Navigating ORS Databases 

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The Occupa�onal Requirements Survey (ORS) publishes job-related informa�on on physical demands; 

environmental condi�ons; educa�on, training, and experience; as well as cogni�ve and mental 

requirements. The job requirements reflect those necessary for workers to perform cri�cal tasks in 

support of the cri�cal job func�ons, and not the capabili�es of individual workers.

ORS data can be accessed in a number of ways. This factsheet will cover the following data retrieval 

methods and resources:

• Retrieving individual es�mates using the “One Screen” tool

• Using the addi�onal tools available on the ORS Databases Page (Top Picks, Data Finder, Mul� 

Screen, and Text Files)

• Downloading and u�lizing the complete excel dataset

• Viewing the Occupa�onal Profiles

• Naviga�ng other ORS resources

Retrieving Individual Es�mates

The first tool we will introduce provides a simple process for retrieving a specific data series from the 

ORS database. This data tool will allow you to retrieve the es�mate you are interested in through 

selec�ng specific elements such as the occupa�on and job requirement. For instance, if you were 

interested in the percent of web developers with telework available, you could use the “One Screen” 

tool to select those specific elements and retrieve the exact es�mate you were interested in. 

Located on the ORS Databases Page, the green “One Screen” icon can be selected to access this tool.

Once selected, the One Screen tool will open in a new window. A�er selec�ng the op�on you are 

interested in for each of the categories, you may select “Get Data” at the botom right corner of the 

screen, or “Add to selec�on” on the le� if you would like to make addi�onal selec�ons. Once you have 

selected “Get Data”, the tool will open a new tab in your browser displaying the selected data. In the 

example we men�oned above for finding the number of web developers with telework available, you 

would select “web developers” for the occupa�on and “percent of workers, with telework available” 
(under cogni�ve and mental requirements), then retrieve that specific es�mate in a new tab by clicking 

the “Get Data” buton. 

Other data tools

In this sec�on, we will cover some of the other data tools that have not yet been covered. On the ORS 

Databases Page, you will see a few data tools next to the “One Screen” tool we discussed earlier. 

• Top Picks – This op�on provides pre-selected series that have been determined to be of interest 

to a general audience and are evaluated and modified based on user interests each year.

• Data Finder – This tool allows for a simple text search to retrieve the latest es�mates. You can 

search by specific occupa�ons and by job requirements.

• Mul� Screen – Similar to the one screen tool, this tool allows for a user to retrieve a specific 

series by selec�ng various criteria. The tool uses mul�ple screens when selec�ng occupa�ons 

and job requirements and displays the series available in each screen based on selec�ons made 

in previous screens.

• Text Files – This op�on can be used to view a variety of informa�on in the form of a text file, 

such as the es�mates, category and addi�ve codes, footnotes, or other informa�on. 

Using the Complete Dataset

The next resource we would like to highlight is the ORS Complete Dataset, which is located in the “More 

Tools” sec�on of the ORS Databases Page (just below the “One Screen” tool men�oned above). You may 

find this to be a more useful resource than the “One Screen” tool if you are interested in seeing the same 

requirement across mul�ple occupa�ons or mul�ple requirements for a single occupa�on.
The complete ORS dataset is available for download as an XLSX file and contains all available ORS data in 

the same place. The file has been formated to provide informa�on on the dataset and allow users to 

filter the data based on their areas of interest and as an XLSX file, formulas can be used to manipulate or 

draw new informa�on from the dataset. A�er opening the dataset, you will see that the first two tabs 

contain informa�on about the program, such as the Technical note, defini�ons of column headers, and a 

key for footnote codes. The third tab contains the complete dataset. Each column header can be used to 

filter the data, so if you are interested in a specific occupa�on, you could filter column D to only view 

es�mates for that occupa�on. 

Some data users find it helpful to view the dataset as a “pivot table” which allows for users to see 

mul�ple combina�ons of requirements for an occupa�on at the same �me. If you are interested in this, 

please see the ORS Pivot Table Guide. 

Occupa�onal Profiles

An addi�onal data resource available is the ORS Occupa�onal Profiles sec�on of the website. The 

occupa�onal profiles provide an overview of some of the requirements for each occupa�onal group, 

some select detailed occupa�ons, as well as the “all workers” group. Each profile provides a defini�on of 

the occupa�on as well as some tables and charts displaying data for each of the four requirement 

categories. These profiles can be a useful tool to get an overview of the requirements for an occupa�on, 

and to familiarize yourself with ORS data.

Other ORS resources

The following are a few addi�onal resources related to ORS data:

• ORS Factsheets page: contains informa�on regarding how es�mates are structured and defined 

through various informa�onal pages that outline specific requirements or other elements of ORS 

data. 

• ORS Handbook of Methods: provides informa�on on the ORS survey such as key terms, data 

sources and confiden�ality, survey design, and calcula�on methodology. 
• ORS Addi�onal Publica�ons page: includes various types of BLS publica�ons using ORS data. 

There are a variety of resources ranging from short ar�cles to more in depth research papers 

that u�lize ORS data.

• ORS Research page: provides links to various research papers origina�ng within as well as 

outside the BLS.

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.