36  Monthly Labor Review • May 2013

The 2010 Standard Occupational Classification

Implementing the 2010 Standard 

Occupational Classification in 

the Occupational Employment 

Statistics program

The May 2012 Occupational Employment Statistics release introduced 

data for several newly defined occupations, such as nurse practitioners, 

web developers, and fundraisers; however, revisions to the Standard 

Occupational Classification system also caused more subtle changes in 

occupations that are not new to the classification system

Audrey L. Watson

Audrey L. Watson is an 

economist in the Division of 

Occupational Employment 

Statistics program at the 

Bureau of Labor Statistics. 

Email: Watson.Audrey@bls.

gov.

Nurse practitioners earned an annual mean wage of $91,450 in May 

2012, nearly $24,000 more than 

registered nurses who are not advanced practice nurses. Annual mean wages for web developers were less than $45,000 in West Virginia and Montana but more than $75,000 

in Maryland, New York, and the District of 

Columbia. State colleges and universities 

employed 42 percent fewer fundraisers than 

private sector colleges, despite higher overall 

employment.

Nurse practitioners, web developers, and 

fundraisers were among the occupations for 

which the Occupational Employment Statistics (OES) program published data for the 

first time as part of the May 2012 OES estimates release, which occurred on March 29, 

2013. All of these occupations were added 

as part of the 2010 revision of the Standard 

Occupational Classification (SOC) system, 

used by federal government agencies producing statistical data. Although the OES

program began implementing the 2010 SOC 

with the May 2010 OES release, because of 

unique features of the OES methodology, 

data for some new 2010 SOC occupations 

could not be published until the release of 

the May 2012 estimates. This article provides an overview of the implementation 

of the 2010 SOC in the OES program. The 

first half of the article presents data highlights for occupations published for the first 

time in the May 2012 OES estimates. The 

remainder outlines the implementation process; provides examples of different types of 

revisions to the SOC structure, ranging from 

minor editing changes to the addition of 

new occupations; and discusses the effects 

of these revisions on the OES data.

Data highlights for new 2010 SOC 

occupations

In addition to introducing nurse practitioners 

(an advanced practice nursing occupation), 

web developers, and fundraisers, the May 

2012 OES release introduced data for several 

other occupations, including two more advanced practice nursing occupations, eight 

additional healthcare-related occupations, 

three computer occupations, two human 

resources occupations, and two occupations 

related to renewable energy. Table 1 contains 

employment, hourly and annual mean wages, 

and annual median wages for SOC 2010 occupations published for the first time in the 

May 2012 OES estimates.1

 The following 
Monthly Labor Review • May 2013  37

subsections present additional data for selected occupations 

from table 1.

Registered nurses and advanced practice nurses. Under the 

2000 SOC, all registered nurses, including advanced practice nurses, were classified under a single occupational category. The 2010 SOC breaks out three types of advanced 

practice nurses into separate occupations:

•	 Nurse anesthetists, who administer anesthesia, monitor patients’ vital signs, and oversee patient recovery 

from anesthesia

•	 Nurse midwives, who diagnose and coordinate all aspects of the birthing process, either independently or 

as part of a healthcare team

•	 Nurse practitioners, who diagnose and treat acute, 

episodic, or chronic illness, independently or as part 

of a healthcare team

All other types of registered nurses are classified under 

a redefined registered nurses code. Even after the three 

types of advanced practice nurses were excluded, the redefined registered nurses occupation remained the fifth largest occupation in the United States, with over 2.6 million 

jobs in May 2012. About 62 percent of registered nurses 

were employed in private, state government, and local 

government hospitals. Industries with the highest emNational occupational employment and wages for 2010 Standard Occupational Classification (SOC) occupations 

published for the first time in the May 2012 Occupational Employment Statistics data

2010 SOC

code

2010 SOC title Employment Hourly mean 

wage

Annual mean 

wage

Annual median 

wage

00–0000 All occupations 130,287,700 $22.01 $45,790 $34,750

13–1071 Human resources specialists 394,380 29.16 60,660 55,800

13–1075 Labor relations specialists 75,930 27.02 56,210 54,660

13–1131 Fundraisers 48,530 26.55 55,220 50,680

15–1122 Information security analysts 72,670 42.93 89,290 86,170

15–1134 Web developers 102,940 31.78 66,100 62,500

15–1143 Computer network architects 137,890 45.19 94,000 91,000

15–1152 Computer network support specialists 167,980 30.27 62,960 59,090

21–1094 Community health workers 38,020 18.02 37,490 34,620

25–2051 Special education teachers, preschool 21,770 (

1

) 57,770 52,480

29–1128 Exercise physiologists 5,820 22.89 47,610 44,770

29–1141 Registered nurses 2,633,980 32.66 67,930 65,470

29–1151 Nurse anesthetists 34,180 74.22 154,390 148,160

29–1161 Nurse midwives 5,710 43.78 91,070 89,600

29–1171 Nurse practitioners 105,780 43.97 91,450 89,960

29–2035 Magnetic resonance imaging technologists 29,560 31.45 65,410 65,360

29–2057 Ophthalmic medical technicians 29,170 17.11 35,590 34,240

29–2092 Hearing aid specialists 4,980 22.49 46,780 41,430

29–9092 Genetic counselors 2,000 26.84 55,820 56,800

31–1015 Orderlies 53,920 12.35 25,700 23,990

31–9097 Phlebotomists 100,380 14.86 30,910 29,730

39–4031 Morticians, undertakers, and funeral directors 23,070 25.33 52,690 46,840

47–2231 Solar photovoltaic installers 4,710 19.53 40,620 37,900

49–9081 Wind turbine service technicians 3,200 23.23 48,320 45,970

1 Wages for some occupations that do not generally work yearround, full time, are reported either as hourly wages or annual salaries, 

depending on how they are typically paid.

NOTE: Excludes residual (“all other”) occupations.

