to $17,679

Range C $8.50 to $10.74 $17,680 to $22,359

Range D $10.75 to $13.49 $22,360 to $28,079

Range E $13.50 to $16.99 $28,080 to $35,359

Range F $17.00 to $21.49 $35,360 to $44,719

Range G $21.50 to $27.24 $44,720 to $56,679

Range H $27.25 to $34.49 $56,680 to $71,759

Range I $34.50 to $43.74 $71,760 to $90,999

Range J $43.75 to $55.49 $91,000 to $115,439

Range K $55.50 to $69.99 $115,440 to $145,599

Range L $70.00 and over $145,600 and over

transportation (NAICS 482) and hospitals (NAICS 622) are

sampled with certainty across a 3-year period. Establishments

with 250 or more employees also are sampled with virtual

certainty across a 3-year period; on average, one-sixth of these

are sampled in each panel.

Concepts

Occupational employment is the estimate of total wage and

salary employment in an occupation across the industries

surveyed. The OES survey defines employment as the number

of workers who can be classified as full- or part-time

employees, including workers on paid vacations or other

types of paid leave; workers on unpaid short-term absences;

salaried officers, executives, and staff members of

incorporated firms; employees temporarily assigned to other

units; and employees for whom the reporting unit is their

permanent duty station regardless of whether that unit

prepares their paycheck.

The OES survey forms sent to larger establishments contain

between 50 and 225 SOC occupations selected on the basis of

the sampled establishment’s industry classification. To reduce

paperwork and respondent burden, no survey form contains

every SOC occupation. Thus, data for specific occupations are

collected primarily from establishments in industries that are the

predominant employers of workers in those occupations. Each

survey form is structured, however, to allow a respondent to

provide detailed occupational information for each worker at the

establishment; that is, unlisted occupations can be added to

the survey form. In most cases, employers with 9 or fewer

workers are sent a form with no occupations listed, and are

instructed to fill in the occupations for their workers.

Wages for the OES survey are straight-time, gross pay,

exclusive of premium pay. Base rate, cost-of-living allowances,

guaranteed pay, hazardous-duty pay, incentive pay including

commissions and production bonuses, tips, and on-call pay are

included. Excluded are back pay, jury duty pay, overtime pay,

severance pay, shift differentials, non-production bonuses,

employer cost for supplementary benefits, and tuition

reimbursements.

The OES survey collects wage data in 12 intervals.

Employers report the number of employees in an occupation

for each wage range. The wage intervals used for the May 2004

survey are as follows:

Mean hourly wage. The mean hourly wage rate for an

occupation is the total wages that all workers in the occupation

earn in an hour divided by the total employment of the

occupation. To calculate the mean hourly wage of each

occupation, total weighted hourly wages are summed across all

intervals and divided by the occupation’s weighted survey

employment. The mean wage for each interval is based on

occupational wage data collected by the BLS Office of

Compensation and Working Conditions for the National

Compensation Survey (NCS).

The mean hourly wage value for the highest wage interval,

$70.00 and over, was computed separately for each panel

or annual sample (May 2004, November 2003, May 2003,

November 2002, and 2001). The average of these mean wage

rates was used for all of the $70.00 and over data in the May

2004 survey. The wage rates for this interval do not go through

any wage updating procedures.

Percentile wage. The p-th percentile wage rage for an

occupation is the wage where p percent of all workers earn that

amount or less and where (100-p) percent of all workers earn

that amount or more. This statistic is calculated by uniformly

distributing the workers inside each wage interval, ranking the

workers from lowest paid to highest paid, and calculating the

product of the total employment for the occupation and the

desired percentile to determine the worker that earns the p-th

percentile wage rate.

Annual wage. Many employees are paid at an hourly rate

by their employers and may work more than or less than 40

hours per week. Annual wage estimates for most occupations

in this release are calculated by multiplying the mean hourly

wage by a “year-round, full-time” figure of 2,080 hours (52

weeks by 40 hours). Thus, annual wage estimates may not

represent the actual annual pay received by the employee if

they work more or less than 2,080 hours per year. Some workers

typically work less than full time, year round. For these

occupations, the OES survey collects and reports either the

annual salary or the hourly wage rate, depending on how the

occupation is typically paid, but not both. For example,

teachers, flight attendants, and pilots may be paid an annual

salary, but do not work the usual 2,080 hours per year. In this

case, an annual salary is reported. Other workers, such as

entertainment workers are paid hourly rates, but generally do

not work full time, year round. For these workers, only an

hourly wage is reported.

Hourly versus annual wage reporting. For each

occupation, respondents are asked to report the number of

employees paid within specific wage intervals. The intervals

are defined both as hourly rates and the 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. The responding establishment can reference either the

hourly or the annual rate for full-time workers, but they are

instructed to report the hourly rate for part-time workers.

Estimation methodology

Each OES panel includes approximately 200,000

establishments. While estimates can be made with data from
one panel or one year, the OES survey is designed to produce

estimates using six panels (3 years) of data. The full six-panel

sample of 1.2 million establishments allows the production of

estimates at detailed levels of geography, industry, and

occupation. Combining six panels of data is also necessary to

obtain the full complement of certainty establishments. (Note:

The first semiannual panel was in November 2002. Prior to that,

about 400,000 establishments were surveyed annually. Each

earlier sample is a two-panel equivalent.)

Wage updating. Significant reductions in sampling errors

are obtained by combining six panels of data, particularly for

small geographic areas and occupations. Wages for the current

panel need no adjustment. However, wages in the five

previous panels need to be updated to the current panel’s

reference period.

The OES program uses the BLS Employment Cost Index

(ECI) to adjust survey data from prior panels before combining

them with the current panel’s data. The wage updating

procedure adjusts each detailed occupation’s wage rate, as

measured in the earlier panel, according to the average

movement of its broader occupational division. The procedure

assumes that there are no major differences by geography,

industry, or detailed occupation within the occupational

division.

Imputation. Over 20 percent of establishments do not

respond for a given panel. A “nearest neighbor” hot deck

imputation procedure is used to impute occupational

employment totals. A variant of mean imputation is then used

to impute a wage distribution for each occupation. The variant

of mean imputation for wage distributions is also applied to

establishments that provide reports with occupational totals

but partial or missing wage data.

Weighting and benchmarking. The sample establishments

in each panel are weighted to represent all establishments that

were part of the in-scope frame from which the panel was

selected. Based on the sampled establishments, weights are

adjusted when six panels are combined. Weights are adjusted

by benchmarking employment totals from the OES survey to

employment figures derived from the BLS Quarterly Census of

Employment and Wages.

May 2004 OES survey estimates. The May 2004 OES survey

estimates are based on all data collected from establishments

in the May 2004, November 2003, May 2003, November 2002,

and 2001 samples, in addition to some certainty units from the

2000 sample. During estimates processing, OES employment

data were benchmarked to the average employment for May

2004 and November 2003 from the BLS Quarterly Census of

Employment and Wages.

Reliability of the estimates. Estimates calculated from a

sample survey are subject to two types of error: sampling and

nonsampling. Sampling error occurs when estimates are

calculated from a subset (i.e., sample) of the population instead

of the full population. When a sample of the population is

surveyed, there is a chance that the sample estimate of the

characteristic of interest may differ from the population value

of that characteristic. Differences between the sample estimate

and the population value will vary depending on the sample

selected. This variability can be estimated by calculating the

standard error (SE) of the sample estimate. If we were to repeat

the sampling and estimation process countless times using the

same survey design, approximately 90 percent of the intervals

created by adding and subtracting 1.645 SEs from the sample

estimate would include the population value. These intervals

are called 90-percent confidence intervals. The OES survey,

however, usually uses the relative standard error (RSE) of a

sample estimate instead of its SE to measure sampling error.

RSE is defined as the SE of a sample estimate divided by the

sample estimate itself. This statistic provides the user with a

measure of the relative precision of the sample estimate. RSEs

are calculated for both occupational employment and mean

wage rate estimates. Occupational employment RSEs are

calculated using a subsample, random group replication

technique called the jackknife. Mean wage rate RSEs are

calculated using a variance components model that accounts

for both the observed and unobserved components of the wage

data. The variances of the unobserved components are

estimated using wage data from the BLS National

Compensation Survey. In general, estimates based on many

establishments have lower RSEs than estimates based on few

establishments. If the distributional assumptions of the models

are violated, the resulting confidence intervals may not reflect

the prescribed level of confidence.

Nonsampling error occurs for a variety of reasons, none of

which are directly connected to sampling. Examples of

nonsampling error include: nonresponse, data incorrectly

reported by the respondent, mistakes made in entering

collected data into the database, and mistakes made in editing

and processing the collected data.

Additional information

The May 2004 OES national data by occupation, comparable

to data in table 1, will be available soon on the BLS Web site

at http://www.bls.gov/oes. Users also may access each

occupation’s definition and percentile wages. The May 2004

cross-industry data for states and metropolitan areas will be

available on the BLS Web site in early June 2005. Industry

staffing patterns at the sector, 3-, 4-, and selected 5-digit NAICS

levels also will be available from the Internet beginning in early

June 2005. These data will include industry-specific

occupational employment and wage data.

For additional information, contact the Office of

Employment and Unemployment Statistics, Division of

Occupational Employment Statistics, Room 2135,

2 Massachusetts Avenue, NE, Washington, DC, 20212;

telephone 202-691-6569 (e-mail:oesinfo@bls.gov).

