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 |
51,460 |
$17.78 |
$36,980 |
| Office and administrative support occupations |
7,560 |
$13.61 |
$28,310 |
| Construction and extraction occupations |
6,980 |
$19.39 |
$40,320 |
| Sales and related occupations |
4,800 |
$13.54 |
$28,170 |
| Installation, maintenance, and repair occupations |
4,260 |
$20.54 |
$42,720 |
| Food preparation and serving related occupations |
4,210 |
$8.51 |
$17,710 |
| Transportation and material moving occupations |
3,610 |
$14.96 |
$31,130 |
| Education, training, and library occupations |
3,200 |
$19.52 |
$40,610 |
| Production occupations |
2,900 |
$18.13 |
$37,710 |
| Healthcare practitioners and technical occupations |
2,110 |
$31.65 |
$65,840 |
| Personal care and service occupations |
2,040 |
$10.17 |
$21,140 |
| Management occupations |
2,000 |
$40.18 |
$83,580 |
| Retail salespersons |
1,770 |
$12.20 |
$25,370 |
| Secretaries, except legal, medical, and executive |
1,460 |
$12.75 |
$26,530 |
| Construction laborers |
1,420 |
$12.71 |
$26,440 |
| Building and grounds cleaning and maintenance occupations |
1,380 |
$10.39 |
$21,610 |
| Protective service occupations |
1,350 |
$15.73 |
$32,710 |
| Cashiers |
1,330 |
$7.97 |
$16,570 |
| Personal and home care aides |
1,300 |
$10.47 |
$21,780 |
| Combined food preparation and serving workers, including fast food |
1,280 |
$7.49 |
$15,570 |
| Healthcare support occupations |
1,250 |
$12.52 |
$26,040 |
| Truck drivers, heavy and tractor-trailer |
1,230 |
$17.36 |
$36,100 |
| Stock clerks and order fillers |
1,050 |
$11.88 |
$24,710 |
| Maintenance and repair workers, general |
900 |
$20.09 |
$41,780 |
| Business and financial operations occupations |
880 |
Not available |
Not available |
| Architecture and engineering occupations |
850 |
$30.98 |
$64,440 |
| Registered nurses |
850 |
$29.31 |
$60,970 |
| Bookkeeping, accounting, and auditing clerks |
830 |
$14.61 |
$30,390 |
| General and operations managers |
830 |
$44.63 |
$92,830 |
| Elementary school teachers, except special education |
770 |
Not available |
$48,170 |
| Office clerks, general |
770 |
$10.31 |
$21,440 |
| First-line supervisors/managers of construction trades and extraction workers |
720 |
$32.39 |
$67,370 |
| Waiters and waitresses |
720 |
$7.61 |
$15,830 |
| Janitors and cleaners, except maids and housekeeping cleaners |
690 |
$9.93 |
$20,660 |
| Community and social services occupations |
650 |
$17.54 |
$36,480 |
| Operating engineers and other construction equipment operators |
650 |
$20.82 |
$43,300 |
| First-line supervisors/managers of retail sales workers |
620 |
$16.67 |
$34,680 |
| Welders, cutters, solderers, and brazers |
590 |
$22.65 |
$47,110 |
| Teacher assistants |
580 |
Not available |
$17,800 |
| First-line supervisors/managers of office and administrative support workers |
540 |
$18.88 |
$39,280 |
| Laborers and freight, stock, and material movers, hand |
530 |
$11.16 |
$23,200 |
| Service unit operators, oil, gas, and mining |
530 |
$22.11 |
$45,980 |
| Automotive service technicians and mechanics |
520 |
$16.29 |
$33,890 |
| Bus and truck mechanics and diesel engine specialists |
510 |
$24.45 |
$50,870 |
| Security guards |