SOURCE:  U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, May 2012 Occupational

Employment Statistics data.

Table 1.
The 2010 Standard Occupational Classification

38  Monthly Labor Review • May 2013

ployment of registered nurses also included ambulatory 

health care services (17 percent); nursing and residential 

care facilities (7 percent); federal, state, and local government, excluding state and local government schools and 

hospitals (6 percent); and educational services (3 percent).

The three advanced practice nursing occupations were 

considerably smaller. The nurse practitioners occupation 

was the largest of the three, with employment of 105,780. 

Total employment was 34,180 for nurse anesthetists and 

5,710 for nurse midwives. Like registered nurses, most 

advanced practice nurses were employed in hospitals or 

ambulatory health care services. However, the relative importance of the two industries was reversed: 65 percent of 

nurse anesthetists, 60 percent of nurse practitioners, and 55 

percent of nurse midwives were employed in ambulatory 

health care services, primarily in offices of physicians, while 

hospitals accounted for slightly less than a third of jobs in 

each occupation. About 11 percent of nurse midwives and 

3 percent of nurse practitioners were employed in educational services, which contain some teaching hospitals. Unlike registered nurses jobs, which were more prevalent in 

elementary and secondary schools, most nurse midwife and 

nurse practitioner jobs in educational services were in colleges, universities, and professional schools.

Metropolitan areas with the highest employment of 

both registered nurses and nurse practitioners tended to 

be those with high overall employment, such as New York, 

Los Angeles, and Boston. However, some smaller metropolitan areas had high concentrations of these occupations 

relative to total area employment. Metropolitan areas with 

the highest location quotients for nurse practitioners are 

shown in chart 1.2

 Cape Girardeau-Jackson, MO-IL, had 

nearly 4 times as many nurse practitioners as a percentage 

of total employment than the United States as a whole. 

The employment share of nurse practitioners was over 3 

times the U.S. average in Provo-Orem, UT; Bangor, ME; 

and Hattiesburg, MS. Two of the areas in chart 1—Cape 

Girardeau-Jackson, MO-IL, and Johnson City, TN—also 

had among the highest concentrations of registered nurses. 

Other areas with high concentrations of registered nurses 

included Gainesville, FL, and Lima, OH. States with the 

highest concentrations of nurse anesthetists included Tennessee, Louisiana, and both Dakotas. Indiana and Oregon 

had among the highest concentrations of nurse midwives.

All four of these nursing occupations had above-average 

pay. With an annual mean wage of $154,390, nurse anesthetists was among the 20 highest paying occupations in 

the United States; occupations with similar wages included general dentists ($163,240) and petroleum engineers 

($147,470). Both nurse practitioners and nurse midwives 

had annual mean wages of approximately $91,000. At 

$67,930, the annual mean wage for registered nurses was 

considerably lower than the wages for the advanced practice nursing occupations but more than $20,000 above the 

U.S. average of $45,790 across all occupations.

Except for the nurse midwives occupation, for which 

average wages were similar in both industries, nurses in 

hospitals tended to earn more than did those in ambulatory health care services. For example, the annual mean wage 

for nurse practitioners in hospitals was $95,870, compared 

with $90,740 in ambulatory health care services.

Other healthcare-related occupations. In addition to the 

advanced practice nursing occupations, the 2010 SOC

introduced several new healthcare occupations and a 

healthcare-related community and social service occupation, community health workers. Community health 

workers assist individuals and communities to adopt 

healthy behaviors by, for example, conducting outreach 

activities, providing information on available resources, or 

providing informal counseling. In May 2012, employment 

of community health workers was about 38,020. Over a 

third of community health workers were employed by either the individual and family services industry (7,960) or 

local government (5,700). General medical and surgical 

hospitals (2,920) and outpatient care centers (2,720) also 

were among the industries with the highest employment 

of this occupation.

Metropolitan and nonmetropolitan areas with the 

highest concentrations of community health workers are 

shown in chart 2. Compared with the United States as a 

whole, Burlington-South Burlington, VT, and Honolulu, 

HI, had nearly 9 times as many community health workers 

as a percentage of total employment. Champaign-Urbana, 

IL, and two areas in Alaska also were among the areas with 

the highest location quotients for this occupation. Except 

for Honolulu, which had about 1,090 community health 

worker jobs, the areas shown in chart 2 had employment 

of 320 or below in this occupation.

Community health workers had an annual mean wage 

of $37,490, below both the U.S. mean for all occupations 

and the $44,240 average for all community and social service occupations. The industry with the highest employment of this occupation, individual and family services, 

also was one of the lowest paying for the occupation, with 

an annual mean wage of $30,810; the mean wage for community health workers employed in local government was 

$39,670, slightly above the average across all industries.

After nurse practitioners, phlebotomists (draw blood 

for tests, transfusions, donations, and research) and order-
Monthly Labor Review • May 2013  39

 Chart 1 Location quotients for metropolitan areas with the highest concentrations of nurse practitioners, 

May 2012

Cape Girardeau-Jackson, MO-Il

Provo-Orem, UT

Bangor, ME

Hattiesburg, MS

Morgantown, WV

Johnson City, TN

Duluth, MN-WI

Gulfport-Biloxi, MS

New Haven, CT

St. George, UT

Location quotient

0 1 2 3 4

NOTES: The location quotient is the ratio of the area concentration of occupational employment to the national average 

concentration. A location quotient greater than 1 indicatesthe occupation makes up a higher percentage of area employment than of

national employment. 

SOURCE:  U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, May 2012 Occupational Employment Statistics data.

