Standard Occupational Classification System

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The Standard Occupational Classification (SOC) System is a United States government system for classifying occupations. It is used by U.S. federal government agencies collecting occupational data, enabling comparison of occupations across data sets. It is designed to cover all occupations in which work is performed for pay or profit, reflecting the current occupational structure in the United States. The 2018 SOC includes 867 detailed occupations. [1]

Contents

Users of occupational data include human resources professionals, government program managers, industrial and labor relations practitioners, students considering career training, job seekers, vocational training schools, and employers wishing to set salary scales or locate a new plant.

An occupation is defined as a group of "jobs that are similar with respect to the work performed and the skills possessed by workers." [2] Therefore, different jobs with similar duties and job requirements would be in the same occupation. For example, a bank branch manager and a city treasurer would both be part of the Financial Manager occupation in the SOC.

The detailed occupations in the SOC can be combined into 459 broad occupations, 98 minor groups, and 23 major groups. The SOC codes have a hierarchical format, so for example the code "15-0000" refers to occupations in the "Computer and Mathematical Occupations" major group, and "15-1252" is a subset for the "Software Developers" detailed occupation. [3]

The SOC does not categorize industries or employers. There are parallel category systems for industries used with SOC data, most commonly NAICS.

Other countries have national occupational classification systems and the International Labour Organization, an agency of the United Nations, has developed the International Standard Classification of Occupations. [4]

Job Titles and SOC Codes

The Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) maintains the Direct Match Title File (DMTF) that contains job titles that match detailed occupations in the SOC. [5] For example, the following job titles all match to the occupation Bill and Account Collectors (SOC code of 43-3011): Collection Agent, Collections Clerk, Collections Representative, Debt Collector, Installment Agent, Installment Loan Collector, Insurance Collector, Payment Collector, Repossessor, and Billing Clerk.

In some cases a job title does not match one-for-one with an occupation. For example, the job title "painter" is not in the DMTF because it could be associated with a fine arts occupation or a maintenance occupation. In these and other cases, persons wishing to match a job with an occupation can examine the definitions of the detailed occupations. For example, the definition of the occupation of Painters, Construction and Maintenance (SOC code of 47-2141) is: "Paint walls, equipment, buildings, bridges, and other structural surfaces, using brushes, rollers, and spray guns. May remove old paint to prepare surface prior to painting. May mix colors or oils to obtain desired color or consistency." On the other hand, the definition of the occupation of Fine Artists, Including Painters, Sculptors, and Illustrators (SOC code of 27-1013) is: "Create original artwork using any of a wide variety of media and techniques."

Interested parties can submit suggested additions to the job titles included in the DMTF. [6]

Major Group Occupations

List

The detailed occupations in the SOC can be combined into 23 major groups.

Employment and Earnings

Across all occupations, BLS reports total employment to be 151,853,870 and the annual mean wage to be $65,470. Total employment and annual mean wage for each major group is in the following table. [7]

SOCMajor GroupEmploymentAnnual Mean Wage
11-0000Management Occupations10,495,770$137,750
13-0000Business and Financial Operations Occupations10,087,830$90,580
15-0000Computer and Mathematical Occupations5,177,400$113,140
17-0000Architecture and Engineering Occupations2,539,660$99,090
19-0000Life, Physical, and Social Science Occupations1,389,430$87,870
21-0000Community and Social Service Occupations2,418,130$58,980
23-0000Legal Occupations1,240,630$133,820
25-0000Educational Instruction and Library Occupations8,744,560$66,400
27-0000Arts, Design, Entertainment, Sports, and Media Occupations2,106,490$75,520
29-0000Healthcare Practitioners and Technical Occupations9,284,210$102,060
31-0000Healthcare Support Occupations7,063,530$38,220
33-0000Protective Service Occupations3,504,330$57,710
35-0000Food Preparation and Serving Related Occupations13,247,870$34,490
37-0000Building and Grounds Cleaning and Maintenance Occupations4,429,070$38,320
39-0000Personal Care and Service Occupations3,040,630$38,430
41-0000Sales and Related Occupations13,380,660$53,280
43-0000Office and Administrative Support Occupations18,533,450$47,940
45-0000Farming, Fishing, and Forestry Occupations432,200$39,970
47-0000Construction and Extraction Occupations6,225,630$61,500
49-0000Installation, Maintenance, and Repair Occupations5,989,460$58,500
51-0000Production Occupations8,770,170$47,620
53-0000Transportation and Material Moving Occupations13,752,760$46,690

Environmental Conditions

Across all occupations, 6.9 percent of all workers are exposed to hazardous contaminants.

