Characteristics and Spending of Retirees in 2020

One-fifth of households in the United States are headed by retirees, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics' 2020 Consumer Expenditure Survey. The 28 million households headed by retirees are more numerous than most other occupational groups, behind only households headed by managers and professionals (35 million). Households headed by retirees outnumber those headed by technical, sales, and clerical workers (19 million), service workers (16 million), the self-employed (9 million), operators, fabricators, and laborers (6 million), and construction workers and mechanics (4 million).

Characteristics of households headed by retirees, 2020

Average age of householder: 73.9 years

Average household size: 1.7 people

Average number of vehicles: 1.7

Percent who own their home: 80%

Percent with a mortgage: 23%

Percent with at least some college: 61%

Households headed by retirees spent an average of $46,111 in 2020. They spend more than their income ($42,397) as they draw down savings. Retiree households spend less, on average, than households headed by workers regardless of occupation... 

Average annual spending of households by occupation of householder, 2020

$82,320: self-employed

$80,855: managers and professionals

$59,168: technical, sales and clerical workers

$57,401: construction workers and mechanics

$53,604: service workers

$52,065: operators, fabricators, and laborers

$46,111: retirees

Source: Demo Memo analysis of the Bureau of Labor Statistics' 2020 Consumer Expenditure Survey

Biggest Job Declines, 2019 to 2029

Which occupation is going to shed the most jobs over the next decade? Just as the Bureau of Labor Statistics projects the occupations likely to grow the most, it also identifies those likely to experience the largest job losses. Here are some of those occupations...

Occupations ranking among the 30 with the largest projected job decline, 2019 to 2029

1. Cashiers

2. Secretaries

9. Cooks, fast food

10. Tellers

14. Customer service representatives

16. Postal service mail carriers

21. Correctional officers

23. Chief executives

25. Retail salespersons

28. Travel agents

30. Computer programmers

Cashier is the occupation likely to lose the most jobs in the decade ahead as online sales and self-checkout eliminate the need for staff. The number of cashiers is projected to decline by 265,000 during the next decade. That still leaves a lot of cashiers in the workforce—more than 3 million in 2029—because cashier is one of the largest occupations. Secretaries, tellers, retail salespersons, travel agents, and computer programmers are also on the list of biggest losers because of technological change. No surprises there. But what's up with chief executives? The number of chief executives is projected to decline by 10 percent, falling from 288,000 in 2019 to 259,000 in 2029. 

Source: Bureau of Labor Statistics, Employment Projections, Occupations with the Largest Job Declines

The Demographics of Covid-19 Job Losses

Younger adults are being hit especially hard by Covid-19 shutdowns, reports Pew Research Center. Workers under age 45 account for 56 percent of the nation's total employed, but they are a larger 64 percent of workers at higher risk of job loss due to the coronavirus.

Younger adults are at higher risk because they account for a disproportionate share of workers in occupations such as retail sales and food service—the types of businesses that are either shut down entirely or sharply curtailed to stop the spread of coronavirus. Workers under age 45 account for 62 percent of retail clerks, 76 percent of cashiers, 78 percent of bartenders, and 83 percent of waiters and waitresses, according to a Demo Memo analysis of the age distribution of workers by occupation.

One-third of Americans say someone in their household lost a job or took a pay cut because of Covid-19, Pew reports. Among adults aged 18 to 29, nearly half report taking a financial hit...

Someone in household laid off, lost job, or had to take a pay cut because of Covid-19
Aged 18 to 29: 46%
Aged 30 to 49: 36%
Aged 50 to 64: 32%
Aged 65-plus: 19%

Source: Pew Research Center, Worries about Coronavirus Surge, as Most Americans Expect a Recession—or Worse

Women Who Earn $100,000 or More

Among the 48 million women who work full-time, year-round, 1.4 million had median earnings of $100,000 or more, according to the Census Bureau's 2018 American Community Survey. These high earners account for just 3 percent of all women who work full-time. Among men who work full-time, 10 percent have median earnings of $100,000 or more.