 Chart 2 Location quotients for metropolitan and nonmetropolitan areas with the highest concentrations of 

community health workers among areas with employment of at least 100 in this occupation, May 2012

Burlington-South Burlington, VT

Honolulu, HI

Railbelt/Southwest Alaska

nonmetropolitan area

Champaign-Urbana, IL

North and West Central New

Mexico nonmetropolitan area

Anchorage, AK

Stockton, CA

Barnstable Town, MA

Tyler, TX

Columbia, MO

Location quotient

0 1 2 3 4

NOTES: The location quotient is the ratio of the area concentration of occupational employment to the national average 

concentration. A location quotient greater than 1 indicatesthe occupation makes up a higher percentage of area employment than of

national employment. 

0 2 4 6 8 10

SOURCE:  U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, May 2012 Occupational Employment Statistics data.
The 2010 Standard Occupational Classification

40  Monthly Labor Review • May 2013

lies were the largest healthcare occupations introduced in 

the SOC revision, with May 2012 employment of 100,380 

and 53,920, respectively. About 40 percent of phlebotomists were employed in general medical and surgical hospitals. Most of the remainder were employed in medical 

and diagnostic laboratories; other ambulatory health care 

services, which includes blood and organ banks; or offices 

of physicians. About 72 percent of orderlies were employed in a single industry, general medical and surgical 

hospitals. Both of these occupations were relatively low 

paying, with annual mean wages of $30,910 for phlebotomists and $25,700 for orderlies.

Ophthalmic medical technicians (assist ophthalmologists by performing ophthalmic clinical functions) and 

magnetic resonance imaging technologists (operate magnetic resonance imaging [or MRI] scanners) had May 2012 

employment of 29,170 and 29,560, respectively. Over 70 

percent of ophthalmic medical technicians worked in offices of physicians, while the majority of magnetic resonance imaging technologists (56 percent) were employed 

in general medical and surgical hospitals. Employment 

levels were much lower for the three remaining healthcare occupations introduced as part of the 2010 SOC revision: exercise physiologists (5,820), hearing aid specialists 

(4,980), and genetic counselors (2,000). About 54 percent 

of exercise physiologists worked in general medical and 

surgical hospitals. Sixty percent of genetic counselor jobs 

were found in either general medical and surgical hospitals 

or offices of physicians. Two retail trade industries, health 

and personal care stores and other general merchandise 

stores, accounted for about 58 percent of employment of 

hearing aid specialists.

Annual mean wages for magnetic resonance imaging 

technologists ($65,410) and genetic counselors ($55,820) 

were above the U.S. all-occupations average. The annual 

mean wage for exercise physiologists ($47,610) also was 

slightly above average. Annual mean wages for hearing 

aid specialists ($46,780) and ophthalmic medical technicians ($35,590) were similar to or below the average 

across all occupations.

Computer occupations. The SOC structure for computer 

occupations was significantly updated in the 2010 revision, reflecting the effects of technological change on this 

group of occupations. Four new computer occupations 

were introduced as part of the revision: web developers, 

information security analysts, computer network architects, and computer network support specialists. Changes 

to the remaining computer occupations ranged from title 

and editing changes to changes in the occupations’ content. For example, the definition for computer software 

engineers, applications, was edited and the title changed 

to software developers, applications; the revised computer 

systems analysts occupation had a substantive change to 

the occupation’s content, with some workers previously 

classified in this occupation moved to the new computer 

network architects occupation. In addition, all the computer occupations were assigned new codes as part of the 

revision.

In May 2012, web developers filled 102,940 jobs. 

About one-fifth of these jobs were in the computer systems design and related services industry; other industries 

with high employment of web developers included data 

processing, hosting, and related services (5,230); advertising, public relations, and related services (4,930); and 

management, scientific, and technical consulting services 

(4,880). (See chart 3.) Metropolitan areas with the highest concentrations of web developers included the San 

Francisco-San Mateo-Redwood City, CA, metropolitan 

division; Boulder, CO; and the Seattle-Bellevue-Everett, 

WA, metropolitan division, each of which had more than 

3 times as many web developers as a percentage of total 

employment than the United States as a whole.

The annual mean wage for web developers was $66,100, 

above the U.S. all-occupations average of $45,790 but 

below the average wage for computer occupations of 

$80,020. By comparison, the highest-paying computer 

occupations, computer and information research scientists 

and systems software developers, had average wages of 

$103,670 and $102,500, respectively. Among the industries shown in chart 3, wages for web developers ranged 

from $57,390 in colleges, universities, and professional 

schools to $79,520 in employment services.

Total employment of information security analysts was 

about 72,670 in May 2012. Computer systems design and 

related services was the industry with the highest employment of information security analysts, with about 20,040 

jobs, or 28 percent of total occupational employment. Industries with the highest employment of this occupation 

also included management of companies and enterprises 

(5,810); depository credit intermediation (5,000); and management, scientific, and technical consulting services (3,930).

The St. Mary’s County, MD, nonmetropolitan area had 

the highest concentration of information security analysts 

of any local area, with a location quotient of over 11 for this 

occupation. Local areas with the highest concentrations of 

this occupation also included Washington-Arlington-Alexandria, DC-VA-MD-WV; Fayetteville-Springdale-Rogers, 

AR-MO; and the Northern Virginia nonmetropolitan area.

Information security analysts earned an average of 
Monthly Labor Review • May 2013  41

$89,290 annually, nearly $44,000 above the U.S. all-occupations mean. The industry with the highest employment 

of information security analysts, computer systems design 

and related services, also had a slightly above-average wage 

of $91,880 for this occupation. Among areas employing at 

least 500 information security analysts, the highest paying included the New York-White Plains-Wayne, NY-NJ, 

metropolitan division ($117,860); the San FranciscoSan Mateo-Redwood City, CA, metropolitan division 

($115,660); and the Bethesda-Rockville-Frederick, MD, 

metropolitan division ($111,010).

