Office and administrative support occupations make up nearly 16 percent of U.S. employment, May 2013

In May 2013, office and administrative support was the largest occupational group, making up nearly 16 percent of total U.S. employment. The next largest groups were sales and related occupations and food preparation and serving related occupations, which made up about 11 and 9 percent, respectively. Seven of the 10 largest occupations were in one of these three groups.

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Chart Data Percent of total employment and annual mean wage, by major occupational group, May 2013 Occupational group Percent of total

U.S. employment Annual mean wage Percent employed

in private sector Office and Administrative Support 16.2 $34,900 84.9 Sales and Related 10.6 38,200 99.4 Food Preparation and Serving Related 9.0 21,580 95.4 Transportation and Material Moving 6.8 33,860 92.9 Production 6.6 34,930 97.9 Education, Training, and Library 6.3 51,500 24.0 Healthcare Practitioners and Technical 5.8 74,740 85.0 Business and Financial Operations 5.0 71,020 82.4 Management 4.9 110,550 84.6 Installation, Maintenance, and Repair 3.9 44,420 89.6 Construction and Extraction 3.8 45,630 90.6 Building and Grounds Cleaning and Maintenance 3.2 26,010 83.1 Personal Care and Service 3.0 24,710 88.3 Healthcare Support 3.0 28,300 92.4 Computer and Mathematical 2.8 82,010 88.9 Protective Service 2.5 43,510 37.8 Architecture and Engineering 1.8 80,100 87.2 Community and Social Service 1.4 44,710 61.9 Arts, Design, Entertainment, Sports, and Media 1.3 55,580 89.0 Life, Physical, and Social Science 0.9 69,400 60.6 Legal 0.8 99,620 74.6 Farming, Fishing, and Forestry 0.3 24,330 94.2



The smallest occupational groups included legal occupations and life, physical, and social science occupations, each making up less than 1 percent of total employment in May 2013.

The highest-paying occupational groups were management, legal, computer and mathematical, and architecture and engineering occupations. Most detailed occupations in these groups were also high paying. For example, all 19 computer and mathematical occupations had average wages above the U.S. all-occupations mean of $46,440, ranging from $50,450 for computer user support specialists to $109,260 for computer and information research scientists.

The lowest-paying occupational groups were food preparation and serving related; farming, fishing, and forestry; personal care and service; building and grounds cleaning and maintenance; and healthcare support occupations. Annual mean wages for these groups ranged from $21,580 for food preparation and serving related occupations to $28,300 for healthcare support occupations. With few exceptions, the detailed occupations in these groups had below-average wages. For example, occupational therapy assistants and physical therapy assistants were the only healthcare support occupations with mean wages above the U.S. all-occupations mean.

Among 665,850 employed persons in the District of Columbia in May 2013, there were about 3,370 political scientists—accounting for 50.6 out of every 10,000 jobs in the District of Columbia. In all of the United States there were 5,570 political scientists employed out of a total of 132,588,810 employed people—meaning less than 1 (0.42) out of every 10,000 jobs in America were political scientists. The ratio that compares the concentration of employment in a defined area (in this case, the District of Columbia) to that of a larger area (the United States) is referred to by the Bureau of Labor Statistics as the "location quotient."

Occupations with the highest relative concentration (location quotient) among those with employment of 500 or more, by state, May 2013 State Occupation Location quotient Employment Alabama Layout workers, metal and plastic 9.05 1,690 Alaska Zoologists and wildlife biologists 18.65 840 Arizona Plasterers and stucco masons 4.37 1,680 Arkansas Shoe machine operators and tenders 13.35 500 California Farmworkers and laborers, crop, nursery, and greenhouse 5.89 171,160 Colorado Atmospheric and space scientists 9.65 1,800 Connecticut Actuaries 5.17 1,280 Delaware Chemists 12.70 3,460 District of Columbia Political scientists 120.46 3,370 Florida Motorboat operators 8.30 1,590 Georgia Textile winding, twisting, and drawing out machine setters, operators, and tenders 10.49 7,990 Hawaii Dancers 12.83 670 Idaho Forest and conservation technicians 15.58 2,140 Illinois Rail transportation workers, all other 5.67 870 Indiana Boilermakers 6.39 2,190 Iowa Soil and plant scientists 12.81 1,900 Kansas Agricultural equipment operators 5.41 1,240 Kentucky Roof bolters, mining 14.14 1,120 Louisiana Riggers 19.95 4,920 Maine Logging equipment operators 11.15 1,200 Maryland Subway and streetcar operators 12.02 2,050 Massachusetts Biochemists and biophysicists 5.38 3,850 Michigan Model makers, metal and plastic 6.12 1,140 Minnesota Food scientists and technologists 6.78 2,060 Mississippi Upholsterers 16.76 3,940 Missouri Entertainment attendants and related workers, all other 3.91 750 Montana Forest and conservation technicians 20.73 2,040 Nebraska Meat, poultry, and fish cutters and trimmers 10.33 11,620 Nevada Gaming supervisors 31.98 6,990 New Hampshire Metal workers and plastic workers, all other 11.80 1,230 New Jersey Marriage and family therapists 4.98 4,170 New Mexico Physical scientists, all other 12.03 1,660 New York Fashion designers 6.34 7,180 North Carolina Textile winding, twisting, and drawing out machine setters, operators, and tenders 8.88 6,880 North Dakota Extraction workers, all other 35.75 910 Ohio Foundry mold and coremakers 3.54 1,790 Oklahoma Gaming managers 12.74 670 Oregon Logging workers, all other 40.15 1,390 Pennsylvania Gas compressor and gas pumping station operators 4.66 890 Rhode Island Jewelers and precious stone and metal workers 7.05 560 South Carolina Tire builders 11.80 2,860 South Dakota Pesticide handlers, sprayers, and applicators, vegetation 9.44 650 Tennessee Nuclear technicians 4.94 700 Texas Petroleum engineers 6.84 19,660 Utah Mine cutting and channeling machine operators 8.36 540 Vermont Highway maintenance workers 4.76 1,490 Virginia Legal support workers, all other 7.15 8,950 Washington Aircraft structure, surfaces, rigging, and systems assemblers 15.68 14,310 West Virginia Mine shuttle car operator 76.87 1,120 Wisconsin Foundry mold and coremakers 6.26 1,670 Wyoming Wellhead pumpers 24.75 700

