Standard Occupational Classification System

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]

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]

SOC	Major Group	Employment	Annual Mean Wage
11-0000	Management Occupations	10,495,770	$137,750
13-0000	Business and Financial Operations Occupations	10,087,830	$90,580
15-0000	Computer and Mathematical Occupations	5,177,400	$113,140
17-0000	Architecture and Engineering Occupations	2,539,660	$99,090
19-0000	Life, Physical, and Social Science Occupations	1,389,430	$87,870
21-0000	Community and Social Service Occupations	2,418,130	$58,980
23-0000	Legal Occupations	1,240,630	$133,820
25-0000	Educational Instruction and Library Occupations	8,744,560	$66,400
27-0000	Arts, Design, Entertainment, Sports, and Media Occupations	2,106,490	$75,520
29-0000	Healthcare Practitioners and Technical Occupations	9,284,210	$102,060
31-0000	Healthcare Support Occupations	7,063,530	$38,220
33-0000	Protective Service Occupations	3,504,330	$57,710
35-0000	Food Preparation and Serving Related Occupations	13,247,870	$34,490
37-0000	Building and Grounds Cleaning and Maintenance Occupations	4,429,070	$38,320
39-0000	Personal Care and Service Occupations	3,040,630	$38,430
41-0000	Sales and Related Occupations	13,380,660	$53,280
43-0000	Office and Administrative Support Occupations	18,533,450	$47,940
45-0000	Farming, Fishing, and Forestry Occupations	432,200	$39,970
47-0000	Construction and Extraction Occupations	6,225,630	$61,500
49-0000	Installation, Maintenance, and Repair Occupations	5,989,460	$58,500
51-0000	Production Occupations	8,770,170	$47,620
53-0000	Transportation and Material Moving Occupations	13,752,760	$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]

SOC	Major Group	Exposure to Hazardous Contaminants (%)	Exposure to Outdoors (%)
11-0000	Management Occupations	1.9	23.8
13-0000	Business and Financial Operations Occupations	0.7	9.1
15-0000	Computer and Mathematical Occupations	<0.5	1.6
17-0000	Architecture and Engineering Occupations	6.3	31.8
19-0000	Life, Physical, and Social Science Occupations	26.6	36.3
21-0000	Community and Social Service Occupations	0.8	24.2
23-0000	Legal Occupations	<0.5	1.6
25-0000	Educational Instruction and Library Occupations	1.8	42.9
27-0000	Arts, Design, Entertainment, Sports, and Media Occupations	0.8	27.7
29-0000	Healthcare Practitioners and Technical Occupations	6.8	7.3
31-0000	Healthcare Support Occupations	2.8	33.1
33-0000	Protective Service Occupations	22.8	89.4
35-0000	Food Preparation and Serving Related Occupations	1.3	33.5
37-0000	Building and Grounds Cleaning and Maintenance Occupations	18.4	73.8
39-0000	Personal Care and Service Occupations	9.2	51.5
41-0000	Sales and Related Occupations	1.2	28.1
43-0000	Office and Administrative Support Occupations	<0.5	4.7
45-0000	Farming, Fishing, and Forestry Occupations	8.9	82.5
47-0000	Construction and Extraction Occupations	28.9	92.4
49-0000	Installation, Maintenance, and Repair Occupations	31.7	79.4
51-0000	Production Occupations	18.9	11.4
53-0000	Transportation and Material Moving Occupations	5.6	57.6

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]

SOC	Major Group	No Minimum Requirement (%)	High School (%)	Bachelor's (%)	Other (%)
11-0000	Management Occupations	4.7	24.7	56.6	14.0
13-0000	Business and Financial Operations Occupations	1.7	21.7	69.9	6.7
15-0000	Computer and Mathematical Occupations	2.8	17.7	65.5	14.0
17-0000	Architecture and Engineering Occupations	1.9	12.5	69.5	16.1
19-0000	Life, Physical, and Social Science Occupations	2.1	18.7	52.0	27.2
21-0000	Community and Social Service Occupations	1.6	16.5	40.9	41.0
23-0000	Legal Occupations	0.6	19.4	10.9	69.1
25-0000	Educational Instruction and Library Occupations	1.5	17.2	59.4	21.9
27-0000	Arts, Design, Entertainment, Sports, and Media Occupations	19.8	27.7	42.9	9.6
29-0000	Healthcare Practitioners and Technical Occupations	0.9	21.1	22.7	55.3
31-0000	Healthcare Support Occupations	26.8	63.4	0.7	9.1
33-0000	Protective Service Occupations	9.4	82.3	3.1	5.2
35-0000	Food Preparation and Serving Related Occupations	78.3	21.2	<0.5	<0.5
37-0000	Building and Grounds Cleaning and Maintenance Occupations	68.7	30.0	<0.5	<0.5
39-0000	Personal Care and Service Occupations	32.0	60.7	3.2	4.1
41-0000	Sales and Related Occupations	50.7	39.6	7.9	1.8
43-0000	Office and Administrative Support Occupations	13.1	75.6	5.7	5.6
45-0000	Farming, Fishing, and Forestry Occupations	49.4	42.6	6.2	1.8
47-0000	Construction and Extraction Occupations	49.6	47.1	0.8	2.5
49-0000	Installation, Maintenance, and Repair Occupations	27.5	61.2	1.2	10.1
51-0000	Production Occupations	39.2	55.5	1.5	3.8
53-0000	Transportation and Material Moving Occupations	60.2	39.2	<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]