Employment patterns for the two remaining new 

computer occupations (computer network architects and 

computer network support specialists) were similar to one 

another, perhaps reflecting the relationship between these 

occupations’ duties. Computer network architects design 

and implement computer and information networks, such 

as local area networks (or LANs) and Intranets, while computer network support specialists focus on analyzing, testing, and maintaining existing networks. The computer network support specialists occupation was the largest of the 

four new computer occupations, with May 2012 employment of 167,980; employment of computer network architects was about 137,890. As with the other new computer 

occupations, computer systems design and related services 

had the highest employment of both computer network 

architects and computer network support specialists, with 

28 percent and 21 percent of total employment in these 

occupations, respectively. Wired telecommunications carriers and management of companies and enterprises were 

the industries with the second- and third-highest employment of both of these computer occupations.

The Washington-Arlington-Alexandria, DC-VA-MDWV, and Olympia, WA, metropolitan areas had among the 

highest employment concentrations of both new computer network occupations. Other areas with the highest employment concentrations of computer network 

architects included Tallahassee, FL; Gainesville, FL; and 

Durham-Chapel Hill, NC. The Madison, WI; Boulder, 

CO; and Raleigh-Cary, NC, metropolitan areas had among 

the highest concentrations of computer network support 

specialists. The Washington-Arlington-Alexandria, DCVA-MD-WV, and New York-White Plains-Wayne, NY-NJ, 

metropolitan divisions had among the highest employ-

 Chart 3. Industries with the highest employment of web developers, May 2012

Computer systems design and 

related services

Other information services

Data processing, hosting, and 

related services

Advertising, public relations, and 

related services

Management, scientific, and

technical consulting services

Management of companies and 

enterprises

Colleges, universities, and 

professional schools

Newspaper, periodical, book, 

and directory publishers

Electronic shopping and mailorder houses

Employment services

Employment

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

SOURCE:  U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, May 2012 Occupational Employment Statistics data.
The 2010 Standard Occupational Classification

42  Monthly Labor Review • May 2013

ment of both computer network architects and computer 

network support specialists, although unlike the Washington, DC, metropolitan area, New York-White PlainsWayne did not have an above-average concentration of 

either occupation.

Mean wages for the two new computer network occupations were both above average but were significantly 

different from each other. Computer network architects 

earned an annual mean wage of $94,000, more than double the U.S. all-occupations average of $45,790. Among 

industries employing 500 or more computer network 

architects, the highest paying included other information services ($113,400), semiconductor and other electronic component manufacturing ($112,600), and two 

financial services industries, securities and commodity 

contracts intermediation and brokerage ($111,560) and 

other financial investment activities ($111,320). The lowest paying industries employing 500 or more computer 

network architects were state government ($63,550); local 

government ($74,620); elementary and secondary schools 

($59,110); and colleges, universities, and professional 

schools ($71,730).

With an annual mean wage of $62,960, the computer 

network support specialists occupation was one of the 

lowest paid computer occupations, outranking only computer user support specialists ($50,130). The highest paying industries employing 500 or more computer network 

support specialists included computer and peripheral 

equipment manufacturing ($77,590) and several financial 

services industries: nondepository credit intermediation 

($77,020), securities and commodity contracts intermediation and brokerage ($75,630), and activities related to 

credit intermediation ($74,550). Electronic shopping and 

mail-order houses ($50,240), business support services 

($51,860), and junior colleges ($52,520) were among the 

lowest paying industries employing 500 or more computer 

network support specialists.

Fundraisers and human resources workers. Changes to 

the business and financial operations occupational group 

include the introduction of a new occupation, fundraisers. Total employment of fundraisers was about 48,530 in 

May 2012. Nearly a quarter of fundraisers were employed 

in the grantmaking and giving services industry (see chart 

4), which includes philanthropic trusts, grantmaking foundations, disease research fundraising organizations, and 

federated charities. Colleges, universities, and professional 

schools had the second-highest employment of fundraisers (6,130). Other industries with the highest numbers of 

fundraising jobs included social advocacy organizations 

(4,760) and individual and family services (3,080).

Fundraisers earned an average of $55,220 across all 

industries, about $9,400 above the U.S. all-occupations 

average. Annual mean wages for fundraisers for the industries shown in chart 4 ranged from $47,010 in community food and housing, and emergency and other relief 

services, to $62,120 in colleges, universities, and professional schools.

Changes to the business and financial operations group 

also included the introduction of two revised human resources workers occupations: human resources specialists 

(perform activities in the human resources area) and labor 

relations specialists (resolve disputes between workers and 

managers, negotiate collective bargaining agreements, 

or coordinate grievance procedures to handle employee 

complaints). These occupations resulted from splitting 

and recombining two SOC 2000 occupations: employment, recruitment, and placement specialists and all other 

human resources, training, and labor relations specialists.

Employment of labor relations specialists was about 

75,930 in May 2012. Nearly 79 percent of these jobs were 

in a single industry: business, professional, labor, political, 

and similar organizations, which includes labor unions. 

Employment of labor relations specialists was much lower 

in the remaining industries, including building material 

and supplies dealers (2,090), state government (1,720), 

and management of companies and enterprises (1,430). 

Several of the metropolitan areas with the highest concentrations of labor relations specialists were in Ohio, 

including Youngstown-Warren-Boardman, OH-PA; Steubenville-Weirton, OH-WV; Lima, OH; Wheeling, WV-OH; 

and Canton-Massillon, OH.

Total May 2012 employment of human resources specialists was about 394,380. Compared with labor relations 

specialist jobs, human resources specialist jobs were distributed more evenly across industries. About 20 percent of human resources specialists were employed in the public sector; private sector industries with the highest employment 

of this occupation included employment services (63,970), 

management of companies and enterprises (28,540), and 

general medical and surgical hospitals (14,600). Elizabethtown, KY; Washington-Arlington-Alexandria, DC-VA-MDWV; Olympia, WA; and Manhattan, KS, were among the 

areas with the highest concentrations of human resources 

specialists. Although most of these areas employed fewer 

than 1,000 human resources specialists, the WashingtonArlington-Alexandria metropolitan division also had one 

of the highest employment levels for this occupation, with 

over 16,000 jobs.

