Glossary of occupational terms

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# - A

• Annual: recurring, done, or performed every year; yearly

• Applicant: a person who formally applies for a job

• Apprenticeship: a formal relationship between a worker and a sponsor that consists of a combination of on-the-job training and related occupation-specific instruction in which the worker learns the practical and theoretical aspects of an occupation. Apprenticeship programs are sponsored by individual employers, joint employer–labor groups, and employee associations. Apprenticeship programs usually provide at least 144 hours of occupation-specific technical instruction and 2,000 hours of on-the-job training per year over a 3- to 5-year period. Examples of occupations that utilize apprenticeships include electricians and ironworkers; see On-the-job training

• Associate’s degree: degree awarded usually for at least 2 years of full-time academic study beyond high school; see Education

• Average: the quantity calculated by adding together the elements of a set of numbers and dividing the resulting sum by the quantity of numbers summed; see Mean

 

B

• Baby-boom generation: individuals born between 1946 and 1964, inclusive

• Bachelor’s degree: degree awarded usually for at least 4 years of full-time academic study beyond high school; see Education

• Base year: year used as a reference point for comparison with later years. For example, 2016 is the base year for the 2016–26 employment projections. Employment in the base year is actual 2016 data, whereas employment in the target, or projection, year is projected

• Business cycle: the periods of growth and decline in an economy. There are four stages in the cycle: expansion, when the economy grows; peak, the high point of an expansion; contraction, when the economy slows down; and trough, the low point of a contraction 

 

C

• Certification: award for demonstrating competency in a skill or a set of skills, typically through work experience, training, and the passage of an examination, or some combination thereof. Some certification programs may require a certain level of educational achievement for eligibility

• Consolidation: the merger of two or more commercial interests or corporations

• Current Population Survey (CPS): a national survey that samples 60,000 households on a monthly basis and collects information on labor force characteristics of the U.S. civilian noninstitutional population; the CPS is conducted by the Census Bureau for the Bureau of Labor Statistics

 

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D

• Demand for workers: total openings, resulting from employment growth and the need to replace workers who leave their occupation

• Doctoral or professional degree: degree awarded usually for at least 3 years of full-time academic work beyond a bachelor’s degree; for example, some science and other occupations need a doctoral degree, and all lawyers, physicians, and dentists need a professional degree for employment; see Education

• Domestic sourcing: moving jobs to lower cost regions of the United States instead of to other countries

• Duties: the major tasks or activities that employees in an occupation usually perform

 

E

• Earnings: pay or wages of a worker or a group of workers for services performed during a specific period—for example, hourly, daily, weekly, or annually. Also see Pay, Wages

• Education: levels of education typically needed for entry into an occupation are classified as follows:

• Doctoral or professional degree: degree awarded usually for at least 3 years of full-time academic work beyond a bachelor’s degree; for example, lawyers, physicians and surgeons, and dentists

• Master’s degree: degree awarded usually for 1 or 2 years of full-time academic study beyond a bachelor’s degree

• Bachelor’s degree: degree awarded usually for at least 4 years of full-time academic study beyond high school

• Associate’s degree: degree awarded usually for at least 2 years of full-time academic study beyond high school

• Postsecondary nondegree award: usually a certificate or other award that is not a degree and is issued by an educational institution. Certifications issued by professional organizations or certifying bodies are not included in this category. Programs may last only a few weeks to 2 years; for example, nursing assistants, emergency medical technicians (EMTs) and paramedics, and hairstylists

• Some college, no degree: a high school diploma or the equivalent, plus the completion of one or more postsecondary courses that did not result in any degree or award

• High school diploma or equivalent: the completion of high school or the equivalent, resulting in the award of a high school diploma or the equivalent

• No formal educational credential: signifies that a formal credential issued by an educational institution, such as a high school diploma or a postsecondary certificate, is not typically needed for entry into the occupation; for example, janitors and cleaners, cashiers, and agricultural equipment operators

• Employed: the situation of a person who has an agreement with an employer to work full time, part time, or on a contractual basis for that employer 

• Employment: the number of jobs in an occupation, including full-time jobs, part-time jobs, and self-employment

• Employment growth/decline: increase/decrease in the number of jobs

• Entry level: the starting level for workers who are new to an occupation; different occupations may require different levels of education, training, or experience upon entry

 

