Twice a year, the Bureau of Labor Statistics compiles occupational employment and wage estimates by surveying employers nationwide. Current data was released May 1, 2009.
| Occupation | Total employment | Mean hourly wage | Mean annual wage |
| All Occupations | 40,310 | $18.74 | $38,980 |
| Office and administrative support occupations | 6,110 | $14.16 | $29,460 |
| Construction and extraction occupations | 4,390 | $21.24 | $44,170 |
| Sales and related occupations | 4,150 | $15.29 | $31,800 |
| Food preparation and serving related occupations | 3,280 | $8.99 | $18,700 |
| Transportation and material moving occupations | 3,250 | $15.87 | $33,000 |
| Installation, maintenance, and repair occupations | 2,800 | $19.24 | $40,020 |
| Production occupations | 2,240 | $17.31 | $36,000 |
| Healthcare practitioners and technical occupations | 2,020 | $32.75 | $68,130 |
| Management occupations | 1,730 | $37.95 | $78,940 |
| Building and grounds cleaning and maintenance occupations | 1,530 | $11.04 | $22,970 |
| Retail salespersons | 1,530 | $11.23 | $23,350 |
| Healthcare support occupations | 1,220 | $12.60 | $26,200 |
| Business and financial operations occupations | 1,040 | $29.03 | $60,380 |
| Bookkeeping, accounting, and auditing clerks | 980 | $15.28 | $31,780 |
| Secretaries, except legal, medical, and executive | 960 | $12.71 | $26,430 |
| Architecture and engineering occupations | 910 | $37.15 | $77,280 |
| Personal care and service occupations | 900 | $11.64 | $24,210 |
| General and operations managers | 850 | $42.53 | $88,470 |
| Janitors and cleaners, except maids and housekeeping cleaners | 830 | $9.75 | $20,270 |
| Truck drivers, heavy and tractor-trailer | 820 | $20.80 | $43,270 |
| Registered nurses | 800 | $26.69 | $55,510 |
| Protective service occupations | 750 | $18.07 | $37,590 |
| Waiters and waitresses | 740 | $7.62 | $15,850 |
| Cashiers | 680 | $9.25 | $19,240 |
| Truck drivers, light or delivery services | 660 | $14.28 | $29,710 |
| Combined food preparation and serving workers, including fast food | 650 | $8.18 | $17,020 |
| Welders, cutters, solderers, and brazers | 640 | $19.41 | $40,370 |
| Nursing aides, orderlies, and attendants | 610 | $12.24 | $25,460 |
| Stock clerks and order fillers | 610 | $12.06 | $25,080 |
| Maintenance and repair workers, general | 510 | $15.44 | $32,120 |
| Arts, design, entertainment, sports, and media occupations | 490 | $14.59 | $30,350 |
| First-line supervisors/managers of retail sales workers | 480 | $16.80 | $34,950 |
| Community and social services occupations | 450 | $17.62 | $36,650 |
| Life, physical, and social science occupations | 450 | $25.44 | $52,910 |
| Sales representatives, wholesale and manufacturing, except technical and scientific products | 410 | $21.76 | $45,250 |
| Extraction workers, all other | 390 | $24.55 | $51,070 |
| First-line supervisors/managers of office and administrative support workers | 380 | $19.16 | $39,850 |
| Laborers and freight, stock, and material movers, hand | 380 | $12.30 | $25,590 |
| Derrick operators, oil and gas | 360 | $24.34 | $50,630 |
| Office clerks, general | 360 | $11.83 | $24,600 |
| Bus and truck mechanics and diesel engine specialists | 340 | $18.68 | $38,840 |
| First-line supervisors/managers of construction trades and extraction workers | 340 | $31.92 | $66,380 |
| Food preparation workers | 340 | $9.04 | $18,810 |
| Carpenters | 330 | $16.07 | $33,430 |
| Maids and housekeeping cleaners | 330 | $9.93 | $20,650 |
| Sales representatives, wholesale and manufacturing, technical and scientific products | 320 | $30.68 | $63,820 |
| Computer and mathematical occupations | 310 | $26.05 | $54,190 |
| Construction laborers | 310 | $13.80 | $28,710 |
| Cooks, restaurant | 310 | $10.64 | $22,120 |
| First-line supervisors/managers of food preparation and serving workers | 310 | $12.45 | $25,900 |
