Table 2.

Characteristics of the 22 Major Occupational Groups in the United States—May 2008[24]

Occupational Group Ranked By Median Hourly Wage (Low to High)	Number Employed	Median Wage (80% Range) in US$	Median Length of Tenure in Years
All Occupations (Based on the median wage & tenure of working adults)	135,185,230	15.57 (8.02, 37.99)	4.1
Food Preparation and Serving Related	11,438,550	8.59 (6.89, 14.41)	2
Farming, Fishing, and Forestry	438,490	9.34 (7.71, 18.27)	3.1
Personal Care and Service	3,437,520	9.82 (7.19, 18.64)	2.6
Building and Grounds Cleaning and Maintenance	4,429,870	10.52 (7.48, 18.07)	3.6
Sales and Related	14,336,430	11.69 (7.43, 34.23)	2.9
Healthcare Support	3,779,280	11.80 (8.25, 18.48)	3.1
Transportation and Material Moving	9,508,750	13.14 (7.89, 24.63)	3.8
Production	9,919,120	13.99 (8.53, 25.11)	5
Office and Administrative Support	23,231,750	14.32 (8.63, 24.30)	4.2
Protective Service	3,128,960	16.65 (8.73, 34.05)	5.9
Construction and Extraction	6,548,760	18.24 (10.69, 33.81)	3.5
Community and Social Services	1,861,750	18.38 (10.62, 32.03)	4.8
Installation, Maintenance, and Repair	5,374,850	18.60 (10.46, 30.99)	5
Arts, Design, Entertainment, Sports, and Media	1,804,940	19.99 (9.33, 43.18)	3.4
Education, Training, and Library	8,451,250	21.26 (9.58, 38.84)	5.4
Healthcare Practitioner and Technical	7,076,800	27.20 (13.85, 56.57)	4.9
Life, Physical, and Social Science	1,296,840	27.51 (14.56, 52.07)	4
Business and Financial Operations	6,135,520	27.89 (15.88, 49.59)	4.6
Architecture and Engineering	2,521,630	32.09 (17.31, 54.65)	6.4
Computer and Mathematical Science	3,308,260	34.26 (18.04, 56.69)	4.5
Legal	1,003,270	34.49 (16.04, **)	4.3
Management	6,152,650	42.15 (20.40, **)	6

NOTE:

^**This wage is equal to or greater than $80.00 per hour and not reported by the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics.