Category and additive codes

The Occupational Requirements Survey (ORS) publishes job-related information on physical demands; environmental 

conditions; education, training, and experience; as well as cognitive and mental requirements. The job requirements 

reflect those necessary for workers to perform critical tasks in support of the critical job functions, and not the 

capabilities of individual workers. Relationships between the estimates are shown through the category and additive 

groups assigned to estimates in the Excel dataset and the database query tools. 

The category code is the same for all related estimates. For example, all sitting estimates have the same category code. 

The additive code is used to show how estimates sum together. Sometimes estimates sum to 100 percent while others 

sum to another estimate. (See Table 1.)

Table 1. Definition of additive codes

Some job requirements are presented as required or not required. For example, interaction with the general public was 

required for 79.2 percent of civilian workers and was not required for 20.8 percent. Together these estimates sum to 

100 percent. All interaction with the general public estimates have a category code of 090 and an additive code of 090. 

The additive code begins with a zero which indicates the estimates in the category sum to 100 percent and no additional 

relationships exist.

Many environmental conditions and physical demands indicate both whether the job requirements are required as well 

as the associated duration of the workday required to complete critical tasks. As an example, consider outdoor exposure 

as shown in table 2. All outdoor exposure estimates have a category code 065. The percentage of workers not exposed 

to the outdoors and the four duration estimates (seldom, occasionally, frequently, constantly) sum to 100 percent of 

workers. This is indicated with the additive code A65.

Additionally, the percentage of workers exposed to the outdoors is equal to the sum of the four duration estimates. The 

additive code for all workers exposed to the outdoors is B65 as it does not sum to 100 percent but does sum to the 

related duration estimates.
Occupational Requirements Survey ●www.bls.gov/ors ●orsinfo@bls.gov ●202.691.6199

Table 2. Percentage of civilian workers with outdoor exposures, 2023

Exposure to the outdoors Estimate Category code Additive code

Exposed 33.0 065 B65

Seldom (up to 2% of the workday) 10.2 065 A65

Occasionally (2% up to 1/3 of the workday) 15.1 065 A65

Frequently (1/3 up to 2/3 of the workday) 3.7 065 A65

Constantly (2/3 or more of the workday) 4.1 065 A65

Not exposed 67.0 065 A65

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

Some physical demands measure whether one or both extremities are needed when completing the job requirement. 

One of these is fine manipulation.1 All fine manipulation estimates have a category code 036. Fine manipulation 

required, not required, and the four duration estimates follow the same additive code construct as outdoor exposure. 

Only one hand was needed for 37.1 percent of civilian workers requiring fine manipulation, and 61.7 percent of workers 

required both hands. These sum to the total percentage of workers requiring fine manipulation, 98.8 percent. The 

additive code for the one or both hands estimates is C36 which shows that they add to the related B estimates.

Where categories have groups of estimates that sum to 100 percent and that relate to the A estimates, the additive 

groups begin with a D, E, F, or G. Low posture estimates have a category code 001.2 These estimates measure whether 

low postures are required, not required, and the durations. Additionally, estimates for each of the four low postures 

(crawling, crouching, kneeling, and stooping) are published. Kneeling was not required for 59.6 percent of civilian 

workers, 33.8 percent of workers were able to choose kneeling when low work was required, and 6.6 percent required 

kneeling when completing low work. These sum to 100 percent and are related to the low postures A estimates. The 

additive code for kneeling estimates is F01.

For categories with multiple related groups that sum to 100 percent, the additive code begins with H, I, J, or K. The 

distinction between these estimates and those in the previous paragraph (D, E, F, or G) is that they are not subgroups, 

and do not have related A estimates. For example, all hearing requirements estimates have a category code 059. 

Requirements to hear over the telephone have an additive code J59 while requirements to hear in-person speech have 

an additive code H59. Both are types of hearing requirements measured and the additive groups sum to 100 percent. 

(See table 3.)

