1 

June 2010 

Occupational Employment 

Statistics (OES) Highlights

An Overview of U.S. Occupational Employment 

and Wages in 2009 

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

representing nearly 1 out of every 17 jobs. Just 15 occupations accounted for over 

one-quarter of U.S. employment. In addition to retail salespersons and cashiers, 

these occupations included general office clerks, janitors, heavy and tractor-trailer 

truck drivers, and elementary school teachers. Of the 15 largest occupations, only 

3—general and operations managers, registered nurses, and elementary school 

teachers—had mean wages above the U.S. average of $20.90 per hour or $43,460 

annually. (See chart 1; data are available in table format on page 8.) 
2 

At the other end of the spectrum, occupations with employment of 5,000 or less 

accounted for about 0.1 percent of total U.S. employment. Some of the smallest 

occupations in the United States are shown in chart 2. These occupations included 

dredge operators, astronomers, geographers, locomotive firers, and radio operators. 

(See page 9 to view these data in table format.) 

More than 1 out of every 3 jobs was in an office and administrative support, sales, or 

food preparation and serving occupation. (See chart 3.) Office and administrative 

support jobs made up 5 of the 15 largest occupations, including general office clerks, 

with employment of over 2.8 million; customer service representatives (2.2 million); 

stock clerks and order fillers (1.9 million); secretaries, except legal, medical, and 

executive (1.8 million); and bookkeeping, accounting, and auditing clerks (1.8 

million). The largest food preparation and serving occupations included combined 

food preparation and serving workers and waiters and waitresses, which were also 

among the largest occupations overall. Life, physical, and social science; community 

and social services; legal; and arts, design, entertainment, sports, and media were 
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among the smallest occupational groups, each accounting for only about 1 percent of 

total employment. 

 

(See page 10 to view these data in table format.) 

Establishments providing health care and social assistance, such as hospitals and 

physicians’ offices, accounted for about 1 out of every 8 jobs, more than any other 

type of employer. The five largest occupations in this industry made up over onethird of total industry employment, and included registered nurses; nursing aides, 

orderlies, and attendants; and home health aides. (See table a.) 

Retail trade businesses accounted for more than 1 out of every 9 jobs. Cashiers, 

retail salespersons, and their supervisors made up over half of employment in the 

retail trade sector. Two occupations associated with handling merchandise—stock 

clerks and order fillers; and laborers and hand freight, stock, and material movers—

made up an additional 11 percent of retail employment. Manufacturing 

establishments, providers of educational services, and businesses offering 
4 

Table a. Largest industry sectors and employment and mean wages for the largest occupations in those s

Industry sector 

Percent 

of total 

U.S. 

employment 

Largest occupations in sector 

Occupation Employment 

Perce

of sect

emplo

ment 

Health care and social assistance 12.9 

Registered nurses 2,225,330 13

Nursing aides, orderlies, and attendants 1,317,360 7Home health aides 899,980 5Licensed practical and licensed vocational nurses 623,210 3Personal and home care aides 570,480 3

Retail trade 11.5 

Retail salespersons 3,891,310 26

Cashiers 2,828,730 18Stock clerks and order fillers 1,303,730 8First-line supervisors/managers of retail sales workers 1,037,570 6Laborers and freight, stock, and material movers, hand 351,870 2

Educational services 9.8 

Elementary school teachers, except special education 1,532,990 12

Teacher assistants 1,098,920 8Secondary school teachers, except special and vocational education 1,084,060 8Middle school teachers, except special and vocational education 661,700 5Teachers and instructors, all other 525,780 4

Manufacturing 9.5 

Team assemblers 756,630 6

First-line supervisors/managers of production and operating workers 444,390 3Machinists 305,610 2Inspectors, testers, sorters, samplers, and weighers 299,450 2Helpers—production workers 286,600 2

Accommodation and food services 8.6 

Combined food preparation and serving workers, including fast food 2,229,440 19

Waiters and waitresses 2,128,120 18Cooks, restaurant 849,920 7First-line supervisors/managers of food preparation and serving workers 

620,750 5

Cooks, fast food 514,660 4

(1) Wages for some occupations that do not generally work year round, full time, are reported either as hourly wages or annual salari

they are typically paid. 
5 

accommodation and food services were also among the largest employers, with each 

of these three industry sectors accounting for 9 to 10 percent of total employment. 

(See page 11 to view these data in table format.) 

