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 |
43,900 |
$15.81 |
$32,880 |
| Office and administrative support occupations |
5,980 |
$12.80 |
$26,620 |
| Food preparation and serving related occupations |
4,740 |
$8.16 |
$16,970 |
| Production occupations |
4,630 |
$16.89 |
$35,130 |
| Sales and related occupations |
4,560 |
$12.04 |
$25,030 |
| Transportation and material moving occupations |
3,680 |
$14.65 |
$30,470 |
| Healthcare practitioners and technical occupations |
3,340 |
$26.07 |
$54,230 |
| Education, training, and library occupations |
2,610 |
$20.28 |
$42,190 |
| Installation, maintenance, and repair occupations |
2,490 |
$18.77 |
$39,040 |
| Construction and extraction occupations |
1,890 |
$18.56 |
$38,610 |
| Healthcare support occupations |
1,700 |
$10.47 |
$21,770 |
| Personal care and service occupations |
1,660 |
$9.83 |
$20,450 |
| Cashiers |
1,560 |
$7.80 |
$16,220 |
| Building and grounds cleaning and maintenance occupations |
1,550 |
$10.10 |
$21,000 |
| Combined food preparation and serving workers, including fast food |
1,510 |
$7.43 |
$15,460 |
| Registered nurses |
1,360 |
$25.45 |
$52,930 |
| Retail salespersons |
1,320 |
$10.28 |
$21,380 |
| Management occupations |
1,200 |
$34.51 |
$71,780 |
| Office clerks, general |
1,060 |
$10.89 |
$22,650 |
| Protective service occupations |
1,040 |
$14.37 |
$29,890 |
| Business and financial operations occupations |
910 |
$20.43 |
$42,490 |
| Waiters and waitresses |
900 |
$7.75 |
$16,120 |
| Nursing aides, orderlies, and attendants |
880 |
$9.78 |
$20,340 |
| Janitors and cleaners, except maids and housekeeping cleaners |
830 |
$10.55 |
$21,940 |
| Laborers and freight, stock, and material movers, hand |
780 |
$11.60 |
$24,120 |
| Community and social services occupations |
590 |
$13.90 |
$28,910 |
| Maintenance and repair workers, general |
570 |
$14.54 |
$30,240 |
| Stock clerks and order fillers |
570 |
$12.09 |
$25,140 |
| Secretaries, except legal, medical, and executive |
530 |
$11.51 |
$23,940 |
| Elementary school teachers, except special education |
510 |
Not available |
$44,670 |
| Truck drivers, heavy and tractor-trailer |
480 |
$15.59 |
$32,420 |
| Bookkeeping, accounting, and auditing clerks |
470 |
$11.95 |
$24,850 |
| Licensed practical and licensed vocational nurses |
470 |
$16.86 |
$35,070 |
| Computer and mathematical occupations |
450 |
$29.15 |
$60,640 |
| Home health aides |
420 |
$9.07 |
$18,870 |
| Maids and housekeeping cleaners |
400 |
$8.48 |
$17,630 |
| First-line supervisors/managers of retail sales workers |
390 |
$14.63 |
$30,440 |
| Bartenders |
380 |
$7.54 |
$15,690 |
| Cooks, institution and cafeteria |
380 |
$8.92 |
$18,540 |
| Truck drivers, light or delivery services |
370 |
$12.57 |
$26,150 |
| First-line supervisors/managers of production and operating workers |
360 |
$26.18 |
$54,450 |
| Middle school teachers, except special and vocational education |
360 |
Not available |
$42,020 |
| Tellers |
360 |
$9.53 |
$19,820 |
| Construction laborers |
350 |
$15.62 |
$32,490 |
| Industrial machinery mechanics |
350 |
$22.53 |
$46,850 |
| Secondary school teachers, except special and vocational education |
350 |
Not available |
$48,420 |
| Carpenters |
340 |
$17.64 |
$36,690 |
| Cooks, restaurant |
340 |
$8.59 |
$17,870 |
| Cutting, punching, and press machine setters, operators, and tenders, metal and plastic |
340 |
$12.74 |
$26,510 |
| Sales representatives, wholesale and manufacturing, except technical and scientific products |
340 |
$25.62 |
$53,290 |
| First-line supervisors/managers of office and administrative support workers |
330 |
$18.19 |
$37,830 |
| Telemarketers |
320 |
$9.73 |
$20,240 |
| Receptionists and information clerks |
310 |
$9.35 |
$19,440 |
| Security guards |
310 |
$9.98 |
$20,760 |
| Police and sheriff's patrol officers |
290 |