SOC	Major Group	Maximum Weight Lifted or Carried, Average (Pounds)	Percent of the Workday Required to Stand, Average (Percentage)
11-0000	Management Occupations	9.30	27.4
13-0000	Business and Financial Operations Occupations	5.55	13.2
15-0000	Computer and Mathematical Occupations	7.87	11.1
17-0000	Architecture and Engineering Occupations	13.11	26.4
19-0000	Life, Physical, and Social Science Occupations	18.10	37.3
21-0000	Community and Social Service Occupations	10.53	29.6
23-0000	Legal Occupations	6.80	15.2
25-0000	Educational Instruction and Library Occupations	14.61	60.2
27-0000	Arts, Design, Entertainment, Sports, and Media Occupations	14.78	32.7
29-0000	Healthcare Practitioners and Technical Occupations	33.06	63.3
31-0000	Healthcare Support Occupations	34.72	69.4
33-0000	Protective Service Occupations	53.71	56.8
35-0000	Food Preparation and Serving Related Occupations	26.34	97.2
37-0000	Building and Grounds Cleaning and Maintenance Occupations	37.23	88.2
39-0000	Personal Care and Service Occupations	23.70	75.7
41-0000	Sales and Related Occupations	21.68	68.6
43-0000	Office and Administrative Support Occupations	9.13	20.6
45-0000	Farming, Fishing, and Forestry Occupations	35.40	77.5
47-0000	Construction and Extraction Occupations	51.18	81.5
49-0000	Installation, Maintenance, and Repair Occupations	53.93	79.6
51-0000	Production Occupations	37.45	81.2
53-0000	Transportation and Material Moving Occupations	43.74	65.2

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]

SOC	Major Group	Fast Work Pace (%)	Ability to Pause Work (%)
11-0000	Management Occupations	41.3	97.5
13-0000	Business and Financial Operations Occupations	39.3	97.0
15-0000	Computer and Mathematical Occupations	40.9	96.0
17-0000	Architecture and Engineering Occupations	36.9	95.1
19-0000	Life, Physical, and Social Science Occupations	34.3	82.6
21-0000	Community and Social Service Occupations	38.0	80.3
23-0000	Legal Occupations	52.3	95.3
25-0000	Educational Instruction and Library Occupations	37.0	38.9
27-0000	Arts, Design, Entertainment, Sports, and Media Occupations	39.4	74.3
29-0000	Healthcare Practitioners and Technical Occupations	48.2	40.9
31-0000	Healthcare Support Occupations	38.3	37.6
33-0000	Protective Service Occupations	18.3	13.2
35-0000	Food Preparation and Serving Related Occupations	31.0	22.6
37-0000	Building and Grounds Cleaning and Maintenance Occupations	41.8	73.7
39-0000	Personal Care and Service Occupations	33.6	35.0
41-0000	Sales and Related Occupations	24.2	45.5
43-0000	Office and Administrative Support Occupations	37.2	70.8
45-0000	Farming, Fishing, and Forestry Occupations	41.6	67.3
47-0000	Construction and Extraction Occupations	46.1	61.5
49-0000	Installation, Maintenance, and Repair Occupations	32.7	71.8
51-0000	Production Occupations	55.8	42.5
53-0000	Transportation and Material Moving Occupations	48.7	31.4

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]

References

^ Standard Occupational Classification System (SOC), U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics
^ Glossary, U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics
^ 2018 SOC Major Groups at bls.gov
^ International Standard Classification of Occupations, ILOSTAT
^ Direct Match Title File, BLS
^ Direct Match Title File, BLS
^ May 2023 National Occupational Employment and Wage Estimates, BLS
^ Occupational Requirements Survey, BLS
^ Occupational Requirements Survey, BLS
^ Occupational Requirements Survey, BLS
^ Occupational Requirements Survey, BLS
^ Revising the Standard Occupational Classification System, June 1999, pages iii, 1.
^ "Standard Occupational Classification (SOC) System".

U.S. Department of Labor (2000). Standard Occupational Classification (SOC) Manual (2000 ed.). Washington, D.C.

External links

The Standard Occupational Classification (SOC) System

[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".

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