500 |
$9.38 |
$19,520 |
| Sales representatives, wholesale and manufacturing, except technical and scientific products |
490 |
$23.34 |
$48,550 |
| Life, physical, and social science occupations |
480 |
$26.68 |
$55,500 |
| Nursing aides, orderlies, and attendants |
440 |
$11.25 |
$23,400 |
| Mobile heavy equipment mechanics, except engines |
430 |
$22.20 |
$46,170 |
| Electricians |
410 |
$23.52 |
$48,920 |
| Secondary school teachers, except special and vocational education |
410 |
Not available |
$47,370 |
| Derrick operators, oil and gas |
390 |
$23.88 |
$49,670 |
| Roustabouts, oil and gas |
380 |
$15.02 |
$31,230 |
| Executive secretaries and administrative assistants |
370 |
$19.74 |
$41,050 |
| Cooks, fast food |
360 |
$8.43 |
$17,540 |
| Legal occupations |
360 |
$22.74 |
$47,300 |
| Truck drivers, light or delivery services |
360 |
$13.09 |
$27,230 |
| Middle school teachers, except special and vocational education |
350 |
Not available |
$46,830 |
| Helpers--electricians |
340 |
$13.21 |
$27,480 |
| First-line supervisors/managers of food preparation and serving workers |
330 |
$14.29 |
$29,720 |
| First-line supervisors/managers of mechanics, installers, and repairers |
330 |
$30.22 |
$62,860 |
| Receptionists and information clerks |
320 |
$10.02 |
$20,840 |
| Arts, design, entertainment, sports, and media occupations |
310 |
$10.76 |
$22,370 |
| Cooks, restaurant |
300 |
$9.88 |
$20,540 |
| Landscaping and groundskeeping workers |
300 |
$10.59 |
$22,030 |
| Police and sheriff's patrol officers |
300 |
$24.39 |
$50,730 |
| Carpenters |
270 |
$17.02 |
$35,400 |
| Cooks, institution and cafeteria |
270 |
$9.94 |
$20,670 |
| Bus drivers, school |
260 |
$7.75 |
$16,130 |
| Counter attendants, cafeteria, food concession, and coffee shop |
260 |
$7.75 |
$16,110 |
| Customer service representatives |
260 |
$13.86 |
$28,840 |
| Computer and mathematical occupations |
250 |
$32.49 |
$67,580 |
| Helpers--pipelayers, plumbers, pipefitters, and steamfitters |
250 |
$12.60 |
$26,200 |
| Maids and housekeeping cleaners |
240 |
$8.72 |
$18,140 |
| Helpers--production workers |
230 |
$10.25 |
$21,320 |
| Tellers |
220 |
$9.41 |
$19,570 |
| Driver/sales workers |
210 |
$15.16 |
$31,530 |
| Plumbers, pipefitters, and steamfitters |
210 |
$19.30 |
$40,150 |
| Sales managers |
210 |
$43.54 |
$90,560 |
| Dental assistants |
200 |
$13.95 |
$29,020 |
| Helpers--installation, maintenance, and repair workers |
200 |
$11.77 |
$24,490 |
| Industrial machinery mechanics |
200 |
$19.08 |
$39,690 |
| First-line supervisors/managers of production and operating workers |
190 |
$26.70 |
$55,530 |
| Food preparation workers |
180 |
$7.74 |
$16,110 |
| Medical assistants |
180 |
$13.09 |
$27,220 |
| Preschool teachers, except special education |
180 |
$9.51 |
$19,780 |
| Rotary drill operators, oil and gas |
180 |
$24.28 |
$50,510 |
| Accountants and auditors |
170 |
$29.38 |
$61,100 |
| Administrative services managers |
170 |
$33.88 |
$70,470 |
| Child, family, and school social workers |
170 |
$17.66 |
$36,740 |
| Dishwashers |
170 |
$7.62 |
$15,850 |
| Home health aides |
170 |
$11.17 |
$23,240 |
| Coaches and scouts |
160 |
Not available |
$14,710 |
