Glossary
A | B | C | D | E | F | G | H | I | J | K | L | M | N | O | P | Q | R | S | T | U | V | W | X | Y | Z
A
Annual: recurring, done, or performed every year; yearly
Applicant: a person who formally applies for a job
Apprenticeship: a formal relationship between the worker and sponsor that consists of a combination of on-the-job training and related occupation-specific instruction. Apprenticeship programs usually provide at least 144 hours of occupation-specific technical instruction and 2,000 hours of on-the-job training per year over a 3- to 5-year period. Apprenticeships are associated mostly with the trades. Examples of occupations that utilize apprenticeships are electricians and structural iron and steel workers; see On-the-job training
Associate’s degree: degree awarded usually for at least 2 years of full-time academic study beyond high school; see Education
Average: the quantity calculated by adding a set of numbers and dividing the resulting sum by the quantity of numbers summed; see Mean
B
Bachelor’s degree: degree awarded usually for at least 4 years of full-time academic study beyond high school; see Education
Base year: year used as a reference point for comparison with later years. For example, 2010 is the base year for the 2010–2020 employment projections. Employment in the base year is actual 2010 data, whereas employment in the target, or projection, year is projected
Business cycle: The periods of growth and decline in an economy. There are four stages in the cycle: expansion, when the economy grows; peak, the high point of an expansion; contraction, when the economy slows down; and trough, the low point of a contraction
Baby-boom generation: individuals born between 1946 and 1964
C
Certification: award for demonstrating competency in a skill or set of skills, typically through the passage of an examination, work experience, training, or some combination thereof. Certification is always voluntary. Some certification programs may require a certain level of educational achievement for eligibility.
Consolidation: the merger of two or more commercial interests or corporations
Current Population Survey (CPS): a national survey that samples 60,000 households on a monthly basis and collects information on labor force characteristics of the U.S. civilian noninstitutional population; the CPS is conducted by the Census Bureau for the Bureau of Labor Statistics
D
Demand for workers: total job openings resulting from employment growth and the need to replace workers who leave jobs
Doctoral or professional degree: degree awarded usually for at least 3 years of full-time academic work beyond a bachelor’s degree; for example, some science and other occupations need a doctoral degree, and all lawyers, physicians, and dentists need a professional degree for employment; see Education
Domestic sourcing: moving jobs to lower cost regions of the United States instead of to other countries
Duties: the major tasks or activities that employees in an occupation usually perform
E
Earnings: Pay or wages of a worker or group of workers for services performed during a specific period—for example, hourly, daily, weekly, or annually. Also see Pay, Wages
Education: levels of education typically needed for entry into an occupation are classified as follows:
Doctoral or professional degree: degree awarded usually for at least 3 years of full-time academic work beyond a bachelor’s degree; e.g., lawyers, physicians and surgeons, and dentists
Master’s degree: degree awarded usually for 1 or 2 years of full-time academic study beyond a bachelor’s degree
Bachelor’s degree: degree awarded usually for at least 4 years of full-time academic study beyond high school
Associate’s degree: degree awarded usually for at least 2 years of full-time academic study beyond high school
Postsecondary nondegree award: usually a certificate or other award that is not a degree. Certifications issued by professional organizations or certifying bodies are not included in this category. Programs may last only a few weeks to 2 years. e.g., nursing aides, EMTs and paramedics, and hairstylists
Some college, no degree: a high school diploma or the equivalent, plus the completion of one or more postsecondary courses that did not result in any degree or award
High school diploma or equivalent: the completion of high school or the equivalent resulting in the award of a high school diploma or the equivalent, such as the General Education Development (GED) credential
Less than high school: the completion of any level of primary or secondary education that did not result in the awarding of a high school diploma or the equivalent
Employment growth/shrinkage: increase or decrease in the number of jobs
Entry level: the starting level for workers who are new to an occupation; different occupations may require different levels of education, training, or experience upon entry
Employed: the situation of a person who has an agreement with an employer to work full time, part time, or on a contractual basis for that employer
Employment: the number of jobs in an occupation, including full-time, part-time, and self-employed. For example, employment of accountants and auditors was 1,216,900 in 2010
F
Fieldwork: an investigation or search for material, data, etc., made in the field as opposed to the classroom, the laboratory, or official headquarters. For example, archeologists working at a dig site in the desert; historians or curators finding or collecting artifacts for museums; and environmental technicians collecting water samples from a pond, a stream, or an ocean
Fixed work schedules: schedules of employees who work the same hours on an ongoing basis—for example, 9 a.m.–5p.m.; see Work schedules
Flexible work schedules: schedules of employees who set their own hours within specified guidelines and with a fixed number of total hours; see Work schedules
Full time: 35 hours or more per week, according to the Current Population Survey; see Work schedules
G
GDP (gross domestic product): the market value of all final goods and services produced within a country in a given period; the most commonly used measure of the size of the overall economy. The Bureau of Economic Analysis (BEA) produces estimates of GDP.
