Occupational Employment

and Wages, 2008

December 2009 Bulletin 2732

125YEARS

BLS

U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics 

U.S. Department of Labor 
0

Occupational Employment

and Wages, 2008

U.S. Department of Labor

Hilda L. Solis, Secretary

U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics 

Keith Hall, Commissioner

December 2009

Bulletin 2732

125YEARS

BLS

U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics 

U.S. Department of Labor 
Preface

ii

This chartbook, Occupational Employment and Wages, 

2008, is a product of the Occupational Employment 

Statistics (OES) program of the U.S. Bureau of Labor 

Statistics (BLS). The OES program produces employment 

and wage estimates for more than 800 occupations by 

geographic area and industry.

 

For every occupation, the OES program has data 

on the total U.S. employment and the distribution of 

wages, including the mean wage and the 10th, 25th, 50th 

(median), 75th, and 90th percentiles. Occupational data 

for geographic areas include employment and wages for 

each of the 50 States, the District of Columbia, Puerto 

Rico, Guam, and the U.S. Virgin Islands. Local area data 

are available for 377 Metropolitan Statistical Areas (MSAs), 

34 metropolitan divisions within 11 of the largest MSAs, 

and 174 nonmetropolitan areas. National industry-specific 

estimates are available by industry sector and for 290 

industries.

The OES survey is a cooperative effort between BLS and 

the State workforce agencies. Employment and wage 

data for more than 800 occupations were collected from 

a sample of 1.2 million business establishments, employ-

ingmore than 80 million workers, in 6 semiannual panels 

between November 2005 and May 2008. Wage data for all 

establishments were updated to the May 2008 reference 

period, and employment data were updated to the average 

of the November 2007 and the May 2008 reference 

periods. Information on OES sampling and estimation 

methods is provided in the survey methods and reliability 

statement on the enclosed compact disk (CD) and at 

http://www.bls.gov/oes/current/methods_statement.pdf.

The enclosed CD and the OES Web site, http://www.bls.

gov/oes/, include electronic copies of all charts in this book. 

Additional data tables include cross-industry occupational 

employment and wage data for the Nation, States, metro-

politan areas, metropolitan divisions, and nonmetropolitan 

areas; national occupational employment and wage data 

by industry; and profiles for all occupations. Data users 

also can create customized tables using the OES database 

search tool, or download complete OES data in zipped 

Excel format from http://www.bls.gov/oes/oes_dl.htm. 

Material in this publication is in the public domain and, with 

appropriate citation, may be reproduced without permis-

sion. Questions about OES data can be directed to the 

information phone line at (202) 691–6569 or sent to

OESinfo@bls.gov.

iii

0

125YEARS

BLS
Acknowledgments

ivv

The information in this chartbook is able to be produced 

thanks to the cooperation of more than a million business 

establishments that provide information on their workers to 

their State workforce agencies and the U.S. Bureau of Labor 

Statistics (BLS). State workforce agencies within each State 

collect and verify almost all data provided. BLS selects the 

sample, produces the estimates, and provides technical 

procedures and financial support to the States. BLS also 

collects a small portion of the data from employers. 

BLS produced this chartbook under the general guidance 

and direction of Dixie Sommers, Assistant Commissioner for 

Occupational Statistics and Employment Projections, and 

George D. Stamas, Chief of the Division of Occupational 

Employment Statistics. Laurie Salmon, manager of publica-

tions and analysis in the Occupational Employment Statistics 

division, provided planning and day-to-day direction. Dina 

Itkin and Rebecca Keller coordinated the production of the 

chartbook. The tables, charts, and maps were prepared 

by Benjamin Cover, Jeffrey Holt, Dina Itkin, John Jones, 

Rebecca Keller, Clayton Lindsay, Michael Soloy, Zachary 

Warren, and Audrey Watson. Cover art, typesetting, and 

layout were furnished by Keith Tapscott, and editorial 

services were provided by Casey Homan in the Division of 

Publishing, of which William Parks II is the Chief.

0

125YEARS

BLS
Contents

vi

Contents

vii

0

1 2 5 YEARS

BLS

Page Occupation Focus

Figure 1 Employment and mean wages for the smallest occupations in the United States, May 2008

Figure 2 Employment and mean wages for the largest occupations in the United States, May 2008

Figure 3 Number of occupations with wages near the U.S. median, and employment in these occupations, by occupational group, May 2008

Figure 4 Employment and hourly median wages of occupations with wages near the U.S. median, May 

2008

Figure 5 Wages of selected health therapists, May 2008

Figure 6 Growth in the nominal mean annual wage, by occupational group, 2002–08

Figure 7 Profile of writing occupations, May 2008

 Occupations within Industries Focus

Figure 8 Wages of counselors in selected industries, May 2008

Figure 9 Employment of reporters and correspondents by medium, May 2004 and May 2008

Figure 10 Wage distributions for selected occupations in full-service restaurants, May 2008

Figure 11 Mean wages of computer scientists, systems analysts, and software engineers in selected 

industries, May 2008

Figure 12 Wage ranges for selected occupations in the chemical manufacturing industry, by education 

and training category, May 2008

Industry Focus

Figure 13 Employment in the largest healthcare occupations in the health care and social assistance sector in May 2004, and the occupations’ employment growth from May 2004 to May 2008

Figure 14 Employment and mean wages of the largest occupations in the health insurance industry, May 

2008

Figure 15 Occupations with employment concentrated primarily in a single industry, May 2008

Figure 16 Industries with employment concentrated primarily in a single occupation, May 2008

Figure 17 Mean annual wages of the largest occupations in selected mining industries, May 2008

Page Industry Focus continued

Figure 17 Mean annual wages of the largest occupations in selected mining industries, May 

2008

Figure18 Employment in the largest occupations of selected mining industries, May 2008

Figure19 Largest occupations in the industry supersector with the second-highest number 

of job openings: professional and business services, May 2008

State Focus 

Figure 20 Wages of structural metal fabricators and fitters, for selected States, May 2008

Figure 21 Distribution of employment in the United States and in Michigan, by occupational 

group, May 2008

Figure 22 Wages and employment of selected occupations in Michigan, May 2008

Figure 23 Correlation between States’ rates of separations due to mass layoffs and each 

occupational group’s proportion of employment, May 2008

Figure 24 Differences between States’ mean wages and the U.S. mean wage, May 2008

Figure 25 Decomposition of changes in States’ real average wages from November 2002 to 

May 2007

Area Focus

Figure 26 Occupations found primarily in nonmetropolitan areas, May 2008

Figure 27 Occupations with the highest concentration of employment in metropolitan areas, 

May 2008

Figure 28 Distribution of employment in the United States and in Durham, NC, May 2008

Figure 29 Detailed occupations with the highest concentrations of employment in Durham, 

NC, relative to the occupations’ corresponding employment concentrations in the 

United States, May 2008

Figure 30 Differences between North Carolina metropolitan area wages and the U.S. mean 

wage, May 2008
The following are some examples of useful applications of 

OES data:

Detailed occupational data can be used by jobseekers 

or employers to study wages for workers in certain occupations and to assess wage variation within and across 

occupations. Wage variation within an occupation can result 

from several factors, including industry, geographic location, 

and workers’ individual experiences or qualifications. Useful 

data for jobseekers include information on the industries or 

geographic areas that have the highest levels of employment or the highest average wages for an occupation. 

Career and guidance counselors can use OES data to 

examine information on the occupational choices available 

to their clients. 

Industry-specific occupational data can be used by human 

resources professionals in salary negotiations or to ensure 

that their wages are competitive with those of other businesses in their area or industry. Information on the types of 

jobs that exist within an industry can be used to compare 

average staffing patterns with those of one’s own company. 

Occupational employment statistics by industry may be 

useful in assessing the impact of shifts in technology and 

other macroeconomic trends on the types of jobs available. 

BLS and State government employment projections 

programs use OES data as an input to their employment 

projections; these projections can be used to predict training 

and education demands.

Information on specific geographic areas can be used to 

assess the labor market of a particular area. OES Statelevel data can be used to make assessments about the 

diversity of a State’s economy or to make comparisons 

among States. Occupational composition—that is, 

the mix of employment by occupation in a particular 

geographic area or industry—can provide clues to how 

a State or regional economy can hold up in adverse 

conditions that primarily affect a certain sector of the 

economy. Differences in both occupational composition 

and occupational wage rates also help explain differences in average wages across States. For example, 

States with high average wages may have larger shares 

of their employment in high-paying occupations, higher 

wages within each occupation, or some combination of 

both factors.

Like State data, metropolitan and nonmetropolitan area 

data can be used to study the diversity of local area 

economies. Businesses can use data to see whether 

it may be beneficial to relocate to a particular area. 

OES wage data can be used to compare wages among 

geographic areas as part of an analysis of labor costs. 

