Census Bureau Releases New Occupations, Earnings and Job Characteristics Report
July 27, 2022 — The U.S. Census Bureau today released a new report, Occupations, Earnings, and Job Characteristics, that highlights the features of U.S. workers and their employment conditions.
The report uses data from the 2018 Survey of Income and Program Participation (SIPP) and the 2018 American Community Survey (ACS) one-year estimates to describe workers’ occupations, schedule arrangements, median earnings and earnings arrangements, and coverage through employer-provided health insurance. The sample consists of the civilian, noninstitutionalized population age 16 or older working in at least one job.
Data Highlights From the 2018 SIPP (unless otherwise noted):
- Over 30% of U.S. workers were employed in just three occupation groups: management (11.3%), office and administrative support (10.2%), and sales and related (9.5%).
- A standard, daytime schedule was the most common schedule arrangement for all workers. More workers (86.5%) reported their type of work schedule as a requirement of the job over any other reason, such as better child care arrangements.
- The median monthly earnings for the legal, architecture and engineering, and computer and mathematical occupations were higher than all other occupation groups, but not significantly different from each other. Among detailed occupations in the 2018 ACS, those with the highest annual earnings mainly comprised jobs within the broader group of health practitioners and technical occupations.
- Over 91% of all workers were paid a wage or salary. Workers can also receive commission, tips, overtime, and/or bonus pay, either to supplement their wage or salary, or as stand-alone earnings.
- Most workers with private health insurance coverage (approximately 86%) were covered by an employer-provided health insurance plan. Among workers receiving this type of coverage, about 73% in the private sector, 82% in government jobs, and 37% of the self-employed were policyholders.
The SIPP is a nationally representative longitudinal survey administered by the Census Bureau that provides comprehensive information on the dynamics of income, employment, household composition and government program participation. For more information, visit <www.census.gov/sipp>.
The ACS is a nationwide survey designed to provide timely and reliable data every year on the demographic, social, economic and housing characteristics of the nation, states, counties and other localities. For information on the ACS sample design and other topics, visit <https://www.census.gov/programs-surveys/acs/>.