How does the OES program classify occupations?
The OES Estimates are produced using the 2000 Standard Occupational Classification (SOC) system. The SOC system, which is being adopted by all Federal statistical agencies for reporting occupational data, consists of 821 detailed occupations, grouped into 449 broad occupations, 96 minor groups, and 23 major groups. The OES program provides occupational employment and wage estimates at the major group and detailed occupation level. Due to the OES survey’s transition to the SOC system, estimates from 1999 and subsequent years are not directly comparable with previous years’ OES estimates, which were based on a classification system having 7 major occupational groups and 770 detailed occupations. The detailed SOC occupations are allocated among these twenty-three major groups: • 11-0000 Management Occupations • 13-0000 Business and Financial Operations Occupations • 15-0000 Computer and Mathematical Science Occupations • 17-0000 Architecture and Engineering Occupations • 19-0000 Life, Phy