May 2012 annual mean wages were $56,210 for labor 
Monthly Labor Review • May 2013  43

relations specialists and $60,660 for human resources 

specialists. Both occupations had mean wages above the 

U.S. all-occupations mean wage ($45,790) but below the 

$69,550 average for all business and financial operations 

occupations. In addition, for each of the two occupations, the industry with the highest employment of the 

occupation had below-average wages for the occupation. 

Human resources specialists in the employment services 

industry earned an average of $57,110, more than $3,500 

below the all-industry occupational mean. Similarly, labor 

relations specialists employed in business, professional, 

labor, political, and similar organizations earned an average of $53,440, more than $2,500 below the all-industry 

occupational mean; by comparison, mean wages for this 

occupation were $80,000 or more in the motor vehicle 

manufacturing, motor vehicle parts manufacturing, and 

wired telecommunications carriers industries.

Occupations related to renewable energy. In general, any 

classification of jobs based on the nature of the work performed does not always allow “green” jobs to be differentiated from other jobs with similar duties. For example, a 

worker installing electrical wiring and fixtures in a Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (or LEED) 

certified building would be classified as an electrician, as 

would a worker performing the same tasks on a traditional 

building project. However, the 2010 SOC introduced two 

new occupations specifically associated with renewable 

energy generation: solar photovoltaic installers and wind 

turbine service technicians.

Both occupations were relatively small and geographically concentrated. Nearly 73 percent of the 3,200 wind 

turbine service technicians were found in only five states: 

Texas, Colorado, Iowa, California, and Minnesota. Solar 

photovoltaic installers had total May 2012 employment of 

approximately 4,710, with over 60 percent of these jobs in 

California, Tennessee, New York, Arizona, and Colorado. 

(See chart 5.)

The majority of solar photovoltaic installers—56 percent—worked for building equipment contractors. More 

than half of the remaining jobs were in utility system 

construction, state government, or construction of buildings. Approximately 58 percent of wind turbine service 

technicians were employed either in electric power gen-

 Chart 4. Industries with the highest employment of fundraisers, May 2012

Grantmaking and giving services

Colleges, universities, and professional schools

Social advocacy organizations

Individual and family services

Civic and social organizations

Business, professional, labor, political, and 

similar organizations

Elementary and secondary schools

Community food and housing, and 

emergency and other relief services

Business support services

Management of companies and enterprises

Employment

0 2,000 4,000 6,000 8,000 10,000 12,0

SOURCE:  U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, May 2012 Occupational Employment Statistics data.
The 2010 Standard Occupational Classification

44  Monthly Labor Review • May 2013

eration, transmission, and distribution or commercial and 

industrial machinery and equipment (except automotive 

and electronic) repair and maintenance, split roughly 

equally between these two industries. Smaller numbers of 

wind turbine service technicians were employed in utility system construction (390); machinery, equipment, and 

supplies merchant wholesalers (190); and management, 

scientific, and technical consulting services (130).

Solar photovoltaic installers had an annual mean wage 

of $40,620, about $5,000 below the U.S. all-occupations 

average. Wages for this occupation varied considerably by 

industry, from $25,000 in building finishing contractors 

to $61,570 in state government. The annual mean wage 

for wind turbine service technicians was $48,320 and 

ranged by industry from $30,430 in building equipment 

contractors to $52,490 in architectural, engineering, and 

related services.

OES and the conversion to the 2010 SOC

The 2010 SOC revision. Like other classification systems 

used for statistical purposes, the SOC system was designed 

to be revised periodically to reflect changes in the structure of the U.S. economy and to update the occupational 

titles and definitions. The 2010 SOC revision process began in October 2005. The revision was conducted by an 

interagency Standard Occupational Classification Policy 

Committee (SOCPC) operating under the authority of the 

Office of Management and Budget (OMB). The Bureau of 

Labor Statistics (BLS) chairs the SOCPC, which includes 

members from four other executive departments (Commerce, Defense, Education, and Health and Human Services) in which occupational data are produced, as well as 

representatives from several other federal agencies. During the revision process, the SOCPC also consulted with 

additional federal agencies and state workforce agencies, 

as well as solicited public comment through notices in the 

Federal Register.

3

On January 21, 2009, the Federal Register published the 

final revised 2010 SOC structure, classification principles, 

and coding guidelines. The revised system kept the same 

general hierarchal structure of the 2000 SOC—major 

groups, minor groups, broad occupations, and detailed occupations—with a net gain of 1 minor group, 12 broad 

 Chart 5. States with the highest employment of solar photovoltaic installers and wind turbine service 

technicians, May 2012

Employment

0 500 1,000 1,500 2,000

Solar

photovoltaic

installers

Wind turbine

service

technicians

California

Tennessee

New York

Arizona

Colorado

Texas

Minnesota

California

Iowa

Colorado

SOURCE:  U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, May 2012 Occupational Employment Statistics data.
Monthly Labor Review • May 2013  45

occupations, and 19 detailed occupations.

Individual detailed occupations underwent one or more 

of several possible types of changes, classified as content, editing, title, and code changes.4

 Of the 840 2010 SOC occupations, 61, or about 7 percent, underwent content changes, 

defined as splitting a 2000 SOC occupation among more 

than one 2010 SOC occupation or collapsing more than one 

2000 SOC occupation into a single 2010 SOC occupation. 

Possible types of content changes included breaking a new 

2010 SOC occupation out of a residual (“all other”) category 

or moving a subset of workers in a 2000 SOC occupation 

into another new or existing occupation. Occupations with 

content changes include all the SOC 2010 occupations published for the first time in the May 2012 OES release.