Information in this release will be made available to sensory

impaired individuals upon request. Voice phone: 202-691-

5200; TDD message referral phone number: 1-800-877-8339.
Table 1. National employment and wage data from the Occupational Employment Statistics survey by occupation, May 2004

Hourly Annual1

Management occupations

Chief executives.............................................................................................................................................. 346,590 $67.27 $139,920 $67.47

General and operations managers................................................................................................................. 1,752,910 44.24 92,010 37.22

Legislators....................................................................................................................................................... 63,440 (2) 30,750 (2)

Advertising and promotions managers........................................................................................................... 57,100 36.76 76,460 30.58

Marketing managers....................................................................................................................................... 177,550 46.48 96,680 42.13

Sales managers.............................................................................................................................................. 320,240 45.68 95,010 40.49

Public relations managers.............................................................................................................................. 50,670 38.26 79,580 33.65

Administrative services managers.................................................................................................................. 254,610 31.98 66,530 28.99

Computer and information systems managers.............................................................................................. 267,390 47.24 98,260 44.51

Financial managers......................................................................................................................................... 493,360 44.04 91,610 39.37

Compensation and benefits managers.......................................................................................................... 55,040 35.59 74,020 31.99

Training and development managers............................................................................................................. 35,510 35.45 73,730 32.43

Human resources managers, all other........................................................................................................... 58,770 42.11 87,580 39.33

Industrial production managers...................................................................................................................... 155,980 38.06 79,170 35.09

Purchasing managers..................................................................................................................................... 73,480 37.51 78,020 34.83

Transportation, storage, and distribution managers...................................................................................... 88,100 34.87 72,530 32.02

Farm, ranch, and other agricultural managers............................................................................................... 4,810 26.51 55,140 24.38

Farmers and ranchers.................................................................................................................................... 540 20.78 43,230 19.44

Construction managers................................................................................................................................... 185,580 37.83 78,690 33.59

Education administrators, preschool and child care center/program............................................................ 50,590 19.74 41,060 17.18

Education administrators, elementary and secondary school....................................................................... 209,630 (2) 75,640 (2)

Education administrators, postsecondary...................................................................................................... 101,530 36.44 75,800 32.86

Education administrators, all other................................................................................................................. 22,570 32.01 66,580 28.96

Engineering managers.................................................................................................................................... 186,380 49.33 102,600 46.94

Food service managers.................................................................................................................................. 206,340 21.13 43,940 19.04

Funeral directors............................................................................................................................................. 23,140 25.82 53,710 22.10

Gaming managers.......................................................................................................................................... 3,520 31.77 66,090 28.17

Lodging managers.......................................................................................................................................... 30,860 21.18 44,060 18.11

Medical and health services managers.......................................................................................................... 224,070 36.12 75,140 32.42

Natural sciences managers............................................................................................................................ 40,240 46.06 95,800 42.63

Postmasters and mail superintendents.......................................................................................................... 26,430 24.43 50,820 24.32

Property, real estate, and community association managers........................................................................ 159,980 23.44 48,760 19.22

Social and community service managers...................................................................................................... 119,280 24.39 50,740 22.50

Managers, all other......................................................................................................................................... 354,730 39.28 81,700 37.19

Business and financial operations occupations

Agents and business managers of artists, performers, and athletes............................................................ 10,860 33.42 69,520 26.48

Purchasing agents and buyers, farm products.............................................................................................. 14,300 24.03 49,980 21.02

Wholesale and retail buyers, except farm products....................................................................................... 136,930 23.29 48,450 20.30

Purchasing agents, except wholesale, retail, and farm products.................................................................. 257,070 24.60 51,180 22.92

Claims adjusters, examiners, and investigators............................................................................................. 234,950 22.74 47,310 21.26

Insurance appraisers, auto damage............................................................................................................... 12,520 22.01 45,780 21.79

Compliance officers, except agriculture, construction, health and safety,

 and transportation.................................................................................................................................... 167,650 24.64 51,260 22.78

Cost estimators............................................................................................................................................... 191,080 25.90 53,870 24.01

Emergency management specialists............................................................................................................. 10,070 23.73 49,350 21.82

Employment, recruitment, and placement specialists.................................................................................... 169,750 22.76 47,330 19.80

Compensation, benefits, and job analysis specialists.................................................................................... 92,940 24.10 50,130 22.83

Training and development specialists............................................................................................................ 200,440 22.97 47,780 21.43

Human resources, training, and labor relations specialists, all other............................................................. 158,930 23.67 49,240 22.85

Logisticians...................................................................................................................................................... 52,470 28.99 60,310 27.46

Management analysts..................................................................................................................................... 416,340 34.97 72,730 30.51

Meeting and convention planners.................................................................................................................. 34,640 20.43 42,490 19.05

Business operations specialists, all other....................................................................................................... 847,170 27.72 57,660 25.70

Accountants and auditors............................................................................................................................... 995,910 27.35 56,880 24.41

Appraisers and assessors of real estate........................................................................................................ 62,270 23.73 49,350 20.86

Budget analysts............................................................................................................................................... 53,300 28.41 59,100 26.94

Credit analysts................................................................................................................................................. 67,100 26.57 55,280 22.72

Financial analysts............................................................................................................................................ 177,780 33.89 70,500 29.76

Personal financial advisors............................................................................................................................. 94,490 39.70 82,570 30.14

Insurance underwriters................................................................................................................................... 96,110 26.08 54,240 23.34

Financial examiners........................................................................................................................................ 23,400 31.47 65,450 29.00

Loan counselors.............................................................................................................................................. 31,160 18.61 38,710 16.33

Loan officers.................................................................................................................................................... 278,830 27.98 58,200 23.48

Tax examiners, collectors, and revenue agents............................................................................................ 71,610 23.18 48,210 20.91

Tax preparers.................................................................................................................................................. 51,950 16.50 34,330 13.33

Financial specialists, all other......................................................................................................................... 119,840 26.64 55,420 23.82

Computer and mathematical science occupations

Computer and information scientists, research.............................................................................................. 24,720 42.32 88,020 40.96

Computer programmers................................................................................................................................. 412,090 31.69 65,910 30.24

Computer software engineers, applications................................................................................................... 425,890 37.18 77,330 36.05

Computer software engineers, systems software.......................................................................................... 318,020 39.50 82,160 38.34

Computer support specialists......................................................................................................................... 488,540 20.97 43,620 19.44

Computer systems analysts........................................................................................................................... 489,130 32.87 68,370 31.95

Database administrators................................................................................................................................. 96,960 30.51 63,460 29.16

See footnotes at end of table.

Occupation

Mean wages

Employment Median hourly 

wages
Hourly Annual1

Computer and mathematical science occupations—Continued

Network and computer systems administrators............................................................................................. 259,320 $29.55 $61,470 $27.98

Network systems and data communications analysts................................................................................... 169,200 30.49 63,410 29.14

Computer specialists, all other........................................................................................................................ 130,420 30.31 63,030 28.60

Actuaries......................................................................................................................................................... 16,350 42.05 87,460 36.70

Mathematicians............................................................................................................................................... 2,410 39.18 81,500 39.06

Operations research analysts......................................................................................................................... 55,030 30.49 63,420 28.94

Statisticians..................................................................................................................................................... 17,030 30.42 63,260 28.18

Mathematical technicians................................................................................................................................ 1,720 20.99 43,650 18.49

Mathematical scientists, all other.................................................................................................................... 8,500 29.67 61,710 29.98

Architecture and engineering occupations

Architects, except landscape and naval......................................................................................................... 94,280 31.84 66,230 28.99

Landscape architects...................................................................................................................................... 17,960 27.73 57,680 25.54

Cartographers and photogrammetrists.......................................................................................................... 9,870 23.48 48,830 22.15

Surveyors........................................................................................................................................................ 52,680 22.15 46,080 20.66

Aerospace engineers...................................................................................................................................... 73,650 38.68 80,460 38.03

Agricultural engineers..................................................................................................................................... 3,220 29.04 60,400 27.17

Biomedical engineers...................................................................................................................................... 8,650 34.04 70,800 32.54

Chemical engineers........................................................................................................................................ 30,320 38.49 80,050 36.91

Civil engineers................................................................................................................................................. 218,220 32.18 66,930 30.88

Computer hardware engineers....................................................................................................................... 74,760 40.39 84,010 39.02

Electrical engineers......................................................................................................................................... 148,310 35.68 74,220 34.43

Electronics engineers, except computer........................................................................................................ 135,560 37.24 77,450 36.43

Environmental engineers................................................................................................................................ 47,690 32.86 68,350 31.96

Health and safety engineers, except mining safety engineers and inspectors............................................. 25,860 31.78 66,110 30.64

Industrial engineers......................................................................................................................................... 174,960 32.05 66,660 31.26

Marine engineers and naval architects........................................................................................................... 6,620 35.44 73,720 34.63

Materials engineers......................................................................................................................................... 21,130 33.36 69,390 32.26

Mechanical engineers..................................................................................................................................... 217,010 32.91 68,460 31.88

Mining and geological engineers, including mining safety engineers............................................................ 5,050 32.77 68,160 31.10

Nuclear engineers........................................................................................................................................... 17,180 42.67 88,760 40.81

Petroleum engineers....................................................................................................................................... 14,690 44.15 91,820 42.55

Engineers, all other......................................................................................................................................... 159,720 36.32 75,540 35.78

Architectural and civil drafters......................................................................................................................... 101,060 19.59 40,750 18.84

Electrical and electronics drafters................................................................................................................... 34,850 22.48 46,760 20.76

Mechanical drafters......................................................................................................................................... 76,610 21.70 45,140 20.67

Drafters, all other............................................................................................................................................. 22,620 21.91 45,560 20.13

Aerospace engineering and operations technicians...................................................................................... 9,260 25.98 54,040 25.24

Civil engineering technicians.......................................................................................................................... 90,000 19.18 39,900 18.50

Electrical and electronic engineering technicians........................................................................................... 178,560 22.66 47,130 22.26

Electro-mechanical technicians...................................................................................................................... 18,770 20.74 43,130 19.92

Environmental engineering technicians.......................................................................................................... 19,840 19.55 40,660 18.53

Industrial engineering technicians.................................................................................................................. 68,210 22.64 47,080 20.96

Mechanical engineering technicians............................................................................................................... 46,990 21.66 45,050 20.87

Engineering technicians, except drafters, all other........................................................................................ 88,100 23.86 49,630 23.77

Surveying and mapping technicians............................................................................................................... 60,530 15.76 32,780 14.60

Life, physical, and social science occupations

Animal scientists............................................................................................................................................. 1,540 25.87 53,800 24.00

Food scientists and technologists................................................................................................................... 7,210 26.98 56,110 24.44

Soil and plant scientists................................................................................................................................... 9,690 26.67 55,470 24.62

Biochemists and biophysicists........................................................................................................................ 15,200 34.48 71,730 33.15

Microbiologists................................................................................................................................................. 13,880 29.45 61,250 26.37

Zoologists and wildlife biologists..................................................................................................................... 15,050 25.54 53,120 24.20

Biological scientists, all other.......................................................................................................................... 26,180 29.03 60,370 27.05

Conservation scientists................................................................................................................................... 14,290 25.72 53,500 25.23

Foresters......................................................................................................................................................... 10,250 23.91 49,730 23.19

Epidemiologists............................................................................................................................................... 4,560 27.91 58,060 26.35

Medical scientists, except epidemiologists..................................................................................................... 66,450 33.04 68,730 29.48

Life scientists, all other.................................................................................................................................... 13,870 30.63 63,710 26.65

Astronomers.................................................................................................................................................... 680 44.99 93,580 46.79

Physicists........................................................................................................................................................ 14,150 42.83 89,090 42.04

Atmospheric and space scientists.................................................................................................................. 7,070 33.46 69,590 33.70

Chemists......................................................................................................................................................... 79,650 29.43 61,220 26.95

Materials scientists.......................................................................................................................................... 7,330 35.77 74,390 34.80

Environmental scientists and specialists, including health............................................................................. 66,850 26.53 55,190 24.56

Geoscientists, except hydrologists and geographers.................................................................................... 25,100 36.96 76,870 33.04

Hydrologists..................................................................................................................................................... 7,290 30.82 64,100 29.57

Physical scientists, all other............................................................................................................................ 25,260 39.21 81,560 38.53

Economists...................................................................................................................................................... 12,030 38.35 79,770 34.99

Market research analysts................................................................................................................................ 170,200 30.28 62,990 26.99

Survey researchers......................................................................................................................................... 19,480 15.39 32,010 12.74

Clinical, counseling, and school psychologists............................................................................................... 96,540 29.24 60,810 26.42

Industrial-organizational psychologists........................................................................................................... 1,500 37.88 78,800 34.33

Psychologists, all other................................................................................................................................... 6,480 33.53 69,740 34.57

See footnotes at end of table.

