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 | 39,840 | $15.51 | $32,250 |
| Office and administrative support occupations | 7,270 | $12.47 | $25,940 |
| Production occupations | 6,350 | $15.40 | $32,030 |
| Sales and related occupations | 4,170 | $11.70 | $24,330 |
| Food preparation and serving related occupations | 3,580 | $8.82 | $18,340 |
| Transportation and material moving occupations | 3,220 | $14.03 | $29,190 |
| Education, training, and library occupations | 2,880 | $20.81 | $43,290 |
| Installation, maintenance, and repair occupations | 2,050 | $17.68 | $36,780 |
| Construction and extraction occupations | 1,910 | $15.83 | $32,920 |
| Cashiers | 1,570 | $7.76 | $16,140 |
| Combined food preparation and serving workers, including fast food | 1,500 | $7.50 | $15,600 |
| Healthcare practitioners and technical occupations | 1,380 | $30.82 | $64,100 |
| Retail salespersons | 1,380 | $11.17 | $23,230 |
| Building and grounds cleaning and maintenance occupations | 1,190 | $9.67 | $20,120 |
| Healthcare support occupations | 1,030 | $11.90 | $24,740 |
| Office clerks, general | 1,030 | $11.55 | $24,020 |
| Protective service occupations | 940 | $16.94 | $35,230 |
| Management occupations | 930 | $38.68 | $80,450 |
| Stock clerks and order fillers | 880 | $9.95 | $20,690 |
| Business and financial operations occupations | 810 | $22.83 | $47,480 |
| Laborers and freight, stock, and material movers, hand | 750 | $11.51 | $23,940 |
| Bookkeeping, accounting, and auditing clerks | 630 | $13.58 | $28,240 |
| Janitors and cleaners, except maids and housekeeping cleaners | 630 | $9.33 | $19,410 |
| Personal care and service occupations | 630 | $9.46 | $19,680 |
| Teacher assistants | 630 | Not available | $19,000 |
| Waiters and waitresses | 590 | $8.66 | $18,020 |
| Secondary school teachers, except special and vocational education | 520 | Not available | Not available |
| Truck drivers, heavy and tractor-trailer | 500 | $17.99 | $37,420 |
| Community and social services occupations | 440 | $21.39 | $44,490 |
| Registered nurses | 440 | $31.40 | $65,310 |
| First-line supervisors/managers of retail sales workers | 430 | $18.61 | $38,710 |
| Maintenance and repair workers, general | 430 | $15.77 | $32,790 |
| Nursing aides, orderlies, and attendants | 430 | $11.29 | $23,470 |
| First-line supervisors/managers of office and administrative support workers | 410 | $19.61 | $40,790 |
| Industrial machinery mechanics | 400 | $22.97 | $47,790 |
| Team assemblers | 390 | $10.73 | $22,310 |
| Architecture and engineering occupations | 370 | $28.15 | $58,550 |
| Inspectors, testers, sorters, samplers, and weighers | 370 | $14.97 | $31,140 |
| First-line supervisors/managers of food preparation and serving workers | 340 | $15.00 | $31,200 |
| Carpenters | 330 | $16.13 | $33,550 |
| General and operations managers | 320 | $43.94 | $91,390 |
| Industrial truck and tractor operators | 310 | $14.42 | $29,980 |
| Shipping, receiving, and traffic clerks | 300 | $10.70 | $22,250 |
| Middle school teachers, except special and vocational education | 280 | Not available | Not available |
| First-line supervisors/managers of production and operating workers | 270 | $20.72 | $43,100 |
| Receptionists and information clerks | 270 | $10.24 | $21,310 |
| Home health aides | 260 | $8.99 | $18,700 |
| Landscaping and groundskeeping workers | 260 | $9.41 | $19,570 |
