Working around crowds

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. As part of the cognitive and mental requirements the ORS provides information about 

working around crowds in the U.S.

In 2023, 3.1 percent of civilian workers were required to work around crowds and 96.9 percent did not have this 

requirement.

The estimates for working around crowds vary by occupation and reflect the percentage of workers meeting the 

following conditions:

• many unfamiliar people are present, compared with the space available,

• movement is restricted,

• the arrangement of the crowd is temporary,

• there is a certain level of disorganization, and

• workers are not separated from unfamiliar people by counters, dividers, or other objects.
Occupational Requirements Survey ●www.bls.gov/ors ●orsinfo@bls.gov ●202.691.6199

In protective service occupations, 40.6 percent of workers were required to work around crowds. Within this 

occupational group, working around crowds was required for 30.3 percent of security guards. The estimate does not 

reflect the duration of the task – some security guards may work around crowds for a small part of the workday, while 

others may routinely work around crowds for many hours and are included in the requirement.

Security guards may be required to work around crowds based on the setting or location of where the work is 

performed. For example, security guards at a concert venue monitoring large, disorganized groups of concertgoers 

would have a requirement to work around crowds as they meet all the criteria. However, security guards in a parking 

garage booth separated by a divider do not meet all the criteria for working around crowds.

Working around crowds was required for 4.1 percent of janitors and cleaners. Certain circumstances may require 

janitors and cleaners to work around crowds. For instance, they may be required to clean a sports venue during a show 

to keep people from slipping on spilled beverages. While working around crowds may represent a small portion of each 

workday, these workers meet the criteria.

Working around crowds is not required for greater than 99.5 percent of tellers. While greater than 99.5 percent of 

tellers interact with the public, they do not meet the criteria for working around crowds, due to the use of counters to 

separate tellers from customers and the use of stanchions to organize customers.

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.