Occupation

Mean wages

Employment Median hourly 

wages

Table 1. National employment and wage data from the Occupational Employment Statistics survey by occupation, May 2004—Continued
Hourly Annual1

Life, physical, and social science occupations—Continued

Sociologists..................................................................................................................................................... 3,640 $30.46 $63,350 $27.82

Urban and regional planners.......................................................................................................................... 31,140 26.75 55,640 25.70

Anthropologists and archeologists.................................................................................................................. 4,510 22.86 47,550 21.10

Geographers................................................................................................................................................... 750 28.65 59,600 28.35

Historians........................................................................................................................................................ 2,350 23.48 48,850 21.39

Political scientists............................................................................................................................................ 4,370 41.24 85,770 41.71

Social scientists and related workers, all other............................................................................................... 31,990 29.09 60,500 28.12

Agricultural and food science technicians...................................................................................................... 18,940 15.37 31,980 14.29

Biological technicians...................................................................................................................................... 59,710 17.04 35,450 15.97

Chemical technicians...................................................................................................................................... 61,700 19.04 39,600 18.35

Geological and petroleum technicians........................................................................................................... 10,420 20.85 43,360 19.35

Nuclear technicians......................................................................................................................................... 7,210 28.28 58,830 28.46

Social science research assistants................................................................................................................ 15,710 17.26 35,900 16.52

Environmental science and protection technicians, including health............................................................ 29,460 17.90 37,230 16.99

Forensic science technicians.......................................................................................................................... 9,230 22.83 47,490 21.16

Forest and conservation technicians.............................................................................................................. 29,910 14.79 30,770 13.14

Life, physical, and social science technicians, all other................................................................................. 72,580 20.52 42,680 18.19

Community and social services occupations

Substance abuse and behavioral disorder counselors.................................................................................. 68,880 16.50 34,310 15.45

Educational, vocational, and school counselors............................................................................................ 220,690 22.88 47,590 21.91

Marriage and family therapists........................................................................................................................ 20,710 20.21 42,040 18.74

Mental health counselors................................................................................................................................ 89,300 17.31 36,000 15.85

Rehabilitation counselors................................................................................................................................ 115,150 14.76 30,710 13.40

Counselors, all other....................................................................................................................................... 21,970 18.21 37,880 16.82

Child, family, and school social workers......................................................................................................... 250,790 18.19 37,830 16.74

Medical and public health social workers....................................................................................................... 103,180 19.92 41,440 19.27

Mental health and substance abuse social workers...................................................................................... 108,950 17.34 36,060 16.31

Social workers, all other.................................................................................................................................. 60,120 19.80 41,180 18.96

Health educators............................................................................................................................................. 46,490 20.25 42,120 18.50

Probation officers and correctional treatment specialists............................................................................... 89,170 20.53 42,690 19.04

Social and human service assistants............................................................................................................. 331,860 12.45 25,890 11.67

Community and social service specialists, all other....................................................................................... 89,250 16.57 34,470 15.64

Clergy.............................................................................................................................................................. 35,790 19.23 40,000 17.64

Directors, religious activities and education................................................................................................... 12,620 16.14 33,560 14.76

Religious workers, all other............................................................................................................................. 8,810 11.41 23,730 9.01

Legal occupations

Lawyers........................................................................................................................................................... 521,130 52.30 108,790 45.64

Administrative law judges, adjudicators, and hearing officers....................................................................... 14,830 35.44 73,710 33.14

Arbitrators, mediators, and conciliators.......................................................................................................... 4,940 29.08 60,480 26.32

Judges, magistrate judges, and magistrates................................................................................................. 25,500 42.96 89,360 44.75

Paralegals and legal assistants...................................................................................................................... 210,020 19.95 41,490 18.81

Court reporters................................................................................................................................................ 15,520 22.63 47,070 20.63

Law clerks....................................................................................................................................................... 43,300 16.92 35,180 16.34

Title examiners, abstractors, and searchers.................................................................................................. 53,700 18.93 39,360 16.77

Legal support workers, all other...................................................................................................................... 69,590 21.79 45,330 20.26

Education, training, and library occupations

Business teachers, postsecondary................................................................................................................ 68,340 (2) 65,430 (2)

Computer science teachers, postsecondary.................................................................................................. 37,260 (2) 58,140 (2)

Mathematical science teachers, postsecondary............................................................................................ 43,760 (2) 57,240 (2)

Architecture teachers, postsecondary............................................................................................................ 5,700 (2) 65,510 (2)

Engineering teachers, postsecondary............................................................................................................ 33,520 (2) 77,070 (2)

Agricultural sciences teachers, postsecondary.............................................................................................. 10,230 (2) 67,520 (2)

Biological science teachers, postsecondary.................................................................................................. 60,260 (2) 73,220 (2)

Forestry and conservation science teachers, postsecondary....................................................................... 2,970 (2) 67,660 (2)

Atmospheric, earth, marine, and space sciences teachers, postsecondary................................................. 8,660 (2) 70,300 (2)

Chemistry teachers, postsecondary............................................................................................................... 18,720 (2) 63,520 (2)

Environmental science teachers, postsecondary.......................................................................................... 3,860 (2) 66,790 (2)

Physics teachers, postsecondary................................................................................................................... 12,590 (2) 69,210 (2)

Anthropology and archeology teachers, postsecondary................................................................................ 4,990 (2) 66,060 (2)

Area, ethnic, and cultural studies teachers, postsecondary.......................................................................... 7,670 (2) 62,940 (2)

Economics teachers, postsecondary............................................................................................................. 12,230 (2) 73,280 (2)

Geography teachers, postsecondary............................................................................................................. 4,180 (2) 61,020 (2)

Political science teachers, postsecondary...................................................................................................... 13,230 (2) 64,950 (2)

Psychology teachers, postsecondary............................................................................................................. 29,400 (2) 60,800 (2)

Sociology teachers, postsecondary................................................................................................................ 14,220 (2) 59,830 (2)

Social sciences teachers, postsecondary, all other....................................................................................... 6,310 (2) 68,460 (2)

Health specialties teachers, postsecondary................................................................................................... 105,610 (2) 76,720 (2)

Nursing instructors and teachers, postsecondary.......................................................................................... 34,360 (2) 55,770 (2)

Education teachers, postsecondary............................................................................................................... 47,710 (2) 52,850 (2)

Library science teachers, postsecondary....................................................................................................... 3,740 (2) 54,590 (2)

Criminal justice and law enforcement teachers, postsecondary................................................................... 9,550 (2) 51,500 (2)

Law teachers, postsecondary......................................................................................................................... 12,580 (2) 95,300 (2)

Social work teachers, postsecondary............................................................................................................. 6,670 (2) 56,620 (2)

Art, drama, and music teachers, postsecondary........................................................................................... 63,730 (2) 52,750 (2)

See footnotes at end of table.

Table 1. National employment and wage data from the Occupational Employment Statistics survey by occupation, May 2004—Continued

Median hourly 

wages

Occupation

Mean wages

Employment
Hourly Annual1

Education, training, and library occupations—Continued

Communications teachers, postsecondary.................................................................................................... 20,760 (2) $53,130 (2)

English language and literature teachers, postsecondary............................................................................. 57,400 (2) 52,560 (2)

Foreign language and literature teachers, postsecondary............................................................................ 22,460 (2) 51,620 (2)

History teachers, postsecondary.................................................................................................................... 19,190 (2) 58,490 (2)

Philosophy and religion teachers, postsecondary.......................................................................................... 17,170 (2) 56,630 (2)

Graduate teaching assistants......................................................................................................................... 111,730 (2) 27,860 (2)

Home economics teachers, postsecondary................................................................................................... 3,870 (2) 50,810 (2)

Recreation and fitness studies teachers, postsecondary.............................................................................. 15,470 (2) 47,360 (2)

Vocational education teachers, postsecondary............................................................................................. 112,990 21.19 44,060 19.59

Postsecondary teachers, all other.................................................................................................................. 248,330 30.73 63,920 27.93

Preschool teachers, except special education............................................................................................... 354,800 11.51 23,940 10.09

Kindergarten teachers, except special education.......................................................................................... 164,530 (2) 44,000 (2)

Elementary school teachers, except special education................................................................................. 1,422,840 (2) 45,670 (2)

Middle school teachers, except special and vocational education................................................................ 623,400 (2) 46,510 (2)

Vocational education teachers, middle school............................................................................................... 16,820 (2) 46,250 (2)

Secondary school teachers, except special and vocational education......................................................... 1,021,180 (2) 48,420 (2)

Vocational education teachers, secondary school......................................................................................... 102,210 (2) 48,000 (2)

Special education teachers, preschool, kindergarten, and elementary school............................................. 205,960 (2) 46,420 (2)

Special education teachers, middle school.................................................................................................... 98,840 (2) 48,910 (2)

Special education teachers, secondary school.............................................................................................. 138,470 (2) 49,620 (2)

Adult literacy, remedial education, and GED teachers and instructors......................................................... 63,200 20.92 43,520 18.74

Self-enrichment education teachers............................................................................................................... 141,180 16.93 35,210 14.85

Teachers and instructors, all other................................................................................................................. 505,570 (2) 33,100 (2)

Archivists......................................................................................................................................................... 5,190 19.05 39,630 17.54

Curators........................................................................................................................................................... 8,590 23.04 47,920 20.97

Museum technicians and conservators.......................................................................................................... 8,850 16.96 35,270 15.30

Librarians......................................................................................................................................................... 149,680 22.88 47,590 22.07

Library technicians.......................................................................................................................................... 113,520 12.63 26,260 11.99

Audio-visual collections specialists................................................................................................................. 8,420 17.13 35,630 15.86

Farm and home management advisors......................................................................................................... 12,620 21.62 44,960 20.00

Instructional coordinators................................................................................................................................ 106,590 24.74 51,450 23.46

Teacher assistants.......................................................................................................................................... 1,242,760 (2) 20,400 (2)

Education, training, and library workers, all other........................................................................................... 65,150 16.29 33,890 14.29

Arts, design, entertainment, sports, and media occupations

Art directors..................................................................................................................................................... 26,870 35.21 73,240 30.69

Craft artists...................................................................................................................................................... 3,890 13.33 27,720 11.31

Fine artists, including painters, sculptors, and illustrators.............................................................................. 9,570 20.98 43,640 18.30

