Service Occupations

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2019 Workforce

26.1M

Average Age

38.3

Average Salary

$27,602

Average Male Salary

$33,822

Average Female Salary

$22,692

About

Service Occupations are most often employed by the Restaurants & Food Services industry. The average yearly wage for Service Occupations was $27,602 in 2016. The top 3 most similar occupations to Service Occupations by wage are Production, Transportation, & Material Moving Occupations, Sales & Office Occupations, and Natural resources, construction, & maintenance occupations.

The top 3 locations that employ the most Service Occupations are Spring Valley & Summerlin South PUMA, NV, Maui, Kalawao & Kauai Counties PUMA, HI, and Jamaica, Hollis & St. Albans PUMA, NY. The top 3 locations with a relatively high concentration of Service Occupations are Philadelphia City (Central) PUMA, PA, Concourse, Highbridge & Mount Eden PUMA, NY, and Hunts Point, Longwood & Melrose PUMA, NY.

About the photo: Ristorante Italiano in New York City

Photo by Michele Ursino

Information on the businesses and industries that employ Service Occupations and on wages and locations for those in the field. Restaurants & Food Services is the industry that employs the most Service Occupations, both by share and by number, though the highest paid industry for Service Occupations, by average wage, is U. S. Armed Forces: Branch Not Specified. Service Occupations are paid most in Dundalk, Essex & Edgemere PUMA, MD but are relatively concentrated in Philadelphia City (Central) PUMA, PA.

Wages

Yearly Wage

$27,602

AVERAGE SALARY

± $145

In 2019, Service Occupations earned an average of $27,602, $27,922 less than than the average national salary of $55,524.

Service Occupations are the lowest paid occupation in the US followed by Production, Transportation, & Material Moving Occupations. This chart shows the various occupations closest to Service Occupations as measured by average annual salary in the US.

Wage Distribution

0.451

WAGE GINI

In 2015, Service Occupations had a wage GINI coefficient of 0.451, which is lower than than the national average of 0.478. In other words, wages are distributed more evenly for Service Occupations (shown in red) than for the overall labor force (shown in gray).

Wage by Location

HIGHEST PAYING PUMAS

This map shows the Public Use Microdata Areas (PUMAs) in the United States shaded by average annual wage for Service Occupations.

Spatial Concentration

PUMAs with a Relatively High Concentration of Service Occupations

This map displays which Public Use Microdata Areas (PUMAs) in the United States have a relatively high population of Service Occupations.

Industries

Most Common

The most common industries employing Service Occupations, by number of employees, are Restaurants & Food Services, Justice, public order, & safety activities , Amusement & Recreation, General medical and surgical hospitals, and specialty (except psychiatric and substance abuse) hospitals, Services to buildings & dwellings (except cleaning during construction & immediately after construction), Elementary & secondary schools, Home health care services, Nursing Care Facilities, Landscaping services, Traveler accommodation, and Beauty salons.

Highest Paying

The highest paying industries for Service Occupations, by average wage, are U. S. Armed Forces: Branch Not Specified, Data processing, hosting & related services, and Public finance activities.

Industries by Share

26.1M

2019 Workforce

± 114,048

0.544%

1 YEAR GROWTH

± 0.616%

The number of people employed as Service Occupations has been growing at a rate of 0.544%, from 25,911,104 people in 2018 to 26,052,019 people in 2019.

This graphic shows the share of Service Occupations employed by various industries. Restaurants & Food Services employs the largest share of Service Occupations at 26.5%, followed by Justice, public order, & safety activities with 6.86% and Amusement & Recreation with 4.79%.

Diversity

Demographic information on Service Occupations in the US. The average age of male Service Occupations in the workforce is 37.9 and of female Service Occupations is 38.7, and the most common race/ethnicity for Service Occupations is White (Non-Hispanic).

Composition by Sex

11.5M

MALE WORKFORCE

± 80,017

14.6M

FEMALE WORKFORCE

± 89,072

55.9% of Service Occupations are Female, making them the more common sex in the occupation. This chart shows the sex breakdown of Service Occupations.

Race & Ethnicity

Most Common Race or Ethnicity of Service Occupations

White (Non-Hispanic)
Black (Non-Hispanic)
White (Hispanic)

50.2% of Service Occupations are White (Non-Hispanic), making that the most common race or ethnicity in the occupation. Representing 16.5% of Service Occupations, Black (Non-Hispanic) is the second most common race or ethnicity in this occupation. This chart shows the racial and ethnic breakdown of Service Occupations.

Age by Sex

37.9

AVERAGE MALE AGE

± 0.11

38.7

AVERAGE FEMALE AGE

± 0.0993

The median age of Service Occupations is 38.3, and Male employees are generally 0.783 years younger than than their Female counterparts.

Education

Data on higher education choices for Service Occupations from The Department of Education and Census Bureau. The most common major for Service Occupations is Business but a relatively high number of Service Occupations hold a major in Personal & Culinary Services.

Majors

ACS PUMS data only shows the major for bachelor's degrees. However, we can filter the data based on highest degree obtained.

MOST COMMON MAJORS

MOST SPECIALIZED MAJORS

Skills

Data on the critical and distinctive skills necessary for Service Occupations from the Bureau of Labor Statistics. Service Occupations need many skills, but most especially Speaking. The revealed comparative advantage (RCA) shows that Service Occupations need more than the average amount of Service Orientation, Social Perceptiveness, and Coordination.

Radar Distribution

Bar Chart

Keep Exploring

Sales & Office Occupations

Major Occupation Group

Production, Transportation, & Material Moving Occupations

Major Occupation Group

Natural resources, construction, & maintenance occupations

Major Occupation Group

Military specific occupations

Major Occupation Group