Women's median earnings surpass $100,000 in 19 occupations. Men's median earnings top $100,000 in 44 occupations.

Among the 19 occupations in which women earn a median of $100,000 or more, 12 are in the health care field. Number one is emergency medicine physician. Here are all 19...

Occupations in which women who work full-time earn a median of $100,000 or more
$250,000 or more: Emergency medicine physician
$237,500: Surgeon
$226,554: Radiologist
$180,500: Other physician
$160,778: Nurse anesthetist
$149,310: Dentist
$131,819: Architectural/engineering manager
$120,857: Pharmacist
$120,703: Actuary
$120,420: Podiatrist
$112,862: Chief executive
$110,619: Lawyer
$103,570: Physician assistant
$101,863: Nurse practitioner
$101,454: Mathematician
$101,141: Nurse midwife
$100,852: Optometrist
$100,131: Computer and information systems manager
$100,089: Computer hardware engineer

Source: Census Bureau, Full-Time, Year-Round Workers and Median Earnings

24% of Workers Do Not Have Paid Sick Leave

As the coronavirus threatens to keep many Americans at home, now is the time to review paid sick leave in the United States. While 76 percent of the nation's workers have paid sick leave, 24 percent do not. They can't stay home without a pay cut. Here is the percentage of workers in 2019 without paid sick leave by occupation and earnings...

Workers without paid sick leave by major occupational group
39% of workers in service occupations
36% of workers in sales occupations
32% of workers in natural resources, construction, or maintenance occupations
30% of production workers
10% of professional workers
  6% of workers in management, business, and financial occupations

Workers without paid sick leave by average wage
69% of workers with wages in the bottom 10 percent
49% of workers with wages in the lowest 25 percent
21% of workers with wages in the second 25 percent
12% of workers with wages in the third 25 percent
  8% of workers with wages in the highest 25 percent
  6% of workers with wages in the top 10 percent

Source: Bureau of Labor Statistics, Employee Benefits in the United States Summary

Occupations Dominated by Workers Aged 55-Plus

The older workforce is large and getting larger. Workers aged 55 or older accounted for 24 percent of the nation's employed in 2019. This is up from 20 percent in 2010, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics. In many jobs—such as flight attendant, economist, and bus driver—older workers account for more than one-third of the employed. In a handful of occupations, people aged 55 or older are more than half of the total...

Occupations in which more than 50 percent of workers are aged 55 or older
76.9%: funeral service managers
71.4%: shoe and leather workers and repairers
63.2%: legislators
62.5%: etchers and engravers
60.0%: embalmers and funeral attendants
56.9%: farmers and ranchers
55.8%: crossing guards
53.5%: tailors and dressmakers
52.9%: judges and magistrates

It is perhaps fitting that funeral service manager and embalmer/funeral attendant are in the short list of occupations dominated by the oldest workers. Who better to do these tasks than those soon to become the product of their labor? At the other extreme, the 55-plus age group accounts for fewer than 10 percent of bartenders, waiters and waitresses, emergency medical technicians, physician assistants, and computer research scientists.

Source: Demo Memo analysis of Labor Force Statistics from the Current Population Survey, 2019

Which Occupations Are Dominated by Millennials?

Millennials account for a larger share of the labor force than any other generation. Among the nation's employed in 2018, a substantial 39 percent were Millennials. Boomers and Gen Xers each accounted for 25 percent of the employed, and the iGeneration was 11 percent.

The Millennial share of workers exceeds 39 percent in many occupations and tops 50 percent in more than two dozen. Among the 328 detailed occupations for which the Bureau of Labor Statistics provides age distributions and median ages, Millennials account for more than 50 percent of workers in 29 occupations. Here are the top five...

Millennial share of workers (top five occupations)
60.3% of emergency medical technicians and paramedics
59.2% of physician assistants
58.8% of bartenders
58.1% of roofers
57.2% of web developers

Millennials also account for more than half of statisticians, firefighters, software developers, financial analysts, probation officers, medical scientists, market researchers, producers and directors, telemarketers, speech language pathologists, information security analysts, physical therapists, police and sheriff's patrol officers, and private detectives.