OES occupational employment data may indicate 

whether workers are available in occupations for which 

a business will need to hire. For example, businesses 

that require computer specialists or skilled production 

workers may want to identify areas that have high levels 

of employment in these occupations. 

Organization of charts 

and applications of OES 

data

The presentation of figures in this chartbook is

intended to demonstrate a variety of applications of OES 

data. Figures are organized into five categories: the first 

focuses on detailed occupations, the second focuses on 

occupational variability by industry, the third highlights 

patterns of specific industries, and the fourth and fifth focus 

on labor markets of States and local areas.

viii

OES survey coverage 

and scope, and 

definitions of concepts

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, workers in private households, or 

unpaid family workers.

ix

An occupation is a set of activities or tasks that employees 

are paid to perform. Employees who perform essentially 

the same tasks are in the same occupation, whether or 

not they are in the same industry. Workers who may be 

classified in more than one occupation are classified in the 

occupation that requires the highest level of skill. If there is 

no measurable difference in skill requirements, workers are 

included in the occupation in which they spend the most 

time. All occupations are classified by the 2000 Standard 

Occupational Classification (SOC) system. Within the SOC 

system, similar detailed occupations are combined into major 

groups. 

An industry is a group of establishments that have similar 

production processes or provide similar services. For 

example, all establishments that manufacture automobiles 

are in the same industry. A given industry, or even a particular 

establishment in that industry, might have employees in 

many different occupations. The North American Industry 

Classification System (NAICS) groups similar establishments 

into industries.

The level of employment shown in the charts is the average 

employment for May 2008 and November of 2007. Employment is defined as the number of jobs held by 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 paychecks. A large 

occupation is one that has a high level of employment, and a 

small occupation is one that has a low level of employment. 

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

exclusive of premium pay. Included are the base rate; costof-living allowances; guaranteed pay; hazardous-duty pay; 

incentive pay, including commissions and production bonuses; 

tips; and on-call pay. Excluded are back pay, jury duty pay, 

overtime pay, severance pay, shift differentials, nonproduction 

bonuses, employer cost for supplementary benefits, and tuition 

reimbursements.

Respondents are asked to report the number of employees 

paid within specific wage intervals, regardless of whether 

the employees work part time or full time. The responding 

establishments can reference either the hourly or the annual 

rate for full-time workers but are instructed to report the hourly 

rate for part-time workers. 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.

Geographic areas are defined by the Office of Management

and Budget. Guam, Puerto Rico, and the U.S. Virgin Islands 

also are surveyed; their data are not included in this publication but are published on the OES Web site. The nationwide 

response rate for the May 2008 survey was 78.25 percent of 

establishments, representing 74.28 percent of employment. 

More information on sampling and estimation methods can be 

found in the survey methods and reliability statement on the 

enclosed CD and on our Web site at 

http://www.bls.gov/oes/current/methods_statement.pdf.

0

1 2 5 YEARS

BLS
Occupation Focus 

0

1 2 5 YEARS

BLS
The 14 smallest occupations combined made up less 

than one-tenth of one percent of total U.S. employment.

Employment in many of these 

occupations is concentrated in 

specific industries. 

Nine of the smallest occupations 

paid more than the U.S. median 

annual wage of $32,390. 

●

●

F I G U R E 1

OCCUPATION

FOCUS

Occupation Employment Median wage

Hourly Annual

Prosthodontists 370 >$80.00* >$166,400*

Radio operators 820 17.85 37,120

Fabric menders, except garment 960 13.69 28,470

Locomotive firers 970 23.17 48,190

Mathematical technicians 1,100 18.46 38,400

Geographers 1,120 32.02 66,600

Segmental pavers 1,170 13.17 27,400

Astronomers 1,280 48.70 101,300

Industrial-organizational psychologists 1,460 37.03 77,010

Forest fire inspectors and prevention specialists 1,580 15.09 31,380

Models 1,660 13.18 27,410

Model makers, wood 1,740 15.06 31,320

Dredge operators 1,910 16.70 34,740

Makeup artists, theatrical and performance 1,930 12.63 26,270

Patternmakers, wood 1,930 16.35 34,010

*The median wage is greater than $80 per hour or $166,400 per year. 

Employment and median wages for the smallest occupations in the

United States, May 2008

2

Employment and median wages for the largest occupations in the

United States, May 2008

F I G U R E 2

Retail salespersons and cashiers made up about 

6 percent of employment in May 2008.

One-quarter of U.S. employment 

was found in the 14 occupations 

listed.

Ten of these occupations paid 

below the U.S. median annual 

wage of $32,390. 

Many of the largest occupations are found in a wide variety of 

industries. 

●

●

●

OCCUPATION

FOCUS

Occupation Employment Percent of U.S.

employment Median wage

Hourly Annual

Retail salespersons 4,426,280 3.27 $9.86 $20,510

Cashiers 3,545,610 2.62 8.49 17,660

Office clerks, general 2,906,600 2.15 12.17 25,320

Combined food preparation and serving

workers, including fast food 2,708,840 2.00 7.90 16,430

Registered nurses 2,542,760 1.88 30.03 62,450

Waiters and waitresses 2,371,750 1.75 8.01 16,660

Laborers and freight, stock, and material

movers, hand 2,335,510 1.73 10.89 22,660

Customer service representatives 2,233,270 1.65 14.36 29,860

Janitors and cleaners, except maids and

housekeeping cleaners 2,145,320 1.59 10.31 21,450

Stock clerks and order fillers 1,873,390 1.39 10.00 20,800

Secretaries, except legal, medical, and executive 1,872,070 1.38 13.96 29,050

Bookkeeping, accounting, and auditing clerks 1,855,010 1.37 15.63 32,510

General and operations managers 1,697,690 1.26 44.02 91,570

Truck drivers, heavy and tractor-trailer 1,672,580 1.24 17.92 37,270

3

1 2 5 YEARS

BLS
$14.88

$14.94

$15.02

$15.91

$16.13

$16.15

$16.21

$16.28

$16.32

$16.34

$15.85

$15.63

$15.61

$15.57

$15.46

0 500 1,000 1,500 2,000

First-line supervisors/managers of

housekeeping and janitorial workers

Bus drivers, transit and intercity

Dispatchers, except police, fire, and ambulance

Maintenance and repair workers, general

All other information and record clerks

Welders, cutters, solderers, and brazers

Insurance claims and policy processing clerks

Painters, construction and maintenance

Bookkeeping, accounting, and auditing clerks

Loan interviewers and clerks

Dental assistants

Printing machine operators

Inspectors, testers, sorters, samplers, and weighers

Reservation and transportation ticket

agents and travel clerks

Billing and posting clerks and machine operators

Occupation

Employment (in thousands)

$14.00 $14.50 $15.00 $15.50 $16.00 $16.50 $17.00

Median hourly wage

Employment

Median hourly wage

U.S. median hourly 

wage of $15.57

Employment and hourly median wages of occupations with wages near 

the U.S. hourly median wage of $15.57, May 2008 

F I G U R E 3

Many of the largest occupations with wages near the U.S. median were 

office and administrative support occupations. 

Bookkeeping, accounting, and 

auditing clerks and general maintenance and repair workers were 

the two largest occupations with 

median wages within 5 percent of 

the U.S. all-occupations median of 

$15.57 per hour. Both also were 

among the 20 largest occupations 

overall.

Several other office and administrative support occupations with 

wages near the U.S. median also 

had employment of 150,000 or 

more, including billing and posting clerks and machine operators, insurance claims and policy 

processing clerks, and reservation 

and transportation ticket agents 

and travel clerks. 

●

●

OCCUPATION

FOCUS

4

F I G U R E 4

Most occupations with median 

wages near the middle of the 

earnings distribution were production; office and administrative 

support; construction and extraction; installation, maintenance, 

and repair; or transportation and 

material moving occupations.

Twelve office and administrative support occupations, with 

total employment of 3.8 million, 

had median wages within 5 

percent of the U.S. median wage 

of $15.57 per hour. Although 

26 production occupations had 

wages in this range, because of 

their smaller average size, total 

employment in these 26 occupations was only 2.1 million. 

●

●

OCCUPATION

FOCUS

Number of occupations with wages near the U.S. median, and employment 

in these occupations, by occupational group, May 2008

Occupations with wages within 5 percent of the U.S. median accounted for 

7.4 percent of total employment in May 2008.