| Loan interviewers and clerks |
150 |
$11.91 |
$24,770 |
| Machinists |
150 |
$23.46 |
$48,790 |
| Painters, construction and maintenance |
150 |
$15.95 |
$33,180 |
| Special education teachers, preschool, kindergarten, and elementary school |
150 |
Not available |
$46,980 |
| Team assemblers |
150 |
$10.95 |
$22,780 |
| Dining room and cafeteria attendants and bartender helpers |
140 |
$7.80 |
$16,220 |
| Paralegals and legal assistants |
140 |
$15.27 |
$31,760 |
| Cleaners of vehicles and equipment |
130 |
$8.78 |
$18,260 |
| Education administrators, elementary and secondary school |
130 |
Not available |
$80,170 |
| Licensed practical and licensed vocational nurses |
130 |
$20.20 |
$42,010 |
| Packers and packagers, hand |
130 |
$7.96 |
$16,560 |
| Parts salespersons |
130 |
$17.34 |
$36,070 |
| Geoscientists, except hydrologists and geographers |
120 |
$41.89 |
$87,140 |
| Helpers--extraction workers |
120 |
$15.57 |
$32,390 |
| Water and liquid waste treatment plant and system operators |
120 |
$19.93 |
$41,450 |
| Child care workers |
110 |
$10.66 |
$22,170 |
| Counter and rental clerks |
110 |
$10.75 |
$22,360 |
| Financial managers |
110 |
$37.86 |
$78,740 |
| Kindergarten teachers, except special education |
110 |
Not available |
$45,360 |
| Medical secretaries |
110 |
$14.64 |
$30,440 |
| Business operations specialists, all other |
100 |
$24.60 |
$51,170 |
| Educational, vocational, and school counselors |
100 |
$22.93 |
$47,700 |
| First-line supervisors/managers of transportation and material-moving machine and vehicle operators |
100 |
$29.71 |
$61,800 |
| Healthcare support workers, all other |
100 |
$12.58 |
$26,170 |
| Laundry and dry-cleaning workers |
100 |
$7.98 |
$16,590 |
| Payroll and timekeeping clerks |
100 |
$14.57 |
$30,310 |
| Petroleum engineers |
100 |
$53.37 |
$111,000 |
| Pharmacy technicians |
100 |
$13.81 |
$28,730 |
| Billing and posting clerks and machine operators |
90 |
$13.57 |
$28,220 |
| Cement masons and concrete finishers |
90 |
$14.87 |
$30,920 |
| Court, municipal, and license clerks |
90 |
$15.20 |
$31,610 |
| Installation, maintenance, and repair workers, all other |
90 |
$16.18 |
$33,650 |
| Service station attendants |
90 |
$9.20 |
$19,140 |
| Civil engineers |
80 |
$48.83 |
$101,570 |
| Computer support specialists |
80 |
$21.82 |
$45,370 |
| Construction managers |
80 |
$45.14 |
$93,900 |
| Hotel, motel, and resort desk clerks |
80 |
$8.12 |
$16,890 |
| Maintenance workers, machinery |
80 |
$14.34 |
$29,820 |
| Police, fire, and ambulance dispatchers |
80 |
$15.03 |
$31,260 |
| Shipping, receiving, and traffic clerks |
80 |
$12.77 |
$26,560 |
| Special education teachers, secondary school |
80 |
Not available |
$48,060 |
| Surveying and mapping technicians |
80 |
$14.84 |
$30,860 |
| All other information and record clerks |
70 |
$17.47 |
$36,340 |
| Amusement and recreation attendants |
70 |
$8.71 |
$18,120 |
| Electrical power-line installers and repairers |
70 |
$33.91 |
$70,530 |
| Emergency medical technicians and paramedics |
70 |
$21.25 |
$44,200 |
| First-line supervisors/managers of housekeeping and janitorial workers |
70 |
$12.94 |
$26,920 |
| Hairdressers, hairstylists, and cosmetologists |