Note: In 2018, the iGeneration was aged 16 to 23, Millennials were aged 24 to 41, Gen Xers were aged 42 to 53, and Boomers were aged 54 to 72.

Source: Demo Memo analysis of Bureau of Labor Statistics, Labor Force Statistics from the Current Population Survey, Household Data, Annual Averages

Highest Paying Occupation by Education, 2017

Want your children or grandchildren to make a lot of money? The Bureau of Labor Statistics has suggestions for them, depending on how long they want to stay in school. It has identified the occupations with the highest annual wage for each educational attainment category. Not only that, the BLS has projected the number of job openings for those occupations during the 2016 to 2026 time period.

Doctoral or professional degree: Anesthesiologist
Mean annual wage: $265,990
Job openings 2016–26: 1,400

Masters degree: Nurse anesthetist
Median annual wage: $165,120
Job openings 2016–26: 2,800

Bachelor's degree: Chief executive
Median annual wage: $183,270
Job openings 2016–26: 20,000

Associate's degree: Air traffic controller
Median annual wage: $124,540
Job openings 2016–26: 2,400

Postsecondary nondegree award: Electricial repairer, powerhouse, substation, and relay
Median annual wage: $78,140
Job openings 2016–26: 2,100

High school diploma: Nuclear power reactor operator
Median annual wage: $93,370
Job openings 2016–26: 500

No formal educational credential: Mine shuttle car operator
Median annual wage: $56,890
Job openings 2016–26: 100

Note that many of these occupations do not have a lot of openings projected for the decade ahead. Not to worry. The BLS has alternatives. Here are the occupations near (but not at) the top of the pay scale in each educational attainment category that will have the most job openings in the decade ahead, from highest educational attainment to lowest: family practitioner (5,600 openings, $208,560); physician assistant (10,600 openings, $104,860); financial manager (56,900 openings, $125,080); dental hygienist (17,500 openings, $74,070); aircraft mechanic and service technician (10,900 openings, $61,020); detective (7,500 openings, $79,970); service unit operator, oil, gas, and mining (6,400 openings, $48,290).

Source: Bureau of Labor Statistics, High-Wage Occupations by Typical Entry-Level Education, 2017

Occupations that Grew Faster than Projected, 2006–16

In 2006, the Bureau of Labor Statistics projected that occupational employment would grow 10.4 percent by 2016. Boy, were they wrong. The actual growth during those years was just 3.6 percent, thanks to the Great Recession. When the BLS produces labor force projections, it assumes full employment. Employment was anything but full during and in the aftermath of the Great Recession.

But the BLS got a lot of things right. It correctly projected which occupations would grow or decline 75 percent of the time, according to its Occupational Projections Evaluations. (Yes, the BLS periodically evaluates its own projections for accuracy.) It projected which occupations would grow faster than the economy as a whole 54 percent of the time.

The Bureau projected especially rapid growth in the 2006 to 2016 time period for a number of occupations that ended up growing even faster than forecast—despite the ravages of the Great Recession. Here are some of those occupations, along with their actual and projected growth from 2006 to 2016...

Computer software engineers, applications
Actual growth: 64%
Projected growth: 45%

Mental health counselors
Actual growth: 58%
Projected growth: 30%

Personal financial advisors
Actual growth: 54%
Projected growth: 41%

Veterinary technologists/technicians
Actual growth: 43%
Projected growth: 41%

Pharmacy technicians
Actual growth: 41%
Projected growth: 32%

Source: Bureau of Labor Statistics, The 2006–16 Projections: How Did Fast-Growing Occupations Fare?

Suicide Rate by Occupation

The suicide rate among the working-age population (aged 16 to 64) is rising, reports the CDC. To try to "inform suicide prevention efforts," the CDC is tracking suicide rates by occupation because "the workplace is an important but underutilized location for suicide prevention."