GED (General Educational Development): a credential signifying the completion of a program that is equivalent to a high school curriculum; see Education
Greater than full time: more than 40 hours per week; see Work schedules
Growth rate: the percent change in the number of jobs added or lost in a U.S. occupation or industry over a given projection period; see “Information Found in the Occupational Outlook Handbook”; growth rate adjectives used in the OOH are defined by the following percent changes for the 2010–20 employment projections:
- much faster than the average: 29 percent or more
- faster than the average: 20 percent to 28 percent
- as fast as the average: 10 percent to 19 percent
- more slowly than the average: 3 percent to 9 percent
- little or no change: –2 percent to 2 percent
- decline moderately: –3 percent to –9 percent
- decline rapidly: –10 percent or less
H
High school diploma or equivalent: award or credential that is equivalent to a high school diploma, such as a high school diploma itself or the General Educational Development (GED) credential; see Education
Household: all persons who occupy a housing unit
I
Important qualities: characteristics and personality traits that are likely needed for workers to be successful in given occupations
Industry: a group of establishments that produce similar products or provide similar services; see NAICS
Internship: training under supervision in a professional setting. This category does not include internships that are suggested for advancement; see On-the-job training
Injury and illness rate: ratio expressing the number of workers sustaining a wound, strain, or infection due to an incident or exposure at the workplace per 100 workers; the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) considers an injury or illness to be work related if an event or exposure in the work environment either caused or contributed to the resulting condition or significantly aggravated a preexisting condition; in general, a Handbook profile will cite an injury and illness rate only if it is particularly high compared with the rate for all other occupations
J
Job openings: job openings occur when occupations grow, creating new jobs, and when workers leave an occupation permanently, resulting in the need to replace them
Job: a specific instance of employment; a position of employment to be filled at an establishment; see Employment
Job outlook: a statement that conveys the projected rate of growth or decline in employment in an occupation over the next 10 years; also compares the projected growth rate with that projected for all other occupations; Also see growth rate
Job prospects: a qualitative measure of the competition for jobs that takes into consideration factors such as the growth or decline in numbers of jobs, the expected number of qualified workers, and/or the expected number of applicants; a comparison of the number of jobs with the number of potential workers and jobseekers
K
No entries
L
Labor force: the sum of all persons 16 years and older in the civilian noninstitutional population who are either employed, or unemployed but available for work and actively looking for work
Less than high school: the completion of any level of primary or secondary education that did not result in the awarding of a high school diploma or the equivalent; see Education
Less than 1 year (of work experience in a related occupation): the level of experience in another occupation typically needed for entry into a given occupation; see Required training for entry; also Work experience in a related occupation
Long-term on-the-job training: more than 12 months of on-the-job training or programs not including apprenticeships; see On-the-job training
Licenses: permission granted by government agencies or other accrediting bodies that allows for the selling of certain goods or services
M
Master’s degree: degree awarded usually for 1 or 2 years of full-time academic study beyond a bachelor’s degree; see Education
Mean: the mathematical average of a set of numbers, calculated by adding the numbers and dividing the total by the number of numbers summed; see Average
Median: the middle number in an ordered list of numbers
Moderate-term on-the-job training: 1 to 12 months of on-the-job training or programs, not including apprenticeships; see On-the-job training
More than 5 years (of work experience in a related occupation): the number of years of experience in a related occupation typically needed for entry into a given occupation; see Required training for entry; also Work experience in a related occupation
N
North American Industry Classification System (NAICS): Industry classification system used by federal statistical agencies in classifying business establishments for the purpose of collecting, analyzing, and publishing statistical data related to the U.S. economy