F

• Fieldwork: an investigation or search for material, data, etc., such that the work is carried out in the field as opposed to the classroom, the laboratory, or official headquarters—for example, the work archeologists perform at a dig site in the desert; the work historians or curators engage in when they find or collect artifacts for museums; and the work environmental technicians do when they collect water samples from a pond, a stream, or an ocean 

• Five years or more (of work experience in a related occupation): the number of years of experience in a related occupation typically needed for entry into a given occupation; see Work experience in a related occupation

• Fixed work schedules: schedules of employees who work the same hours on an ongoing basis—for example, 9 a.m.–5 p.m.; see Work schedules

• Flexible work schedules: schedules of employees who set their own hours within specified guidelines and with a fixed number of total hours; see Work schedules

• Full time: 35 or more hours per week, according to the Current Population Survey; see Work schedules

 

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G

• GDP (gross domestic product): the market value of all final goods and services produced within a country in a given period; the most commonly used measure of the size of the overall economy; the Bureau of Economic Analysis (BEA) produces estimates of GDP

• Greater than full time: more than 40 hours per week; see Work schedules

• Growth rate: the percent change in the number of jobs added or lost in a U.S. occupation or industry over a given projection period; growth rate adjectives used in the OOH are defined by the following percent changes for the 2016–26 employment projections:

1. much faster than the average: 15 percent or more
2. faster than the average: 10 percent to 14 percent
3. as fast as the average: 5 percent to 9 percent
4. slower than the average: 2 percent to 4 percent
5. little or no change: –1 percent to 1 percent
6. decline: –2 percent or more

 

H

• High school diploma or equivalent: award or credential that is equivalent to a high school diploma; see Education

• Household: all persons who occupy a housing unit such as an apartment or a single-family home

 

I

• Important qualities: characteristics and personality traits that are likely needed for workers to be successful in given occupations

• Industry: a group of establishments that produce similar products or provide similar services; see North American Industry Classification System (NAICS) 

• Injury and illness: in general, a Handbook profile will discuss injuries and illnesses only if they are particularly high compared with the rate for all other occupations. Whether they meet this criterion is typically determined with the use of injury and illness data from the BLS Survey of Occupational Injuries and Illnesses (SOII) program. The “Injuries and Illnesses” section of each profile is used to discuss potential sources of accidents and injuries in the work environment.

• Internship: training under supervision in a professional setting. This category does not include internships that are suggested for advancement; see On-the-job training

 

J

• Job: a specific instance of employment; a position of employment to be filled at an establishment; see Employment

• Job outlook: a statement that conveys the projected rate of growth or decline in employment in an occupation over the next 10 years; also compares the projected growth rate with that projected for all other occupations; see Growth rate

• Job prospects: a qualitative measure of the competition for jobs that takes into consideration factors such as the growth or decline in the number of jobs, the expected number of qualified workers, and/or the expected number of applicants; a comparison of the number of jobs with the number of potential workers and jobseekers

 

K

 

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L

• Labor force: the sum of all persons 16 years and older in the civilian noninstitutional population who are either employed, or unemployed but available for work and actively looking for work

• Less than 5 years (of work experience in a related occupation): the number of years of experience in a related occupation typically needed for entry into a given occupation; see Work experience in a related occupation

• Licenses: permissions granted by government agencies or other accrediting bodies that allow someone to work in a particular occupation or perform certain duties

• Long-term on-the-job training: more than 12 months of on-the-job training, or, alternatively, combined work experience and formal classroom instruction (not including apprenticeships), that is needed for the worker to attain competency in the skills needed in the occupation; see On-the-job training

 

M

• Master’s degree: degree awarded usually for 1 or 2 years of full-time academic study beyond a bachelor’s degree; see Education

• Mean: the mathematical average of a set of numbers, calculated by adding the numbers together and dividing the result by the number of numbers summed; see Average

• Median: the middle number in an ordered list consisting of an odd number of numbers; the average of the two middle numbers in an ordered list consisting of an even number of numbers

• Moderate-term on-the-job training: more than 1 month, and up to 12 months, of combined on-the-job experience and informal training that is needed for the worker to attain competency in the skills needed in the occupation; see On-the-job training

 

N

• New job: an addition of a position to an establishment’s payroll, usually as a result of economic expansion

• No formal educational credential: signifies that a formal credential issued by an educational institution, such as a high school diploma or a postsecondary certificate, is not typically needed for entry into the occupation; for example,  janitors and cleaners, cashiers, and agricultural equipment operators; see Education