$17.66 |
$36,730 |
| Teacher assistants |
290 |
Not available |
$19,260 |
| Architecture and engineering occupations |
280 |
$32.33 |
$67,250 |
| Automotive service technicians and mechanics |
270 |
$12.78 |
$26,590 |
| General and operations managers |
270 |
$32.85 |
$68,340 |
| Food preparation workers |
260 |
$8.46 |
$17,590 |
| Life, physical, and social science occupations |
260 |
$30.42 |
$63,280 |
| First-line supervisors/managers of food preparation and serving workers |
250 |
$12.06 |
$25,080 |
| Medical secretaries |
250 |
$13.83 |
$28,770 |
| Customer service representatives |
240 |
$11.02 |
$22,910 |
| Helpers--production workers |
240 |
$11.35 |
$23,600 |
| Electricians |
220 |
$20.61 |
$42,880 |
| Executive secretaries and administrative assistants |
220 |
$16.39 |
$34,100 |
| First-line supervisors/managers of mechanics, installers, and repairers |
210 |
$27.01 |
$56,180 |
| Arts, design, entertainment, sports, and media occupations |
200 |
$14.39 |
$29,920 |
| Industrial truck and tractor operators |
200 |
$14.97 |
$31,140 |
| Shipping, receiving, and traffic clerks |
200 |
$14.43 |
$30,020 |
| Machine feeders and offbearers |
190 |
$15.30 |
$31,820 |
| Accountants and auditors |
180 |
$24.51 |
$50,980 |
| Human resources, training, and labor relations specialists, all other |
180 |
$16.47 |
$34,260 |
| Landscaping and groundskeeping workers |
180 |
$9.36 |
$19,480 |
| Molding, coremaking, and casting machine setters, operators, and tenders, metal and plastic |
180 |
$11.48 |
$23,880 |
| Pharmacy technicians |
180 |
$10.63 |
$22,100 |
| Emergency medical technicians and paramedics |
170 |
$12.48 |
$25,970 |
| Team assemblers |
170 |
$11.22 |
$23,340 |
| Hairdressers, hairstylists, and cosmetologists |
160 |
$10.80 |
$22,470 |
| Operating engineers and other construction equipment operators |
160 |
$17.94 |
$37,310 |
| Postal service mail carriers |
160 |
Not available |
Not available |
| Business operations specialists, all other |
150 |
$19.16 |
$39,840 |
| Electrical and electronics repairers, powerhouse, substation, and relay |
150 |
$28.07 |
$58,390 |
| Machinists |
150 |
$16.80 |
$34,950 |
| Water and liquid waste treatment plant and system operators |
150 |
$16.75 |
$34,830 |
| Dishwashers |
140 |
$7.84 |
$16,310 |
| Cleaners of vehicles and equipment |
130 |
Not available |
Not available |
| Inspectors, testers, sorters, samplers, and weighers |
130 |
$16.12 |
$33,520 |
| Legal occupations |
130 |
$32.37 |
$67,340 |
| Special education teachers, preschool, kindergarten, and elementary school |
130 |
Not available |
$40,780 |
| Counter and rental clerks |
120 |
$9.75 |
$20,270 |
| Driver/sales workers |
120 |
$11.83 |
$24,620 |
| Lifeguards, ski patrol, and other recreational protective service workers |
120 |
$7.72 |
$16,060 |
| Nonfarm animal caretakers |
120 |
$9.46 |
$19,670 |
| Printing machine operators |
120 |
$18.51 |
$38,500 |
| Radiologic technologists and technicians |
120 |
$22.42 |
$46,630 |
| Child care workers |
110 |
$9.07 |
$18,870 |
| Computer support specialists |
110 |
$21.03 |
$43,730 |
| Dining room and cafeteria attendants and bartender helpers |
110 |
$7.92 |
$16,470 |
| Extruding and drawing machine setters, operators, and tenders, metal and plastic |
110 |
$17.28 |
$35,940 |
| Pharmacists |
110 |
$50.80 |
$105,660 |
| Production, planning, and expediting clerks |
110 |
$15.47 |
$32,180 |
| Recreation workers |
110 |
$9.42 |
$19,590 |
| Service station attendants |
110 |
$7.59 |
$15,790 |
| Welders, cutters, solderers, and brazers |
110 |
Not available |
Not available |
| Billing and posting clerks and machine operators |
100 |
$12.71 |
$26,440 |
| Bus drivers, school |
100 |
$12.16 |
$25,290 |
| Cooks, fast food |
100 |
$7.79 |
$16,190 |
| Highway maintenance workers |
100 |
$15.12 |
$31,450 |
| Medical and health services managers |
