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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.
Notices
- Link to notice on the BLS page of impact on COVID-19 on ORS. Read More »
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
30.6% in 2024
Light work strength level
33.3% in 2024
Medium work strength level
29.0% in 2024
Heavy work strength level
6.4% in 2024
Very heavy work strength level
0.7% in 2024
Environmental conditions of civilian workers
Exposed to outdoors
35.7% in 2024
Quiet noise intensity level
15.1% in 2024
Moderate noise intensity level
81.4% in 2024
Loud noise intensity level
3.4% in 2024
Education, training, and experience of civilian workers
No minimum education requirement
31.7% in 2024
High school diploma education requirement
39.6% in 2024
Associate's degree education requirement
6.0% in 2024
Bachelor's degree education requirement
18.3% in 2024
Master's degree education requirement
2.6% in 2024
Professional degree education requirement
1.5% in 2024
Cognitive and mental requirements of civilian workers
Basic people skills
39.8% in 2024
Varying work pace
44.7% in 2024
Telework available
14.9% in 2024
Historical Data
News Release
News Releases
//ORS QCT Test ZUNI3 08282024// Flexibility was available to civilian workers
08/28/2024
//ORS QCT Test ZUNI3 08282024// The flexibility to pause work and take short.
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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
Use of personal protective equipment to mitigate noise exposure in 2020
In 2020, 71.4 percent of production workers and 78.4 percent of transportation and material moving workers were exposed to moderate noise at work. Another 25.2 percent of production workers and 19.8 percent of transportation and material moving workers were exposed to loud noise. read more »
Beyond the Numbers
Minds at work: what’s required according to the Occupational Requirements Survey
How much problem-solving time goes into an architect’s job? What types of mental capabilities are required of employees who work in a telework environment? What types of interpersonal skills are required for customer service jobs? Mental and cognitive job requirements provide job seekers with important information on the soft skills needed for specific jobs and a sense of the demands of different occupations read more »