Multi-media artists and animators................................................................................................................... 30,210 27.65 57,520 24.21

Artists and related workers, all other.............................................................................................................. 5,370 18.02 37,490 14.72

Commercial and industrial designers............................................................................................................. 33,050 26.77 55,670 25.15

Fashion designers........................................................................................................................................... 12,100 30.84 64,150 26.85

Floral designers............................................................................................................................................... 67,710 10.51 21,860 9.83

Graphic designers........................................................................................................................................... 159,720 20.25 42,120 18.28

Interior designers............................................................................................................................................ 46,360 21.59 44,900 19.56

Merchandise displayers and window trimmers............................................................................................... 62,220 12.51 26,020 10.89

Set and exhibit designers................................................................................................................................ 8,750 19.23 40,000 17.21

Designers, all other......................................................................................................................................... 12,650 22.27 46,320 20.31

Actors.............................................................................................................................................................. 59,000 22.48 (3) 11.28

Producers and directors.................................................................................................................................. 55,260 34.84 72,470 25.40

Athletes and sports competitors..................................................................................................................... 12,250 (2) 86,690 (2)

Coaches and scouts....................................................................................................................................... 122,930 (2) 32,780 (2)

Umpires, referees, and other sports officials.................................................................................................. 11,440 (2) 27,850 (2)

Dancers........................................................................................................................................................... 14,880 12.15 (3) 8.54

Choreographers.............................................................................................................................................. 15,360 18.39 38,250 16.19

Music directors and composers...................................................................................................................... 8,870 21.06 43,810 16.62

Musicians and singers.................................................................................................................................... 52,000 24.96 (3) 17.85

Entertainers and performers, sports and related workers, all other............................................................... 54,800 18.82 (3) 16.73

Radio and television announcers................................................................................................................... 41,430 15.22 31,650 10.64

Public address system and other announcers............................................................................................... 8,180 14.08 29,290 10.56

Broadcast news analysts................................................................................................................................ 6,930 27.28 56,740 17.78

Reporters and correspondents....................................................................................................................... 52,550 18.58 38,650 15.06

Public relations specialists.............................................................................................................................. 166,210 23.80 49,510 21.07

Editors............................................................................................................................................................. 100,790 23.65 49,190 21.10

Technical writers............................................................................................................................................. 45,100 27.24 56,650 25.71

Writers and authors......................................................................................................................................... 42,780 25.52 53,080 21.32

Interpreters and translators............................................................................................................................. 25,410 17.61 36,630 16.28

Media and communication workers, all other................................................................................................. 27,380 21.66 45,060 19.64

Audio and video equipment technicians......................................................................................................... 40,050 17.62 36,650 15.66

Broadcast technicians..................................................................................................................................... 29,940 16.14 33,560 13.47

Radio operators............................................................................................................................................... 1,670 17.06 35,490 15.73

Sound engineering technicians...................................................................................................................... 11,650 21.91 45,570 18.32

Photographers................................................................................................................................................ 54,400 15.00 31,200 12.54

Camera operators, television, video, and motion picture............................................................................... 21,600 20.04 41,690 18.08

Film and video editors..................................................................................................................................... 15,800 24.37 50,690 20.96

See footnotes at end of table.

Median hourly 

wages

Employment

Table 1. National employment and wage data from the Occupational Employment Statistics survey by occupation, May 2004—Continued

Mean wages

Occupation
Hourly Annual1

Arts, design, entertainment, sports, and media occupations—Continued

Media and communication equipment workers, all other............................................................................... 18,570 $22.36 $46,510 $19.77

Healthcare practitioner and technical occupations

Chiropractors................................................................................................................................................... 21,830 42.01 87,390 33.61

Dentists, general............................................................................................................................................. 84,240 63.87 132,850 59.16

Oral and maxillofacial surgeons...................................................................................................................... 4,950 79.69 165,750 (4)

Orthodontists................................................................................................................................................... 6,190 72.45 150,700 (4)

Prosthodontists............................................................................................................................................... 730 70.04 145,670 (4)

Dentists, all other specialists........................................................................................................................... 2,710 62.64 130,300 60.64

Dietitians and nutritionists............................................................................................................................... 46,530 21.46 44,640 20.98

Optometrists.................................................................................................................................................... 22,780 46.53 96,780 42.51

Pharmacists.................................................................................................................................................... 222,960 40.56 84,370 40.82

Anesthesiologists............................................................................................................................................ 25,130 83.77 174,250 (4)

Family and general practitioners..................................................................................................................... 106,750 66.58 138,490 65.91

Internists, general............................................................................................................................................ 51,180 76.06 158,200 (4)

Obstetricians and gynecologists..................................................................................................................... 20,850 84.74 176,270 (4)

Pediatricians, general...................................................................................................................................... 26,520 68.04 141,520 65.26

Psychiatrists.................................................................................................................................................... 22,440 72.17 150,110 (4)

Surgeons......................................................................................................................................................... 55,800 87.31 181,610 (4)

Physicians and surgeons, all other................................................................................................................. 162,720 66.16 137,610 67.44

Physician assistants........................................................................................................................................ 59,470 33.07 68,780 33.37

Podiatrists........................................................................................................................................................ 7,550 52.11 108,400 45.38

Registered nurses........................................................................................................................................... 2,311,970 26.06 54,210 25.16

Audiologists..................................................................................................................................................... 9,810 26.47 55,050 24.74

Occupational therapists.................................................................................................................................. 83,560 27.19 56,550 26.28

Physical therapists.......................................................................................................................................... 142,940 30.00 62,390 28.93

Radiation therapists........................................................................................................................................ 14,470 29.05 60,420 27.74

Recreational therapists................................................................................................................................... 23,050 16.48 34,280 15.82

Respiratory therapists..................................................................................................................................... 91,350 21.24 44,180 20.74

Speech-language pathologists....................................................................................................................... 89,260 26.71 55,550 25.20

Therapists, all other......................................................................................................................................... 8,090 21.45 44,620 19.32

Veterinarians................................................................................................................................................... 46,090 36.07 75,030 32.01

Health diagnosing and treating practitioners, all other................................................................................... 56,920 44.38 92,300 27.87

Medical and clinical laboratory technologists................................................................................................. 151,240 22.41 46,600 21.99

Medical and clinical laboratory technicians..................................................................................................... 141,720 15.44 32,120 14.83

Dental hygienists............................................................................................................................................. 155,810 28.58 59,440 28.05

Cardiovascular technologists and technicians............................................................................................... 43,540 19.09 39,710 18.60

Diagnostic medical sonographers.................................................................................................................. 41,280 25.78 53,620 25.24

Nuclear medicine technologists...................................................................................................................... 17,520 29.43 61,210 27.14

Radiologic technologists and technicians....................................................................................................... 177,220 21.41 44,530 20.84

Emergency medical technicians and paramedics.......................................................................................... 187,900 13.30 27,650 12.17

Dietetic technicians......................................................................................................................................... 24,630 11.89 24,730 11.05

Pharmacy technicians..................................................................................................................................... 255,290 11.87 24,700 11.37

Psychiatric technicians.................................................................................................................................... 59,010 13.43 27,940 12.28

Respiratory therapy technicians..................................................................................................................... 24,190 18.00 37,440 17.67

Surgical technologists..................................................................................................................................... 82,280 16.72 34,770 16.35

Veterinary technologists and technicians....................................................................................................... 58,570 12.49 25,990 11.99

Licensed practical and licensed vocational nurses........................................................................................ 702,740 16.75 34,840 16.33

Medical records and health information technicians...................................................................................... 155,030 13.30 27,660 12.30

Opticians, dispensing...................................................................................................................................... 62,350 14.37 29,880 13.44

Orthotists and prosthetists.............................................................................................................................. 4,930 27.47 57,130 24.17

Health technologists and technicians, all other.............................................................................................. 72,390 18.10 37,650 16.46

Occupational health and safety specialists.................................................................................................... 36,360 25.54 53,110 24.79

Occupational health and safety technicians................................................................................................... 11,190 21.31 44,320 20.25

Athletic trainers................................................................................................................................................ 13,100 (2) 36,350 (2)

Healthcare practitioners and technical workers, all other............................................................................... 52,240 18.20 37,860 16.04

Healthcare support occupations

Home health aides.......................................................................................................................................... 596,330 9.13 18,980 8.81

Nursing aides, orderlies, and attendants........................................................................................................ 1,384,120 10.39 21,610 10.09

Psychiatric aides............................................................................................................................................. 54,520 11.70 24,340 11.19

Occupational therapist assistants................................................................................................................... 20,880 18.49 38,460 18.48

Occupational therapist aides.......................................................................................................................... 5,240 12.51 26,030 11.13

Physical therapist assistants........................................................................................................................... 57,420 18.14 37,730 18.22

Physical therapist aides.................................................................................................................................. 41,910 11.14 23,160 10.28

Massage therapists......................................................................................................................................... 32,200 17.63 36,670 15.36

Dental assistants............................................................................................................................................. 264,820 13.97 29,060 13.62

Medical assistants........................................................................................................................................... 380,340 12.21 25,400 11.83

Medical equipment preparers......................................................................................................................... 40,380 12.14 25,240 11.76

Medical transcriptionists.................................................................................................................................. 92,740 14.01 29,150 13.64

Pharmacy aides.............................................................................................................................................. 47,720 9.52 19,810 8.86

Veterinary assistants and laboratory animal caretakers................................................................................ 70,200 9.44 19,640 8.97

Healthcare support workers, all other............................................................................................................. 182,550 12.62 26,250 12.01

See footnotes at end of table.