About 47 percent of 2010 SOC occupations had editing 

changes to the occupational definitions. While some of 

these changes were minor, such as punctuation or slight 

wording changes, other definitions were substantially rewritten. Although not classified as content changes according to the definition just described, these more extensive editing changes could affect how workers are reported 

and therefore could affect the content of the occupation, 

as discussed in the subsection that follows. Other possible changes included changes to occupational titles—for 

example, to clarify an occupation’s content or to reflect 

changes in the occupational definition—and changes to 

occupational codes to group similar occupations together 

in the coding structure. About 43 percent of 2010 SOC 

occupations had no changes.

OES 3-year methodology. Although OES began implementing the revised SOC in the May 2010 estimates, converting the OES data fully to the 2010 SOC was not immediately possible because OES produces each set of estimates 

by pooling survey response data collected in six semiannual 

panels over 3 years. For example, the May 2012 OES estimates are based on survey data collected with reference 

dates of May 2012, November 2011, May 2011, November 2010, May 2010, and November 2009. Each year, the 

two oldest panels of data are dropped and two new panels 

added. Combining 3 years of data allows a large sample size 

of approximately 1.2 million units, allowing estimates to 

be produced at high levels of occupational, geographical, 

and industry detail, while reducing the burden on survey 

respondents. The downside of this methodology is that 

changes sometimes must be implemented gradually, allowing time for the full 3 years of underlying survey data 

to be replaced with new data.5

The OES program began collecting data based on the 

2010 SOC with the November 2009 survey panel. However, because of the 3-year methodology, the May 2010 and 

May 2011 OES estimates were based on a combination 

of older survey panels collected using the 2000 SOC and 

newer panels collected using the 2010 SOC. Many occupations either had no change or had only minor changes 

between the two systems, such as new occupational codes 

or slight editing of the titles or descriptions. These occupations could be converted to the 2010 SOC beginning 

with the May 2010 data. Similarly, 2010 SOC occupations 

that were simple combinations of 2000 SOC occupations 

also could be converted immediately, for example, the 

2010 SOC occupation photographic process workers and 

processing machine operators (51–9151), which merged 

two 2000 SOC occupations, photographic process workers 

(51–9131) and photographic processing machine operators (51–9132). Some 2000 SOC occupations that mapped 

to a single SOC 2010 occupation also were converted to 

the new system beginning in May 2010, although the 

content of the occupation may have changed because survey panels collected under the new 2010 SOC definition 

were added, as discussed in the next subsection.

However, when a 2000 SOC occupation was split into 

two or more 2010 SOC occupations, determining how 

data collected under the old system would have been 

coded under the revised system was not possible. For 

these occupations, the May 2010 and May 2011 estimates represented a transition period during which data 

collected under the new and old systems were combined 

into a temporary occupation not found in the 2010 SOC. 

Sometimes the data could be combined to re-create a 

2000 SOC code; for example, data for registered nurses 

and advanced practice nurses were reaggregated into the 

2000 SOC occupation registered nurses (29–1111). When 

this type of combination was not possible, the data were 

published under a temporary occupation used in OES

only. For example, the OES-specific occupation information security analysts, web developers, and computer network architects combined data collected for the 2000 SOC 

occupation network systems and data communications 

analysts (15–1081) with data collected for the 2010 SOC 

occupations information security analysts (15–1122), web 

developers (15–1134), and computer network architects 

(15–1143), all of which were broken out wholly or partly 

from network systems and data communications analysts 

(15–1081).6

For production of the May 2012 OES estimates, the 

last of the old survey panels based on the 2000 SOC were 

dropped and replaced with November 2011 and May 

2012 panels based on the 2010 SOC. As a result, the May 

2012 estimates are the first to be based entirely on survey 
The 2010 Standard Occupational Classification

46  Monthly Labor Review • May 2013

data collected using the revised SOC, allowing the transitional coding structure to be discontinued and replaced 

with the full 2010 SOC.

SOC 2010 and OES data over time. In part because of the 

3-year methodology, OES data are designed primarily for 

cross-sectional analysis rather than for making comparisons between two periods.7

 The conversion from the 2000 

SOC to the 2010 SOC further complicates the use of OES

data for analyzing changes through time. For the occupations introduced in the May 2012 OES data, the challenge 

is clear: no previous data exist for comparison. However, 

for other occupations, the effects of the SOC conversion 

on data comparability are less obvious. The SOC revision 

changed the definitions of some occupations, resulting 

in changes to these occupations’ content. Clarifications 

to the titles and/or definitions of other occupations may 

have affected how survey respondents classified workers 

into occupations. In addition to changes related to the 

SOC conversion, some OES-specific efforts to improve the 

accuracy of the data collected may also affect the comparability of data through time. Examples of each of these 

types of changes are presented in the next paragraphs.

As part of the revision, the definitions of some occupations were expanded to include related workers previously 

classified elsewhere or narrowed to exclude specific types 

of workers formerly classified in the occupation. These 

definitional changes were often accompanied by changes 

to the occupational titles and, sometimes, codes; however, 

because a similar-sounding occupation appears in both the 

2000 and 2010 SOCs, data users may attempt to compare 

the new and old versions of the occupation directly. For 

some of these revised occupations, the OES program began publishing data under the new code and title in May 

2010, rather than using a transitional code as was done for 

other occupations. However, because of the definitional 

changes, the May 2010 and May 2011 data still represent 

a transition period for these occupations, because survey 

panels collected under the older definition were gradually 

phased out and replaced with data collected based on the 

revised definition.

For example, under the 2010 SOC, the title and definition for occupation code 13–1121 were expanded to include event planners, whose duties are sufficiently similar 

to those of meeting and convention planners to justify 

grouping them together:

•	 2000 SOC: meeting and convention planners (13–

1121)—Coordinate activities of staff and convention personnel to make arrangements for group 

meetings and conventions

•	 2010 SOC: meeting, convention, and event planners 

(13–1121)—Coordinate activities of staff, convention personnel, or clients to make arrangements for 

group meetings, events, or conventions

In this example, the occupational code did not change, 

so OES estimates were published continually under this 

code during the transition period. However, May 2009 

and earlier data, which do not include event planners, are 

not directly comparable with later data, which do include 

them. In addition, the 3-year OES methodology means 

that although the revised title and definition were first 

implemented in May 2010, the content change would 

have phased in gradually between May 2010 and May 

2012, because survey panels collected under the narrower 

definition were dropped and replaced with panels collected under the new, broader definition. Data users unfamiliar with the 2010 SOC revision might attribute the 

2010–2012 growth in the OES employment estimates for 

this occupation solely to economic factors, rather than to 

the broader occupational definition.