The U.S. median wage in 2009 was $15.95 per hour or $33,190 per year. The 

median represents the wage in the middle of the earnings distribution—half of jobs 

pay this amount or more, and half pay this amount or less—and may be a more 

accurate measure of typical earnings than the mean wage, which can be affected by 

a small percentage of jobs with very high pay. Occupations with wages near the U.S. 

median included many office and administrative support; construction; installation, 

maintenance, and repair; production; and transportation and material moving 

occupations. Chart 4 shows some of the largest occupations with wages between 

$1.00 above and $1.00 below the median, including dental assistants, insurance 

claims and policy processing clerks, general maintenance and repair workers, and 

transit and intercity bus drivers. In addition, these occupations included first-line 
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supervisors for two groups of relatively low-paying occupations: retail sales workers 

and housekeeping and janitorial workers. 

California, Texas, New York, Florida, and Illinois were the States with the highest 

total employment, accounting for more than one-third of U.S. jobs. These and other 

States with high overall employment also had the highest employment of many 

individual occupations. However, smaller States were among the largest employers 

of some occupations, due in part to factors like geographical characteristics and 

industry mix. For example, Nevada, a relatively small State in terms of total 

employment, had more gaming managers, gaming dealers, and gaming supervisors 

than any other State; Mississippi, another small State, also had some of the highest 

employment of these occupations. Colorado, Louisiana, and Oklahoma had among 

the highest employment of petroleum engineers and geological and petroleum 

technicians. The midwestern States of Iowa, Nebraska, Kansas, Wisconsin, and 

Minnesota accounted for about 7 percent of total U.S. employment, but 28 percent of 

employment of farm equipment mechanics; all of these States except Wisconsin also 

had among the highest employment of slaughterers and meatpackers. 

As at the State level, metropolitan areas and divisions with high total employment—

like New York-White Plains-Wayne, N.Y.-N.J.; Los Angeles-Long Beach-Glendale, 

Calif.; Chicago-Naperville-Joliet, Ill.; and Houston-Sugar Land-Baytown, Texas—also 

tended to have high employment in many specific occupations. However, there were 

exceptions. Orlando-Kissimmee, Fla., a much smaller area than those listed above, 

had some of the highest employment levels of meeting and convention planners; 

baggage porters and bellhops; travel agents; and hotel, motel, and resort desk 

clerks. Hartford-West Hartford-East Hartford, Conn., was a significant employer of 

insurance underwriters and actuaries, while Nashville-Davidson–Murfreesboro–

Franklin, Tenn., had among the highest employment of agents and business 

managers of artists, performers, and athletes; and musicians and singers. The areas 

with the highest employment of anthropologists and archeologists included 

Albuquerque, N.M.; Tucson, Ariz.; Honolulu, Hawaii; and Santa Fe, N.M. 
7 

Complete Occupational Employment Statistics data for May 2009 are available from 

the OES home page at www.bls.gov/oes. This highlight was prepared by Audrey 

Watson. For more information, please contact the OES program at 

www.bls.gov/oes/home.htm#contact. 
8 

Table 1. Employment and mean wages for the largest U.S. occupations, 

May 2009 

Occupation Employment 

Percent of 

total U.S. 

employment 

Hourly 

mean 

wage 

Annual 

mean 

wage 

Retail salespersons 4,209,500 3.2 $11.84 $24,630

Cashiers 3,439,380 2.6 9.15 19,030

Office clerks, general 2,815,240 2.2 13.32 27,700

Combined food preparation and serving 

workers, including fast food 

2,695,740 2.1 8.71 18,120

Registered nurses 2,583,770 2.0 31.99 66,530

Waiters and waitresses 2,302,070 1.8 9.80 20,380

Customer service representatives 2,195,860 1.7 15.58 32,410

Laborers and freight, stock, and material 

movers, hand 

2,135,790 1.6 12.16 25,290

Janitors and cleaners, except maids and 

housekeeping cleaners 

2,090,400 1.6 11.60 24,120

Stock clerks and order fillers 1,864,410 1.4 11.28 23,460

Secretaries, except legal, medical, and 

executive 

1,797,670 1.4 14.93 31,060

Bookkeeping, accounting, and auditing 

clerks 

1,757,870 1.3 16.71 34,750

General and operations managers 1,689,680 1.3 53.15 110,550

Truck drivers, heavy and tractor-trailer 1,550,930 1.2 18.87 39,260

Elementary school teachers, except 

special education 

1,544,300 1.2 (1) 53,150

(1) Wages for some occupations that do not generally work year-round, full time, are reported 

either as hourly wages or annual salaries, depending on how they are typically paid. 
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Table 2. Employment and mean wages for the smallest U.S. occupations, 

May 2009 

Occupation Employment 

Hourly 

mean 

wage 

Annual 

mean 

wage 

Prosthodontists 660 $60.29 $125,400

Fabric menders, except garment 840 13.28 27,630

Radio operators 870 20.86 43,400

Locomotive firers 960 24.71 51,400

Farm labor contractors 1,000 17.37 36,130

Segmental pavers 1,040 13.81 28,730

Mathematical technicians 1,090 21.27 44,230

Geographers 1,170 34.33 71,420

Astronomers 1,240 49.40 102,740

Models 1,510 17.51 36,420

Patternmakers, wood 1,540 18.53 38,540

Forest fire inspectors and prevention specialists 1,540 18.36 38,180

Animal breeders 1,700 16.93 35,210

Industrial-organizational psychologists 1,710 49.31 102,570

Model makers, wood 1,900 16.33 33,970

Makeup artists, theatrical and performance 1,930 21.64 45,010

Dredge operators 1,990 18.43 38,330

Note: omits some occupations that are concentrated in private households and the agricultural 

sector (except logging and support activities for crop and animal production), which are not 

covered by the OES survey. 
10 

Table 3. Employment and mean wages by major occupational group, May 

2009 

Occupational group Employment Percent of 

total U.S. 

employment

Hourly 

mean 

wage 

Annual 

mean 

wage 

Management 6,116,380 4.7 $49.47 $102,900

Business and financial operations 6,063,670 4.6 31.68 65,900

Computer and mathematical science 3,303,690 2.5 36.68 76,290

Architecture and engineering 2,412,730 1.8 35.38 73,590

Life, physical, and social science 1,308,380 1.0 31.57 65,660

Community and social services 1,891,320 1.4 20.55 42,750

Legal 999,020 0.8 46.07 95,820

Education, training, and library 8,488,740 6.5 23.81 49,530

Arts, design, entertainment, sports, and 

media 

1,745,670 1.3 24.87 51,720

Healthcare practitioner and technical 7,200,950 5.5 33.51 69,690

Healthcare support 3,886,690 3.0 12.84 26,710

Protective service 3,172,420 2.4 20.07 41,740

Food preparation and serving related 11,218,260 8.6 10.04 20,880

Building and grounds cleaning and 

maintenance 

4,269,480 3.3 12.00 24,970

Personal care and service 3,461,910 2.6 11.87 24,680

Sales and related 13,715,050 10.5 17.32 36,020

Office and administrative support 22,336,450 17.1 15.86 32,990

Farming, fishing, and forestry 419,200 0.3 11.53 23,990

Construction and extraction 5,751,630 4.4 20.84 43,350

Installation, maintenance, and repair 5,114,150 3.9 20.30 42,210

Production 8,927,130 6.8 16.01 33,290

Transportation and material moving 8,844,700 6.8 15.47 32,180

All occupations 130,647,610 100.0 20.90 43,460
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Table 4. Employment, median wages, and hourly mean wages for the 

largest occupations with wages near the U.S. median, May 2009 

Occupation Employment Hourly 

median 

wage 

Annual 

median 

wage 

Hourly 

mean 

wage 

Bookkeeping, accounting, and auditing clerks 1,757,870 $16.08 $33,450 $16.71

Maintenance and repair workers, general 1,268,930 16.65 34,620 17.56

First-line supervisors/managers of retail sales 

workers 

1,163,040 16.78 34,900 18.81

Billing and posting clerks and machine 

operators 

493,780 15.25 31,720 15.82

Inspectors, testers, sorters, samplers, and 

weighers 

430,450 15.54 32,330 16.75

Welders, cutters, solderers, and brazers 357,740 16.71 34,750 17.61

Dental assistants 294,020 15.98 33,230 16.35

Insurance claims and policy processing clerks 235,480 16.36 34,040 17.18

Painters, construction and maintenance 214,240 16.21 33,720 17.94

Loan interviewers and clerks 195,310 16.03 33,350 16.67

Dispatchers, except police, fire and 

ambulance 

185,100 16.58 34,480 17.94

First-line supervisors/managers of 

housekeeping and janitorial workers 

177,730 16.73 34,810 17.88

Bus drivers, transit and intercity 177,510 16.43 34,180 17.30

Printing machine operators 174,720 15.85 32,970 16.84

Medical records and health information 

technicians 

170,580 15.04 31,290 16.29

All occupations 130,647,610 15.95 33,190 20.90

Note: Table shows the largest occupations with hourly median wages between $15.00 and 

$17.00, approximately $1.00 above and $1.00 below the U.S. hourly median of $15.95.