100 |
$42.28 |
$87,940 |
| Parts salespersons |
100 |
$11.75 |
$24,440 |
| Vocational education teachers, secondary school |
100 |
Not available |
$47,180 |
| Chief executives |
90 |
$39.64 |
$82,460 |
| Child, family, and school social workers |
90 |
$14.14 |
$29,400 |
| Dental assistants |
90 |
$10.79 |
$22,440 |
| Education administrators, elementary and secondary school |
90 |
Not available |
$64,260 |
| First-line supervisors/managers of helpers, laborers, and material movers, hand |
90 |
$20.00 |
$41,590 |
| Interviewers, except eligibility and loan |
90 |
$12.32 |
$25,630 |
| Plating and coating machine setters, operators, and tenders, metal and plastic |
90 |
$20.89 |
$43,460 |
| Preschool teachers, except special education |
90 |
$15.78 |
$32,830 |
| Special education teachers, middle school |
90 |
Not available |
$40,770 |
| Computer systems analysts |
80 |
$36.32 |
$75,540 |
| Counter attendants, cafeteria, food concession, and coffee shop |
80 |
$7.81 |
$16,250 |
| Extruding, forming, pressing, and compacting machine setters, operators, and tenders |
80 |
$14.69 |
$30,560 |
| Family and general practitioners |
80 |
$91.79 |
$190,930 |
| First-line supervisors/managers of transportation and material-moving machine and vehicle operators |
80 |
$20.74 |
$43,130 |
| Kindergarten teachers, except special education |
80 |
Not available |
$39,500 |
| Medical assistants |
80 |
$10.95 |
$22,780 |
| Speech-language pathologists |
80 |
$25.59 |
$53,230 |
| Bus and truck mechanics and diesel engine specialists |
70 |
$18.55 |
$38,580 |
| First-line supervisors/managers of construction trades and extraction workers |
70 |
$27.48 |
$57,170 |
| Hosts and hostesses, restaurant, lounge, and coffee shop |
70 |
$8.67 |
$18,040 |
| Medical and public health social workers |
70 |
$19.54 |
$40,650 |
| Police, fire, and ambulance dispatchers |
70 |
$14.99 |
$31,180 |
| Coating, painting, and spraying machine setters, operators, and tenders |
60 |
$13.61 |
$28,300 |
| Dental hygienists |
60 |
$23.07 |
$47,990 |
| Educational, vocational, and school counselors |
60 |
$24.31 |
$50,570 |
| Financial managers |
60 |
$36.71 |
$76,360 |
| First-line supervisors/managers of housekeeping and janitorial workers |
60 |
$14.41 |
$29,980 |
| Food servers, nonrestaurant |
60 |
$8.75 |
$18,200 |
| Healthcare support workers, all other |
60 |
$12.59 |
$26,200 |
| Heating, air conditioning, and refrigeration mechanics and installers |
60 |
$17.34 |
$36,070 |
| Insurance sales agents |
60 |
$29.47 |
$61,290 |
| Librarians |
60 |
$21.33 |
$44,370 |
| Occupational therapists |
60 |
$33.20 |
$69,050 |
| Payroll and timekeeping clerks |
60 |
$15.65 |
$32,560 |
| Plumbers, pipefitters, and steamfitters |
60 |
$19.71 |
$41,000 |
| Purchasing agents, except wholesale, retail, and farm products |
60 |
$18.60 |
$38,700 |
| Respiratory therapists |
60 |
$23.25 |
$48,350 |
| Sales managers |
60 |
$36.36 |
$75,630 |
| Sales representatives, wholesale and manufacturing, technical and scientific products |
60 |
$33.72 |
$70,140 |
| Social and human service assistants |
60 |
$8.89 |
$18,500 |
| Special education teachers, secondary school |
60 |
Not available |
$46,080 |
| Brickmasons and blockmasons |
50 |
$23.43 |
$48,740 |
| Cement masons and concrete finishers |
50 |
$23.80 |
$49,510 |
| Coin, vending, and amusement machine servicers and repairers |
50 |
$10.45 |
$21,730 |
| Computer software engineers, applications |
50 |
$32.35 |
$67,280 |
| First-line supervisors/managers of non-retail sales workers |
50 |
$31.21 |
$64,910 |
| Food service managers |
50 |
$25.75 |
$53,550 |
| Hotel, motel, and resort desk clerks |
50 |
$7.75 |
$16,110 |
| Laundry and dry-cleaning workers |
50 |
$9.36 |
$19,470 |
| Lawyers |
50 |
$55.19 |
$114,790 |
| Legal secretaries |
50 |
$13.35 |
$27,770 |
| Legislators |