Mean wages

Employment Median hourly 

wages

Table 1. National employment and wage data from the Occupational Employment Statistics survey by occupation, May 2004—Continued

Occupation
Hourly Annual1

Protective service occupations

First-line supervisors/managers of correctional officers................................................................................. 35,880 $22.83 $47,490 $21.50

First-line supervisors/managers of police and detectives.............................................................................. 96,080 31.34 65,180 30.97

First-line supervisors/managers of fire fighting and prevention workers....................................................... 54,170 29.26 60,860 28.33

First-line supervisors/managers, protective service workers, all other.......................................................... 47,280 20.05 41,690 17.91

Fire fighters..................................................................................................................................................... 273,630 19.06 39,640 18.43

Fire inspectors and investigators.................................................................................................................... 12,500 23.03 47,890 22.28

Forest fire inspectors and prevention specialists........................................................................................... 1,580 19.98 41,560 18.77

Bailiffs.............................................................................................................................................................. 17,270 16.80 34,950 16.28

Correctional officers and jailers...................................................................................................................... 409,580 17.29 35,970 16.15

Detectives and criminal investigators............................................................................................................. 86,880 27.16 56,500 25.96

Fish and game wardens................................................................................................................................. 7,050 23.60 49,090 20.57

Parking enforcement workers......................................................................................................................... 9,990 14.37 29,890 13.64

Police and sheriff's patrol officers................................................................................................................... 616,340 22.20 46,180 21.74

Transit and railroad police............................................................................................................................... 4,610 22.77 47,370 21.84

Animal control workers.................................................................................................................................... 13,780 13.15 27,360 12.60

Private detectives and investigators............................................................................................................... 31,220 17.47 36,330 15.44

Gaming surveillance officers and gaming investigators................................................................................. 8,560 13.69 28,470 12.42

Security guards............................................................................................................................................... 978,570 10.61 22,070 9.77

Crossing guards.............................................................................................................................................. 70,180 9.94 20,670 9.28

Lifeguards, ski patrol, and other recreational protective service workers...................................................... 108,210 8.43 17,530 7.95

Protective service workers, all other............................................................................................................... 122,740 14.54 30,240 13.50

Food preparation and serving related occupations

Chefs and head cooks.................................................................................................................................... 116,930 16.42 34,160 14.75

First-line supervisors/managers of food preparation and serving workers.................................................... 733,680 13.21 27,480 12.22

Cooks, fast food.............................................................................................................................................. 652,500 7.33 15,250 7.07

Cooks, institution and cafeteria....................................................................................................................... 401,110 9.55 19,860 9.10

Cooks, private household............................................................................................................................... 650 10.83 22,530 9.42

Cooks, restaurant............................................................................................................................................ 765,670 9.73 20,230 9.39

Cooks, short order.......................................................................................................................................... 225,740 8.46 17,590 8.11

Cooks, all other............................................................................................................................................... 10,780 10.87 22,600 10.09

Food preparation workers............................................................................................................................... 863,700 8.47 17,620 8.03

Bartenders....................................................................................................................................................... 463,000 8.29 17,240 7.42

Combined food preparation and serving workers, including fast food........................................................... 2,140,740 7.40 15,390 7.06

Counter attendants, cafeteria, food concession, and coffee shop................................................................ 458,610 7.78 16,170 7.53

Waiters and waitresses................................................................................................................................... 2,219,850 7.66 15,930 6.75

Food servers, nonrestaurant.......................................................................................................................... 186,770 8.58 17,840 7.95

Dining room and cafeteria attendants and bartender helpers....................................................................... 390,980 7.44 15,470 7.10

Dishwashers.................................................................................................................................................... 497,650 7.50 15,600 7.35

Hosts and hostesses, restaurant, lounge, and coffee shop.......................................................................... 316,400 7.82 16,260 7.52

Food preparation and serving related workers, all other................................................................................ 62,620 8.89 18,490 8.26

Building and grounds cleaning and maintenance occupations

First-line supervisors/managers of housekeeping and janitorial workers...................................................... 199,990 15.32 31,880 14.19

First-line supervisors/managers of landscaping, lawn service, and

 groundskeeping workers.......................................................................................................................... 102,380 18.38 38,230 16.99

Janitors and cleaners, except maids and housekeeping cleaners................................................................ 2,103,490 9.91 20,620 9.04

Maids and housekeeping cleaners................................................................................................................. 880,150 8.62 17,930 8.13

Building cleaning workers, all other................................................................................................................ 13,580 10.74 22,350 10.17

Pest control workers....................................................................................................................................... 59,080 13.38 27,830 12.61

Landscaping and groundskeeping workers................................................................................................... 860,200 10.62 22,080 9.82

Pesticide handlers, sprayers, and applicators, vegetation............................................................................. 24,200 12.74 26,500 12.30

Tree trimmers and pruners............................................................................................................................. 39,600 13.37 27,800 12.57

Grounds maintenance workers, all other........................................................................................................ 17,760 11.18 23,250 9.57

Personal care and service occupations

Gaming supervisors........................................................................................................................................ 25,040 19.98 41,570 19.64

Slot key persons.............................................................................................................................................. 16,210 12.07 25,110 11.06

First-line supervisors/managers of personal service workers........................................................................ 121,250 16.07 33,430 14.59

Animal trainers................................................................................................................................................ 8,060 12.48 25,950 10.60

Nonfarm animal caretakers............................................................................................................................ 81,110 9.24 19,220 8.39

Gaming dealers............................................................................................................................................... 82,560 7.89 16,420 6.89

Gaming and sports book writers and runners................................................................................................ 18,290 9.76 20,310 8.84

Gaming service workers, all other.................................................................................................................. 14,860 10.85 22,570 10.01

Motion picture projectionists........................................................................................................................... 10,290 9.55 19,870 8.32

Ushers, lobby attendants, and ticket takers................................................................................................... 110,420 8.07 16,780 7.30

Amusement and recreation attendants.......................................................................................................... 241,110 8.00 16,630 7.47

Costume attendants........................................................................................................................................ 3,460 13.81 28,720 12.04

Locker room, coatroom, and dressing room attendants................................................................................ 24,320 8.80 18,310 8.44

Entertainment attendants and related workers, all other............................................................................... 37,080 8.57 17,820 8.14

Embalmers...................................................................................................................................................... 8,660 17.93 37,300 17.09

Funeral attendants.......................................................................................................................................... 29,660 10.05 20,900 9.26

Barbers............................................................................................................................................................ 15,830 12.04 25,040 10.19

See footnotes at end of table.

Median hourly 

wages

Table 1. National employment and wage data from the Occupational Employment Statistics survey by occupation, May 2004—Continued

Mean wages

Occupation Employment
Hourly Annual1

Personal care and service occupations—Continued

Hairdressers, hairstylists, and cosmetologists............................................................................................... 331,260 $10.95 $22,770 $9.52

Makeup artists, theatrical and performance................................................................................................... 1,060 15.28 31,780 11.74

Manicurists and pedicurists............................................................................................................................. 38,030 9.65 20,080 8.89

Shampooers.................................................................................................................................................... 16,180 7.51 15,610 7.03

Skin care specialists........................................................................................................................................ 19,650 13.20 27,450 11.55

Baggage porters and bellhops........................................................................................................................ 55,910 10.46 21,760 8.54

Concierges...................................................................................................................................................... 17,310 11.93 24,820 11.23

Tour guides and escorts................................................................................................................................. 28,660 9.92 20,640 9.32

Travel guides................................................................................................................................................... 4,140 14.30 29,750 13.20

Flight attendants.............................................................................................................................................. 101,980 (2) 51,160 (2)

Transportation attendants, except flight attendants and baggage porters.................................................... 27,730 9.99 20,780 9.17

Child care workers.......................................................................................................................................... 513,110 8.57 17,830 8.06

Personal and home care aides....................................................................................................................... 532,490 8.38 17,430 8.12

Fitness trainers and aerobics instructors........................................................................................................ 182,280 14.98 31,170 12.25

Recreation workers......................................................................................................................................... 266,520 10.43 21,690 9.29

Residential advisors........................................................................................................................................ 49,960 11.17 23,240 10.30

Personal care and service workers, all other................................................................................................. 65,070 9.81 20,410 8.63

Sales and related occupations

First-line supervisors/managers of retail sales workers................................................................................. 1,087,830 18.01 37,470 15.73

First-line supervisors/managers of non-retail sales workers.......................................................................... 307,610 34.33 71,420 28.51

Cashiers.......................................................................................................................................................... 3,438,070 8.29 17,250 7.81

Gaming change persons and booth cashiers................................................................................................ 28,830 10.04 20,890 9.87

Counter and rental clerks................................................................................................................................ 444,850 10.47 21,770 8.79

Parts salespersons......................................................................................................................................... 236,710 13.58 28,240 12.32

Retail salespersons......................................................................................................................................... 4,130,470 11.03 22,930 8.98

Advertising sales agents................................................................................................................................. 144,690 23.76 49,420 19.37

Insurance sales agents................................................................................................................................... 285,390 26.77 55,680 20.06

Securities, commodities, and financial services sales agents....................................................................... 240,500 43.77 91,040 33.27

Travel agents.................................................................................................................................................. 90,500 14.25 29,650 13.29

Sales representatives, services, all other....................................................................................................... 352,050 25.93 53,940 22.60

Sales representatives, wholesale and manufacturing, technical and scientific 

 products.................................................................................................................................................... 378,080 32.37 67,330 28.17

Sales representatives, wholesale and manufacturing, except technical 

 and scientific products............................................................................................................................. 1,385,630 25.91 53,900 21.83

Demonstrators and product promoters.......................................................................................................... 93,240 12.00 24,960 9.95

Models............................................................................................................................................................. 1,410 13.21 27,480 10.50

Real estate brokers......................................................................................................................................... 40,050 37.43 77,850 28.23

Real estate sales agents................................................................................................................................ 126,470 23.05 47,950 17.15

Sales engineers.............................................................................................................................................. 71,690 36.42 75,740 33.95

Telemarketers................................................................................................................................................. 410,360 11.29 23,490 9.82

Door-to-door sales workers, news and street vendors, and related workers................................................ 15,200 13.36 27,790 10.85

Sales and related workers, all other............................................................................................................... 198,230 18.44 38,350 15.09

Office and administrative support occupations

First-line supervisors/managers of office and administrative support workers.............................................. 1,406,240 21.15 43,990 19.72

Switchboard operators, including answering service..................................................................................... 206,370 10.81 22,490 10.38

Telephone operators....................................................................................................................................... 38,500 14.53 30,220 13.65

Communications equipment operators, all other........................................................................................... 4,040 15.98 33,240 15.23

Bill and account collectors.............................................................................................................................. 445,180 13.95 29,010 13.20

Billing and posting clerks and machine operators.......................................................................................... 496,780 13.50 28,070 13.00

Bookkeeping, accounting, and auditing clerks............................................................................................... 1,770,860 14.34 29,830 13.74

Gaming cage workers..................................................................................................................................... 19,710 11.09 23,070 10.74

Payroll and timekeeping clerks....................................................................................................................... 205,670 15.02 31,240 14.59

Procurement clerks......................................................................................................................................... 71,740 15.11 31,420 14.85

Tellers.............................................................................................................................................................. 552,860 10.30 21,420 10.15

Brokerage clerks............................................................................................................................................. 73,910 18.15 37,750 16.94

Correspondence clerks................................................................................................................................... 21,590 14.19 29,510 13.51

Court, municipal, and license clerks............................................................................................................... 103,090 14.63 30,420 13.67

Credit authorizers, checkers, and clerks........................................................................................................ 66,010 15.15 31,520 13.97

Customer service representatives.................................................................................................................. 2,021,350 14.01 29,130 12.99

Eligibility interviewers, government programs................................................................................................ 93,250 16.25 33,800 15.92

File clerks........................................................................................................................................................ 242,640 10.72 22,310 10.11

Hotel, motel, and resort desk clerks............................................................................................................... 190,300 8.93 18,570 8.51

Interviewers, except eligibility and loan........................................................................................................... 193,780 11.91 24,770 11.38

Library assistants, clerical............................................................................................................................... 102,310 10.57 21,990 9.96

Loan interviewers and clerks.......................................................................................................................... 209,320 14.75 30,680 13.94

New accounts clerks....................................................................................................................................... 96,560 13.55 28,180 12.91

Order clerks..................................................................................................................................................... 289,830 12.85 26,730 12.07

Human resources assistants, except payroll and timekeeping..................................................................... 164,940 15.77 32,810 15.26

Receptionists and information clerks.............................................................................................................. 1,071,230 10.91 22,690 10.50

See footnotes at end of table.