New job: an addition of a position to an establishment’s payroll, usually as a result of economic expansion
Nonfixed work schedules: schedules of employees who work different hours on one job; often used to accommodate particular traits of individual workers or because the work required by the employers varies for each individual; see Work schedules
None (on-the-job training): the situation when no additional occupation-specific training or preparation is typically required to attain competency in an occupation; see On-the-job training
None (required training for entry): the situation when no work experience in a related occupation is typically required to enter a given occupation; see Required training for entry; also Work experience in a related occupation
Number of jobs: number of actual instances of employment according to the BLS National Employment Matrix; see the projection methods page for more information about the Matrix
Numeric change in employment: a projected change in the number of jobs in an occupation or industry
O
On-the-job training: training or preparation that is typically needed, once employed in an occupation, to attain competency in the occupation. Training is occupation specific rather than job specific; skills learned can be transferred to another job in the same occupation
Internship/Residency: training under supervision in a professional setting. This category does not include internships that are suggested for advancement.
Apprenticeship: a formal relationship between a worker and his or her sponsor that consists of a combination of on-the-job training and related occupation-specific instruction. Apprenticeship programs usually provide at least 144 hours of occupation-specific technical instruction and 2,000 hours of on-the-job training per year over a 3-to-5-year period. Apprenticeships are associated mostly with the trades. Examples of occupations that utilize apprenticeships include electricians and structural iron and steel workers.
Long-term on-the-job training: more than 12 months of on-the-job training or programs, not including apprenticeships.
Moderate-term on-the-job training: 1 to 12 months of combined on-the-job experience and informal training
Short-term on-the-job training: 1 month or less of combined on-the-job experience and informal training
None: no additional occupation-specific training or preparation
Occupation: a craft, trade, profession, or other means of earning a living. Also, a set of activities or tasks that employees are paid to perform and that together go by a certain name. Employees who are in the same occupation perform essentially the same tasks, whether or not they work in the same industry
P
Pay: Earnings or wages of a worker or a group of workers for services performed during a specific period—for example, hourly, daily, weekly, or annually. Also see Earnings, Wages
Part time: less than 35 hours of work per week, according to the Current Population Survey; see Work schedules
Percent: one part in a hundred. For example, 62 percent (also written 62%) means 62 parts out of 100
Percentile wage estimate: the value of a wage below which a certain percentage of workers fall
Percent change in employment: growth rates expressed as percentages
Personal consumption: total goods and services purchased by individuals in the U.S. economy; the amount of goods and services used or purchased by individuals or households in the U.S. economy; a key statistic in measuring or calculating overall GDP
Population: The total number of inhabitants of the United States
Postsecondary nondegree award: a certificate or other credential that is awarded by an educational institution upon completion of formal postsecondary schooling. (The postsecondary nondegree certificate is different from certifications issued by professional organizations or certifying bodies.) Postsecondary nondegree award programs may last from just a few weeks to 2 years. Examples of those who need postsecondary nondegree awards are nursing aides, emergency medical technicians, and hairstylists ; see Education
Q
Qualifications: personality traits, education, training, work experience, or other qualities workers need to enter an occupation
Important qualities: characteristics and personality traits that are likely needed for workers to be successful in given occupations
R
Related occupations: occupations that have similar job duties; see Similar occupations
Replacement rate: the rate at which workers permanently leave the occupations in which they are employed; large occupations that have high replacement rates need many workers to fill jobs that are vacated.
