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Occupational Requirements Survey
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The Occupational Requirements Survey (ORS) is a product of the Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS). The ORS provides job-related information regarding physical demands; environmental conditions; education, training, and experience; as well as cognitive and mental requirements for jobs in the U.S. economy.
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Latest Numbers
Physical demands of civilian workers
Sedentary work strength level
28.5% in 2021
Light work strength level
33.3% in 2021
Medium work strength level
28.2% in 2021
Heavy work strength level
8.9% in 2021
Very heavy work strength level
1.1% in 2021
Environmental conditions of civilian workers
Exposed to outdoors
33.0% in 2021
Quiet noise intensity level
13.6% in 2021
Moderate noise intensity level
79.1% in 2021
Loud noise intensity level
7.0% in 2021
Education, training, and experience of civilian workers
No minimum education requirement
30.0% in 2021
High school diploma education requirement
39.8% in 2021
Associate's degree education requirement
4.4% in 2021
Bachelor's degree education requirement
18.9% in 2021
Master's degree education requirement
2.6% in 2021
Professional degree education requirement
1.5% in 2021
Cognitive and mental requirements of civilian workers
Interaction with the general public
78.1% in 2021
Varying work pace
56.0% in 2021
Telework available
9.6% in 2021
Historical Data
News Release
News Releases
Flexibility to pause work was available to 55.6 percent of civilian workers in 2021
11/18/2021
The flexibility to pause work and take short, unscheduled breaks throughout the workday was available to 55.6 percent of civilian workers in 2021. Completing critical job functions was available while teleworking to 9.6 percent of workers.
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Next Release
The Occupational Requirements Survey (ORS) for
2022
is scheduled to be released in
late 2022
at 10:00 A.M. Eastern Time.
Publications
The Economics Daily
Flexibility to pause work with unscheduled breaks available to 55.6 percent of workers in 2021
The flexibility to pause work and take short, unscheduled breaks throughout the workday was available to 55.6 percent of civilian workers in 2021. The choice of sitting or standing was available to 43.2 percent of civilian workers. Discretion over when tasks were worked on, or self-paced work, was available to 16.5 percent of workers, and 9.6 percent were able to complete critical job functions while teleworking. read more »