State governments employed 30 percent, the Federal Government chiefly the Departments of Defense, Labor, Treasury, and Agriculture employed 31 percent, and local governments employed 19 percent. The remaining 20 percent were employed throughout the private sector in education, hospitals, insurance companies, and manufacturing firms. Inspectors and compliance officers who work for the Federal Government are employed by a wide range of agencies. Some consumer safety inspectors, for example, work for the U.S. Food and Drug Administration, but the majority of these inspectors work for State governments. Most food inspectors and agricultural commodity graders are employed by the U.S. Department of Agriculture.
Many health inspectors work for State and local governments.
Compliance inspectors are employed primarily by the Departments of Treasury and Labor on the Federal level, as well as by State and local governments. The Department of Defense employs the most quality assurance inspectors. Aviation safety inspectors work for the Federal Aviation Administration. The Environmental Protection Agency employs inspectors to verify compliance with pollution control and other laws. The U.S. Department of Labor and many State governments employ safety and health inspectors, equal opportunity officers, and mine safety and health inspectors.