May 2005 Occupational Employment and Wages — 2006-05-24

Management and legal occupations were the 2 highest paying of the 22 major occupational groups in May 2005, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics of the U.S. Department of Labor. Over 30 percent of the workers in each of these occupational groups earned more than $43.75 per hour. (See table A.) The major occupational group with the highest employment level in May 2005 was office and administrative support workers, followed by sales and related workers, and food preparation and serving related workers. These estimates for wage and salary workers are from the Occupational Employment Statistics (OES) survey, a federal-state cooperative program between BLS and State Workforce Agencies. The OES survey provides nation- al, state, and metropolitan area estimates of employment and wages for 22 major occupational groups and for 801 detailed occupations, as defined by the Standard Occupational Classification (SOC) system.