0

500

1,000

1,500

2,000

2,500

3,000

3,500

4,000

Occupational group

0

5

10

15

20

25

30

Number of occupations with wages near U.S. median

Employment in occupations with wages near

U.S. median (in thousands) 

Employment

Number of occupations

 Office and

 administrative

 support

Installation,

 maintenance,

 and repair

Education, training

 and library

Healthcare

 support

 Community and 

 social services

 Life, physical,

 and social science

 Arts, design,

 entertainment,

sports, and media

 Production

 Construction

 and extraction

 Transportation

 and material

 moving

 Building and grounds

cleaning and maintenance

 Healthcare practitioner

 and technical

 Farming, fishing

 and forestry Protective services

75

1 2 5 YEARS

BLS
F I G U R E 5

OCCUPATION

FOCUS

Health care and social assis-

tance is the industry with the fastest 

projected employment growth from 

2006 to 2016. 

Of the therapists listed, audiolo-

gists had the widest range between 

the 10th and 90th percentile wages, 

with 10 percent earning $40,360 or 

less per year and 10 percent earn-

ing $98,880 or more. Respiratory 

therapists had the narrowest wage 

range. Despite their differing wage 

distributions, these two occupations 

had the lowest mean wages of the 

therapists shown.

Among the therapist occupations 

in the chart, respiratory therapists 

had the lowest mean wage and 

radiation therapists had the high-

est mean wage. For both of these 

occupations, an associate’s degree 

was the most common level of 

education, according to BLS Oc-

cupational Projections and Training 

Data, 2008–09 edition.

A master’s degree was the most 

common level of edu-

cation for physical 

therapists, occupa-

tional therapists, and 

speech-language 

pathologists. ●●●●6

Wages for most health therapists ranged from around $38,000 

to $104,000 per year.

$36,000

$46,000

$56,000

$66,000

$76,000

$86,000

$96,000

$106,000

Respiratory

therapists Audiologists Speech-language pathologists Occupationaltherapists Physical therapists Radiation therapists

Occupation

Annual wage

90th percentile

10th percentile

75th percentile

25th percentile

Median Mean

Wages of selected health therapists, May 2008 

7

OCCUPATION

FOCUS

125YEARS

BLS
12

Reporters and correspondents accounted for the largest share of total nationwide 

employment of the three writing occupations, employing 50,690 workers.

In each of the four States for 

which data are presented, techni-

cal writers had the highest aver-

age wage, followed by writers and 

authors, and lastly reporters and 

correspondents.

Of the selected States, New 

Mexico had the highest mean an-

nual wage for writers and authors, 

yet the lowest wage for reporters 

and correspondents.

In Georgia, the top 10 percent 

of reporters and correspondents 

earned more than $77,800, while 

the lowest decile earned less than 

$17,810. ●●●

OCCUPATION

FOCUS

$0

$10,000

$20,000

$30,000

$40,000

$50,000

$60,000

$70,000

$80,000

Technical writers Writers and authors Reporters and correspondents

Mean annual wage

Massachusetts

New Mexico

Georgia

Minnesota

FI G U R E S 6–7

OCCUPATION

FOCUS

Many technical writers reside in 

large metropolitan areas; divisions 

of the Boston, Los Angeles, and 

Washington, D.C. metropolitan 

areas employed the most writers 

and authors.

The three highest paying met-

ropolitan areas for writers were all 

found in the State of California.

The top three industries for 

writers and authors—professional, 

scientific, and technical services; 

publishing industries; and religious, 

civic, professional, and similar 

organizations—made up more than 

half of the employment of writers 

and authors.

Professional, scientific, and 

technical services employed 

11,050 writers and authors, more 

than any other industry.

Motion picture and sound 

recording industries paid the high-

est wages to writers and authors 

among the industries listed, an 

average of $98,370 annually. ●●●●●

FI G U R E S 6–7

continued

21.3%

25.3%

6.1%

4.2%

2.7%

2.7%

11.9%

4.5%

5.7%

7.5%

8.0%

Percent of employment 

Professional, scientific, and technical services

Publishing industries, except Internet

Religious, grantmaking, civic, professional, and

similar organizations

Broadcasting, except Internet

Performing arts, spectator sports, and related industries

Motion picture and sound recording industries

Educational services

Federal, State, and local government (OES designation)

Management of companies and enterprises

Administrative and support services

Other Industries

11,050

9,310

3,490

3,280

2,690

2,500

1,990

1,850

1,190

1,190

5,220

$71,940

$52,220

$57,230

$63,040

$93,600

$98,370

$52,610

$67,710

$56,020

$57,330

$51,535

Industry Employment Mean annual wage

Level of employment of writers and authors, by industry, May 2008

125YEARS

BLS

139

Profile of writing occupations, May 2008
F I G U R E 8

OCCUPATION

FOCUS 6

7

While the U.S. average annual wage grew 18.9 percent from 2002 to 2008, 

from $35,560 to $42,270, wage growth of occupational groups varied and 

was correlated with the groups’ 2002 wages.

in 2002 but below-average wage 

growth from 2002 to 2008, and pro-

tective service occupations, which 

had slightly below average wages in 

2002 but higher than average wage 

growth from 2002 to 2008.

 The general trend of high wage 

growth among high-paying occupa-

tional groups and low wage growth 

among low-paying occupations 

leads to a wider dispersion of wages 

between higher and lower paying 

occupational groups over time. ●

OCCUPATION

FOCUS

Legal

Computer and mathematical science

Architecture and engineering 

Healthcare practitioner and technical 

Business and financial operations 

Life, physical, and social science 

Education, training, and library 

Construction and extraction 

Installation, maintenance, and repair 

Community and social services 

Protective service 

Production

Office and administrative support Transportation and

material moving 

Healthcare support 

Personal care and service 

Building and grounds cleaning and maintenance 

Farming, fishing, and forestry 

Food preparation and serving related 

Management

12

14

16

18

20

22

24

26

28

$0 $10,000 $20,000 $30,000 $40,000 $50,000 $60,000 $70,000 $80,000

Mean annual wage (2002)

Percent change in mean wage (2002 to 2008)

Sales and related 

Arts, design, entertainment, sports, and media 

Growth in the nominal mean annual wage, by occupational 

group, 2002–08 

125YEARS

BLS

The upper-right quadrant of 

the chart shows occupations with 

above-average wages in 2002 and 

above-average wage growth from 

2002 to 2008, while the lower-left 

quadrant shows occupations with 

below-average wages in 2002 and 

below-average wage growth from 

2002 to 2008. 

In general, the lower the initial 

wage of an occupational group, 

the lower the wage growth of that 

occupational group. For example, 

personal care and service occupa-

tions had a below-average wage of 

$21,350 in 2002 and below-average 

wage growth of 12.9 percent from 

2002 to 2008. The two occupational 

groups of architecture and engi-

neering and business and financial 

operations occupations both had av-

erage wages of more than $53,000 

in 2002, and their wages grew more 

than average, by 23 percent and 21 

percent, respectively. 

Exceptions to the general trend 

are those occupational groups in the 

upper-left and lower-right quad-

rants. These include construction 

and extraction occupations, which 

had slightly above average wages ●●●

F I G U R E8

continued
24

Occupations in Industries

0

1 2 5 YEARS

BLS
F I G U R E 9

$22,000 $27,000 $32,000 $37,000 $42,000 $47,000 $52,000 $57,000 $62,000

Substance abuse and

behavioral disorder

counselors

Educational, vocational,

and school counselors

Marriage and family therapists

Mental health counselors

Rehabilitation counselors

Mean annual wage

Elementary and secondary schools

Outpatient care centers

General medical and surgical hospitals

Psychiatric and substance abuse hospitals

Individual and family services

Vocational rehabilitation services

Local government

Industry Occupation

Wages of counselors in selected industries, May 2008

Overall, counselors earned relatively high wages in elementary and secondary schools and 

relatively low wages in individual and family services and vocational rehabilitation services.

Rehabilitation counselors had the 

lowest overall mean wage of these 

occupations. Their largest employer, 

vocational rehabilitation services, 

was low paying across occupations.

Educational, vocational, and 

school counselors was the highest 

paying of these occupations. This 

occupation was concentrated in 

elementary and secondary schools, 

an industry that paid relatively high 

wages to counselors. 

Elementary and secondary 

schools paid the highest wages for 

four of the five types of counselors. 

Vocational rehabilitation services and 

individual and family services had the 

lowest wages of counselors from the 

industries shown. 

The selected industries all employed relatively large numbers of 

counselors. Individual and family 

services employed a particularly high 

number of each type of counselor. 

Other industries employing counselors include State government; 

residential mental retardation, mental 

health and substance abuse facilities; and colleges, universities, and 

professional schools. 

●

●

●

●

●

12

OCCUPATIONS

IN INDUSTRIES

25

F I G U R E 10

1 2 5 YEARS

BLS

13

Employment of reporters and correspondents across all industries 

decreased from 52,550 in May 2004 to 50,690 in May 2008. 

Employment of reporters and correspondents by medium, 

May 2004 and May 2008 

From May 2004 to May 2008, 

employment of reporters and correspondents decreased among 

newspaper publishers and television broadcasters and in cable and 

other subscription programming. 

Employment of these professionals increased in radio broadcasting 

and among periodical, book, directory, and other publishers.

Between May 2004 and May 

2008, wages of reporters and 

correspondents showed a large 

increase in the radio broadcasting 

industry, from a mean of $31,830 

to a mean of $46,690.

Reporters and correspondents 

experienced less wage growth in 

newspaper publishing than in other 

media, from $35,760 in May 2004 

to $39,720 in May 2008. 

●

●

●

33,840

2,540 3,660

8,450 7,320

1,690 2,360

1,830

1,360

36,360

90 1,390

410 320 1,620

10%

20%

30%

40%

50%

60%

70%

80%

90%

100%

Other industries

Cable and other

subscription programming

News syndicates; libraries and archives;

all other information services (May 2004 only)

Internet publishing and

broadcasting (May 2004 only)

News syndicates; libraries and archives;

Internet publishing and broadcasting and

web search portals; all other information

services (May 2008 only)

Radio broadcasting

Television broadcasting

Periodical, book, directory, and other publishers

(custom calculation)

Newspaper publishers 0%

Employment in May 2004 Employment in May 2008

Percent of employment

OCCUPATIONS

IN INDUSTRIES
F I G U R E 11

OCCUPATIONS 

IN INDUSTRIES

Occupations with employment concentrated primarily in a 

single industry, May 2008

Many occupations in the U.S. were concentrated in a single industry: 286 occupations had a 

majority of their employment in one industry, and 59 of these occupations had over 90 percent of their employment in one industry.

Personal care services

Accounting, tax preparation,

bookkeeping, and payroll services

Services to building and dwellings

Sporting goods, hobby, and 

musical instrument stores

Semiconductor and other

electronic component manufacturing

Support activities for mining

Aerospace product and parts manufacturing

Depository credit intermediation

Logging

Limited-service eating places

Nonmetallic mineral mining and quarrying

Local government

Newspaper, periodical, book, and directory publishers

Securities and commodity contracts intermediation and brokerage

50 60 70 80 90 100

Brokerage clerks

Reporters and

correspondents

Water and liquid waste

treatment plant and

system operators

Rock splitters, quarry

Fallers

New accounts clerks

Aircraft structure, surfaces,

rigging, and systems

assemblers

Derrick operators,

oil and gas

Semiconductor

processors

Bicycle repairers

Pest control workers

Tax preparers

Shampooers

Cooks, fast food

Occupation

Percent of occupation in industry

Industry

Sporting goods stores employed 

over 90 percent of bicycle repairers, and aerospace product and 

part manufacturing employed over 

90 percent of aircraft structure, 

surfaces, rigging, and systems assemblers. 

Occupations that were specific 

to one industry include postsecondary education teachers, who were 

specific to colleges, universities, and 

professional schools; and postal 

service mail carriers, who all worked 

for the Government (neither occupation shown here).

●

●

22

Industries with employment concentrated primarily in a single 

occupation, May 2008

F I G U R E 12

OCCUPATIONS 

IN INDUSTRIES

23

1 2 5 YEARS

BLS

Security guards

Bus drivers, school

Retail salespersons

Cashiers

Taxi drivers and chauffeurs

Farmworkers and laborers, crop, 

nursery, and greenhouse

Truck drivers, heavy and tractor-trailer

Bus drivers, transit and intercity

Hairdressers, hairstylists, and cosmetologists

Combined food preparation and 

serving workers, including fast food

Sewing machine operators

Textile winding, twisting, and 

drawing out machine setters, 

operators, and tenders

40 45 50 55 60 65 70 75 80 85

Investigation and

security services

School and employee

bus transportation

Shoe stores

Gasoline stations

Taxi and limousine service

Support activities for

crop production

General freight trucking

Urban transit systems

Personal care services

Limited-service eating places

Cut and sew apparel

manufacturing

Fiber, yarn, and thread mills

Percent of industry employment in occupation

Industry

Occupation

A variety of industries had their employment 

concentrated in a single occupation. 

Retail salespersons or cashiers 

was the largest occupation in six retail industries, including shoe stores 

and gasoline stations. 

Transit and intercity bus drivers 

made up over half of employment in 

urban transit systems, while sewing 

machine operators made up just 

under half of employment in cut and 

sew apparel manufacturing. 

Investigation and security 

services was the industry with the 

highest percentage of employment 

in a single occupation: security 

guards made up almost 75 percent 

of employment in the industry. 

All of the occupations shown 

had average hourly wages below the U.S. average of $20.32, 

with the occupation of 

truck drivers, heavy 

and tractor-trailer, 

having the highest 

average hourly 

wage of $19.55. 

●

●

●

●
FIGURES 13–14

16

Cross-industry mean wages of 

software engineers and of computer 

systems analysts and researchers 

were above $75,000 per year, while 

wages for network and database 

administrators and analysts and 

computer programmers were below 

$75,000 per year. 

Colleges, universities, and professional schools was one of the lowest 

paying industries for all of these 

occupations. 

Software publishers and computer systems design and related 

services were among the highest 

paying industries for most IT occupations in which workers support 

and maintain existing systems, but 

were not among the highest paying 

industries for development-related 

occupations. 

●

●

●

On average, wages of workers who design and develop software and systems 

were higher than wages of workers who support and maintain existing systems, 

but wages varied by industry.

Mean wages of computer scientists, systems analysts, and software 

engineers in selected industries, May 2008

$55,000 $70,000 $85,000 $100,000 $115,000 $130,000

Computer and

information scientists,

research

Computer systems

analysts

Computer software

engineers, applications

Computer software

engineers, systems

software

Mean annual wage

Computer and peripheral

equipment manufacturing

Professional and commercial

equipment and supplies

merchant wholesalers

Semiconductor and other

electronic component

manufacturing

Scientific research and 

development services

Software publishers

Architectural, engineering,

and related services

Management, scientific, and

technical consulting services

Computer systems design

and related services

Colleges, universities,

and professional schools

Occupation Industry

OCCUPATIONS

IN INDUSTRIES

17

The mean wages of computer 

support specialists ranged between 

$40,000 and $50,000 in the industries shown, and the mean wages of 

computer and information research 

scientists ranged between $65,000 

and $130,000 in the industries 

shown. 

●

$40,000 $50,000 $60,000 $70,000 $80,000

Computer supports

pecialists

Computer programmers

Database

administrators

Network and computer

systems administrators

Network systems and

data communications

analysts

Mean annual wage

Software publishers

Computer systems design

and related services

Data processing, hosting,

and related services

Insurance carriers

General medical and

surgical hospitals

Electronic shopping and

mail-order houses

Colleges, universities, and

professional schools

Occupation Industry

Mean wages of network and database occupations and of 

programming occupations in selected industries, May 2008 

1 2 5 YEARS

BLS

OCCUPATIONS

IN INDUSTRIES

FIGURES 13–14

continued
32

Industry Focus

33

0

1 2 5 YEARS

BLS
F I G U R E 15

INDUSTRY 

FOCUS

Employment in the largest healthcare occupations in the health care 

and social assistance sector in May 2004, and the occupations’ 

employment growth from May 2004 to May 2008

Home health aides was one of the fastest growing healthcare 

occupations between May 2004 and May 2008. 

20

10.2% 5.3%

54.3%

5.6%

24.4%

10.3%

18.2%

10.8%

16.4%

4.8%

9.1%

17.8%

6.9%

7.4%

0 500,000 1,000,000 1,500,000 2,000,000

Medical and clinical laboratory technicians

Medical records and health information technicians

Emergency medical technicians and paramedics

Medical and clinical laboratory technologists

Healthcare support workers, all other

Physical therapists

Dental hygienists

Radiologic technologists and technicians

Dental assistants

Medical assistants

Licensed practical and licensed vocational nurses

Home health aides

Nursing aides, orderlies, and attendants

Registered nurses

Employment

Employment, May 2004

Employment growth, May

2004 to May 2008 

Percent growth

Home health aides had the greatest absolute and percentage employment increase from May 2004 to 

May 2008, increasing by 293,650, or 

54.3 percent.

Medical assistants had faster 

percentage growth, at 24.4 percent, 

than registered nurses, which grew 

10.2 percent. 

The two relatively small occupations of radiologic technologists 

and technicians and emergency 

medical technicians and paramedics both grew at a faster 

pace than most occupations shown, by 17.8 

percent and 18.2 

percent, respectively. 