Across all occupations, about 67 percent of all workers are not exposed to the outdoors. However, among all workers, 4.1 percent are constantly exposed to the outdoors, 3.7 percent are frequently exposed to the outdoors, 15.1 percent are occasionally exposed to the outdoors, and 10.2 percent are seldomly exposed to the outdoors. Exposure to hazardous contaminants and exposure to the outdoors (seldom, occasional, frequent, or constant) for each major group are in the following table. [8]

SOCMajor GroupExposure to Hazardous Contaminants (%)Exposure to Outdoors (%)
11-0000Management Occupations1.923.8
13-0000Business and Financial Operations Occupations0.79.1
15-0000Computer and Mathematical Occupations<0.51.6
17-0000Architecture and Engineering Occupations6.331.8
19-0000Life, Physical, and Social Science Occupations26.636.3
21-0000Community and Social Service Occupations0.824.2
23-0000Legal Occupations<0.51.6
25-0000Educational Instruction and Library Occupations1.842.9
27-0000Arts, Design, Entertainment, Sports, and Media Occupations0.827.7
29-0000Healthcare Practitioners and Technical Occupations6.87.3
31-0000Healthcare Support Occupations2.833.1
33-0000Protective Service Occupations22.889.4
35-0000Food Preparation and Serving Related Occupations1.333.5
37-0000Building and Grounds Cleaning and Maintenance Occupations18.473.8
39-0000Personal Care and Service Occupations9.251.5
41-0000Sales and Related Occupations1.228.1
43-0000Office and Administrative Support Occupations<0.54.7
45-0000Farming, Fishing, and Forestry Occupations8.982.5
47-0000Construction and Extraction Occupations28.992.4
49-0000Installation, Maintenance, and Repair Occupations31.779.4
51-0000Production Occupations18.911.4
53-0000Transportation and Material Moving Occupations5.657.6

Minimum Education Requirements

Minimum education is the minimum education required by a job, not the educational attainment of the worker. A worker may have attained more education than the minimum required by a job.

Among all workers, 30.0 percent are in jobs with no minimum education requirement, 40.1 percent are in jobs where a high school degree is the minimum requirement, 19.3 percent are in jobs where a bachelor's degree is the minimum requirement, and 10.6 percent are in jobs with some other minimum requirement (for example, a graduate degree).

The percentages in the various minimum requirement categories for each major group in the SOC are shown in the following table. [9]

SOCMajor GroupNo Minimum Requirement (%)High School (%)Bachelor's (%)Other (%)
11-0000Management Occupations4.724.756.614.0
13-0000Business and Financial Operations Occupations1.721.769.96.7
15-0000Computer and Mathematical Occupations2.817.765.514.0
17-0000Architecture and Engineering Occupations1.912.569.516.1
19-0000Life, Physical, and Social Science Occupations2.118.752.027.2
21-0000Community and Social Service Occupations1.616.540.941.0
23-0000Legal Occupations0.619.410.969.1
25-0000Educational Instruction and Library Occupations1.517.259.421.9
27-0000Arts, Design, Entertainment, Sports, and Media Occupations19.827.742.99.6
29-0000Healthcare Practitioners and Technical Occupations0.921.122.755.3
31-0000Healthcare Support Occupations26.863.40.79.1
33-0000Protective Service Occupations9.482.33.15.2
35-0000Food Preparation and Serving Related Occupations78.321.2<0.5<0.5
37-0000Building and Grounds Cleaning and Maintenance Occupations68.730.0<0.5<0.5
39-0000Personal Care and Service Occupations32.060.73.24.1
41-0000Sales and Related Occupations50.739.67.91.8
43-0000Office and Administrative Support Occupations13.175.65.75.6
45-0000Farming, Fishing, and Forestry Occupations49.442.66.21.8
47-0000Construction and Extraction Occupations49.647.10.82.5
49-0000Installation, Maintenance, and Repair Occupations27.561.21.210.1
51-0000Production Occupations39.255.51.53.8
53-0000Transportation and Material Moving Occupations60.239.2<0.5<0.5