Among men, those working in construction and extraction have the highest suicide rate, at 53.2 suicides per 100,000 population in 2015. Among women, those working in arts, design, entertainment, sports, and media have the highest rate—15.6 suicides per 100,000 population. Here are men's suicide rates by occupation, ranked from highest to lowest...

Men's suicide rate per 100,000 population by occupation, 2015
Construction and extraction: 53.2
Arts, design, entertainment, sports, and media: 39.7
Installation, maintenance, and repair: 39.1
Transportation and material moving: 30.9
Production: 30.5
Protective service: 28.2
Building and grounds cleaning and maintenance: 26.8
Health care practitioners and technical: 25.6
Faming, fishing, and forestry: 22.8
Sales and related: 21.5
Food preparation and serving: 20.9
Health care support: 19.5
Architecture and engineering: 19.4
Legal: 18.7
Management: 17.8
Personal care and service: 16.5
Computer and mathematical: 16.1
Office and administrative support: 15.8
Life, physical and social science: 15.0
Community and social service: 14.6
Business and financial operations: 13.0
Education, training, and library: 10.9

Between 2012 and 2015, men's suicide rate increased the most in arts, design, entertainment, sports, and media occupations—up 47 percent. The second largest increase (43 percent) was among those working in food preparation and serving. Among women, the biggest increase in the suicide rate occurred among those in food preparation and serving (54 percent), followed by art, design, entertainment, sports and media (34 percent).

Source: CDC, Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report, Suicide Rates by Major Occupational Group—17 States, 2012 and 2015

Median Age of Full-Time Workers: 45

Forty-five—that's the median age of the nation's full-time workers aged 25 or older, according to the Census Bureau, with almost no difference in the median age of men (44.8) and women (45.0) in the workforce. But in some occupations there are big differences in the median age of male and female workers. For example...

Dentists
Men: 51.6
Women: 41.6

Optometrists
Men: 50.8
Women: 35.7

Behind the differences in the median age of men and women in some occupations is the influx of (younger) women into these jobs over the past few decades. Women earned 49 percent of degrees in dentistry in 2015-16, according to the National Center for Education Statistics, up from 37 percent two decades earlier. They earned 65 percent of degrees in optometry, up from 53 percent in the mid-1990s. The gap in the median age of men and women in these and other professions is a sign of women's expanding presence in the workforce.

Source: Census Bureau, Detailed Occupation and Education Table Package

Workers with Median Annual Earnings of $100,000+

The Bureau of Labor Statistics divides the U.S. workforce into more than 800 individual occupations, and it tracks the earnings of workers in each one. In 2017, median annual earnings by occupation ranged from a low of $19,820 for "gaming dealers" to a high of $198,740 for "family and general practitioners." Median annual earnings were a modest $37,690 for all workers in 2017.

Of the 800-plus occupations, 51 have median earnings that exceed $100,000 a year. This high-earner club is composed of the usual suspects—CEOs, medical professionals, computer scientists, lawyers, and so on. But also on the list are air traffic controllers, political scientists, and astronomers.

The highest of high earners are the eight occupations with median annual earnings of $150,000 or more.  Notice how often dentists appear in this list...

Median annual earnings of $150,000 or more
$198,740: family and general practitioners
$192,930: internists
$190,840: specialty dentists (except prosthodontists)
$185,150: prosthodontists
$183,270: CEOs
$172,650: pediatricians
$165,120: nurse anesthetists
$151,400: general dentists

Source: Bureau of Labor Statistics, Employment and Wages by Occupation, May 2017

Growing Trouble for Workers with Little Education

"All occupations are employing workers with more formal education," reports the Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis, and this is bad news for less-educated Americans. The Fed study examines the striking contrast between the education of workers by occupation today with the education of workers in 1950...