| Licensed practical and licensed vocational nurses | 260 | $18.26 | $37,980 |
| Plumbers, pipefitters, and steamfitters | 260 | $17.53 | $36,470 |
| Cabinetmakers and bench carpenters | 250 | $9.17 | $19,070 |
| Sales representatives, wholesale and manufacturing, except technical and scientific products | 250 | $20.81 | $43,280 |
| Cooks, restaurant | 240 | $10.53 | $21,890 |
| Executive secretaries and administrative assistants | 240 | $17.78 | $36,990 |
| Police and sheriff's patrol officers | 230 | $17.44 | $36,280 |
| Automotive service technicians and mechanics | 220 | $13.27 | $27,600 |
| Electricians | 220 | $18.15 | $37,750 |
| Tellers | 220 | $11.26 | $23,420 |
| Truck drivers, light or delivery services | 220 | $16.42 | $34,150 |
| Construction laborers | 210 | $11.75 | $24,440 |
| Cooks, fast food | 200 | $7.40 | $15,390 |
| Cleaners of vehicles and equipment | 190 | $12.44 | $25,880 |
| Maids and housekeeping cleaners | 180 | $7.81 | $16,230 |
| Accountants and auditors | 170 | $26.61 | $55,360 |
| Bill and account collectors | 170 | $13.09 | $27,220 |
| Computer and mathematical occupations | 170 | $21.30 | $44,310 |
| Counter and rental clerks | 170 | $9.74 | $20,260 |
| Life, physical, and social science occupations | 170 | $27.31 | $56,810 |
| First-line supervisors/managers of construction trades and extraction workers | 160 | $24.74 | $51,450 |
| First-line supervisors/managers of mechanics, installers, and repairers | 160 | $27.85 | $57,920 |
| Secretaries, except legal, medical, and executive | 160 | $12.15 | $25,270 |
| Arts, design, entertainment, sports, and media occupations | 150 | $19.87 | $41,320 |
| Dishwashers | 150 | $7.81 | $16,240 |
| Billing and posting clerks and machine operators | 140 | $12.10 | $25,160 |
| Child care workers | 140 | $8.10 | $16,850 |
| Child, family, and school social workers | 140 | $19.52 | $40,610 |
| Hosts and hostesses, restaurant, lounge, and coffee shop | 140 | $7.19 | $14,940 |
| Paper goods machine setters, operators, and tenders | 140 | $14.51 | $30,190 |
| Business teachers, postsecondary | 130 | Not available | $46,970 |
| Heating, air conditioning, and refrigeration mechanics and installers | 130 | $16.20 | $33,710 |
| Legal occupations | 130 | $23.64 | $49,170 |
| Postal service mail carriers | 130 | Not available | Not available |
| Printing machine operators | 130 | $15.28 | $31,790 |
| Driver/sales workers | 120 | $14.58 | $30,320 |
| Machine feeders and offbearers | 120 | $12.14 | $25,250 |
| Packaging and filling machine operators and tenders | 120 | $16.22 | $33,730 |
| Recreation workers | 120 | $9.47 | $19,710 |
| Sheet metal workers | 120 | $12.76 | $26,540 |
| Education administrators, elementary and secondary school | 110 | Not available | $69,750 |
| Food preparation workers | 110 | $8.78 | $18,250 |
| Helpers--carpenters | 110 | $13.14 | $27,320 |
| Educational, vocational, and school counselors | 100 | $30.09 | $62,580 |
| Woodworking machine setters, operators, and tenders, except sawing | 100 | $12.96 | $26,950 |
| Dining room and cafeteria attendants and bartender helpers | 90 | $8.33 | $17,330 |
| Medical secretaries | 90 | $14.51 | $30,170 |
| Operating engineers and other construction equipment operators | 90 | $14.38 | $29,910 |
| Pharmacy technicians | 90 | $12.08 | $25,120 |
| Special education teachers, preschool, kindergarten, and elementary school | 90 | Not available | $47,870 |