Table 3. Percentage of civilian workers with hearing requirements, 2023

Hearing requirements Required Not required Category code Additive code

Speech in-person 99.3 0.7 059 H59

Other remote speech 23.2 76.8 059 I59

Telephone 77.8 22.2 059 J59

Other sounds 31.3 68.7 059 K59

Source: U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, Occupational Requirements Survey
Occupational Requirements Survey ●www.bls.gov/ors ●orsinfo@bls.gov ●202.691.6199

Additive groups that begin with L, M, N, O, P, and Q are all credential estimates and part of the education, training, and 

experience requirements.3 All credential estimates have a category code 012. Credentials were required for 45.3 percent 

of all civilian workers and not required for 54.7 percent. These sum to 100 percent of workers. Three individual 

credential requirements are also published: certifications, licenses, and educational certificates. Certifications were 

required for 5.8 percent of civilian workers, and 39.5 percent of workers did not require a certification. These do not 

sum to 100 percent, but rather to the percentage of all workers that required credentials, 45.3 percent. (See table 4.)

Credential estimates also capture the length of time needed to obtain credentials. In some instances, the time is 

captured by other education, training, and experience requirements. For example, if an associate degree is part of the 

criteria for obtaining a certification, the time is counted under the degree requirements and no time is associated with 

the credential.4 Additional time was associated with obtaining a certification for 2.5 percent of workers, and 3.3 percent 

of workers did not have time associated with obtaining a certification in addition to the time needed for other 

education, training, and experience requirements. These estimates sum to the percentage of workers that required a 

certification, 5.8 percent. (See table 4.)

Table 4. Percentage of civilian workers with credential requirements, 2023

Credential requirements Yes No Category code Additive code

Credentials required 45.3 54.7 012 A12

Certification required 5.8 39.5 012 L12

Certification with associated time 2.5 3.3 012 M12

License required 19.1 26.2 012 N12

License with associated time 3.2 15.8 012 O12

Educational certificate required 2.8 42.5 012 P12

Educational certificate with associated time 2.4 <0.5 012 Q12

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

Occupational Requirements Survey

The use of personal protective equipment (PPE) is measured for four environmental conditions. These are noise 

intensity level, hazardous contaminants, heights, and proximity to moving mechanical parts. When the use of PPE fully 

mitigates exposure, workers are considered not exposed. For example, 93.1 percent of civilian workers were not 

exposed to hazardous contaminants, and 2.2 percent of workers were not exposed to hazardous contaminants because 

PPE use fully mitigated exposure. All hazardous contaminant estimates have a category code 081. The percentage of 

workers where PPE fully mitigated exposure has an additive code X81 as it does not sum to other estimates but is a 

subset of workers not exposed.

Both the Y and Z additive groups are related to the sitting and standing requirements.5 All sitting estimates have a 

category code 078 while all standing estimates have a category code 077. For the purposes of time and percentage of 

workday, workers are always considered to be sitting or standing. Civilian workers spent an average of 3.46 hours sitting 

and 4.18 hours standing per workday. Adding these together gives the average workday, and both estimates have an 

additive code beginning with a Y. On average, civilian workers spent 43.7 percent of the workday sitting and 56.3 

percent of the workday standing. These sum to 100 percent and have additive codes Z78 and Z77, respectively.
Occupational Requirements Survey ●www.bls.gov/ors ●orsinfo@bls.gov ●202.691.6199

Additional resources:

• Latest news release

• Archived ORS news releases

• Handbook of Methods

• Collection manuals

• Factsheets

Articles:

• All The Economics Daily (TED) articles on ORS

• Minds at work: what’s required according to the Occupational Requirements Survey (PDF)

• A look at teachers’ job requirements, employer costs, and benefits (PDF)

• Occupational Requirements Survey: Third wave testing report (PDF)

• Occupational Requirements Survey: results from a job observation pilot test

• The Occupational Requirements Survey: estimates from preproduction testing

For additional information on occupational requirements see the ORS homepage or download the ORS complete dataset

to explore the latest estimates.

1 See the gross and fine manipulation factsheet for more information on these requirements.

2 See the low postures factsheet for more information on these requirements.

3 See the credentials factsheet for more information on these requirements.

4 See the minimum formal education factsheet for more information on these requirements.

5 See the sitting and standing factsheet for more information on these requirements.