Physical Requirements

The maximum weight lifted or carried averaged 25.58 pounds for all workers. For all workers, the percentage of the workday a person is required to stand averaged 56.3 percent of the workday. The figures for each major group in the SOC are in the following table. [10]

SOCMajor GroupMaximum Weight Lifted or Carried, Average (Pounds)Percent of the Workday Required to Stand, Average (Percentage)
11-0000Management Occupations9.3027.4
13-0000Business and Financial Operations Occupations5.5513.2
15-0000Computer and Mathematical Occupations7.8711.1
17-0000Architecture and Engineering Occupations13.1126.4
19-0000Life, Physical, and Social Science Occupations18.1037.3
21-0000Community and Social Service Occupations10.5329.6
23-0000Legal Occupations6.8015.2
25-0000Educational Instruction and Library Occupations14.6160.2
27-0000Arts, Design, Entertainment, Sports, and Media Occupations14.7832.7
29-0000Healthcare Practitioners and Technical Occupations33.0663.3
31-0000Healthcare Support Occupations34.7269.4
33-0000Protective Service Occupations53.7156.8
35-0000Food Preparation and Serving Related Occupations26.3497.2
37-0000Building and Grounds Cleaning and Maintenance Occupations37.2388.2
39-0000Personal Care and Service Occupations23.7075.7
41-0000Sales and Related Occupations21.6868.6
43-0000Office and Administrative Support Occupations9.1320.6
45-0000Farming, Fishing, and Forestry Occupations35.4077.5
47-0000Construction and Extraction Occupations51.1881.5
49-0000Installation, Maintenance, and Repair Occupations53.9379.6
51-0000Production Occupations37.4581.2
53-0000Transportation and Material Moving Occupations43.7465.2

Pace of Work and Breaks

Across all occupations, 38.9 percent of all workers are required to work at a consistent and generally fast pace, 52.9 percent are required to work at a pace that varies, and 8.2 percent at a consistent and generally slow pace.

About 56.2 percent of workers have the ability to “pause work and take short, unscheduled breaks throughout the workday.”

Pace of work and the ability to pause work for each major group are in the following table. [11]

SOCMajor GroupFast Work Pace (%)Ability to Pause Work (%)
11-0000Management Occupations41.397.5
13-0000Business and Financial Operations Occupations39.397.0
15-0000Computer and Mathematical Occupations40.996.0
17-0000Architecture and Engineering Occupations36.995.1
19-0000Life, Physical, and Social Science Occupations34.382.6
21-0000Community and Social Service Occupations38.080.3
23-0000Legal Occupations52.395.3
25-0000Educational Instruction and Library Occupations37.038.9
27-0000Arts, Design, Entertainment, Sports, and Media Occupations39.474.3
29-0000Healthcare Practitioners and Technical Occupations48.240.9
31-0000Healthcare Support Occupations38.337.6
33-0000Protective Service Occupations18.313.2
35-0000Food Preparation and Serving Related Occupations31.022.6
37-0000Building and Grounds Cleaning and Maintenance Occupations41.873.7
39-0000Personal Care and Service Occupations33.635.0
41-0000Sales and Related Occupations24.245.5
43-0000Office and Administrative Support Occupations37.270.8
45-0000Farming, Fishing, and Forestry Occupations41.667.3
47-0000Construction and Extraction Occupations46.161.5
49-0000Installation, Maintenance, and Repair Occupations32.771.8
51-0000Production Occupations55.842.5
53-0000Transportation and Material Moving Occupations48.731.4

History

The SOC was established in 1977, and revised by a committee representing specialists from across U.S. government agencies in the 1990s. [12] SOC codes were updated again in 2010, and on November 28, 2017, the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) published a Federal Register notice detailing the final decisions for the 2018 SOC. [13]

See also

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References

  1. Standard Occupational Classification System (SOC), U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics
  2. Glossary, U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics
  3. 2018 SOC Major Groups at bls.gov
  4. International Standard Classification of Occupations, ILOSTAT
  5. Direct Match Title File, BLS
  6. Direct Match Title File, BLS
  7. May 2023 National Occupational Employment and Wage Estimates, BLS
  8. Occupational Requirements Survey, BLS
  9. Occupational Requirements Survey, BLS
  10. Occupational Requirements Survey, BLS
  11. Occupational Requirements Survey, BLS
  12. Revising the Standard Occupational Classification System , June 1999, pages iii, 1.
  13. "Standard Occupational Classification (SOC) System".