●

●

●

Employment and mean wages of the largest occupations in the 

health insurance industry, May 2008

F I G U R E 16

INDUSTRY 

FOCUS

21

1 2 5 YEARS

BLS

$27.21 $28.05 $20.89 $29.81 $13.60 $27.50 $26.80 $28.79 $33.27

$20.06

$15.50

$15.91

0

10,000

20,000

30,000

40,000

50,000

60,000

70,000

Customer service

representatives

Insurance claims and

policy processing clerks

Claims adjusters,

examiners, and

investigators

First-line supervisors/

managers of office and

administrative support

Registered nurses

Computer systems analysts

Office clerks, general

Business operations

specialists, all other

Management analysts

Insurance sales agents

Executive secretaries

and administrative assistants

Accountants

and auditors

Employment

0.0

2.7

5.5

8.2

11.0

13.7

16.5

19.2

Percent of industry employment

Many of the largest occupations in the health insurance industry were office and 

administrative support occupations, with customer service representatives alone 

making up about 18 percent of employment in the industry. 

Of the 12 largest occupations in 

the health insurance industry, 8 had 

average hourly wages above the 

U.S. average hourly wage of $20.32.

Three of the four occupations 

shown in the chart with average 

hourly wages below the U.S. average are office and administrative 

support occupations. 

Three of the largest occupations in the industry are specific to 

this and other insurance industries, 

including insurance sales agents; 

claims adjusters, examiners, and 

investigators; and insurance claims 

and policy processing clerks. 

●

●

●
F I G U R E 17

Wage distributions for selected occupations in 

full-service restaurants, May 2008

Many food service workers start as untrained food preparation workers and advance to 

cook positions as they acquire kitchen skills and demonstrate greater responsibility.

14

Dishwashers and combined food 

preparation and serving workers 

were among the lowest paid workers in the full-service restaurant 

industry. There was little variation in 

their wages: 80 percent of dishwashers were paid between $6.90 and 

$10.17.

In contrast, chefs and head cooks 

as well as food service managers 

had the highest wages and greatest wage variation. Eighty percent 

of chefs and head cooks earned 

between $10.20 and $30.01 per 

hour, and 80 percent of food service 

managers earned between $15.05 

and $37.52.

Wages were lower than average 

in full-service restaurants for dishwashers, combined food preparation 

and serving workers, restaurant 

cooks, and chefs and head cooks. 

Many workers earn progressively 

higher wages as they gain experience or switch to jobs in establishments offering more advancement 

opportunities or higher pay, according to the BLS Career Guide 

to Industries. For example, waiters 

and waitresses may transfer to jobs 

in more expensive or busier restaurants where they tend to receive 

more money from tips.

●

●

●

●

Dishwashers Combined food

preparation and serving

workers, including fastfood

Cooks, restaurant First-line

supervisors/managers of

food preparation and

serving workers

Chefs and head cooks Food service managers

Occupation

Mean wage

10th percentile

25th percentile

50th percentile

75th percentile

90th percentile

$5.00

$10.00

$15.00

$20.00

$25.00

$30.00

$35.00

$40.00

Hourly wage

INDUSTRY 

FOCUS

F I G U R E 18

Wage ranges for selected occupations in the chemical manufacturing industry, by education and training category, May 2008

15

1 2 5 YEARS

BLS

Chemical technicians, for whom 

the most common level of education and training was an associate 

degree, had almost the same wage 

range as chemical equipment operators and tenders, for whom the most 

common level of education and 

training was moderate-term on-thejob training.

Some occupations shown in the 

chart for which a master’s degree 

or a doctoral degree was the most 

common level of education—such 

as microbiologists—had lower 90thpercentile wages than a few occupations in which most workers did not 

have either of these degrees—such 

as industrial production managers.

●

●

$0 $50,000 $100,000 $150,000

Packers and packagers, hand

Shipping, receiving, and traffic clerks

Team assemblers

Chemical equipment operators and tenders

Machinists

Compliance officers, except agriculture, construction,

health and safety, and transportation

Executive secretaries and administrative assistants

Industrial production managers

Welders, cutters, solderers, and brazers

Electrical and electronics repairers, commercial

and industrial equipment

Medical and clinical laboratory technicians

Chemical technicians

Biological technicians

Chemical engineers

Training and development specialists

Computer and information systems managers

Statisticians

Environmental scientists and

specialists, including health

Microbiologists

Biochemists and biophysicists

Annual wage

Bachelor's or higher 

degree, plus work experience

Short-term on-thejob training

Moderate-term on-thejob training

Postsecondary vocational award

Associate degree

Bachelor's degree

Master's degree

Long-term onthe-job training

Work experience in 

a related occupation

Doctoral degree

Legend, wage percentiles

25th

10th 90th

50th 75th

Occupations within the chemical manufacturing industry varied widely in 

wages and fit into various education and training categories.

INDUSTRY 

FOCUS
F I G U R E 19

INDUSTRY 

FOCUS The largest mining industry, nonmetallic mineral mining and quarrying, 

had the lowest average wages for each of the occupations shown. 

Mean annual wages of the largest occupations in selected mining 

industries, May 2008 

Metal ore mining, the smallest 

mining industry, had the highest average wages for 9 of the 12 largest 

occupations.

First-line supervisors/managers 

of construction trades and extraction 

workers had the highest average 

wage of the occupations shown for 

all three mining (except oil and gas) 

industries.

Laborers and hand freight, stock, 

and material movers had the greatest average annual wage differentials across the three industries: they 

made $42,420 in metal ore mining, 

$34,380 in coal mining, and $26,100 

in nonmetallic mineral mining.

●

●

●

$25,000 $35,000 $45,000 $55,000 $65,000 $75,000

Operating engineers and other

construction equipment operators

Truck drivers, heavy and tractor-trailer

Excavating and loading machine

and dragline operators

Continuous mining machine operators

First-line supervisors/managers

of construction trades and

extraction workers

Mobile heavy equipment mechanics,

except engines

Mine cutting and channeling

machine operators

Laborers and freight, stock,

and material movers, hand

Maintenance and repair

workers, general

Industrial machinery mechanics

Electricians

Crushing, grinding, and polishing

machine setters, operators,

and tenders

Mean annual wage

Nonmetallic mineral mining

and quarrying

Coal mining

Metal ore mining

Occupation

24

F I G U R E 20

INDUSTRY 

FOCUS

Employment in the largest occupations of selected mining 

industries, May 2008

Operating engineers and other construction equipment operators was the 

largest occupation in each of the three industries, with total employment 

of 24,300 across all three industries. 

25

1 2 5 YEARS

BLS

The smallest of the three industries, metal ore mining, employed 

the greatest number workers from 

the occupation of mobile heavy 

equipment mechanics, except 

engines. 

Coal mining employed the greatest number of electricians, industrial 

machinery mechanics, mine cutting 

and channeling machine operators, 

first-line supervisors/managers of 

construction trades and extraction 

workers, and continuous mining 

machine operators. 

●

●

0 2,500 5,000 7,500 10,000 12,500 15,000 17,500 20,000 22,500 25,000

Operating engineers and other

construction equipment operators

Truck drivers, heavy and tractor-trailer

Excavating and loading machine

and dragline operators

Continuous mining machine operators

First-line supervisors/managers

of construction trades and

extraction workers

Mobile heavy equipment mechanics,

except engines

Mine cutting and channeling

machine operators

Laborers and freight, stock,

and material movers, hand

Maintenance and repair

workers, general

Industrial machinery mechanics

Electricians

Crushing, grinding, and polishing

machine setters, operators,

and tenders

Employment

Nonmetallic mineral mining

and quarrying

Coal mining

Metal ore mining

Occupation
Largest occupations in the industry supersector with the 

second-highest number of job openings: professional and 

business services, May 2008

The supersector with the second-highest number of job openings in May 2008, pro-

fessional and business services, had employment in a wide variety of occupations. 

26

100,000 300,000 500,000 700,000 900,000

Computer programmers

Business operations specialists, all other

Telemarketers

Computer systems analysts

First-line supervisors/managers of office

and administrative support workers

Legal secretaries

Computer software engineers, applications

Management analysts

General and operations managers

Secretaries, except legal, medical, and executive

Executive secretaries and administrative assistants

Lawyers

Bookkeeping, accounting, and auditing clerks

Accountants and auditors

Laborers and freight, stock, and material movers, hand

Landscaping and groundskeeping workers

Customer service representatives

Office clerks, general

Security guards

Janitors and cleaners, except maids

and housekeeping cleaners

Occupation

Employment

Janitors and cleaners, except 

maids and housekeeping cleaners, 

was the largest occupation in the 

professional and business services 

supersector. Almost all of the work-

ers in this occupation were em-

ployed in services to buildings and 

dwellings, in which they had a mean 

wage of $10.01.

The professional and business 

services supersector consists of 

the following three industry sectors: 

professional, scientific, and techni-

cal services (NAICS 54); manage-

ment of companies and enterprises 

(NAICS 55); and administrative and 

support and waste management and 

remediation services (NAICS 56).