Replacement needs: the number of projected openings expected to result from workers who retire or permanently leave an occupation; replacement needs are calculated from monthly CPS data
Residency: training under supervision in a professional setting. This category does not include internships that are suggested for advancement; see On-the-job training
Rotating work schedules: schedules that have a fixed number of hours and time off over a period of more than 1 week, but not a set weekly schedule, according to data from the 2010 Current Population Survey; see Work schedules
S
Salary: earnings of a worker or a group of workers for services performed during a specific period—for example, an hourly straight-time wage rate or, for workers not paid on an hourly basis, straight-time earnings divided by hours worked
Seasonal employment: employment that is not expected to last a full year, but that may reoccur; for example, many retail sales associates are hired only for the busy holiday season, and forest firefighters are more likely to be employed during the summer months, when vegetation is dryer
Short-term on-the-job training: 1 month or less of on-the-job experience and informal training; see On-the-job training
Similar occupations: occupations that tend to share common daily tasks or require similar skill sets, rather than similar wages or education
Self-employed: those who work for profit or fees in their own business, profession, trade, or farm; only the unincorporated self-employed are included in the self-employed category
SOC code: the Standard Occupational Classification (SOC) system, which is used by all federal statistical agencies to classify workers into occupational categories for the purpose of collecting, calculating, or disseminating data
Some college, no degree: a high school diploma or equivalent, plus the completion of one or more postsecondary courses that did not result in a degree or award; see Education
Supply of workers: the number of people in the labor force; for most occupations, the supply of workers is smaller than the total number in the labor force because the supply is limited to those with particular education or training requirements
T
Training: see On-the-job training; or Required training for entry; or Work experience in a related occupation
U
Undergraduate degree: Bachelor’s degree; see Education
Union membership: the group of workers who join labor unions, hold union memberships, and enjoy benefits of the organized, coordinated efforts of the union to improve the work environment
V
Vocational school: a secondary school that teaches vocational trades, such as construction trades; vocational schools may or may not award degrees; see Education
W
Wage: earnings or pay of a worker or a group of workers for services performed during a specific period—for example, hourly, daily, weekly, or annually. Also see Earnings, Pay
Work schedules: the number of daily hours, weekly hours, and annual weeks that employees in an occupation are scheduled to, and do, work. Short-term fluctuations and one-time events are not considered unless the change becomes permanent; for more details, visit Work Schedules in the National Compensation Survey
Fixed work schedules: schedules under which employees who work those schedules do so on an ongoing basis; e.g., 9 a.m.–5 p.m.
Flexible work schedules: schedules under which employees set their own hours within guidelines and with a fixed number of total hours
Rotating work schedules: schedules that have a fixed number of hours and time off over a period of more than 1 week, but not a set weekly schedule
Nonfixed work schedules: schedules of employees who work different hours on one job; often utilized to accommodate particular traits of individual workers or because the work required varies by individual
Greater than full time: more than 40 hours per week
Full time: between 35 and 40 hours of work per week
Part time: Less than 35 hours of work per week
Work experience in a related occupation: the level of work experience in an occupation related to a given occupation; may be a typical method of entry into the given occupation
X, Y, Z
No entries
Suggested citation:
Bureau of Labor Statistics, U.S. Department of Labor, Occupational Outlook Handbook, 2012-13 Edition, Glossary,
on the Internet at http://www.bls.gov/ooh/about/glossary.htm (visited October 17, 2012).
Publish Date: Thursday, March 29, 2012