• Professional and technical workers: Only half had a college degree in 1950. Today, 70 percent are college graduates. One in ten professional/technical workers in 1950 did not have a high school diploma. Today the figure is close to zero. The "empiricist professional" of 1950 has all but disappeared, say the researchers. 
• Managers: In 1950, more than three out of four had no schooling beyond high school, and many did not even have a high school diploma. Today, three out of four have at least some college education, and 46 percent have a college degree. 
• Sales, clerical, craftsmen, and service workers: The great majority—close to 80 percent or above—had no more than a high school diploma in 1950. Today, more than half of sales and clerical workers have at least some college as do about 40 percent of craftsmen and service workers.
• Operative workers (machine operators), farmers, and laborers: Virtually no operative workers had a college degree in 1950. Today, 30 percent are college graduates. The figures are similar for farmers and laborers. 

"Needless to say, these changes have led to additional challenges for some groups of workers," concludes the report. "Those with lower levels of education may be unable to find jobs in occupations that their parents held with much less formal schooling."

Source: Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis, Shifting Times—The Evolution of the American Workplace

10 Fastest Growing Occupations, 2016 to 2026

Every two years the Bureau of Labor Statistics updates its employment, occupation, and industry projections for the decade ahead. The latest update has just been released. Here are the 10 occupations projected to grow the fastest between 2016 and 2026 and their 2016 median wage...

Fastest-growing occupations, 2016 to 2026 (and 2016 median wage)
105% increase in solar photovoltaic installers ($39,240)
96% increase in wind turbine service technicians ($52,260)
47% increase in home health aides ($22,600)
37% increase in personal care aides ($21,920)
37% increase in physician assistants ($101,480)
36% increase in nurse practitioners ($100,910)
33% increase in statisticians ($80,500)
31% increase in physical therapist assistants ($56,610)
30% increase in software developers, applications ($100,080)
29% increase in mathematicians ($105,810)

A shout-out is due the 11th fastest-growing occupation—bicycle repairers, their number expected to grow 29 percent in the next 10 years as bicycling surges in popularity. Median wage: $27,630.

Source: Bureau of Labor Statistics, Employment Projections, Fastest Growing Occupations 

Jobs with Heavy Lifting

Many jobs in the U.S. require physical strength. The Bureau of Labor Statistics defines "heavy work" as jobs that require workers to constantly lift/carry at least 11 pounds, frequently lift/carry at least 26 pounds, or occasionally lift/carry 51 or more pounds. Overall, 14 percent of jobs require heavy work.

The occupations with the largest percentage of jobs requiring heavy work are the usual suspects—construction and extraction (45.5%); installation, maintenance, and repair (35.4%); and transportation and material moving (32.3%). A substantial 22 percent of workers in health support occupations are required to do heavy lifting.

At the other extreme, 13 percent of jobs are sedentary, requiring no heavy lifting nor much walking or standing. The occupations with the largest percentage of sedentary jobs are legal (40.3%), office and administrative support (31.1%), and management (27.5%). Among architecture and engineering occupations as well as community and social service, a substantial 25 percent of jobs are sedentary.

Source: Bureau of Labor Statistics, Physical Strength Required for Jobs in Different Occupations in 2016

New Survey of Occupational Requirements

There's a new survey in town: the Occupational Requirements Survey, conducted by the Bureau of Labor Statistics, provides information about the physical demands, environmental conditions, education, training, and mental requirements of occupations in the United States. Here are some of the survey's first findings for all workers (and workers in specific occupations)...

• Workers at the average job spend 4.4 hours standing or walking (construction workers spend an average of 7 hours standing or walking).
• Workers at the average job spend 3.0 hours sitting.
• 48 percent of jobs require prior work experience (78.5 percent of architecture and engineering jobs require work experience, with an average length of 4.5 years).
• 47 percent of jobs require outdoor work (all landscaping and groundskeeping jobs require outdoor work and 88 percent require working outdoors constantly—defined as at least 67 percent of the work day).
• 31 percent of jobs have no minimum education requirement (the 57 percent majority of transportation and material moving jobs have no minimum requirement).
• 17.5 percent of jobs require at least a bachelor's degree (60 percent of management jobs require at least a bachelor's degree).  

