June 12, 2007 (The Editor’s Desk is updated each business day.)

Change in employment by major occupation and sex, 2005-06

Employment grew most among workers in management, service, and construction occupations in 2006.

[Chart data—TXT]

The number of people employed in management, professional, and related occupations grew by 1.2 million in 2006, slightly more growth than in each of the past few years. Men and women have a relatively equal share of employment in these occupations and shared the growth fairly equally as well.

Employment in service occupations rose by 678,000 in 2006. Women accounted for the majority of the increase (402,000). Most found employment in either food preparation (136,000) or personal care (192,000). Among men in service occupations, the largest growth was in building and grounds cleaning and maintenance (119,000).

Employment in construction occupations, a traditionally male-dominated category, continued to grow. By far, most of the 362,000 gain in the number of construction workers was among men (345,000).

Similarly, in transportation, in which many more men than women work, more than 85 percent of the increase was among men.

Employment in sales and office occupations was little changed in 2006.

These data are from the Current Population Survey and are annual averages. Employment and unemployment data for 2006 are featured in "Household survey data show labor market improvements in 2006," (PDF) in the March 2007 issue of the Monthly Labor Review.