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Chart Data Occupations with the highest relative concentration (location quotient) among those with employment of 500 or more, by state, May 2013 State Occupation Location quotient Employment Alabama Layout workers, metal and plastic 9.05 1,690 Alaska Zoologists and wildlife biologists 18.65 840 Arizona Plasterers and stucco masons 4.37 1,680 Arkansas Shoe machine operators and tenders 13.35 500 California Farmworkers and laborers, crop, nursery, and greenhouse 5.89 171,160 Colorado Atmospheric and space scientists 9.65 1,800 Connecticut Actuaries 5.17 1,280 Delaware Chemists 12.70 3,460 District of Columbia Political scientists 120.46 3,370 Florida Motorboat operators 8.30 1,590 Georgia Textile winding, twisting, and drawing out machine setters, operators, and tenders 10.49 7,990 Hawaii Dancers 12.83 670 Idaho Forest and conservation technicians 15.58 2,140 Illinois Rail transportation workers, all other 5.67 870 Indiana Boilermakers 6.39 2,190 Iowa Soil and plant scientists 12.81 1,900 Kansas Agricultural equipment operators 5.41 1,240 Kentucky Roof bolters, mining 14.14 1,120 Louisiana Riggers 19.95 4,920 Maine Logging equipment operators 11.15 1,200 Maryland Subway and streetcar operators 12.02 2,050 Massachusetts Biochemists and biophysicists 5.38 3,850 Michigan Model makers, metal and plastic 6.12 1,140 Minnesota Food scientists and technologists 6.78 2,060 Mississippi Upholsterers 16.76 3,940 Missouri Entertainment attendants and related workers, all other 3.91 750 Montana Forest and conservation technicians 20.73 2,040 Nebraska Meat, poultry, and fish cutters and trimmers 10.33 11,620 Nevada Gaming supervisors 31.98 6,990 New Hampshire Metal workers and plastic workers, all other 11.80 1,230 New Jersey Marriage and family therapists 4.98 4,170 New Mexico Physical scientists, all other 12.03 1,660 New York Fashion designers 6.34 7,180 North Carolina Textile winding, twisting, and drawing out machine setters, operators, and tenders 8.88 6,880 North Dakota Extraction workers, all other 35.75 910 Ohio Foundry mold and coremakers 3.54 1,790 Oklahoma Gaming managers 12.74 670 Oregon Logging workers, all other 40.15 1,390 Pennsylvania Gas compressor and gas pumping station operators 4.66 890 Rhode Island Jewelers and precious stone and metal workers 7.05 560 South Carolina Tire builders 11.80 2,860 South Dakota Pesticide handlers, sprayers, and applicators, vegetation 9.44 650 Tennessee Nuclear technicians 4.94 700 Texas Petroleum engineers 6.84 19,660 Utah Mine cutting and channeling machine operators 8.36 540 Vermont Highway maintenance workers 4.76 1,490 Virginia Legal support workers, all other 7.15 8,950 Washington Aircraft structure, surfaces, rigging, and systems assemblers 15.68 14,310 West Virginia Mine shuttle car operator 76.87 1,120 Wisconsin Foundry mold and coremakers 6.26 1,670 Wyoming Wellhead pumpers 24.75 700

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The location quotient of political scientists in the District of Columbia is 50.6 divided by 0.42 (the location quotient of political scientists in the United States), which equals about 120.5—indicating there are about 120.5 times as many political scientists per 10,000 total employed people in the District of Columbia as in the United States as a whole.

These data are from the Occupational Employment Statistics program. To learn more, see, "Occupational Employment and Wages — May 2013" (HTML) (PDF), news release USDL-14-0528.