A similar example occurs in the 2000 SOC occupation 

market research analysts (19–3021). Originally restricted 

to workers who primarily researched market conditions, 

this occupation was expanded to include marketing specialists whose job duties involved creating marketing 

campaigns but not performing market research analysis. 

In addition, the occupation was moved from the life, 

physical, and social science occupational group to the 

business and financial operations group to reflect the shift 

in focus and given the new title and code market research 

analysts and marketing specialists (13-1161). Despite the 

code change, the old and new titles and definitions appear 

roughly comparable; in addition, all workers previously 

coded in the old occupation would now be classified in 

the new one. However, because the definition was expanded to include marketing specialists, the contents of 

the old and new occupations are not directly comparable, 

and once again, the content change would be expected to 

phase in gradually as a result of the 3-year OES data collection cycle. Comparisons of May 2009 and May 2012 

OES data for the two versions of this occupation show 

a cumulative employment increase of 74 percent—from 

226,410 to 392,740—with the increase occurring gradually during each year of this period.

 In some cases, an occupation’s definition was narrowed. For example, the 2000 SOC occupation law clerks 

(23-2092) was revised to restrict the occupation only to 
Monthly Labor Review • May 2013  47

workers who assist judges by researching and preparing 

legal documents and to remove workers who are assisting lawyers. Workers who assist lawyers by conducting 

research or preparing legal documents are classified in the 

2010 SOC as paralegals and legal assistants (23–2011). As 

part of the revision, the occupational title and code for 

law clerks were changed to judicial law clerks (23–1012). 

Comparing the old and new versions of the occupation 

shows a gradual fall in employment between May 2009 

and May 2012, for a cumulative decrease of about 66 percent, as the new, narrower definition was phased in. In addition, mean wages for this occupation increased by about 

25 percent over the same period, compared with a 5-percent wage increase across all occupations, suggesting that 

the workers excluded by the new definition may have been 

lower paid than were those remaining in the occupation.

In addition to occupations that had content changes 

as part of the SOC revision, many other occupations underwent editing changes to their titles and/or definitions. 

In most cases, these changes were minor and unlikely to 

affect the OES data. However, some editing changes may 

have extensively clarified how workers should be classified 

into occupations. In such cases, even though the intended 

content of the occupation is unchanged, the revisions may 

affect how survey respondents report their workers, effectively changing content of the OES data.

An example of editing changes that may have affected 

occupational coding involves two related office and administrative support 2010 SOC occupations: executive secretaries and executive administrative assistants (43–6011) 

and secretaries and administrative assistants, except legal, 

medical, and executive (43-6014). The 2000 SOC titles of 

these support occupations were executive secretaries and 

administrative assistants (43-6011) and secretaries, except 

legal, medical, and executive (43-6014):

sistants” who did not perform the high-level administrative support typical of the executive secretary occupation 

should be classified as secretaries instead.

A look at the OES data for both occupations suggests 

that these clarifications may have affected reporting, increasing the number of nonexecutive administrative assistants reported correctly in 43-6014 instead of 43–6011. 

Employment for the office and administrative support 

group as a whole fell by about 4 percent between May 

2009 and May 2012; however, employment for executive secretaries and executive administrative assistants fell 

by 41 percent over the same period, while employment 

of secretaries and administrative assistants (except legal, 

medical, and executive) increased by 16 percent. Just as 

the changes for occupational definitions are reflected 

gradually in the OES data, editing changes that influence 

how workers are reported also would be reflected gradually, because survey panels collected under the older titles 

and definitions are replaced by panels collected under the 

revised ones.

Two OES-specific changes designed to improve data 

quality were implemented along with the SOC revision. 

These changes may also affect the comparability of OES 

data through time. One change involved the introduction 

of an OES-specific code for substitute teachers. According to the SOC coding guidelines, teachers whose job is to 

teach at different levels—for example, elementary, middle 

school, or secondary—should be reported in the occupation corresponding to the highest level at which they 

teach. State workforce agencies collecting OES data were 

not consistently able to obtain the information needed 

to code substitute teachers to the detailed teaching occupations that covered the grade taught during the reference period. After OMB released the 2010 SOC structure 

in the January 2009 Federal Register, the SOCPC decided 

to improve coding consistency of substitute teachers 

across agencies by modifying the 2010 SOC definitions 

to specify that substitute teachers should be coded to the 

residual occupation teachers and instructors, all other 

(25–3099). To facilitate consistent coding of substitute 

teachers across states, OES implemented the OES-specific 

code 25–3098 substitute teachers, designed to include all 

substitute teachers, regardless of the level at which they 

teach. Workers reported in this OES-specific code were 

incorporated into the residual occupation teachers and 

instructors, all other (25–3099), beginning with the May 

2010 estimates. Employment in this residual category increased by about 49 percent between May 2009 and May 

2012 because survey panels collected using the new code 

were phased in.