Mean wages

Occupation

Table 1. National employment and wage data from the Occupational Employment Statistics survey by occupation, May 2004—Continued

Median hourly 

wages

Employment
Hourly Annual1

Office and administrative support occupations—Continued

Reservation and transportation ticket agents and travel clerks..................................................................... 159,910 $14.48 $30,120 $13.34

All other information and record clerks........................................................................................................... 269,070 18.34 38,150 15.44

Cargo and freight agents................................................................................................................................ 70,000 17.24 35,870 16.47

Couriers and messengers.............................................................................................................................. 111,700 10.26 21,330 9.71

Police, fire, and ambulance dispatchers......................................................................................................... 90,930 14.58 30,330 13.91

Dispatchers, except police, fire, and ambulance............................................................................................ 165,910 16.01 33,310 14.87

Meter readers, utilities..................................................................................................................................... 48,830 15.03 31,260 14.15

Postal service clerks....................................................................................................................................... 76,870 19.82 41,230 19.69

Postal service mail carriers............................................................................................................................. 344,050 20.85 43,370 21.37

Postal service mail sorters, processors, and processing machine operators............................................... 214,400 18.12 37,690 18.96

Production, planning, and expediting clerks................................................................................................... 285,940 18.10 37,650 17.47

Shipping, receiving, and traffic clerks............................................................................................................. 747,270 12.43 25,850 11.73

Stock clerks and order fillers........................................................................................................................... 1,561,530 10.52 21,890 9.66

Weighers, measurers, checkers, and samplers, recordkeeping................................................................... 83,570 12.92 26,880 11.81

Executive secretaries and administrative assistants..................................................................................... 1,422,610 17.69 36,790 16.81

Legal secretaries............................................................................................................................................. 264,070 18.40 38,280 17.65

Medical secretaries......................................................................................................................................... 360,850 13.42 27,900 12.76

Secretaries, except legal, medical, and executive......................................................................................... 1,743,560 13.06 27,160 12.55

Computer operators........................................................................................................................................ 140,870 15.79 32,850 14.94

Data entry keyers............................................................................................................................................ 313,590 11.72 24,380 11.18

Word processors and typists.......................................................................................................................... 168,430 14.17 29,480 13.48

Desktop publishers......................................................................................................................................... 32,790 16.40 34,110 15.55

Insurance claims and policy processing clerks.............................................................................................. 239,250 14.70 30,580 14.06

Mail clerks and mail machine operators, except postal service..................................................................... 149,700 11.27 23,440 10.76

Office clerks, general...................................................................................................................................... 2,970,660 11.62 24,170 10.95

Office machine operators, except computer.................................................................................................. 97,140 11.83 24,610 11.16

Proofreaders and copy markers..................................................................................................................... 20,530 12.99 27,010 12.18

Statistical assistants........................................................................................................................................ 18,560 15.19 31,600 14.55

Office and administrative support workers, all other...................................................................................... 318,430 13.16 27,380 12.22

Farming, fishing, and forestry occupations

First-line supervisors/managers of farming, fishing, and forestry workers.................................................... 19,890 18.50 38,480 17.06

Farm labor contractors.................................................................................................................................... 2,770 10.84 22,540 8.42

Agricultural inspectors..................................................................................................................................... 12,300 16.05 33,390 14.92

Animal breeders.............................................................................................................................................. 1,530 15.74 32,730 13.55

Graders and sorters, agricultural products..................................................................................................... 50,110 8.52 17,710 7.90

Agricultural equipment operators.................................................................................................................... 20,960 9.76 20,300 8.88

Farmworkers and laborers, crop, nursery, and greenhouse......................................................................... 240,000 8.07 16,780 7.70

Farmworkers, farm and ranch animals........................................................................................................... 43,250 9.07 18,870 8.31

Agricultural workers, all other.......................................................................................................................... 9,500 11.06 23,010 10.15

Fishers and related fishing workers................................................................................................................ 940 14.04 29,200 11.58

Forest and conservation workers................................................................................................................... 9,140 11.34 23,590 9.51

Fallers.............................................................................................................................................................. 10,180 15.15 31,510 13.23

Logging equipment operators......................................................................................................................... 27,690 13.75 28,600 13.18

Log graders and scalers................................................................................................................................. 4,870 13.21 27,480 12.29

Logging workers, all other............................................................................................................................... 5,680 14.06 29,240 14.29

Construction and extraction occupations

First-line supervisors/managers of construction trades and extraction workers........................................... 542,440 25.95 53,980 24.25

Boilermakers................................................................................................................................................... 18,520 22.29 46,360 21.68

Brickmasons and blockmasons...................................................................................................................... 107,660 20.42 42,480 20.07

Stonemasons.................................................................................................................................................. 16,320 17.75 36,920 16.82

Carpenters...................................................................................................................................................... 882,490 18.26 37,970 16.78

Carpet installers.............................................................................................................................................. 40,170 17.72 36,860 16.39

Floor layers, except carpet, wood, and hard tiles........................................................................................... 15,800 17.13 35,640 15.68

Floor sanders and finishers............................................................................................................................ 6,430 13.93 28,980 12.88

Tile and marble setters................................................................................................................................... 42,930 18.28 38,020 17.02

Cement masons and concrete finishers......................................................................................................... 191,690 16.36 34,030 15.10

Terrazzo workers and finishers....................................................................................................................... 6,700 15.47 32,170 13.45

Construction laborers...................................................................................................................................... 854,840 13.86 28,830 12.10

Paving, surfacing, and tamping equipment operators................................................................................... 61,860 16.07 33,430 14.42

Pile-driver operators........................................................................................................................................ 4,450 22.46 46,720 21.29

Operating engineers and other construction equipment operators............................................................... 357,080 18.62 38,730 17.00

Drywall and ceiling tile installers...................................................................................................................... 113,350 17.71 36,830 16.36

Tapers............................................................................................................................................................. 36,370 19.25 40,040 18.78

Electricians...................................................................................................................................................... 582,920 21.58 44,900 20.33

Glaziers........................................................................................................................................................... 43,140 17.63 36,680 15.70

Insulation workers, floor, ceiling, and wall....................................................................................................... 37,000 16.12 33,530 14.57

Insulation workers, mechanical....................................................................................................................... 17,110 17.48 36,350 16.03

Painters, construction and maintenance........................................................................................................ 249,560 15.87 33,010 14.55

Paperhangers................................................................................................................................................. 7,660 16.87 35,090 15.73

Pipelayers........................................................................................................................................................ 54,470 15.40 32,040 13.68

Plumbers, pipefitters, and steamfitters........................................................................................................... 424,360 21.21 44,110 19.85

Plasterers and stucco masons....................................................................................................................... 54,920 16.96 35,270 15.60

Reinforcing iron and rebar workers................................................................................................................ 32,660 19.32 40,190 16.90

Roofers............................................................................................................................................................ 119,820 16.17 33,630 14.83

See footnotes at end of table.

Employment

Mean wages

Table 1. National employment and wage data from the Occupational Employment Statistics survey by occupation, May 2004—Continued

Median hourly 

wages

Occupation
Hourly Annual1

Construction and extraction occupations—Continued

Sheet metal workers....................................................................................................................................... 184,740 $18.63 $38,760 $17.09

Structural iron and steel workers.................................................................................................................... 70,240 21.30 44,300 20.40

Helpers--brickmasons, blockmasons, stonemasons, and tile and marble setters........................................ 61,680 13.40 27,860 12.00

Helpers--carpenters........................................................................................................................................ 106,130 10.94 22,750 10.38

Helpers--electricians....................................................................................................................................... 92,820 11.97 24,890 11.26

Helpers--painters, paperhangers, plasterers, and stucco masons................................................................ 26,090 10.87 22,610 9.87

Helpers--pipelayers, plumbers, pipefitters, and steamfitters.......................................................................... 74,820 11.50 23,930 10.75

Helpers--roofers.............................................................................................................................................. 21,530 10.58 22,000 9.93

Helpers, construction trades, all other............................................................................................................ 38,310 10.97 22,820 9.91

Construction and building inspectors.............................................................................................................. 82,690 21.86 45,460 21.00

Elevator installers and repairers..................................................................................................................... 21,110 27.98 58,190 28.23

Fence erectors................................................................................................................................................ 23,350 12.27 25,530 11.24

Hazardous materials removal workers........................................................................................................... 38,550 17.54 36,480 16.02

Highway maintenance workers....................................................................................................................... 136,550 14.61 30,390 14.21

Rail-track laying and maintenance equipment operators............................................................................... 10,430 17.96 37,360 18.35

Septic tank servicers and sewer pipe cleaners.............................................................................................. 16,670 14.73 30,640 13.88

Segmental pavers........................................................................................................................................... 840 13.31 27,690 11.74

Construction and related workers, all other.................................................................................................... 81,260 12.71 26,440 11.40

Derrick operators, oil and gas......................................................................................................................... 13,880 16.74 34,810 16.11

Rotary drill operators, oil and gas................................................................................................................... 13,860 18.68 38,860 17.11

Service unit operators, oil, gas, and mining................................................................................................... 16,210 16.05 33,380 14.75

Earth drillers, except oil and gas..................................................................................................................... 19,320 17.18 35,740 16.07

Explosives workers, ordnance handling experts, and blasters...................................................................... 5,290 17.85 37,130 17.16

Continuous mining machine operators........................................................................................................... 8,060 17.71 36,840 17.87

Mine cutting and channeling machine operators........................................................................................... 3,900 17.95 37,330 17.96

Mining machine operators, all other................................................................................................................ 2,710 17.17 35,710 16.45

Rock splitters, quarry...................................................................................................................................... 3,180 13.43 27,940 12.54

Roof bolters, mining........................................................................................................................................ 4,290 18.54 38,570 18.70

Roustabouts, oil and gas................................................................................................................................ 32,280 12.74 26,500 11.94

Helpers--extraction workers............................................................................................................................ 26,430 13.23 27,520 12.66

Extraction workers, all other............................................................................................................................ 10,450 16.37 34,050 15.66

Installation, maintenance, and repair occupations

First-line supervisors/managers of mechanics, installers, and repairers....................................................... 459,440 25.34 52,700 24.20

Computer, automated teller, and office machine repairers............................................................................ 141,350 17.59 36,580 16.90