Source: Bureau of Labor Statistics, Occupational Requirement in the United States—2016

Occupations Dominated by Men

Men accounted for 53 percent of employed workers in 2015, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics. But the male share of workers by occupation ranges from a low of just 1.4 percent (see this post) to a high of 100 percent (after rounding). Here are the 10 occupations in which men account for the largest share of employed workers...

Occupations with the largest share of male workers
100.0% of heavy vehicle service technicians
99.9% of bus and truck mechanics
99.8% of cement masons
99.4% of automotive body repair workers
99.3% of pipe layers and plumbers
99.3% of brickmasons
98.8% of electrical power-line installers and repairers
98.7% of construction helpers
98.5% of automotive service technicians
98.4% of drywall installers

Source: Demo Memo analysis of Bureau of Labor Statistics, Labor Force Statistics from the Current Population Survey

Occupations Dominated by Women

Women accounted for 47 percent of employed workers in 2015, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics. But the female share of workers by occupation ranges from a low of less than 0.5 percent to a high of nearly 99 percent. Here are the 10 occupations in which women account for the largest share of employed workers...

Occupations with the largest share of female workers
98.6% of speech-language pathologists
96.8% of preschool and kindergarten teachers
96.4% of dental hygienists
94.9% of childcare workers
94.6% of dietitians
94.5% of secretaries
94.2% of hairdressers
94.1% of dental assistants
92.1% of word processors and typists
91.4% of teacher assistants

Source: Demo Memo analysis of Bureau of Labor Statistics, Labor Force Statistics from the Current Population Survey

4.6 Million Information Technology Workers

The number of Americans employed in information technology has increased 10-fold in the past four-plus decades, according to a Census Bureau report. Only 450,000 workers were employed in IT in 1970. By 2014 the number was 4.6 million, accounting for 2.9 percent of the work force.

There are big differences between IT workers and the labor force as a whole. IT workers are younger: the 55 percent majority are aged 25 to 44 versus 43 percent of all workers. IT workers are less likely to be female: only 25 percent are women versus 47 percent of all workers. Perhaps the biggest difference is in earnings: IT workers earn more than average, and their earnings are growing. Men who work full-time in IT saw their earnings grow 9 percent between 1970 and 2014, after adjusting for inflation. In contrast, earnings fell 12 percent for male workers overall. Women's earnings increased regardless of occupation during those years. In 2014, women in IT earned 80 percent more than the average working woman and 43 percent more than the average working man.

Median earnings of men who work full-time (and % increase since 1970; in 2014 dollars)
IT occupations: $80,895 (+9%)
All occupations: $49,150 (–12%)

Median earnings of women who work full-time (and % increase since 1970; in 2014 dollars)
IT occupations: $70,385 (+23%)
All occupations: $39,055 (+23%)

Source: Census Bureau, Occupations in Information Technology

Healthy Heart Scores by Occupation

How do you determine the cardiovascular health of Americans by occupation? You measure seven different cardiovascular health metrics (not smoking, physically active, healthy diet, and normal blood pressure, blood glucose, weight, and cholesterol) of a representative sample of the population and then analyze those metrics by occupation using 2013 Behavioral Risk Factor Surveillance System data.

It's not an easy task, but the results are enlightening. Of all workers, one in ten (9.6 percent) have the poorest cardiovascular health—defined as meeting only two or fewer of the seven metrics. By occupation, community and social service workers are most likely to come up short, at 14.6 percent. Transportation and material moving workers had the second poorest performance, with 14.3 percent at greatest risk of cardiovascular disease. At the other extreme, only 5.0 percent of workers in farming, forestry, and fishing, 5.9 percent of workers in arts, design, entertainment, sports, and media, and 7.7 percent of workers in production fell into the poorest cardiovascular health category.

Source: CDC, Cardiovascular Health Status by Occupational Group—21 States, 2013