• None (on-the-job training): no additional occupation-specific training or preparation is typically required for the worker to attain competency in an occupation; see On-the-job training

• None (work experience in a related occupation): no work experience in a related occupation is typically required for the worker to enter a given occupation; see Work experience in a related occupation

• Nonfixed work schedules: schedules of employees who work different hours on one job; often used to accommodate particular traits of individual workers or because the work required by the employer varies for each individual; see Work schedules

• North American Industry Classification System (NAICS): industry classification system used by federal statistical agencies in classifying business establishments for the purpose of collecting, analyzing, and publishing statistical data related to the U.S. economy

• Number of jobs: number of actual instances of employment, according to the BLS National Employment Matrix; see https://www.bls.gov/emp/documentation/projections-methods.htm for more information about the matrix

• Numeric change in employment: a projected change in the number of jobs in an occupation or industry

 

O

• Occupation: a craft, trade, profession, or other means of earning a living. Also, a set of activities or tasks that employees are paid to perform and that, together, go by a certain name. Employees who are in the same occupation perform essentially the same tasks, whether or not they work in the same industry

• Occupational openings: opportunities to enter an occupation; openings occur when occupations grow, creating new jobs, and when workers leave an occupation permanently, resulting in the need to replace them

• O*NET: an online research source that provides detailed descriptions of occupations for use by jobseekers, workforce development and human resources professionals, students, and researchers. Created for the U.S. Department of Labor, Employment and Training Administration, by the National Center for O*NET Development

• On-the-job training: training or preparation that is typically needed for a worker, once employed in an occupation, to attain competency in the occupation. Training is occupation specific rather than job specific; skills learned can be transferred to another job in the same occupation.

• Internship/residency: a formal period of training during which individuals work under the supervision of experienced workers in a professional setting, such as a hospital.  Internships and residencies occur after the completion of a formal postsecondary degree program and generally are required for state licensure or certification in fields such as medicine, counseling, and architecture. During an internship or residency, trainees may be restricted from independently performing all of the functions of the occupation. Examples of occupations in the internship or residency category include physicians and surgeons, and marriage and family therapists. This category does not include internships that are suggested for advancement in one's career, such as a marketing internship, or internships that take place as part of a formal degree program.

• Apprenticeship: a formal relationship between a worker and a sponsor that consists of a combination of on-the-job training and related occupation-specific instruction in which the worker learns the practical and theoretical aspects of an occupation. Apprenticeship programs are sponsored by individual employers, joint employer-labor groups, and employee associations. Apprenticeship programs usually provide at least 144 hours of occupation-specific technical instruction and 2,000 hours of on-the-job training per year over a 3- to-5-year period. Examples of occupations that utilize apprenticeships include electricians and ironworkers.

• Long-term on-the-job training: more than 12 months of on-the-job training, or, alternatively, combined work experience and formal classroom instruction, that is needed for workers to develop the skills to attain competency in an occupation. This on-the-job training category also includes employer-sponsored training programs, such as those offered by fire academies and schools for air traffic controllers. In other occupations—nuclear power reactor operators, for example—trainees take formal courses, often provided at the jobsite, to prepare for the required licensing exams. In addition, the category includes occupations in which workers typically need to possess a natural ability or talent—musicians and singers, athletes, dancers, photographers, and actors, among others—and that ability or talent must be cultivated over several years, sometimes in a nonwork setting. The category excludes apprenticeships.

• Moderate-term on-the-job training: more than 1 month, and up to 12 months, of combined on-the-job experience and informal training that is needed for the worker to develop the skills to attain competency in the occupation; this on-the-job training category also includes employer-sponsored training programs.

• Short-term on-the-job training: 1 month or less of combined on-the-job experience and informal training that is needed for the worker to develop the skills to attain competency in the occupation; this on-the-job training category also includes employer-sponsored training programs.

• None: no additional occupation-specific training or preparation is typically required for the worker to attain competency in the occupation.

