Departments
What is the average annual wage for all occupations?
The May 2025 mean was $69,770. Mean hourly was $33.54. Median hourly was $24.51. Employment was 155,495,730. BLS Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics, released 15 May 2026.
Wages · two different clocks
Mean annual pay was $69,770 in May 2025. Hourly earnings were $37.75 in August 2026.
Those are not the same statistic. Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics are annual and were released 15 May 2026 for May 2025. Average hourly earnings are monthly, from the August 2026 Employment Situation, released 4 September 2026. The mean is pulled up by high wages. The May 2025 median hourly wage for all occupations was $24.51.
Average hourly earnings, all private employees
Seasonally adjusted dollars. July and August are preliminary. Bureau of Labor Statistics, Economy at a Glance, extracted 30 September 2026. Over the year, average hourly earnings increased 3.1 percent. Production and nonsupervisory employees were at $32.53 in August. The average private workweek edged up to 34.4 hours.
| Item | Figure |
|---|---|
| March | $37.35 |
| April | $37.41 |
| May | $37.49 |
| June | $37.59 |
| July, preliminary | $37.65 |
| August, preliminary | $37.75 |
May 2025 occupational wages
Annual mean wage. All-occupations employment was 155,495,730. Mean hourly for all occupations was $33.54. Median hourly was $24.51. Source: BLS Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics, May 2025, released 15 May 2026.
| Item | Figure |
|---|---|
| All occupations | $69,770 |
| Management | $145,260 |
| Computer and mathematical | $120,080 |
| Healthcare practitioners | $108,700 |
| Business and financial | $95,230 |
| Education and library | $67,540 |
| Construction and extraction | $65,360 |
| Nursing assistants | $42,700 |
Construction and extraction occupations employed 6.4 million, 4.1 percent of national employment. Healthcare practitioners and technical occupations employed 9.8 million, including 3.4 million registered nurses. Educational instruction and library occupations employed 9.1 million.
Departments
What the office does with this
A mean wage is not the offer you should make, and it is not proof someone can do the work. Read the occupation, then read the work-fit. The office rate is $50 or $95 a person.
Job seekers
What the person does with this
Use the median when you want the middle of the pay ladder, and the mean when you want the average that high earners pull up. Career Fit does not set your wage. The ZIP list shows openings. The employer posts the pay.
21 questions in this section
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Job seekers
Why is the average wage so much higher than the median hourly wage?
The mean is pulled up by high earners. The median hourly wage, $24.51, is the middle. Use the median when you want a typical worker. Use the mean when you are reading the average BLS printed.
Departments
What did private hourly earnings do in August 2026?
Average hourly earnings rose to $37.75, up 10 cents on the month and 3.1 percent on the year. That is the monthly payroll survey, not the May 2025 occupational table. July and August are preliminary.
Job seekers
Which wage should I read before I take a job?
Read the wage on the posting first. Then use the occupational mean or median for that job as context. Real World Careers does not set pay.
Departments
What was the mean annual wage in management in May 2025?
$145,260. That is the OEWS annual mean for management occupations, not an offer and not a Real World Careers result.
Departments
What was the mean wage in computer and mathematical jobs?
$120,080 a year in May 2025. Mean hourly for that group sits well above the all-occupation mean of $33.54.
Departments
What was the mean wage for healthcare practitioners?
$108,700 a year in May 2025. The group employed 9.8 million people. Registered nurses alone were 3.4 million. A group mean hides the difference between a nurse and a technician.
Departments
What did business and financial operations pay?
The May 2025 annual mean was $95,230. That is one major group. It is not the wage for every analyst title inside it.
Departments
What did education occupations pay in May 2025?
Educational instruction and library occupations had an annual mean of $67,540 and employment of 9.1 million. Teaching assistants and elementary teachers were among the largest occupations in the group.
Departments
What did construction and extraction pay?
The annual mean was $65,360 in May 2025, below the all-occupation mean of $69,770. Employment was 6.4 million, 4.1 percent of national employment. Construction laborers were 1.1 million.
Job seekers
What do nursing assistants earn?
May 2025 OEWS: employment 1,448,910, mean annual wage $42,700, median annual wage $42,260. That is the occupational estimate, not a promise from a facility.
Job seekers
Is $37.75 an hour the wage I should expect?
That is the August 2026 average for all private-sector employees, not your offer. Production and nonsupervisory employees averaged $32.53. Your posting can be far from either number.
Departments
Why does this page refuse to mix May 2025 and August 2026 into one wage?
They are different programs. OEWS prices occupations once a year. Average hourly earnings move every month for the private payroll. Adding them produces a number nobody published.
Departments
When do occupational wages update?
OEWS is annual. The figures on this page are May 2025, released 15 May 2026. They stay until BLS posts the next OEWS release. Hourly earnings update with the monthly jobs report.
Job seekers
Can a work-fit report tell me what I will be paid?
No. The report is how you solve work, across six domains, ceiling 110. Pay is on the employer's posting. The ZIP list shows openings. It does not negotiate.
Departments
Should I set a salary band off the national mean?
Only as context. The May 2025 mean of $69,770 is all occupations in the country. A local posting, a shift differential, and a scarce license move the band. The mean is not the band.
Departments
What was the average workweek in August 2026?
34.4 hours for all private employees, up 0.1 hour. Manufacturing was 40.5 hours, overtime unchanged at 3.1 hours. Production and nonsupervisory workers stayed at 33.8 hours.
Job seekers
How do I compare an hourly posting with an annual mean?
A posted hourly rate times the hours you will actually work is the comparison. Do not multiply the median hourly wage by 2,080 on this page. BLS printed the annual mean separately, and that is the annual figure used here.
Departments
How many registered nurses were employed in the May 2025 wage release?
3.4 million, the largest occupation inside healthcare practitioners. This page does not print a separate nurse wage, because that figure was not the one copied onto the chart. The group mean is $108,700.
Job seekers
The construction mean is below the national mean. Is the trade a bad target?
The May 2025 construction and extraction mean was $65,360, against $69,770 for all occupations. A mean below the all-occupation mean is not a reason to skip a trade you can do. Read the posting.
Departments
What should I not do with the $24.51 median hourly wage?
Do not multiply it by 2,080 and present the product as a BLS annual median. BLS printed $24.51 as the median hourly wage and $69,770 as the mean annual wage. This page keeps them apart.