May 2014 Occupational Employment and Wages — 2015-03-25

The occupations with the largest employment in May 2014 were retail salespersons and cashiers, the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics reported today. These two occupations combined made up nearly 6 percent of total U.S. employment, with employment levels of 4.6 million and 3.4 million, respectively. Of the 10 largest occupations, only registered nurses, with an annual mean wage of $69,790, had an average wage above the U.S. all- occupations mean of $47,230. The highest paying occupations overall included several physician and dentist occupations, chief executives, nurse anesthetists, and petroleum engineers. National employment and wage information for all occupations is shown in table 1. The data in this news release are from the Occupational Employment Statistics program, which produces employment and wage estimates for over 800 occupations for the nation, states, and metropolitan and nonmetropolitan areas; and by industry or ownership at the national level. This release contains data on science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) occupations.