In May 2008, the education and 

health services supersector (NAICS 

61 and 62) had the highest number 

of job openings, 728,000 (season-

ally adjusted). Professional and 

business services had 681,000 job 

openings in May 2008 (seasonally 

adjusted), according to the BLS 

Job Openings and Labor Turnover 

program. ●●●

F I G U R E 21

INDUSTRY 

FOCUS

INDUSTRY 

FOCUS

27

125YEARS

BLS
46

State Focus

47

0

1 2 5 YEARS

BLS
Distribution of employment in the United States and 

in Michigan, by occupational group, May 2008

Michigan had higher-than-average employment concentrations of architecture and engineering occupations and production occupations, and lower-than-average concentrations of 

office and administrative support occupations and construction and extraction occupations. 

Production occupations made up 

10.4 percent of Michigan’s employment but only 7.3 percent of total 

U.S. employment.

Office and administrative support 

occupations made up 17.2 percent 

of U.S. employment and 15.7 percent of Michigan employment.

The largest production occupation in Michigan was team assemblers, with employment of 45,690. 

The mean hourly wage for this 

occupation was $13.66 in Michigan 

and $13.28 in the United States. 

●

●

●

FIGURES 22–23

STATE 

FOCUS

0

2

4

6

8

10

12

14

16

18

Management

Business and financial operations

Computer and mathematical science

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

United States

Michigan

Percent of employment

Occupational group

30

STATE 

FOCUS

Wages and employment of selected occupations in Michigan, May 2008

1 2 5 YEARS

BLS

General office clerks had a mean 

hourly wage of $13.08 in Michigan, 

slightly above the U.S. mean hourly 

wage of $12.90. The lowest paid 25 

percent of general office clerks in 

Michigan earned $9.68 or less, while 

the highest paid 25 percent earned 

$15.27 or more. 

●

Office and administrative support occupations Employment Mean wage 25th-percentile wage 75th-percentile wage

Office clerks, general 104,650 $13.08 $9.68 $15.27

Customer service representatives 61,510 16.18 11.89 19.39

Stock clerks and order fillers 59,140 11.94 8.42 14.32

Sales and related occupations Employment Mean wage 25th-percentile wage 75th-percentile wage

Retail salespersons 148,770 $11.87 $7.92 $13.39

Cashiers 110,430 9.12 7.54 9.78

Sales representatives, wholesale and manufacturing, except technical and scientific products 47,070 29.63 17.35 36.93

Production occupations Employment Mean wage 25th-percentile wage 75th-percentile wage

Team assemblers 45,690 $13.66 $10.47 $16.23

Inspectors, testers, sorters, samplers, and weighers 23,920 17.85 11.69 24.02

Machinists 23,430 19.03 14.46 23.39

Food preparation and serving related occupations Employment Mean wage 25th-percentile wage 75th-percentile wage

Waiters and waitresses 76,650 $8.65 $7.45 $8.60

Combined food preparation and serving workers, including fast food 73,450 8.66 7.55 9.17

Food preparation workers 30,720 9.70 7.73 11.12

Transportation and material moving occupations Employment Mean wage 25th-percentile wage 75th-percentile wage

Laborers and freight, stock, and material movers, hand 69,220 $13.12 $9.02 $15.25

Truck drivers, heavy and tractor-trailer 50,070 18.71 14.64 22.17

Truck drivers, light or delivery services 31,870 15.29 10.23 18.93

Education, training, and library occupations Employment Mean wage 25th-percentile wage 75th-percentile wage

Elementary school teachers, except special education 41,810 $57,180 $41,990 $70,460

Teacher assistants 36,230 24,380 18,390 28,900

Secondary school teachers, except special and vocational education 22,930 54,970 40,040 67,390

Management occupations Employment Mean wage 25th-percentile wage 75th-percentile wage

General and operations managers 35,760 $47.98 $29.58 $59.83

Chief executives 13,040 72.48 45.10 *

Financial managers 11,190 47.12 32.62 56.99

Business and financial operations occupations Employment Mean wage 25th-percentile wage 75th-percentile wage

Accountants and auditors 33,650 $30.79 $22.14 $36.07

Management analysts 11,480 39.89 26.83 48.03

Purchasing agents, except wholesale, retail, and farm products 11,110 30.18 21.16 37.86

* This wage is equal to or greater than $80.00 per hour or $166,400 per year.

“ 31

FIGURES 22–23 

continued
F I G U R E 24

STATE 

FOCUS

Wages of structural metal fabricators and fitters, for 

selected States, May 2008

Structural metal fabricators and fitters had a median hourly wage of $15.58, 

about the same as the U.S. median wage. 

The State with the smallest wage 

range for structural metal fabricators and fitters was Maine, with a 

difference between the 90th and 

10th percentiles of only $5.90. New 

York had the widest wage range for 

this occupation, with a difference of 

$21.71 between the 90th- and 10thpercentile wages. 

New York and Arizona had similar 

10th percentile wages, but New 

York’s 90th-percentile wage was 

$12.24 higher than Arizona’s for this 

occupation. 

Minnesota had the third highest 

median wage of all States for this 

occupation, $20.51. 

●

●

●

$5.00

$10.00

$15.00

$20.00

$25.00

$30.00

US ME AR AZ MN OH PA UT TN CA NY

State

Hourly Wage

Legend

Wage

percentiles

10th

25th

50th

75th

90th

32

F I G U R E 25

Correlation between States’ rates of separations due to mass layoffs 

and each occupational group’s proportion of employment, May 2008

1 2 5 YEARS

BLS

States with high concentrations 

of employment in computer and 

mathematical science; business and 

financial operations; and education, 

training, and library occupations 

tended to have low rates of separations due to layoffs. Other occupations in which mass layoffs did not 

cause many separations also were 

generally analytical and administrative in nature.

States with high concentrations 

of employment in food preparation 

and serving related, building and 

grounds cleaning and maintenance, 

and transportation and material 

moving occupations tended to have 

high overall separations rates due to 

layoffs. Occupations in these groups 

involved physical labor or were related to personal service and sales, 

with the exception of some architecture and engineering occupations.

The rate of mass-layoff-induced 

separation in each State represents 

the State’s private nonfarm, nonseasonal, and nonvacation separations 

in 2008 as a percentage of total private, nonfarm employment among 

establishments with more than 50 

employees in the State in March 

2008. Separations data are from the 

BLS Mass Layoff Statistics program, 

and total State employment data 

are from the Quarterly Census of 

Employment and Wages. 

●

●

●

STATE 

FOCUS States with different rates of layoffs had varying 

occupational compositions.

-0.4 -0.3 -0.2 -0.1 0 0.1 0.2 0.3 0.4

Computer and mathematical science

Business and financial operations 

Education, training, and library 

Life, physical, and social science 

Healthcare practitioners and technical 

Office and administrative support 

Community and social services 

Management

Healthcare support 

Arts, design, entertainment, sports, and media

Installation, maintenance, and repair 

Architecture and engineering 

Protective service 

Construction and extraction 

Personal care and service 

Sales and related 

Transportation and material moving 

Building and grounds cleaning and maintenance

Food preparation and serving related 

Occupational group

Correlation

States with high proportions of 

employment in these occupations

tended to have low overall 

separations rates.

States with high proportions of 

employment in these occupations

 tended to have high overall 

separations rates.

Production

Legal

33
34

Differences between States’ mean wages and the U.S. 

mean wage, May 2008

Delaware and California had average wages above the national average in part because 

they had above-average wages for their occupations, and in part because more of their 

employment was in higher paying occupations. 

A State’s overall average wage is 

influenced by two factors—the wages 

of occupations in the State, and the 

way in which employment is distrib-

uted among higher and lower paying 

occupations. 

The chart shows the difference be-

tween the average wage in the Nation 

and the average wage in the State 

(represented by the green bar), how 

much of that difference is due to different occupational wages (represented 

by the pink bar), and how much is due 

to greater employment concentrations 

in higher or lower paying occupations 

as compared with the Nation’s oc-

cupational composition (represented 

by the blue bar). 

South Dakota and North Caro-

lina had average wages below the 

national average because they had 

below-average occupational wages 

and more employment concentrated 

in lower paying occupations. ●●●

F I G U R E 26

STATE 

FOCUS

-$5.00

-$4.00

-$3.00

-$2.00

-$1.00

$0.00

$1.00

$2.00

$3.00

DE CA RI NH SD NC WY HI

State

Wage difference Difference due to occupational wages

Difference due to occupational composition Interaction component*

Wage difference

*The interaction component captures the part of the 

average wage that is not attributable solely to either 

occupational composition or occupational wages.

35

125YEARS

BLS

Rhode Island’s overall average 

wage was above average despite 

more employment in lower paying 

occupations because occupational 

wages in Rhode Island were above 

average. In contrast, the average 

wage in New Hampshire was above 

average because the State’s employ-

ment was concentrated in higher pay-

ing occupations. The average wage of 

occupations in New Hampshire was 

below the U.S. average.

