Change in average hourly wages of workers in all U.S. occupations and in top 15 H-2B occupations, 2004–2014
| H-2B rank FY2014* |
SOC code | Occupation | Number of H-2B workers certified, FY14 | 2004 | 2014 | 2004–2014 real change in 2014 dollars | 2004–2014 percentage change |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| All | All | $22.31 | $22.71 | $0.40 | 1.8% | ||
| 1 | 37-3011 | Landscaping and groundskeeping workers | 34,159 | $13.31 | $12.85 | -$0.46 | -3.4% |
| 2 | 45-4011 | Forest and conservation workers | 6,753 | $14.21 | $14.25 | $0.04 | 0.3% |
| 3 | 39-3091 | Amusement and recreation attendants | 5,447 | $10.03 | $9.90 | -$0.13 | -1.3% |
| 4 | 37-2012 | Maids and housekeeping cleaners | 5,014 | $10.80 | $10.82 | $0.02 | 0.2% |
| 5 | 51-3022 | Meat, poultry, and fish cutters and trimmers | 2,921 | $12.03 | $11.63 | -$0.40 | -3.3% |
| 6 | 47-2061 | Construction laborers | 2,407 | $17.37 | $17.19 | -$0.18 | -1.0% |
| 7 | 27-2022 | Coaches and scouts** | 1,693 | $19.75 | $18.82 | -$0.93 | -4.7% |
| 8 | 35-3031 | Waiters and waitresses | 1,649 | $9.60 | $10.40 | $0.80 | 8.3% |
| 9 | 39-2021 | Nonfarm animal caretakers | 1,409 | $11.58 | $11.04 | -$0.54 | -4.7% |
| 10 | 45-3011 | Fishers and related fishing workers | 1,227 | $17.60 | $18.42 | $0.82 | 4.7% |
| 11 | 51-9198 | Helpers—production workers | 1,221 | $12.97 | $12.31 | -$0.66 | -5.1% |
| 12 | 35-2014 | Cooks, restaurant | 1,120 | $12.19 | $11.40 | -$0.79 | -6.5% |
| 13 | 53-7064 | Packers and packagers, hand | 1,026 | $11.24 | $11.08 | -$0.16 | -1.4% |
| 14 | 35-2021 | Food preparation workers | 992 | $10.61 | $10.26 | -$0.35 | -3.3% |
| 15 | 35-9011 | Dining room and cafeteria attendants and bartender helpers | 940 | $9.32 | $9.86 | $0.54 | 5.8% |
* Number of labor certifications, from Table 1
** Hourly wage rate was unavailable for this occupation, so an hourly wage rate was estimated by dividing the average annual salary by 2080 hours (52 weeks times 40 hours).
Note: All values are adjusted to 2014 dollars.
SOC stands for Standard Occupational Classification system used by federal agencies to classify workers into occupational categories. Data set excludes records from original labeled "certification expired" and "partial certification expired" because expired records were not likely to become approved USCIS H-2B petitions or visas issued by the State Department.
Source: EPI analysis of the Bureau of Labor Statistics’ Occupational Employment Statistics and (for top 15 H-2B occupations) of H-2B disclosure data from the Office of Foreign Labor Certification's Performance Data