 

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P

• Part time: less than 35 hours of work per week, according to the Current Population Survey; see Work schedules

• Pay: earnings or wages of a worker or a group of workers for services performed during a specific period—for example, hourly, daily, weekly, or annually; also see Earnings, Wages

• Percent: one part in a hundred. For example, 62 percent (also written “62%”) means 62 parts out of 100

• Percent change in employment: employment growth rates expressed as percentages

• Percentile wage estimate: the value of a wage below which a certain percentage of workers fall

• Personal consumption: total goods and services purchased by individuals in the U.S. economy; the amount of goods and services used or purchased by individuals or households in the U.S. economy; a key statistic in measuring or calculating overall GDP

• Population: the total number of inhabitants of the United States; also, the total number of observations under consideration in a statistical study

• Postsecondary nondegree award: a certificate or other credential that is awarded by an educational institution upon completion of formal postsecondary schooling. (The postsecondary nondegree certificate is different from certifications issued by professional organizations or certifying bodies.) Postsecondary nondegree award programs may last from just a few weeks to 2 years. Examples of those who need postsecondary nondegree awards are nursing assistants, emergency medical technicians (EMTs) and paramedics, and hairstylists; see Education

 

Q

• Qualifications: personality traits, education, training, work experience, or other qualities workers need to enter an occupation

• Qualities: characteristics and personality traits that are likely needed for workers to be successful in given occupations

 

R

• Related occupations: occupations that have similar job duties; see Similar occupations

• Residency: training under supervision in a professional setting; see On-the-job training

• Rotating work schedules: schedules that have a fixed number of hours and time off, but no set weekly hours, over a period of more than 1 week; see Work schedules

 

S

• Salary: earnings of a worker or a group of workers for services performed during a specific period—for example, an hourly straight-time wage rate or, for workers not paid on an hourly basis, straight-time earnings divided by hours worked

• Seasonal employment: employment that is not expected to last a full year, but that may reoccur; for example, many retail sales associates are hired only for the busy holiday season, and forest firefighters are more likely to be employed during the summer months, when vegetation is dryer 

• Self-employed: those who work for profit or fees in their own business, profession, trade, or farm; only the unincorporated self-employed are included in the self-employed category

• Short-term on-the-job training: 1 month or less of on-the-job experience and informal training; see On-the-job training

• Similar occupations: occupations that tend to share common daily tasks or require similar skills, rather than similar wages or education

• Some college, no degree: a high school diploma or the equivalent, plus the completion of one or more postsecondary courses that did not result in any degree or award; see Education

• Standard Occupational Classification (SOC): the coding system used by all federal statistical agencies to classify workers into occupational categories for the purpose of collecting, calculating, or disseminating data

• Supply of workers: the number of people in the labor force; for most occupations, the supply of workers is smaller than the total number in the labor force because the supply is limited to those with particular education or training requirements

 

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T

• Training: see On-the-job training

 

U

• Union membership: the group of workers who join labor unions, hold union memberships, and enjoy benefits of the organized, coordinated efforts of the union to improve the work environment; also, the status of being a member of a union

 

V

• Vocational school: a secondary school that teaches vocational trades, such as construction trades; vocational schools may or may not award degrees

 

W

• Wages: earnings or pay of a worker or a group of workers for services performed during a specific period—for example, hourly, daily, weekly, or annually; also see Earnings, Pay

• Work experience in a related occupation: the level of work experience in an occupation related to a given occupation; the work experience captures work experience that is commonly considered necessary by employers or is a commonly accepted substitute for other, more formal types of training or education

• Five years or more: the number of years of experience in a related occupation typically needed for entry into a given occupation is more than 5 years

• Less than 5 years: the number of years of experience in a related occupation typically needed for entry into a given occupation is less than 5 years

• None: No work experience in a related occupation is typically needed for entry into a given occupation

• Work schedules: the number of daily hours, weekly hours, and annual weeks that employees in an occupation are scheduled to, and do, work. Short-term fluctuations and one-time events are not considered, unless the change becomes permanent

• Fixed work schedules: schedules under which employees who work those schedules do so on a continual basis, such as 9 a.m. to 5 p.m.

• Flexible work schedules: schedules under which employees set their own hours within guidelines and with a fixed number of total hours

• Nonfixed work schedules: schedules of employees who work different hours on one job; often utilized to accommodate particular traits of individual workers or because the work required varies by individual

• Rotating work schedules:  schedules that have a fixed number of hours and time off, but no set weekly hours, over a period of more than 1 week; see Work schedules

• Full time: between 35 and 40 hours, inclusive, of work per week

• Greater than full time: more than 40 hours of work per week

• Part time: Less than 35 hours of work per week

Also see Occupational outlook A-Z

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