50 |
Not available |
$33,620 |
| Managers, all other |
50 |
$32.19 |
$66,950 |
| Medical records and health information technicians |
50 |
$14.35 |
$29,850 |
| Postal service mail sorters, processors, and processing machine operators |
50 |
Not available |
Not available |
| Public relations specialists |
50 |
$16.02 |
$33,330 |
| Sales and related workers, all other |
50 |
Not available |
Not available |
| Sales representatives, services, all other |
50 |
$20.32 |
$42,270 |
| Taxi drivers and chauffeurs |
50 |
$9.30 |
$19,340 |
| Administrative services managers |
40 |
$36.15 |
$75,190 |
| Chemical technicians |
40 |
$21.83 |
$45,400 |
| Computer programmers |
40 |
$30.32 |
$63,060 |
| Cost estimators |
40 |
$27.19 |
$56,550 |
| Court, municipal, and license clerks |
40 |
$11.34 |
$23,590 |
| Data entry keyers |
40 |
$10.94 |
$22,750 |
| Dispatchers, except police, fire, and ambulance |
40 |
$12.33 |
$25,640 |
| Eligibility interviewers, government programs |
40 |
$16.59 |
$34,520 |
| Excavating and loading machine and dragline operators |
40 |
$14.71 |
$30,600 |
| First-line supervisors/managers of personal service workers |
40 |
$15.62 |
$32,490 |
| Industrial engineers |
40 |
$35.63 |
$74,100 |
| Industrial production managers |
40 |
$51.15 |
$106,390 |
| Manufactured building and mobile home installers |
40 |
Not available |
Not available |
| Painters, construction and maintenance |
40 |
$18.95 |
$39,410 |
| Paralegals and legal assistants |
40 |
$15.47 |
$32,180 |
| Physical therapist assistants |
40 |
$21.15 |
$43,990 |
| Postal service clerks |
40 |
Not available |
Not available |
| Butchers and meat cutters |
30 |
$12.14 |
$25,240 |
| Computer operators |
30 |
$14.81 |
$30,810 |
| Engineering managers |
30 |
$55.99 |
$116,460 |
| First-line supervisors/managers, protective service workers, all other |
30 |
$21.56 |
$44,840 |
| Fitness trainers and aerobics instructors |
30 |
$14.43 |
$30,010 |
| Floral designers |
30 |
$9.87 |
$20,530 |
| Helpers--carpenters |
30 |
$11.63 |
$24,180 |
| Helpers--installation, maintenance, and repair workers |
30 |
$9.92 |
$20,630 |
| Human resources assistants, except payroll and timekeeping |
30 |
$14.84 |
$30,870 |
| Loan interviewers and clerks |
30 |
$11.21 |
$23,320 |
| Loan officers |
30 |
$19.54 |
$40,640 |
| Postmasters and mail superintendents |
30 |
$29.40 |
$61,150 |
| Refuse and recyclable material collectors |
30 |
$11.31 |
$23,530 |
| Structural iron and steel workers |
30 |
$26.91 |
$55,980 |
| Amusement and recreation attendants |
Not available |
$8.52 |
$17,730 |
| Automotive body and related repairers |
Not available |
$13.56 |
$28,200 |
| Cooks, short order |
Not available |
$8.75 |
$18,200 |
| Correctional officers and jailers |
Not available |
$15.93 |
$33,140 |
| Electrical and electronic engineering technicians |
Not available |
$23.68 |
$49,250 |
| Emergency management specialists |
Not available |
$21.71 |
$45,160 |
| Library assistants, clerical |
Not available |
$8.88 |
$18,480 |
| Library technicians |
Not available |
$12.53 |
$26,070 |
| Management analysts |
Not available |
$29.17 |
$60,670 |
| Mental health and substance abuse social workers |
Not available |
$9.09 |
$18,910 |
| Meter readers, utilities |
Not available |
$16.02 |
$33,320 |
| Mobile heavy equipment mechanics, except engines |
Not available |
$19.61 |
$40,800 |
| Network and computer systems administrators |
Not available |
$30.37 |
$63,180 |
| Personal and home care aides |
Not available |
$8.65 |
$17,990 |
| Physical therapists |
Not available |
$37.07 |
$77,110 |
| Production workers, all other |
Not available |
$17.69 |
$36,800 |
| Telecommunications equipment installers and repairers, except line installers |
Not available |
$20.24 |
$42,090 |
| Telecommunications line installers and repairers |
Not available |
$21.48 |
$44,680 |