2000 SOC 2010 SOC

Code Title Code Title

43–6011 Executive 

secretaries and 

administrative 

assistants

43–6011 Executive 

secretaries 

and executive 

administrative 

assistants

43–6014 Secretaries, 

except legal, 

medical, and 

executive

43–6014 Secretaries and 

administrative 

assistants, except 

legal, medical, 

and executive

As part of the revision, the titles and definitions of both 

occupations were edited to clarify that “administrative as-
The 2010 Standard Occupational Classification

48  Monthly Labor Review • May 2013

The second OES-specific change implemented to improve data quality involved the use in data collection of 

a revised title and definition for sales representatives of 

some services. The SOC contains separate occupations for 

sales representatives of several types of services, including 

advertising, travel, and financial services. Sales representatives of services not classified separately, such as business 

services or pest control services, are correctly reported in 

the SOC occupation sales representatives, services, all other (41-3099), defined as “all services sales representatives 

not listed separately.” To facilitate more accurate reporting of these workers, beginning with the November 2010 

survey panel, OES placed this occupation on survey forms 

under an OES-specific code, title, and definition: “41-3098 

Sales Representatives of Services, Except Advertising, Insurance, Travel, and Financial Services—Sell services to 

individuals or businesses. May describe options or resolve 

client problems. Excludes ‘Advertising Sales Agents,’ 

‘Travel Agents,’ ‘Sales Representatives, Wholesale and 

Manufacturing,’ and ‘Telemarketers.’”

The intended content of this OES-specific code is identical to that of sales representatives, services, all other (41-

3099), and data collected under this code are published 

under the corresponding SOC code and title. However, 

the more descriptive title and definition may help respondents correctly classify workers into the occupation. The 

first panels collected with this OES-specific code were introduced in the May 2011 estimates; between May 2010 

and May 2012, employment in sales representatives, services, all other (41–3099), increased by about 26 percent. 

Because the May 2012 estimates still contain two panels 

of data collected before the OES-specific code was in use, 

any effects of this change will not fully phase in until the 

May 2013 estimates.

The preceding discussion provides several examples of 

content or editing changes to occupational categories that 

may affect the comparability of OES data through time. 

However, even occupations without obvious changes to 

their titles or definitions may be affected by revisions elsewhere in the structure. For example, some workers previously reported as law clerks but excluded from the revised 

judicial law clerks occupation may now be reported as 

paralegals and legal assistants (23–2011) instead. The effect may be to reduce the comparability of the data for 

paralegals over time, although the direct revisions to the 

paralegals occupation were relatively minor. Residual 

(all other) occupations may also be affected by revisions 

elsewhere in the structure. Residuals from which new occupations were broken out as part of the 2010 revision 

may be indicated by the use of an OES-specific code during the 2010/2011 transition period, but data from before and after the transition may have the same titles and 

codes, although they are not directly comparable. Because 

changes to the classification system may interact in ways 

that are subtle and difficult to quantify, data users should 

be cautious in interpreting changes in the OES estimates 

through time. Before comparing OES data based on the 

2010 SOC with data based on the 2000 SOC, users should 

use the crosswalk between the two systems to determine 

which occupations match one to one and which do not.8

Data users should also check for revisions to an occupation’s title or definition that might affect how workers are 

reported in that occupation or in related occupations.9 

Finally, for occupations with content changes that were 

published in the May 2010 and May 2011 OES estimates, 

data users should keep in mind that year-on-year changes 

during the 2010–2012 transition period may be due to a 

mix of both economic factors and changes in the content 

of the occupation.

THE MAY 2012 OES ESTIMATES represent the final stage in 

a 3-year process (2010–2012) of converting the OES data 

from the 2000 SOC to the revised 2010 SOC. Periodic revisions allow the classification system to adapt to changes in 

the occupational structure of the U.S. economy, enabling 

OES to publish employment and wage estimates for new 

occupations of interest, such as advanced practice nurses, 

information security analysts, and wind turbine service 

technicians. The tradeoff is some loss of continuity in the 

ability to compare occupations through time. Because revisions to the classification system may affect occupational 

coding in ways that are not always obvious, OES data users 

may want to be particularly cautious in comparing data 

based on the 2000 and 2010 SOC systems.

Notes

1 Table 1 excludes residual (“all other”) occupations. 2 Location quotients represent area employment in an occupation as 

a percentage of total area employment, divided by national employment 

in the occupation as a percentage of total national employment. Occupations with location quotients greater than 1 make up a higher share of local employment than they do of national employment; occupations with 

location quotients less than 1 make up a lower share of local employment 

than of national employment. For example, an occupation that makes 

up 8 percent of area employment and 2 percent of national employment 

would have a location quotient of 4 for the area in question.
Monthly Labor Review • May 2013  49

3 For a detailed description of the 2010 SOC revision process, see 

Theresa Cosca and Alissa Emmel, “Revising the Standard Occupational Classification system for 2010,” Monthly Labor Review, August 

2010, pp. 32–41, www.bls.gov/opub/mlr/2010/08/art3full.pdf.

4 A spreadsheet showing the types of change by detailed occupation in the 2010 SOC can be downloaded at www.bls.gov/soc/

soc_2010_type_of_change_by_detail_occup.xls.

5 For detailed information on the OES methodology, see the OES 

Survey Methods and Reliability Statement at www.bls.gov/oes/

current/methods_statement.htm.

6 Detailed information on the transitional coding structure used in 

the May 2010 and May 2011 OES data, including a link to a downloadable crosswalk between the transitional structure and the 2000 and 

2010 SOC systems, is available in the OES Frequently Asked Question 

(FAQ) “How were the occupations in the May 2010 estimates created 

from data based on the 2000 and 2010 SOC codes?” at www.bls.gov/

oes/oes_ques.htm#other.

7 For more information on using OES data to compare through time, 

see the FAQ “Can OES data be used to compare changes in employment 

or wages over time?” at www.bls.gov/oes/oes_ques.htm#other.

8 For a crosswalk from the 2000 SOC to the 2010 SOC, see http://

www.bls.gov/soc/soccrosswalks.htm.

9 To download 2010 SOC definitions, go to www.bls.gov/soc/

materials.htm. Archived materials on the 2000 SOC, including links 

to occupational definitions, are available at www.bls.gov/soc/2000/

socguide.htm.