Wyoming and Hawaii both had 

an average wage below the U.S. 

average. Hawaii’s below-average 

wage was due to high concentra-

tions of employment in low-paying 

occupations. Wyoming’s mean wage 

was below average because of low 

occupational wages, even though the 

State had more employment in higher 

paying occupations. ●●

STATE 

FOCUS

F I G U R E 2 6 

continued
36

Decomposition of changes in States’ real average wages from 

November 2002 to May 2007

F I G U R E 27

STATE 

FOCUS

*The interaction component captures the part of the 

average wage that is not attributable solely to either 

occupational composition or occupational wages.

-$0.40

-$0.20

$0.00

$0.20

$0.40

$0.60

$0.80

$1.00

$1.20

CO WY IL VA NY MN NV IN OH AZ GA KY

State

Change in thereal average wage of the State

Change due to changes in the mean wages ofoccupations

Change due to shifts in occupational composition

Change in the real average wage

Interaction component*

Real average wages declined in Nevada and Indiana because of shifts in 

employment towards lower paying occupations as well as declines in the 

average wages of individual occupations. 

A change in a State’s real aver-

age wage can be divided into two 

factors: changes in the average 

wages of workers in specific occupa-

tions and changes in the occupation-

al structure of employment—that is, 

whether on the whole employment is 

moving from higher to lower paying 

occupations or from lower to higher 

paying occupations. 

 Each green bar in the chart 

shows the change in the real aver-

age wage of the State in question. 

The pink bar shows the amount of 

the change in the average wage that 

is due to changes in the wages of 

individual occupations, whereas the 

blue bar shows the amount of the 

change in the average wage that is 

due to shifts in employment towards 

higher or lower paying occupations

Real average wages in Colorado 

and Wyoming rose because of in-

creases in the average wages of oc-

cupations and shifts in employment 

towards higher paying occupations. ●●●

37

125YEARS

BLS

Ohio had a decrease in its real 

average wage of over $0.20, despite 

an average increase in occupational 

wages of almost $0.20, because 

employment in this State shifted to 

lower paying occupations—a pattern 

also seen in Arizona.

Wage increases in Illinois and 

Virginia caused increases in the av-

erage wage despite a shift towards 

lower paying occupations in both 

States.

Shifts towards higher paying 

occupations in New York and Min-

nesota accounted for the increase in 

the average wage in each of those 

States. 

A shift towards higher paying oc-

cupations in Georgia and Kentucky 

slowed the declines in the average 

wage in these States; in each state, 

the decrease in the average wage 

was due to declines in the wages of 

individual occupations. ●●●●

STATE 

FOCUS

F I G U R E 2 7 

continued
38

Employment in computer and mathematical occupations, 

per 1,000 workers, by State, May 2008 

States with higher concentrations of employment in computer and mathematical 

occupations generally had high wages for these occupations. 

Virginia, Massachusetts, Maryland, Colorado, and Washington 

had the highest concentrations of 

computer and mathematical occupations, with 4 to 5 percent of their 

employment in these occupations. 

Wyoming, Louisiana, Mississippi, 

West Virginia, and Nevada each had 

about 1 percent of total employment 

in these occupations. 

Virginia had a high level of employment in the following computer 

and mathematical occupations: 

computer systems analysts (employment of 33,590); computer software 

engineers, applications (employment 

of 31,830); computer software engineers, systems software (26,060); 

and computer support specialists 

(18,750). 

The largest computer and mathematical occupations in Wyoming 

were computer support specialists 

(employment of 460), computer 

system analysts (350), network and 

computer system administrators 

(300), and computer specialists, all 

other (280).

●

●

●

●

F I G U R E 28

STATE 

FOCUS

Employment per 1,000

8 - 11

12 - 18

19 - 24

25 - 34

35 - 54

F I G U R E 29

Mean annual wage of computer and mathematical occupations, 

by State, May 2008

1 2 5 YEARS

BLS

The States with the highest 

average wages for computer and 

mathematical occupations were 

Massachusetts ($86,760), Virginia 

($85,650), California ($83,790), New 

Jersey ($83,120), and Maryland 

($82,740). 

The States with the lowest 

average wages for these occupations were North Dakota ($49,460), 

Wyoming ($53,270), South Dakota 

($53,430), Mississippi ($54,030), 

and Louisiana ($54,690).

States with high concentrations 

of employment in computer and 

mathematical occupations tended 

to have more of this employment 

concentrated in the higher paying 

computer occupations, including 

computer systems analysts; computer software engineers, applications; 

and computer software engineers, 

systems software. Computer support specialists, the lowest paid of 

the computer occupations, made 

up a higher percentage of computer 

and mathematical employment in 

States with lower concentrations of 

employment in the computer and 

mathematical occupational group.

●

●

●

STATE 

FOCUS

Mean annual wage

$49,460 - $55,360

$55,361 - $60,900

$60,901 - $67,380

$67,381 - $75,350

$75,351 - $86,760

39
460

Area Focus

47

0

1 2 5 YEARS

BLS

41
42

F I G U R E 30

AREA

FOCUS

Occupations found primarily in nonmetropolitan 

areas, May 2008

Eighty-six percent of U.S. employment was found in metropolitan areas, but 

some occupations were concentrated in nonmetropolitan areas.

Fourteen percent of all U.S. jobs 

were in nonmetropolitan areas. Most 

of the occupations with employment 

concentrated in nonmetropolitan 

areas were related to mining, extraction, and logging.

Postmasters and mail superintendents, and slaughterers and meatpackers, are the only occupations 

listed that do not directly involve 

mining or logging. 

●

●

0 10 20 30 40 50 60 70

Shuttle car operators

Loading machine operators,

underground mining

Logging equipment operators

Continuous mining machine operators

Roof bolters, mining

Fishers and related fishing workers

Fallers

Log graders and scalers

Farmers and ranchers

Logging workers, all other

Forest and conservation technicians

Slaughterers and meat packers

Postmasters and mail superintendents

Mine cutting and channeling

machine operators

Explosives workers, ordnance handling

experts, and blasters

Percent of employment

Metropolitan areas Nonmetropolitan areas

43

F I G U R E 31

Occupations with the highest concentration of employment in 

metropolitan areas, May 2008

1 2 5 YEARS

BLS

Seven of the occupations concentrated almost exclusively in 

metropolitan areas are related to the 

performing arts, media, or sports: 

theatrical and performance makeup 

artists; sound engineering technicians; agents of artists, performers, 

and athletes; all other entertainers 

and performers, sports and related 

workers; multimedia artists and 

animators; film and video editors; 

and actors.

Some of the other occupations 

shown, particularly subway and 

streetcar operators, are necessary 

to run or maintain infrastructure 

found primarily in urban areas. 

●

●

AREA

FOCUS

97 97.5 98 98.5 99 99.5 100

Subway and streetcar operators

Flight attendants

Semiconductor processors

Political scientists

Entertainers and performers, sports and

related workers, all other

Medical scientists, except epidemiologists

Mathematical scientists, all other

Sound engineering technicians

Makeup artists, theatrical and performance

Computer software engineers, systems software

Insurance appraisers, auto damage

Agents and business managers

of artists, performers, and athletes

Computer hardware engineers

Survey researchers

Shampooers

Multimedia artists and animators

Film and video editors

Actors

Percentage of workers employed in metropolitan areas
44

F I G U R E 32

AREA

FOCUS

Distribution of employment in the United States and 

in Durham, NC, by occupational group, May 2008

The main factor that caused the average wage in Durham, North Carolina, to exceed 

the U.S. average by 16 percent was the higher-than-average shares of employment in 

occupations that paid above-average wages. 

Durham, NC had higher-thanaverage employment concentrations in six of the seven highest 

paying occupational groups and 

lower-than-average employment 

shares in many of the lower paying 

occupational groups, such as the 

food preparation and serving related 

group and the personal care and 

service group. 

The employment share of life, 

physical, and social science occupations was 4.65 times higher in 

Durham, NC, than in the Nation as a 

whole. Only about 1 out of every 100 

U.S. jobs was in this occupational 

group, compared with more than 4 

out of every 100 jobs in Durham.

Computer and mathematical 

science occupations had an employment concentration 3 times higher 

in Durham, NC, than at the national 

level, as this group accounted for 

about 7 in 100 Durham jobs and 

about 2 in 100 U.S. jobs.

Transportation and material 

moving occupations, which has 

below-average wages, accounted 

for 7 percent of jobs in the United 

States but only 4 percent of jobs in 

Durham. 

Only 4 out of 22 occupational 

groups had average wages significantly higher in Durham, NC, than at 

the national level. 

