An official website of the United States government
United States Department of Labor
United States Department of Labor
The .gov means it's official.
Federal government websites often end in .gov or .mil. Before sharing sensitive information,
make sure you're on a federal government site.
The site is secure.
The
https:// ensures that you are connecting to the official website and that any
information you provide is encrypted and transmitted securely.
Occupational Requirements Survey
SHARE ON:
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.
Graphics
Click the graphic to enlarge chart: what is ors.
Click the graphic to enlarge chart: why it matters.
Latest Numbers
Physical demands of civilian workers
Sedentary work strength level
29.1% in 2022
Light work strength level
32.8% in 2022
Medium work strength level
28.4% in 2022
Heavy work strength level
8.7% in 2022
Very heavy work strength level
1.0% in 2022
Environmental conditions of civilian workers
Exposed to outdoors
32.9% in 2022
Quiet noise intensity level
13.6% in 2022
Moderate noise intensity level
79.7% in 2022
Loud noise intensity level
6.5% in 2022
Education, training, and experience of civilian workers
No minimum education requirement
30.2% in 2022
High school diploma education requirement
40.0% in 2022
Associate's degree education requirement
4.3% in 2022
Bachelor's degree education requirement
19.0% in 2022
Master's degree education requirement
2.5% in 2022
Professional degree education requirement
1.4% in 2022
Cognitive and mental requirements of civilian workers
Interaction with the general public
78.7% in 2022
Varying work pace
54.5% in 2022
Telework available
10.6% in 2022
Historical Data
News Release
News Releases
Constant verbal interactions are required for 27.4% of civilian workers in 2022
11/17/2022
Verbal interactions were required constantly, meaning every few minutes, for 27.4 percent of civilian workers in 2022. On average, sitting was required for 43.6 percent of the workday.
HTML
|
PDF
|
RSS
Next Release
The Occupational Requirements Survey (ORS) for
2023
is scheduled to be released in
late 2023
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 »