The Guam Department of Labor's Bureau of Labor Statistics is pleased to release the May 2008 Occupational Employment Statistics (pdf format) report.

Scope of the Survey

The Occupational Employment Statistics (OES) survey is a semiannual mail survey measuring occupational employment and wage rates for wage and salary workers in nonfarm establishments in the United States. Guam, Puerto Rico, and the Virgin Islands also are surveyed, but their data are not included in this release. OES estimates are constructed from a sample of about 1.2 million establishments. Forms are mailed to approximately 200,000 establishments in May and November of each year for a 3-year period. The nationwide response rate for the May 2008 estimates is 78.2 percent based on establishments and 74.3 percent based on employment. The survey included establishments sampled in the May 2008, November 2007, May 2007, November 2006, May 2006, and November 2005 semiannual panels.

The Occupational Coding System

The OES survey uses the Office of Management and Budget's (OMB) occupational classification system, the Standard Occupational Classification (SOC) system. The SOC system is the first OMB-required occupational classification system for federal agencies. The OES survey categorizes workers into 801 detailed occupations. Together, these detailed occupations make up 22 of the 23 major occupational groups. Military specific occupations are not included in the OES survey. The major groups are as follows:

• Management occupations
• Business and financial operations occupations
• Computer and mathematical occupations
• Architecture and engineering occupations
• Life, physical, and social science occupations
• Community and social services occupations
• Legal occupations
• Education, training and library occupations
• Arts, design, entertainment, sports, and media occupations
• Healthcare practitioner and technical occupations
• Healthcare support occupations
• Protective service occupations
• Food preparation and serving related occupations
• Building and grounds cleaning and maintenance occupations
• Personal care and service occupations
• Sales and related occupations
• Office and administrative support occupations
• Farming, fishing, and forestry, occupations
• Construction, and extraction occupations
• Installation, maintenance, and repair occupations
• Production occupations
• Transportation and material moving occupations
• Military specific occupations (not surveyed in OES).

Click here to view the report in it's entirety. (pdf format)