Radio mechanics............................................................................................................................................ 6,340 18.30 38,070 17.65

Telecommunications equipment installers and repairers, except line installers............................................ 202,160 23.10 48,050 23.96

Avionics technicians........................................................................................................................................ 22,310 21.38 44,460 21.30

Electric motor, power tool, and related repairers............................................................................................ 21,910 16.11 33,520 15.54

Electrical and electronics installers and repairers, transportation equipment................................................ 17,390 19.46 40,470 19.25

Electrical and electronics repairers, commercial and industrial equipment................................................... 71,300 20.63 42,910 20.48

Electrical and electronics repairers, powerhouse, substation, and relay....................................................... 20,660 25.51 53,060 25.86

Electronic equipment installers and repairers, motor vehicles....................................................................... 15,490 14.24 29,610 12.79

Electronic home entertainment equipment installers and repairers............................................................... 32,210 14.25 29,640 13.44

Security and fire alarm systems installers...................................................................................................... 44,710 16.78 34,900 16.06

Aircraft mechanics and service technicians................................................................................................... 112,830 22.69 47,190 21.77

Automotive body and related repairers.......................................................................................................... 162,820 18.10 37,650 16.68

Automotive glass installers and repairers....................................................................................................... 18,150 13.98 29,080 13.45

Automotive service technicians and mechanics............................................................................................ 668,540 16.61 34,550 15.60

Bus and truck mechanics and diesel engine specialists................................................................................ 251,430 17.66 36,730 17.20

Farm equipment mechanics........................................................................................................................... 30,770 13.74 28,580 13.40

Mobile heavy equipment mechanics, except engines................................................................................... 112,000 18.68 38,860 18.34

Rail car repairers............................................................................................................................................. 18,140 19.01 39,550 19.48

Motorboat mechanics..................................................................................................................................... 17,680 15.16 31,530 14.74

Motorcycle mechanics.................................................................................................................................... 15,920 14.61 30,380 13.70

Outdoor power equipment and other small engine mechanics..................................................................... 25,170 12.66 26,340 11.98

Bicycle repairers.............................................................................................................................................. 7,750 9.90 20,580 9.71

Recreational vehicle service technicians........................................................................................................ 12,340 14.73 30,630 13.93

Tire repairers and changers............................................................................................................................ 87,110 10.75 22,350 10.01

Mechanical door repairers.............................................................................................................................. 10,470 16.92 35,190 15.38

Control and valve installers and repairers, except mechanical door............................................................. 37,260 20.83 43,320 21.01

Heating, air conditioning, and refrigeration mechanics and installers............................................................ 225,630 18.30 38,060 17.43

Home appliance repairers............................................................................................................................... 40,300 16.00 33,280 15.47

Industrial machinery mechanics..................................................................................................................... 212,770 19.28 40,090 18.78

Maintenance and repair workers, general...................................................................................................... 1,267,390 15.41 32,060 14.77

Maintenance workers, machinery................................................................................................................... 84,850 16.40 34,120 15.79

Millwrights........................................................................................................................................................ 57,050 21.63 44,990 21.02

Refractory materials repairers, except brickmasons...................................................................................... 3,570 18.76 39,020 18.09

Electrical power-line installers and repairers.................................................................................................. 101,760 22.91 47,640 23.61

Telecommunications line installers and repairers.......................................................................................... 144,080 19.55 40,660 19.39

Camera and photographic equipment repairers............................................................................................ 3,830 16.29 33,880 15.54

Medical equipment repairers.......................................................................................................................... 23,750 18.72 38,930 17.90

Musical instrument repairers and tuners........................................................................................................ 5,290 14.88 30,950 13.47

Watch repairers............................................................................................................................................... 3,450 15.23 31,670 13.87

Precision instrument and equipment repairers, all other................................................................................ 13,500 21.64 45,000 21.25

See footnotes at end of table.

Occupation

Table 1. National employment and wage data from the Occupational Employment Statistics survey by occupation, May 2004—Continued

Employment Median hourly 

wages

Mean wages
Hourly Annual1

Installation, maintenance, and repair occupations—Continued

Coin, vending, and amusement machine servicers and repairers................................................................ 37,230 $13.95 $29,020 $13.47

Commercial divers.......................................................................................................................................... 2,230 18.66 38,820 16.94

Fabric menders, except garment.................................................................................................................... 2,150 15.60 32,440 15.62

Locksmiths and safe repairers........................................................................................................................ 15,540 15.30 31,830 14.60

Manufactured building and mobile home installers........................................................................................ 12,150 11.64 24,210 11.23

Riggers............................................................................................................................................................ 12,480 17.55 36,500 16.98

Signal and track switch repairers.................................................................................................................... 7,780 21.73 45,210 21.43

Helpers--installation, maintenance, and repair workers................................................................................. 157,310 11.18 23,250 10.25

Installation, maintenance, and repair workers, all other................................................................................. 137,650 17.23 35,830 16.23

Production occupations

First-line supervisors/managers of production and operating workers.......................................................... 696,750 22.96 47,760 21.51

Aircraft structure, surfaces, rigging, and systems assemblers...................................................................... 18,710 18.02 37,470 17.79

Coil winders, tapers, and finishers.................................................................................................................. 27,360 12.69 26,400 12.24

Electrical and electronic equipment assemblers............................................................................................ 217,360 12.63 26,270 11.68

Electromechanical equipment assemblers.................................................................................................... 51,370 13.29 27,650 12.71

Engine and other machine assemblers.......................................................................................................... 45,730 17.29 35,960 16.73

Structural metal fabricators and fitters............................................................................................................ 86,240 14.94 31,070 14.34

Fiberglass laminators and fabricators............................................................................................................. 30,250 12.59 26,190 12.18

Team assemblers........................................................................................................................................... 1,208,270 12.36 25,720 11.42

Timing device assemblers, adjusters, and calibrators................................................................................... 3,150 14.57 30,310 13.76

Assemblers and fabricators, all other............................................................................................................. 259,830 14.14 29,410 11.90

Bakers............................................................................................................................................................. 150,900 10.97 22,820 10.26

Butchers and meat cutters.............................................................................................................................. 131,490 13.12 27,300 12.45

Meat, poultry, and fish cutters and trimmers.................................................................................................. 137,370 9.60 19,970 9.09

Slaughterers and meat packers..................................................................................................................... 134,140 10.20 21,220 10.03

Food and tobacco roasting, baking, and drying machine operators and tenders......................................... 18,110 12.12 25,210 11.46

Food batchmakers.......................................................................................................................................... 85,010 11.34 23,590 10.62

Food cooking machine operators and tenders.............................................................................................. 41,810 10.72 22,290 10.02

Computer-controlled machine tool operators, metal and plastic................................................................... 124,330 15.22 31,650 14.75

Numerical tool and process control programmers......................................................................................... 17,310 20.27 42,160 19.31

Extruding and drawing machine setters, operators, and tenders, metal and plastic..................................... 88,980 13.54 28,170 13.18

Forging machine setters, operators, and tenders, metal and plastic............................................................. 37,890 14.05 29,210 13.22

Rolling machine setters, operators, and tenders, metal and plastic.............................................................. 37,210 14.81 30,810 14.33

Cutting, punching, and press machine setters, operators, and tenders,

 metal and plastic...................................................................................................................................... 248,800 13.04 27,120 12.45

Drilling and boring machine tool setters, operators, and tenders, metal and plastic..................................... 41,940 14.72 30,620 13.69

Grinding, lapping, polishing, and buffing machine tool setters, operators, and tenders, 

 metal and plastic...................................................................................................................................... 98,770 14.10 29,330 13.19

Lathe and turning machine tool setters, operators, and tenders, metal and plastic..................................... 70,230 15.47 32,190 15.04

Milling and planing machine setters, operators, and tenders, metal and plastic........................................... 30,280 15.16 31,530 14.91

Machinists....................................................................................................................................................... 361,280 16.73 34,790 16.33

Metal-refining furnace operators and tenders................................................................................................ 17,150 16.13 33,560 15.74

Pourers and casters, metal............................................................................................................................. 13,670 14.68 30,530 13.92

Model makers, metal and plastic.................................................................................................................... 8,030 21.57 44,870 21.28

Patternmakers, metal and plastic................................................................................................................... 5,930 18.19 37,840 17.86

Foundry mold and coremakers....................................................................................................................... 17,320 14.29 29,720 13.37

Molding, coremaking, and casting machine setters, operators, and tenders,

 metal and plastic...................................................................................................................................... 156,480 12.47 25,940 11.63

Multiple machine tool setters, operators, and tenders, metal and plastic...................................................... 97,060 14.88 30,960 14.06

Tool and die makers....................................................................................................................................... 99,390 21.19 44,070 20.55

Welders, cutters, solderers, and brazers....................................................................................................... 344,970 15.41 32,050 14.72

Welding, soldering, and brazing machine setters, operators, and tenders................................................... 47,210 15.39 32,020 14.32

Heat treating equipment setters, operators, and tenders, metal and plastic................................................. 25,690 14.73 30,630 14.26

Lay-out workers, metal and plastic................................................................................................................. 11,240 16.23 33,750 15.65

Plating and coating machine setters, operators, and tenders, metal and plastic.......................................... 38,620 13.68 28,440 12.96

Tool grinders, filers, and sharpeners.............................................................................................................. 19,750 15.10 31,410 14.52

Metal workers and plastic workers, all other................................................................................................... 53,050 17.19 35,750 16.15

Bindery workers.............................................................................................................................................. 73,240 12.33 25,650 11.31

Bookbinders.................................................................................................................................................... 7,160 14.58 30,320 13.71

Job printers...................................................................................................................................................... 56,770 16.23 33,750 15.41

Prepress technicians and workers................................................................................................................. 76,190 16.08 33,450 15.30

Printing machine operators............................................................................................................................. 184,230 15.26 31,740 14.38

Laundry and dry-cleaning workers................................................................................................................. 218,610 8.74 18,170 8.28

Pressers, textile, garment, and related materials........................................................................................... 80,520 8.62 17,920 8.33

Sewing machine operators............................................................................................................................. 242,500 9.24 19,230 8.61

Shoe and leather workers and repairers........................................................................................................ 7,840 9.68 20,120 9.29

Shoe machine operators and tenders............................................................................................................ 4,530 9.85 20,500 9.44

Sewers, hand.................................................................................................................................................. 12,430 10.20 21,210 9.13

Tailors, dressmakers, and custom sewers..................................................................................................... 27,180 11.76 24,450 10.79

Textile bleaching and dyeing machine operators and tenders...................................................................... 21,480 10.96 22,790 10.56

Textile cutting machine setters, operators, and tenders................................................................................ 25,320 10.44 21,700 9.80

Textile knitting and weaving machine setters, operators, and tenders.......................................................... 45,320 11.47 23,850 11.48

Textile winding, twisting, and drawing out machine setters, operators, and tenders.................................... 53,490 11.41 23,740 10.87

See footnotes at end of table.