●

●

●

●

●

0

2

4

6

8

10

12

14

16

18

Management

Business and financial operations 

Computer and mathematical science

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

Occupational group

Percent of employment

United States

Durham, NC

Occupation title Durham, NC

employment

Percent of

Durham, NC

employment

Percent of

total U.S.

employment

Concentration

factor

Social scientists and related workers, all other 1,350 0.483 0.021 22.8

Natural sciences managers 1,250 .449 .032 14.0

Microbiologists 450 .160 .012 13.8

Health diagnosing and treating practitioners, all 

other

980 .352 .026 13.6

Biochemists and biophysicists 570 .204 .016 12.5

Statisticians 510 .183 .015 11.9

Biological technicians 1,750 .626 .053 11.7

Loan counselors 700 .252 .022 11.5

Medical scientists, except epidemiologists 2,210 .791 .074 10.7

Biological scientists, all other 560 .201 .021 9.6

Life scientists, all other 230 .081 .009 9.3

Life, physical, and social science technicians, all 

other

1,010 .362 .043 8.4

Survey researchers 360 .131 .016 8.3

Sociologists 60 .020 .003 6.7

Operations research analysts 830 .296 .045 6.6

Computer software engineers, systems software 4,860 1.743 .282 6.2

Chemists 1,040 .372 .062 6.1

Social science research assistants 210 .076 .013 5.6

Epidemiologists 50 .017 .003 5.6

Mathematicians 30 .012 .002 5.4

Medical and clinical laboratory technologists 1,730 .620 .123 5.0

45

F I G U R E 33

Detailed occupations with the highest concentrations of employment in 

Durham, NC, relative to the occupations’ corresponding employment concentrations in the United States, May 2008 

1 2 5 YEARS

BLS

The “concentration factor” column 

in the table shows how individual 

occupations’ shares of employment 

in Durham, NC, related to the same 

occupations’ shares of employment 

at the national level. For example, 

loan counselors’ employment concentration in Durham, NC, was 11.5 

times higher than loan counselors’ 

employment concentration at the 

national level.

Of the 21 detailed occupations 

with the highest employment concentrations in Durham, NC, relative 

to the United States, over half were 

life, physical, and social science occupations and 4 were computer and 

mathematical science occupations. 

The employment share of clinical, 

counseling, and school psychologists in Durham was about one-third 

of the U.S. employment share for 

this occupation, making this the only 

life, physical, and social science 

occupation with a lower employment 

share in Durham, NC, than in the 

United States as a whole. 

●

●

●

AREA

FOCUS
46

F I G U R E 34

AREA

FOCUS

Differences between North Carolina metropolitan 

area wages and the U.S. mean wage, May 2008

Occupational mean wages in all metropolitan areas in North Carolina were below 

national occupational mean wages, but employment was concentrated in higher 

paying occupations in three metropolitan areas.

In the chart, the green bar shows 

the difference between average 

wages in the metropolitan areas in 

North Carolina and average wage 

in the United States. The pink bar 

shows the difference in total wages 

that is due to differences in occupa-

tional wages. The blue bar shows 

the difference that is due to employ-

ment being concentrated in higher or 

lower paying occupations. 

Although the wages of individual 

occupations in Durham, NC, and 

Charlotte-Gastonia-Concord, NCSC, were lower overall than the U.S. 

average wages for the respective 

occupations, these metropolitan 

areas had average wages above 

the U.S. average because they had 

a greater concentration of employ-

ment in higher paying occupations, 

as indicated by the blue bars in the 

chart. 

Durham, NC, had the highest 

average wage of all metropolitan 

areas in North Carolina because 

of Durham’s high concentration of 

employment in higher paying oc-

cupations. ●●● -$5.50

-$4.50

-$3.50

-$2.50

-$1.50

-$0.50

$0.50

$1.50

$2.50

$3.50

Asheville, NC

Burlington, NC Charlotte-Gastonia- Concord, NC-SC

Durham, NC Fayetteville, NC

Goldsboro, NC Greensboro-High Point, NC Greenville, NC Hickory-Lenior- Morgantown, NC Jacksonville, NC

Raleigh-Cary, NC Rocky Mount, NC Virginia Beach- Norfolk-Newport News, VA-NC Wilmington, NC Winston-Salem, NC

Metropolitan area

Wage difference

Wage difference

Difference due to occupational wages

Difference due to occupational

employment composition

Interaction component*

*The interaction component captures the part of the 

average wage that is not attributable solely to either 

occupational composition or occupational wages.

47

125YEARS

BLS

AREA

FOCUS
48

F I G U R E 35

AREA

FOCUS Transportation and material moving occupations accounted for 16 percent of employment in 

the Houma-Bayou Cane-Thibodaux, LA, metropolitan area, but only 2 percent of employment 

in the Los Alamos, NM, nonmetropolitan area. 

The areas with the highest 

concentrations of employment in 

transportation and material moving 

occupations were the Houma-Bayou 

Cane-Thibodaux, LA, metropolitan 

area (163 per 1,000 workers); southwestern Wisconsin nonmetropolitan 

area (144 per 1,000 workers); 

Joplin, MO, metropolitan area (129 

per 1,000 workers); Dalton, GA, 

metropolitan area (124 per 1,000 

workers); and Linn County, OR, 

nonmetropolitan area (120 per 1,000 

workers). 

Houma-Bayou Cane-Thibodaux, 

LA, had a total of 15,440 transportation and material moving jobs. Two 

of the largest transportation and 

material moving occupations were 

related to water transportation: 

captains, mates, and pilots of water 

vessels (with employment of 3,350); 

and sailors and marine oilers (with 

employment of 2,700).

The two largest transportation 

and material moving occupations 

in the other four areas listed above 

were heavy and tractor-trailer truck 

drivers and the occupation of laborers and freight, stock, and material 

movers, hand.

●

●

●

Employment in transportation and material moving 

occupations, per 1,000 workers, by area, May 2008

Employment per 1,000

workers

data not released

1 - 56

57 - 67

68 - 80

81 - 93

94 - 110

111 - 163

F I G U R E 36

Mean annual wage for transportation and material moving 

occupations, by area, May 2008

1 2 5 YEARS

BLS

The areas with the highest wages 

for the transportation and material moving occupations included 

several nonmetropolitan areas, such 

as the southeast Alaska nonmetropolitan area ($44,780), railbelt/southwest Alaska nonmetropolitan area 

($44,530), and Nantucket Island and 

Martha’s Vineyard nonmetropolitan 

area ($43,250).

In the southeast Alaska nonmetropolitan area, occupations with 

high wages included ship engineers 

($66,860); first-line supervisors/managers of transportation and material 

moving machine and vehicle operators ($65,110); commercial pilots 

($56,780); first-line supervisors/managers of helpers, laborers, 

and material movers, hand 

($56,670); and captains, 

mates, and pilots of water vessels ($53,660).

●

●

AREA

FOCUS

Mean annual wage of transportation and material moving 

occupations, by area, May 2008

Mean annual wage

data not released

$1 - $27,320

$27,321 - $29,810

$29,811 - $32,480

$32,481 - $36,690

$36,691 - $44,780

49
Contents of the compact disk 

50 51

0

The enclosed compact disk (CD) contains electronic 

copies of all figures in this book; files with May 2008 

OES data for all occupations in all industries, States, 

and metropolitan and nonmetropolitan areas; and 

technical notes regarding the estimates. The CD 

includes electronic versions—with updated data—of 

the tables that were published in printed form in 

previous years. These tables comprise national 

cross-industry employment and wage data for all 

occupations, industry-specific data on the largest 

occupations in over 300 industries, and profiles for all 

occupations. Current and archived data are available 

on the Web site http://www.bls.gov/oes.

The charts are in Portable Document Format (PDF). 

The PDF files are created by Adobe Acrobat software 

and can be viewed with Adobe Acrobat Reader. If you 

do not already have this viewer configured on a local 

drive, you may download it at no cost from Adobe’s 

Web site: http://get.adobe.com/reader/.

To open the CD on a Windows PC, do the following:

1. Insert the CD into your CD-ROM drive.

2. Open “My Computer” from either the Start 

menu or the desktop.

3. Double-click on the CD-ROM drive to 

view its contents.

125YEARS

BLS
Find OES data on our Web site: http://www.bls.gov/oes

52

0

Create customized data tables using our data query tool:

http://data.bls.gov/oes/search.jsp

Download data from current and previous years as Excel files:

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

Download data from current and previous years as text files:

http://www.ftp://ftp.bls.gov/pub/time.series/oe/

View OES data highlights:

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

Find economic news releases:

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

Read published analytical articles:

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

View this chartbook online:

http://www.bls.gov/oes/2008/may/chartbook.pdf















53

1 2 5 YEARS

BLS
1 2 5 YEARS

BLS
U.S. Department of Labor U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics

1 2 5 YEARS

BLS