| Automotive service technicians and mechanics | 300 | $15.71 | $32,680 |
| Service unit operators, oil, gas, and mining | 290 | $21.87 | $45,500 |
| Legal occupations | 270 | $31.87 | $66,290 |
| Petroleum engineers | 270 | $53.35 | $110,970 |
| Shipping, receiving, and traffic clerks | 270 | $13.98 | $29,080 |
| Helpers--extraction workers | 260 | $21.68 | $45,090 |
| Roustabouts, oil and gas | 260 | $16.32 | $33,940 |
| First-line supervisors/managers of mechanics, installers, and repairers | 250 | $25.24 | $52,500 |
| Cleaners of vehicles and equipment | 240 | $9.50 | $19,760 |
| Executive secretaries and administrative assistants | 220 | $17.86 | $37,140 |
| Landscaping and groundskeeping workers | 220 | $13.30 | $27,660 |
| Receptionists and information clerks | 220 | $10.94 | $22,760 |
| Rotary drill operators, oil and gas | 220 | $30.60 | $63,640 |
| Dishwashers | 210 | $8.03 | $16,710 |
| Industrial machinery mechanics | 210 | $22.73 | $47,280 |
| Accountants and auditors | 190 | $31.57 | $65,660 |
| Operating engineers and other construction equipment operators | 190 | $18.05 | $37,540 |
| Plumbers, pipefitters, and steamfitters | 180 | $22.17 | $46,110 |
| Tellers | 180 | $11.09 | $23,060 |
| Child care workers | 170 | $9.47 | $19,710 |
| Security guards | 170 | $11.92 | $24,800 |
| Billing and posting clerks and machine operators | 160 | $12.68 | $26,380 |
| Customer service representatives | 160 | $13.94 | $29,000 |
| First-line supervisors/managers of production and operating workers | 160 | $24.54 | $51,030 |
| Helpers--production workers | 160 | $11.87 | $24,690 |
| Police and sheriff's patrol officers | 160 | $24.94 | $51,870 |
| Bartenders | 150 | $7.85 | $16,320 |
| Business operations specialists, all other | 150 | $31.52 | $65,570 |
| Driver/sales workers | 150 | $10.79 | $22,440 |
| Medical secretaries | 150 | $13.83 | $28,770 |
| Environmental engineers | 140 | Not available | Not available |
| First-line supervisors/managers of transportation and material-moving machine and vehicle operators | 140 | $22.88 | $47,590 |
| Machinists | 140 | $18.76 | $39,010 |
| Child, family, and school social workers | 130 | $18.10 | $37,660 |
| Cooks, institution and cafeteria | 130 | $11.70 | $24,340 |
| Hotel, motel, and resort desk clerks | 130 | $9.46 | $19,680 |
| Managers, all other | 130 | $29.96 | $62,320 |
| Brickmasons and blockmasons | 120 | $20.76 | $43,170 |
| Dining room and cafeteria attendants and bartender helpers | 120 | $7.44 | $15,480 |
| Hosts and hostesses, restaurant, lounge, and coffee shop | 120 | $7.74 | $16,100 |
| Packers and packagers, hand | 110 | $8.29 | $17,240 |
| Grinding, lapping, polishing, and buffing machine tool setters, operators, and tenders, metal and plastic | 100 | $17.99 | $37,420 |
| Heating, air conditioning, and refrigeration mechanics and installers | 100 | $17.57 | $36,550 |
| Laundry and dry-cleaning workers | 100 | $9.56 | $19,870 |
| Medical assistants | 100 | $13.00 | $27,040 |
| Order clerks | 100 | $12.86 | $26,750 |
| Paralegals and legal assistants | 100 | $16.51 | $34,340 |
| Cost estimators | 90 | $25.39 | $52,810 |
| Dental assistants | 90 | $15.19 | $31,600 |
| Geoscientists, except hydrologists and geographers | 90 | $29.92 | $62,240 |
| Lawyers | 90 | $59.69 | $124,150 |
| Library technicians | 90 | $12.88 | $26,790 |
| Loan officers | 90 | $35.63 | $74,110 |
| Medical and health services managers | 90 | $38.68 | $80,450 |
| Pharmacists | 90 | $46.52 | $96,760 |
| Bill and account collectors | 80 | $15.97 | $33,210 |
| Cement masons and concrete finishers | 80 | $16.02 | $33,320 |
| First-line supervisors/managers of personal service workers | 80 | $15.20 | $31,610 |
| Insurance claims and policy processing clerks | 80 | $13.54 | $28,150 |
