Service Occupations

Major Occupation Group

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2021 Workforce

24.9M

Average Age

38.4

Average Salary

$29,440

Average Male Salary

$36,328

Average Female Salary

$23,904

About

Service Occupations are most often employed by the Restaurants & Food Services industry. The average yearly wage for Service Occupations was $29,440 in 2021.

The locations that employ the most Service Occupations are Spring Valley & Summerlin South PUMA, NV, Jamaica, Hollis & St. Albans PUMA, NY, and Maui, Kalawao & Kauai Counties PUMA, HI. The locations with a relatively high concentration of Service Occupations are Morris Heights, Fordham South & Mount Hope PUMA, NY, Hunts Point, Longwood & Melrose PUMA, NY, and Concourse, Highbridge & Mount Eden PUMA, NY.

About the photo: Ristorante Italiano in New York City

Photo by Michele Ursino

Employment and salary information for the Service Occupations workforce. Service Occupations workforce in 2021 was 24,895,234 people, of which 55.4% were women and 44.6% were men. Service Occupations are paid most in Oyster Bay Town (South) PUMA, NY but are relatively concentrated in Morris Heights, Fordham South & Mount Hope PUMA, NY.

Employment Over Time

Metric

Grouping

11,092,422

Male Workforce

± 78.7k

13,802,812

Female Workforce

± 86.9k

The Service Occupations workforce in 2021 was 24,895,234 people (55.4% women and 44.6% men). This implies an average annual growth of 3.29% between 2014 (24,102,991) and 2021 (24,895,234).

Employment by Location

Level

Metric

This map shows the states in the United States shaded by average wage for Service Occupations.

During 2021, the states that concentrated the best average annual wage were District of Columbia ($37,086), Hawaii ($36,004), and Maryland ($35,656).

Yearly Wage Ranking

$29,440

AVERAGE WAGE

#6 in the ranking (2021)

$59,596

NATIONAL AVERAGE WAGE

For all occupations across the US

In 2021, Service Occupations earned an average of $29,440, $30,156 less than the average national salary of $59,596

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

Gender

0.454

WAGE GINI

In 2021, Service Occupations had a wage GINI coefficient of 0.454, which is lower 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).

The graphic shows the distribution of average salaries by buckets for Service Occupations compared to the entire workforce in the country.

Industry

Information on the industries that employ Service Occupations and on wages 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 Software publishing ($99,668).

Occupations by Industries

Metric

Value

24.9M

2021 Workforce

± 111,861

−1.11%

1 YEAR GROWTH

± 0.64%

This graphic shows the share of Service Occupations employed by various industries. Restaurants & Food Services employs the largest share of Service Occupations at 68.6%, followed by Justice, public order, & safety activities with 19% and General medical and surgical hospitals, and specialty (except psychiatric and substance abuse) hospitals with 12.4%.

Diversity

Demographic information on Service Occupations in the US. The workforce of Service Occupations in 2021 was 24,895,234 people, with 55.4% woman, and 44.6% men. The average age of male Service Occupations in the workforce is 38.2 and of female Service Occupations is 38.6, and the most common race/ethnicity for Service Occupations is White.

Gender and Age

Metric

The workforce of Service Occupations in 2021 was 24,895,234 people, with 55.4% woman, and 44.6% men.

The age ranges that concentrated the largest workforce were 20 to 24 years (3,720,802 people), 25 to 29 years (3,026,529 people), and 30 to 34 years (2,561,866 people). Among them they concentrated 37.4% of the total workforce.

Ethnicity

Gender

In 2021, 23.9% of Service Occupations workers were Hispanic and 76.1% non-Hispanic.

The treemap shows the distribution of Hispanic workers according to their origin, highlighting Mexican (81.1%), Puerto Rican (11.6)%, and Salvadoran (7.3)%

You can review this information by gender using the selectors above.

Races

In 2021, 61.1% of the Service Occupations workforce were White, of which 54.7% were women and 45.3% men. Other races that concentrated a significant number of workers were Black (16.7%) and Other (8.14%).

Education & Skills

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 the most specialized major according to RCA in 2021 were Personal & Culinary Services.

Among the necessary skills for Service Occupations, Active Listening stands, but the revealed comparative advantage (RCA) shows that Service Occupations need more than the average amount of Service Orientation.

Majors

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

Type of Majors

Degree

The most common majors achieved by Service Occupations in 2021 (counting all academic degrees) were Business (576,927 people), Protective Services (333,031 people), and Health (251,004 people).

You can review this information for different academic grades by modifying the option selected in the selector above.

Education Levels

Metric

The main educational levels achieved by the Service Occupations workers were High School or Equivalent (8,270,088 people), Some college (6,823,045 people), and Secondary Education (3,091,190 people).

The graphic shows the Service Occupations workforce by gender and educational level.

Skills

Chart

Value

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 Active Listening, Speaking, Critical Thinking.