Table 1. National employment and wage data from the Occupational Employment Statistics survey by occupation, May 2004—Continued

Employment

Mean wages

Occupation Median hourly 

wages
Hourly Annual1

Production occupations—Continued

Extruding and forming machine setters, operators, and tenders, synthetic 

 and glass fibers........................................................................................................................................ 23,040 $13.71 $28,520 $13.37

Fabric and apparel patternmakers................................................................................................................. 9,340 16.23 33,760 13.85

Upholsterers.................................................................................................................................................... 38,550 13.05 27,140 12.35

Textile, apparel, and furnishings workers, all other........................................................................................ 21,920 10.96 22,790 10.34

Cabinetmakers and bench carpenters........................................................................................................... 121,380 12.90 26,830 12.16

Furniture finishers........................................................................................................................................... 25,770 12.11 25,190 11.35

Model makers, wood....................................................................................................................................... 3,210 14.82 30,820 12.94

Patternmakers, wood...................................................................................................................................... 2,500 15.74 32,750 14.88

Sawing machine setters, operators, and tenders, wood................................................................................ 56,500 11.35 23,600 10.91

Woodworking machine setters, operators, and tenders, except sawing....................................................... 88,870 11.43 23,780 10.93

Woodworkers, all other................................................................................................................................... 12,190 10.94 22,760 10.16

Nuclear power reactor operators.................................................................................................................... 4,300 30.71 63,880 30.81

Power distributors and dispatchers................................................................................................................ 8,290 28.03 58,300 27.56

Power plant operators..................................................................................................................................... 33,350 25.02 52,030 25.26

Stationary engineers and boiler operators..................................................................................................... 46,870 21.66 45,060 21.22

Water and liquid waste treatment plant and system operators...................................................................... 92,120 17.32 36,030 16.81

Chemical plant and system operators............................................................................................................ 59,980 21.61 44,940 21.55

Gas plant operators........................................................................................................................................ 10,670 24.36 50,660 24.36

Petroleum pump system operators, refinery operators, and gaugers........................................................... 42,300 23.44 48,760 24.27

Plant and system operators, all other............................................................................................................. 14,930 20.14 41,900 20.10

Chemical equipment operators and tenders.................................................................................................. 48,450 18.94 39,390 18.69

Separating, filtering, clarifying, precipitating, and still machine setters, operators, 

 and tenders.............................................................................................................................................. 38,000 16.49 34,290 15.98

Crushing, grinding, and polishing machine setters, operators, and tenders................................................. 42,600 13.70 28,490 12.96

Grinding and polishing workers, hand............................................................................................................ 44,210 12.03 25,030 11.28

Mixing and blending machine setters, operators, and tenders...................................................................... 119,320 14.06 29,240 13.51

Cutters and trimmers, hand............................................................................................................................ 28,780 11.60 24,120 10.59

Cutting and slicing machine setters, operators, and tenders......................................................................... 73,250 13.46 27,990 12.82

Extruding, forming, pressing, and compacting machine setters, operators, and tenders............................. 73,970 13.88 28,880 13.20

Furnace, kiln, oven, drier, and kettle operators and tenders......................................................................... 29,750 15.08 31,360 14.29

Inspectors, testers, sorters, samplers, and weighers.................................................................................... 495,430 15.00 31,210 13.66

Jewelers and precious stone and metal workers........................................................................................... 26,360 14.76 30,700 13.18

Dental laboratory technicians......................................................................................................................... 44,540 16.21 33,720 14.93

Medical appliance technicians........................................................................................................................ 10,080 15.19 31,600 13.38

Ophthalmic laboratory technicians................................................................................................................. 25,170 12.32 25,620 11.40

Packaging and filling machine operators and tenders................................................................................... 411,660 11.59 24,110 10.67

Coating, painting, and spraying machine setters, operators, and tenders.................................................... 96,510 13.25 27,550 12.64

Painters, transportation equipment................................................................................................................. 49,810 18.17 37,800 16.89

Painting, coating, and decorating workers..................................................................................................... 26,990 12.01 24,970 10.95

Photographic process workers....................................................................................................................... 31,610 11.07 23,010 9.63

Photographic processing machine operators................................................................................................. 53,350 10.26 21,340 9.33

Semiconductor processors............................................................................................................................. 44,440 14.46 30,070 13.85

Cementing and gluing machine operators and tenders................................................................................. 24,630 12.34 25,660 11.57

Cleaning, washing, and metal pickling equipment operators and tenders.................................................... 16,860 12.15 25,270 11.18

Cooling and freezing equipment operators and tenders................................................................................ 8,790 12.18 25,340 10.96

Etchers and engravers................................................................................................................................... 8,490 12.59 26,180 11.33

Molders, shapers, and casters, except metal and plastic.............................................................................. 37,930 12.51 26,020 11.58

Paper goods machine setters, operators, and tenders.................................................................................. 109,560 15.01 31,220 14.63

Tire builders..................................................................................................................................................... 17,960 17.38 36,150 17.50

Helpers--production workers........................................................................................................................... 480,430 10.35 21,530 9.70

Production workers, all other.......................................................................................................................... 299,950 13.47 28,010 11.38

Transportation and material moving occupations

Aircraft cargo handling supervisors................................................................................................................ 7,460 18.90 39,310 16.40

First-line supervisors/managers of helpers, laborers, and material movers, hand....................................... 169,860 19.45 40,460 18.40

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

 and vehicle operators.............................................................................................................................. 222,590 23.23 48,320 21.54

Airline pilots, copilots, and flight engineers..................................................................................................... 78,490 (2) 129,620 (2)

Commercial pilots............................................................................................................................................ 21,370 (2) 62,290 (2)

Air traffic controllers......................................................................................................................................... 22,260 47.94 99,710 49.05

Airfield operations specialists.......................................................................................................................... 4,810 20.22 42,050 17.64

Ambulance drivers and attendants, except emergency medical technicians............................................... 17,410 10.17 21,140 9.49

Bus drivers, transit and intercity...................................................................................................................... 183,710 15.09 31,390 14.30

Bus drivers, school.......................................................................................................................................... 475,430 11.33 23,560 11.18

Driver/sales workers....................................................................................................................................... 406,910 11.36 23,620 9.66

Truck drivers, heavy and tractor-trailer........................................................................................................... 1,553,370 16.63 34,580 16.11

Truck drivers, light or delivery services.......................................................................................................... 938,730 12.88 26,790 11.80

Taxi drivers and chauffeurs............................................................................................................................ 132,650 10.34 21,510 9.41

Motor vehicle operators, all other................................................................................................................... 85,520 11.04 22,960 9.45

Locomotive engineers..................................................................................................................................... 31,180 26.29 54,680 24.30

Locomotive firers............................................................................................................................................. 620 22.23 46,230 21.56

Rail yard engineers, dinkey operators, and hostlers...................................................................................... 6,170 18.41 38,280 17.70

See footnotes at end of table.

Table 1. National employment and wage data from the Occupational Employment Statistics survey by occupation, May 2004—Continued

Median hourly 

wages

Mean wages

Occupation Employment
Hourly Annual1

Transportation and material moving occupations—Continued

Railroad brake, signal, and switch operators................................................................................................. 16,410 $23.03 $47,900 $21.46

Railroad conductors and yardmasters........................................................................................................... 35,720 25.28 52,580 22.28

Subway and streetcar operators..................................................................................................................... 8,900 22.67 47,150 23.70

Rail transportation workers, all other.............................................................................................................. 7,680 19.56 40,680 19.57

Sailors and marine oilers................................................................................................................................ 27,570 14.98 31,160 14.00

Captains, mates, and pilots of water vessels................................................................................................. 25,200 25.11 52,230 24.20

Motorboat operators........................................................................................................................................ 2,830 16.25 33,790 15.39

Ship engineers................................................................................................................................................ 10,330 27.80 57,830 26.42

Bridge and lock tenders.................................................................................................................................. 3,500 17.05 35,460 17.98

Parking lot attendants..................................................................................................................................... 120,080 8.48 17,650 8.08

Service station attendants.............................................................................................................................. 90,640 8.92 18,560 8.29

Traffic technicians........................................................................................................................................... 6,240 17.11 35,600 16.19

Transportation inspectors............................................................................................................................... 24,140 24.89 51,780 24.22

Transportation workers, all other.................................................................................................................... 51,850 16.11 33,510 15.47

Conveyor operators and tenders.................................................................................................................... 54,380 12.85 26,720 12.23

Crane and tower operators............................................................................................................................. 43,570 18.81 39,130 17.99

Dredge operators............................................................................................................................................ 1,730 14.43 30,010 13.47

Excavating and loading machine and dragline operators.............................................................................. 67,080 16.40 34,120 15.37

Loading machine operators, underground mining......................................................................................... 3,330 16.34 34,000 15.98

Hoist and winch operators.............................................................................................................................. 5,550 18.65 38,790 16.19

Industrial truck and tractor operators.............................................................................................................. 631,530 13.57 28,230 12.78

Cleaners of vehicles and equipment.............................................................................................................. 330,520 9.33 19,400 8.41

Laborers and freight, stock, and material movers, hand............................................................................... 2,390,910 10.53 21,910 9.67

Machine feeders and offbearers..................................................................................................................... 149,500 11.31 23,530 10.68

Packers and packagers, hand........................................................................................................................ 872,260 8.97 18,660 8.25

Gas compressor and gas pumping station operators.................................................................................... 4,680 21.56 44,850 21.07

Pump operators, except wellhead pumpers................................................................................................... 9,810 17.79 37,000 17.04

Wellhead pumpers.......................................................................................................................................... 10,040 16.33 33,960 16.31

Refuse and recyclable material collectors...................................................................................................... 139,920 13.37 27,810 12.38

Shuttle car operators....................................................................................................................................... 3,000 17.58 36,570 18.08

Tank car, truck, and ship loaders................................................................................................................... 16,530 16.44 34,190 15.59

Material moving workers, all other.................................................................................................................. 57,390 15.29 31,800 13.87

2 Hourly wage rates for occupations where workers typically work fewer than 2,080 hours per year are not available.

4 Represents a wage above $70.00 per hour.

Mean wages

Median hourly 

wages

1

 Annual wages have been calculated by multiplying the hourly mean wage by a "year-round, full-time" hours figure of 2,080 hours; for those occupations 

where there is not an hourly mean wage published, the annual wage has been directly calculated from the reported survey data.

Table 1. National employment and wage data from the Occupational Employment Statistics survey by occupation, May 2004—Continued

Occupation Employment

3 There is a wide variation in the number of hours worked by those employed as actors, dancers, singers, and musicians. Many jobs are for the duration of 

1 day or 1 week, and it is extremely rare for a performer to have guaranteed employment for a period that exceeds 3 to 6 months. Therefore, only hourly 

wages are available for these occupations.