| Insurance sales agents | 80 | $24.20 | $50,340 |
| Pharmacy technicians | 80 | $14.59 | $30,340 |
| Postal service mail carriers | 80 | Not available | Not available |
| Preschool teachers, except special education | 80 | $11.55 | $24,020 |
| Social and human service assistants | 80 | $11.36 | $23,630 |
| Switchboard operators, including answering service | 80 | $10.17 | $21,150 |
| Tire repairers and changers | 80 | $12.09 | $25,140 |
| Advertising sales agents | 70 | $28.35 | $58,960 |
| Civil engineers | 70 | $33.97 | $70,650 |
| Cooks, fast food | 70 | $8.34 | $17,340 |
| Dental hygienists | 70 | $27.11 | $56,390 |
| Environmental scientists and specialists, including health | 70 | $26.10 | $54,300 |
| First-line supervisors/managers of non-retail sales workers | 70 | $23.88 | $49,660 |
| Helpers--installation, maintenance, and repair workers | 70 | $12.19 | $25,350 |
| Physician assistants | 70 | $43.70 | $90,890 |
| Property, real estate, and community association managers | 70 | $23.64 | $49,170 |
| Recreation workers | 70 | $13.08 | $27,210 |
| Computer specialists, all other | 60 | $31.74 | $66,020 |
| Computer systems analysts | 60 | $27.28 | $56,740 |
| First-line supervisors/managers of housekeeping and janitorial workers | 60 | $15.36 | $31,950 |
| Food service managers | 60 | $18.33 | $38,120 |
| Industrial truck and tractor operators | 60 | $14.63 | $30,430 |
| Inspectors, testers, sorters, samplers, and weighers | 60 | $16.15 | $33,590 |
| Licensed practical and licensed vocational nurses | 60 | $20.78 | $43,230 |
| Medical records and health information technicians | 60 | $14.11 | $29,350 |
| Medical transcriptionists | 60 | $15.20 | $31,620 |
| Network and computer systems administrators | 60 | $22.66 | $47,130 |
| Painters, construction and maintenance | 60 | $16.33 | $33,960 |
| Postal service mail sorters, processors, and processing machine operators | 60 | Not available | Not available |
| Public relations specialists | 60 | $19.01 | $39,540 |
| Purchasing agents, except wholesale, retail, and farm products | 60 | $23.04 | $47,930 |
| Radiologic technologists and technicians | 60 | $23.85 | $49,600 |
| Tax preparers | 60 | $14.71 | $30,590 |
| Amusement and recreation attendants | 50 | $10.25 | $21,330 |
| Compliance officers, except agriculture, construction, health and safety, and transportation | 50 | $21.29 | $44,290 |
| Court, municipal, and license clerks | 50 | $12.79 | $26,610 |
| Electrical power-line installers and repairers | 50 | $26.68 | $55,500 |
| Eligibility interviewers, government programs | 50 | $19.44 | $40,430 |
| Engine and other machine assemblers | 50 | $18.98 | $39,490 |
| Financial managers | 50 | $38.21 | $79,470 |
| First-line supervisors/managers of helpers, laborers, and material movers, hand | 50 | $16.15 | $33,600 |
| Graphic designers | 50 | $13.72 | $28,540 |
| Hairdressers, hairstylists, and cosmetologists | 50 | $12.67 | $26,350 |
| Legal secretaries | 50 | $14.11 | $29,340 |
| Loan interviewers and clerks | 50 | $12.87 | $26,770 |
| Mechanical engineers | 50 | $31.69 | $65,920 |
| Payroll and timekeeping clerks | 50 | $14.36 | $29,870 |
| Personal financial advisors | 50 | Not available | Not available |
| Real estate sales agents | 50 | $16.88 | $35,110 |
| Roofers | 50 | $15.37 | $31,970 |
| Sales managers | 50 | $34.87 | $72,530 |
| Sheet metal workers | 50 | $21.87 | $45,500 |
| Surgeons | 50 | $75.00 | More than $145,600 |
| Appraisers and assessors of real estate | 40 | $23.25 | $48,360 |
| Butchers and meat cutters | 40 | $13.18 | $27,410 |
| Coaches and scouts | 40 | Not available | Not available |
| Community and social service specialists, all other | 40 | $15.35 | $31,930 |
| Computer support specialists | 40 | $19.03 | $39,570 |
| Educational, vocational, and school counselors | 40 | $23.92 | $49,750 |