| Cooks, institution and cafeteria | 80 | $10.57 | $21,980 |
| Dental assistants | 80 | $12.42 | $25,840 |
| Extruding, forming, pressing, and compacting machine setters, operators, and tenders | 80 | $19.42 | $40,400 |
| Farming, fishing, and forestry occupations | 80 | $11.50 | $23,930 |
| Production, planning, and expediting clerks | 80 | $19.10 | $39,720 |
| Security guards | 80 | $10.62 | $22,080 |
| Helpers--installation, maintenance, and repair workers | 70 | Not available | Not available |
| Machinists | 70 | $18.14 | $37,730 |
| Physical therapists | 70 | $41.46 | $86,240 |
| Community and social service specialists, all other | 60 | $17.05 | $35,450 |
| Court, municipal, and license clerks | 60 | $14.62 | $30,410 |
| Financial managers | 60 | $41.01 | $85,300 |
| First-line supervisors/managers of helpers, laborers, and material movers, hand | 60 | $19.12 | $39,780 |
| Hotel, motel, and resort desk clerks | 60 | $7.48 | $15,550 |
| Loan officers | 60 | $20.49 | $42,620 |
| Parts salespersons | 60 | $12.72 | $26,460 |
| Personal and home care aides | 60 | $9.23 | $19,200 |
| Physical therapist assistants | 60 | $26.67 | $55,470 |
| Real estate sales agents | 60 | $14.02 | $29,170 |
| Sales representatives, services, all other | 60 | $23.67 | $49,240 |
| Taxi drivers and chauffeurs | 60 | $7.18 | $14,920 |
| Training and development specialists | 60 | $21.13 | $43,960 |
| Welders, cutters, solderers, and brazers | 60 | $16.55 | $34,430 |
| Bus and truck mechanics and diesel engine specialists | 50 | $19.25 | $40,030 |
| Business operations specialists, all other | 50 | $21.52 | $44,770 |
| Compliance officers, except agriculture, construction, health and safety, and transportation | 50 | $21.57 | $44,860 |
| Computer support specialists | 50 | $19.03 | $39,580 |
| Cost estimators | 50 | $23.05 | $47,950 |
| Dental hygienists | 50 | $30.00 | $62,400 |
| File clerks | 50 | $8.13 | $16,910 |
| First-line supervisors/managers of housekeeping and janitorial workers | 50 | $16.05 | $33,380 |
| First-line supervisors/managers of transportation and material-moving machine and vehicle operators | 50 | $22.68 | $47,180 |
| Laundry and dry-cleaning workers | 50 | $8.17 | $17,000 |
| Lawyers | 50 | $35.90 | $74,670 |
| Librarians | 50 | $28.39 | $59,060 |
| Management analysts | 50 | $26.16 | $54,410 |
| Managers, all other | 50 | $32.60 | $67,800 |
| Network and computer systems administrators | 50 | $21.41 | $44,540 |
| Order clerks | 50 | $11.50 | $23,920 |
| Payroll and timekeeping clerks | 50 | $15.26 | $31,750 |
| Pharmacists | 50 | $59.42 | $123,590 |
| Sawing machine setters, operators, and tenders, wood | 50 | $11.93 | $24,820 |
| Special education teachers, secondary school | 50 | Not available | Not available |
| Amusement and recreation attendants | 40 | $7.05 | $14,670 |
| Appraisers and assessors of real estate | 40 | $13.66 | $28,400 |
| Brickmasons and blockmasons | 40 | $18.25 | $37,970 |
| Bus drivers, transit and intercity | 40 | $13.05 | $27,140 |
| Butchers and meat cutters | 40 | $12.89 | $26,810 |
| Coaches and scouts | 40 | Not available | $37,450 |
| Employment, recruitment, and placement specialists | 40 | $19.25 | $40,040 |
| Family and general practitioners | 40 | $97.46 | $202,720 |
| First-line supervisors/managers of personal service workers | 40 | $11.78 | $24,500 |
| Food service managers | 40 | $24.74 | $51,450 |
