Table 4. National employment and wage data for occupations with wages near the all-occupations median, May 2008
Occupation (1) Employment Median wages Mean hourly
Hourly Annual(2) wages
Total, all occupations 135,185,230 $15.57 $32,390 $20.32
Office and administrative support occupations
Bookkeeping, accounting, and auditing clerks 1,855,010 15.63 32,510 16.25
Billing and posting clerks and machine operators 512,120 14.88 30,950 15.44
Insurance claims and policy processing clerks 237,800 15.91 33,100 16.75
All other information and record clerks 215,780 16.15 33,600 16.78
Loan interviewers and clerks 212,340 15.61 32,470 16.29
Dispatchers, except police, fire, and ambulance 193,210 16.28 33,850 17.58
Reservation and transportation ticket agents and travel clerks 163,880 14.94 31,070 15.41
Word processors and typists 128,010 15.09 31,390 15.73
Court, municipal, and license clerks 115,070 15.96 33,200 16.88
Police, fire, and ambulance dispatchers 96,360 16.19 33,670 16.99
Meter readers, utilities 44,730 15.84 32,950 16.77
Telephone operators 22,820 15.23 31,670 16.25
Production occupations
Inspectors, testers, sorters, samplers, and weighers 467,010 15.02 31,240 16.29
Welders, cutters, solderers, and brazers 392,520 16.13 33,560 17.01
Printing machine operators 193,510 15.46 32,170 16.42
Computer-controlled machine tool operators, metal and plastic 143,030 16.03 33,330 16.60
Mixing and blending machine setters, operators, and tenders 140,120 15.04 31,280 15.70
Structural metal fabricators and fitters 111,620 15.58 32,400 16.28
Paper goods machine setters, operators, and tenders 104,170 15.91 33,080 16.35
Multiple machine tool setters, operators, and tenders, metal and plastic 87,800 14.87 30,920 15.76
Lathe and turning machine tool setters, operators, and tenders, metal and plastic 56,500 15.84 32,940 16.38
Welding, soldering, and brazing machine setters, operators, and tenders 51,840 15.20 31,610 16.20
Metal workers and plastic workers, all other 43,690 15.61 32,460 17.10
Job printers 42,640 16.21 33,710 16.98
Engine and other machine assemblers 39,270 15.70 32,660 16.78
Drilling and boring machine tool setters, operators, and tenders, metal and plastic 33,550 14.83 30,850 15.64
Semiconductor processors 32,230 15.49 32,230 16.43
Forging machine setters, operators, and tenders, metal and plastic 28,800 14.90 31,000 15.56
Milling and planing machine setters, operators, and tenders, metal and plastic 26,220 16.00 33,270 16.56
Jewelers and precious stone and metal workers 24,780 15.84 32,940 17.00
Heat treating equipment setters, operators, and tenders, metal and plastic 23,630 15.40 32,030 15.93
Furnace, kiln, oven, drier, and kettle operators and tenders 22,950 15.31 31,840 15.84
Tool grinders, filers, and sharpeners 16,410 15.37 31,970 16.29
Pourers and casters, metal 15,320 15.66 32,570 16.11
Extruding and forming machine setters, operators, and tenders, synthetic
and glass fibers 14,440 14.98 31,160 15.29
Bookbinders 6,150 14.92 31,040 16.33
Patternmakers, wood 1,930 16.35 34,010 18.61
Model makers, wood 1,740 15.06 31,320 17.16
Installation, maintenance, and repair occupations
Maintenance and repair workers, general 1,305,170 16.21 33,710 17.13
Electronic home entertainment equipment installers and repairers 38,680 15.42 32,080 16.26
Home appliance repairers 37,300 16.30 33,910 17.16
Farm equipment mechanics 30,240 15.32 31,860 15.79
Automotive glass installers and repairers 18,330 15.44 32,110 15.95
Mechanical door repairers 17,530 16.11 33,500 17.00
Motorcycle mechanics 16,850 15.08 31,360 16.10
Recreational vehicle service technicians 13,400 15.14 31,480 16.05
Musical instrument repairers and tuners 5,310 15.90 33,080 17.28
Construction and extraction occupations
Painters, construction and maintenance 250,310 15.85 32,960 17.56
Highway maintenance workers 136,420 16.35 34,000 16.84
Roofers 120,200 16.17 33,630 18.00
Paving, surfacing, and tamping equipment operators 61,230 16.00 33,270 17.54
Construction and related workers, all other 55,820 15.65 32,550 16.91
Pipelayers 54,440 15.72 32,710 17.45
Insulation workers, floor, ceiling, and wall 28,390 15.34 31,900 16.79
Helpers--extraction workers 25,550 15.74 32,730 16.36
Septic tank servicers and sewer pipe cleaners 24,730 16.19 33,680 17.09
Floor sanders and finishers 8,220 15.41 32,050 16.93
Education, training, and library occupations
Teachers and instructors, all other 574,540 (3) 31,100 (3)
Transportation and material moving occupations
Bus drivers, transit and intercity 184,160 16.32 33,940 17.16
Refuse and recyclable material collectors 129,080 14.93 31,050 15.76
Transportation workers, all other 43,330 15.87 33,000 17.11
Material moving workers, all other 41,140 15.68 32,620 16.68
Rail yard engineers, dinkey operators, and hostlers 5,480 15.68 32,610 16.76
Motorboat operators 3,380 15.34 31,910 17.54
Healthcare support occupations
Dental assistants 293,090 15.57 32,380 15.95
Medical transcriptionists 86,200 15.41 32,060 15.84
Building and grounds cleaning and maintenance occupations
First-line supervisors/managers of housekeeping and janitorial workers 183,560 16.34 33,980 17.46
Community and social services occupations
Rehabilitation counselors 112,700 14.87 30,930 16.64
Healthcare practitioner and technical occupations
Opticians, dispensing 59,470 15.77 32,810 16.85
Life, physical, and social science occupations
Forest and conservation technicians 30,850 15.39 32,000 16.98
Agricultural and food science technicians 18,930 16.34 33,990 17.53
Farming, fishing, and forestry occupations
Logging equipment operators 27,010 15.18 31,580 15.76
Logging workers, all other 5,180 15.96 33,190 15.82
Log graders and scalers 3,610 15.64 32,520 16.51
Farm labor contractors 1,110 16.10 33,500 17.62
Arts, design, entertainment, sports, and media occupations
Broadcast technicians 33,550 15.82 32,900 18.30
Protective service occupations
Parking enforcement workers 9,530 15.57 32,390 16.36
Forest fire inspectors and prevention specialists 1,580 15.09 31,380 17.50
1 Occupations shown have wages within plus or minus 5 percent of the all-occupation median. Occupations with employment less than
1,000 are not shown. Major groups are ranked from highest to lowest total employment in occupations paying near the median wage.
Within each group, occupations are shown in order of highest to lowest employment.
2 Annual wages have been calculated by multiplying the hourly mean wage by a "year-round, full-time" hours figure of 2,080 hours;
for those occupations where there is not an hourly mean wage published, the annual wage has been directly calculated from the
reported survey data.
3 Wages for some occupations that do not generally work year round, full time, are reported either as hourly wages or annual
salaries depending on how they are typically paid.
