The U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) first annual Occupational Requirements Survey (ORS) data and news release are now available at www.bls.gov/ors, providing detailed information about job-related requirements, including physical demands, mental requirements, education and training, and environmental conditions found in jobs in the United States. The data released represents the first of three annual survey samples that will be combined to publish both national job requirements information as well as detailed occupational requirements on hundreds of jobs in the United States.
Highlights from the first sample of released occupational requirements in the United States include:
Physical demands (effort required to perform occupational tasks):
– Workers spent 61.0 percent of the workday standing or walking in jobs.
– The average maximum weight lifted or carried required by construction and extraction jobs was about 66 pounds.
Mental requirements (including decision-making and frequency of contacts):
– Ongoing interaction with regular contacts was required for 33.7 percent of jobs, and an additional 39.1 percent required interacting with regular contacts several times an hour.
Education and training (formal education, work experience, and pre-employment and on-the-job training):
– Prior work experience was required for 47.8 percent of all civilian (private industry and state and local government) jobs and 21.8 percent of jobs required workers to obtain a professional certification, license, or undertake other pre-employment training.
– Approximately 74.7 percent of all jobs required on-the-job training.
– A bachelor’s degree was required for 59.6 percent of management jobs and 68.6 percent for treasurers and controllers jobs.
Environmental conditions (type of conditions encountered at work):
– About 20.3 percent of jobs exposed workers to moving mechanical parts throughout the workday.
– Personal protective equipment was used by 10.7 percent of workers to mitigate the risk of serious workplace injuries or illnesses associated with moving mechanical parts.
Users may access occupational requirements data at www.bls.gov/ors/#data. Frequently Asked Questions on the new occupational requirements data can be found at www.bls.gov/ors/faq.htm. For additional questions, please email ORSinfo@bls.gov or contact the ORS information line at (202) 691-6199.
ABOUT THE BUREAU OF LABOR STATISTICS
The U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics of the U.S. Department of Labor is the principal Federal agency responsible for measuring labor market activity, working conditions, and price changes in the economy. Its mission is to collect, analyze, and disseminate essential economic information to support public and private industry decision-making. As an independent statistical agency, BLS serves its diverse user communities by providing products and services that are objective, timely, accurate, and relevant. For more information, visit www.bls.gov.
ABOUT THE OCCUPATIONAL REQUIREMENTS SURVEY (ORS)
The ORS is an establishment-based survey using a national sample design collected by the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics. The annual estimates are from a single sample of data collected from the Occupational Requirements Survey. To maximize the amount of publishable information, the BLS is combining data across three annual ORS samples. The number of publishable occupations and the level of occupational detail is expected to increase with the addition of each subsequent year’s sample until the full ORS sample size of up to 30,000 sampled establishments is reached. For more information, visit www.bls.gov/ors.
Contact:
Occupational Requirements Survey
www.bls.gov/ors
202-691-6199