| Funeral attendants | 40 | $7.51 | $15,620 |
| Human resources, training, and labor relations specialists, all other | 40 | $23.04 | $47,930 |
| Industrial engineers | 40 | $30.07 | $62,550 |
| Industrial production managers | 40 | $39.68 | $82,530 |
| Lifeguards, ski patrol, and other recreational protective service workers | 40 | $7.07 | $14,700 |
| Logging equipment operators | 40 | $11.94 | $24,830 |
| Maintenance workers, machinery | 40 | $17.24 | $35,850 |
| Mobile heavy equipment mechanics, except engines | 40 | $19.15 | $39,840 |
| Police, fire, and ambulance dispatchers | 40 | $14.10 | $29,320 |
| Sales managers | 40 | $47.17 | $98,110 |
| Telecommunications equipment installers and repairers, except line installers | 40 | $21.21 | $44,120 |
| Telemarketers | 40 | Not available | Not available |
| Tire repairers and changers | 40 | $8.44 | $17,550 |
| Vocational education teachers, postsecondary | 40 | $21.05 | $43,780 |
| Water and liquid waste treatment plant and system operators | 40 | Not available | Not available |
| Adult literacy, remedial education, and GED teachers and instructors | 30 | $18.06 | $37,570 |
| Data entry keyers | 30 | $12.32 | $25,620 |
| Education administrators, postsecondary | 30 | $39.83 | $82,850 |
| Hairdressers, hairstylists, and cosmetologists | 30 | $13.85 | $28,800 |
| Industrial engineering technicians | 30 | $18.97 | $39,450 |
| Installation, maintenance, and repair workers, all other | 30 | $12.14 | $25,240 |
| Loan interviewers and clerks | 30 | $12.79 | $26,600 |
| Medical assistants | 30 | $11.13 | $23,150 |
| Mixing and blending machine setters, operators, and tenders | 30 | $13.17 | $27,400 |
| Outdoor power equipment and other small engine mechanics | 30 | $11.58 | $24,080 |
| Painters, transportation equipment | 30 | $16.18 | $33,660 |
| Preschool teachers, except special education | 30 | $14.93 | $31,060 |
| Purchasing agents, except wholesale, retail, and farm products | 30 | $25.10 | $52,200 |
| Roofers | 30 | $11.03 | $22,930 |
| Social and human service assistants | 30 | $14.09 | $29,310 |
| Switchboard operators, including answering service | 30 | $9.98 | $20,750 |
| Assemblers and fabricators, all other | Not available | $8.26 | $17,180 |
| Automotive body and related repairers | Not available | $11.56 | $24,050 |
| Bartenders | Not available | $9.20 | $19,130 |
| Electrical and electronic engineering technicians | Not available | $27.46 | $57,110 |
| Farm equipment mechanics | Not available | $18.68 | $38,850 |
| Insurance claims and policy processing clerks | Not available | $12.03 | $25,030 |
| Insurance sales agents | Not available | $14.93 | $31,040 |
| Medical records and health information technicians | Not available | $12.11 | $25,190 |
| New accounts clerks | Not available | $13.40 | $27,860 |
| Nonfarm animal caretakers | Not available | $8.90 | $18,520 |
| Packers and packagers, hand | Not available | $8.43 | $17,530 |
| Painters, construction and maintenance | Not available | $11.61 | $24,150 |
| Paralegals and legal assistants | Not available | $13.98 | $29,090 |
| Paving, surfacing, and tamping equipment operators | Not available | $14.62 | $30,400 |
| Prepress technicians and workers | Not available | $12.87 | $26,770 |
| Stationary engineers and boiler operators | Not available | $27.65 | $57,500 |
| Weighers, measurers, checkers, and samplers, recordkeeping | Not available | $14.42 | $30,000 |