70 |
$7.38 |
$15,350 |
| Insurance sales agents |
70 |
$18.25 |
$37,950 |
| Lawyers |
70 |
$36.26 |
$75,420 |
| Legal secretaries |
70 |
$14.88 |
$30,950 |
| Library assistants, clerical |
70 |
$11.35 |
$23,600 |
| Medical and health services managers |
70 |
$34.75 |
$72,290 |
| Medical records and health information technicians |
70 |
$16.31 |
$33,920 |
| Petroleum pump system operators, refinery operators, and gaugers |
70 |
$18.03 |
$37,500 |
| Purchasing agents, except wholesale, retail, and farm products |
70 |
$27.23 |
$56,640 |
| Radiologic technologists and technicians |
70 |
$24.51 |
$50,970 |
| Special education teachers, middle school |
70 |
Not available |
$45,590 |
| Anthropologists and archeologists |
60 |
$21.36 |
$44,430 |
| Community and social service specialists, all other |
60 |
$14.98 |
$31,150 |
| Compliance officers, except agriculture, construction, health and safety, and transportation |
60 |
$27.41 |
$57,010 |
| Health educators |
60 |
$10.61 |
$22,070 |
| Hosts and hostesses, restaurant, lounge, and coffee shop |
60 |
$7.74 |
$16,100 |
| Human resources assistants, except payroll and timekeeping |
60 |
$15.74 |
$32,730 |
| Insurance claims and policy processing clerks |
60 |
$13.30 |
$27,660 |
| Loan officers |
60 |
$36.42 |
$75,760 |
| Medical and clinical laboratory technologists |
60 |
$23.53 |
$48,940 |
| Physical therapists |
60 |
$31.47 |
$65,460 |
| Postal service mail carriers |
60 |
Not available |
Not available |
| Social and human service assistants |
60 |
$12.01 |
$24,980 |
| Speech-language pathologists |
60 |
$30.98 |
$64,430 |
| Teachers and instructors, all other |
60 |
Not available |
$46,880 |
| Advertising sales agents |
50 |
$16.40 |
$34,110 |
| Bakers |
50 |
$8.74 |
$18,180 |
| Bartenders |
50 |
$7.54 |
$15,690 |
| Cutting, punching, and press machine setters, operators, and tenders, metal and plastic |
50 |
$13.36 |
$27,780 |
| Detectives and criminal investigators |
50 |
$23.94 |
$49,800 |
| Dispatchers, except police, fire, and ambulance |
50 |
$18.84 |
$39,180 |
| Drywall and ceiling tile installers |
50 |
$14.90 |
$30,990 |
| Family and general practitioners |
50 |
$97.17 |
$202,120 |
| First-line supervisors/managers of helpers, laborers, and material movers, hand |
50 |
$20.57 |
$42,790 |
| First-line supervisors/managers of personal service workers |
50 |
$13.46 |
$28,000 |
| Food servers, nonrestaurant |
50 |
$7.71 |
$16,040 |
| Helpers--carpenters |
50 |
$9.80 |
$20,390 |
| Industrial truck and tractor operators |
50 |
$12.15 |
$25,280 |
| Managers, all other |
50 |
$37.25 |
$77,470 |
| Occupational health and safety specialists |
50 |
$31.73 |
$65,990 |
| Pharmacists |
50 |
$61.80 |
$128,550 |
| Plasterers and stucco masons |
50 |
$15.82 |
$32,910 |
| Recreation workers |
50 |
$11.05 |
$22,980 |
| Sales representatives, services, all other |
50 |
$16.73 |
$34,800 |
| Substance abuse and behavioral disorder counselors |
50 |
$20.85 |
$43,360 |
| Surveyors |
50 |
$21.38 |
$44,470 |
| Switchboard operators, including answering service |
50 |
$11.62 |
$24,170 |
| Welding, soldering, and brazing machine setters, operators, and tenders |
50 |
$10.41 |
$21,650 |
| Bill and account collectors |
