Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS): Occupational Outlook Handbook

The Occupational Outlook Handbook from the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) provides information on what workers do; the work environment; education, training, and other qualifications; pay; the job outlook; information on state and area data; similar occupations; and sources of additional information, for 324 occupational profiles, covering about 4 out of 5 jobs in the economy.

The OOH is broken up into clusters of similar occupations. In order to find an occupation, browse the occupation groups of interest on the left-hand side of the homepage, or use the A–Z Index if you know the specific occupation. You may search for occupations by using the selector drop-down menus on the OOH homepage. Select by pay range, entry-level education, on-the-job training, projected number of new jobs, or projected growth rate. If you know the specific occupation you are interested in, you may enter a job title into the “Search Handbook” box on the top right-hand side of the homepage. In addition, you may browse by clicking any of the three links titled “highest paying,” “fastest growing (projected),” and “most new jobs (projected).”

Although hundreds of occupations are covered in detail in the OOH, BLS publishes information on additional occupations for which the required education, training, median wages, and employment projections are prepared but detailed occupational information is not developed.

View Resource