| Engineering managers | 40 | $44.99 | $93,580 |
| Engineering technicians, except drafters, all other | 40 | $26.66 | $55,440 |
| First-line supervisors/managers of landscaping, lawn service, and groundskeeping workers | 40 | $24.57 | $51,110 |
| Helpers--carpenters | 40 | $13.03 | $27,100 |
| Human resources, training, and labor relations specialists, all other | 40 | $28.11 | $58,460 |
| Medical and public health social workers | 40 | $18.83 | $39,170 |
| Occupational health and safety specialists | 40 | $26.70 | $55,540 |
| Occupational therapists | 40 | $30.45 | $63,330 |
| Office and administrative support workers, all other | 40 | $14.64 | $30,450 |
| Photographers | 40 | $17.11 | $35,590 |
| Production, planning, and expediting clerks | 40 | $22.02 | $45,800 |
| Social and community service managers | 40 | $22.11 | $45,980 |
| Surgical technologists | 40 | $17.16 | $35,700 |
| Title examiners, abstractors, and searchers | 40 | $25.94 | $53,960 |
| Wholesale and retail buyers, except farm products | 40 | $24.42 | $50,800 |
| Administrative services managers | 30 | $29.37 | $61,080 |
| Assemblers and fabricators, all other | 30 | $11.87 | $24,690 |
| Automotive body and related repairers | 30 | $16.28 | $33,870 |
| Chefs and head cooks | 30 | Not available | Not available |
| Claims adjusters, examiners, and investigators | 30 | $24.53 | $51,020 |
| Cutting, punching, and press machine setters, operators, and tenders, metal and plastic | 30 | $15.03 | $31,260 |
| Dispatchers, except police, fire, and ambulance | 30 | $20.15 | $41,920 |
| Grounds maintenance workers, all other | 30 | $11.75 | $24,440 |
| Librarians | 30 | $25.60 | $53,240 |
| Mental health and substance abuse social workers | 30 | $18.19 | $37,820 |
| Meter readers, utilities | 30 | $18.26 | $37,990 |
| Printing machine operators | 30 | $14.17 | $29,480 |
| Procurement clerks | 30 | $16.89 | $35,130 |
| Securities, commodities, and financial services sales agents | 30 | Not available | Not available |
| Septic tank servicers and sewer pipe cleaners | 30 | $19.28 | $40,100 |
| Speech-language pathologists | 30 | $25.61 | $53,270 |
| Cartographers and photogrammetrists | Not available | $18.78 | $39,070 |
| Counter and rental clerks | Not available | $7.78 | $16,170 |
| Counter attendants, cafeteria, food concession, and coffee shop | Not available | $7.18 | $14,930 |
| Couriers and messengers | Not available | $9.06 | $18,850 |
| Crane and tower operators | Not available | $24.52 | $51,010 |
| Electricians | Not available | $23.10 | $48,040 |
| Excavating and loading machine and dragline operators | Not available | $15.13 | $31,480 |
| Family and general practitioners | Not available | $95.03 | $197,660 |
| Fitness trainers and aerobics instructors | Not available | $13.15 | $27,350 |
| Geological and petroleum technicians | Not available | $24.96 | $51,920 |
| Healthcare support workers, all other | Not available | $10.63 | $22,120 |
| Lodging managers | Not available | $18.16 | $37,760 |
| Medical and clinical laboratory technicians | Not available | $12.61 | $26,230 |
| Mobile heavy equipment mechanics, except engines | Not available | $22.79 | $47,400 |
| Motor vehicle operators, all other | Not available | $21.70 | $45,140 |
| Network systems and data communications analysts | Not available | $19.79 | $41,160 |
| Nonfarm animal caretakers | Not available | $9.20 | $19,140 |
| Parts salespersons | Not available | $14.25 | $29,640 |
| Plant and system operators, all other | Not available | $18.40 | $38,280 |
| Sales representatives, services, all other | Not available | $20.63 | $42,920 |
| Self-enrichment education teachers | Not available | $11.92 | $24,800 |
| Telecommunications equipment installers and repairers, except line installers | Not available | $26.90 | $55,950 |