40 |
$14.08 |
$29,280 |
| Butchers and meat cutters |
40 |
$14.78 |
$30,740 |
| Construction and building inspectors |
40 |
$25.50 |
$53,040 |
| Data entry keyers |
40 |
$11.25 |
$23,390 |
| Dentists, general |
40 |
$81.63 |
$169,800 |
| Electrical and electronics repairers, commercial and industrial equipment |
40 |
$22.17 |
$46,110 |
| Electrical engineers |
40 |
$38.27 |
$79,600 |
| Engineers, all other |
40 |
$16.22 |
$33,740 |
| Farming, fishing, and forestry occupations |
40 |
$13.79 |
$28,680 |
| First-line supervisors/managers of police and detectives |
40 |
$30.25 |
$62,920 |
| Helpers--brickmasons, blockmasons, stonemasons, and tile and marble setters |
40 |
$10.62 |
$22,100 |
| Helpers--painters, paperhangers, plasterers, and stucco masons |
40 |
$9.59 |
$19,960 |
| Interviewers, except eligibility and loan |
40 |
$13.77 |
$28,640 |
| Librarians |
40 |
$27.61 |
$57,430 |
| Mining and geological engineers, including mining safety engineers |
40 |
$33.43 |
$69,530 |
| Network and computer systems administrators |
40 |
$34.92 |
$72,640 |
| Physical therapist assistants |
40 |
$21.71 |
$45,150 |
| Production workers, all other |
40 |
$14.38 |
$29,900 |
| Protective service workers, all other |
40 |
$11.65 |
$24,230 |
| Social and community service managers |
40 |
$17.90 |
$37,230 |
| Taxi drivers and chauffeurs |
40 |
$11.01 |
$22,900 |
| Telecommunications equipment installers and repairers, except line installers |
40 |
$23.55 |
$48,990 |
| Veterinary assistants and laboratory animal caretakers |
40 |
$10.32 |
$21,470 |
| Weighers, measurers, checkers, and samplers, recordkeeping |
40 |
$11.49 |
$23,900 |
| Word processors and typists |
40 |
$14.97 |
$31,130 |
| Appraisers and assessors of real estate |
30 |
$24.75 |
$51,470 |
| Cost estimators |
30 |
$21.73 |
$45,210 |
| Dental hygienists |
30 |
$29.13 |
$60,590 |
| Environmental engineers |
30 |
$35.27 |
$73,360 |
| File clerks |
30 |
$11.84 |
$24,620 |
| First-line supervisors/managers of landscaping, lawn service, and groundskeeping workers |
30 |
$20.31 |
$42,250 |
| Order clerks |
30 |
$10.96 |
$22,810 |
| Paving, surfacing, and tamping equipment operators |
30 |
$18.02 |
$37,480 |
| Training and development specialists |
30 |
$21.05 |
$43,770 |
| Automotive body and related repairers |
Not available |
$17.29 |
$35,960 |
| Computer systems analysts |
Not available |
$53.18 |
$110,600 |
| Control and valve installers and repairers, except mechanical door |
Not available |
$15.46 |
$32,150 |
| Crane and tower operators |
Not available |
$22.82 |
$47,460 |
| Geological and petroleum technicians |
Not available |
$16.96 |
$35,270 |
| Heating, air conditioning, and refrigeration mechanics and installers |
Not available |
$22.89 |
$47,600 |
| Helpers, construction trades, all other |
Not available |
$11.68 |
$24,300 |
| Inspectors, testers, sorters, samplers, and weighers |
Not available |
$15.96 |
$33,210 |
| Sales representatives, wholesale and manufacturing, technical and scientific products |
Not available |
$31.19 |
$64,880 |
| Tire repairers and changers |
Not available |
$11.01 |
$22,910 |
| Ushers, lobby attendants, and ticket takers |
Not available |
$7.63 |
$15,880 |
