November 21, 2001 (The Editor’s Desk is updated each business day.)

Highest paying occupations in 2000

In 2000, the highest-paying major groups of occupations were the legal occupations group and the management occupations group.

Major occupational groups with highest mean hourly wages, 2000
[Chart data—TXT]

Wage and salary workers in legal occupations had a mean hourly wage of $33.14, while those in management occupations had an average wage of $32.78. The next highest paid groups were computer and mathematical ($27.91), architecture and engineering ($25.99), and business and financial operations ($23.30).

The BLS Occupational Employment Statistics program produced these data. Find more information on wages by occupation in 2000 in "Occupational Employment and Wages, 2000," news release USDL 01-415.