National average certified H-2B wage, average OES wage, and employer hourly wage savings in FY 2014 top 15 H-2B occupations
| H-2B rank | SOC code | Occupation | Number of H-2B workers certified | Weighted average hourly certified H-2B wage | OES average hourly wage | Employer average hourly wage savings |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 37-3011 | Landscaping and Groundskeeping Workers | 34,159 | $10.26 | $12.85 | $2.59 |
| 2 | 45-4011 | Forest and Conservation Workers | 6,753 | $10.45 | $14.25 | $3.80 |
| 3 | 39-3091 | Amusement and Recreation Attendants | 5,447 | $8.71 | $9.90 | $1.19 |
| 4 | 37-2012 | Maids and Housekeeping Cleaners | 5,014 | $10.03 | $10.82 | $0.79 |
| 5 | 51-3022 | Meat, Poultry, and Fish Cutters and Trimmers | 2,921 | $8.22 | $11.63 | $3.41 |
| 6 | 47-2061 | Construction Laborers | 2,407 | $12.72 | $17.19 | $4.47 |
| 7 | 27-2022 | Coaches and Scouts | 1,693 | $20.03 | $18.82 | -$1.21 |
| 8 | 35-3031 | Waiters and Waitresses | 1,649 | $10.68 | $10.40 | -$0.28 |
| 9 | 39-2021 | Nonfarm Animal Caretakers | 1,409 | $11.55 | $11.04 | -$0.51 |
| 10 | 45-3011 | Fishers and Related Fishing Workers | 1,227 | $14.20 | $18.42 | $4.22 |
| 11 | 51-9198 | Helpers–Production Workers | 1,221 | $11.00 | $12.31 | $1.31 |
| 12 | 35-2014 | Cooks, Restaurant | 1,120 | $12.26 | $11.40 | -$0.86 |
| 13 | 53-7064 | Packers and Packagers, Hand | 1,026 | $9.16 | $11.08 | $1.92 |
| 14 | 35-2021 | Food Preparation Workers | 992 | $10.36 | $10.26 | -$0.10 |
| 15 | 35-9011 | Dining Room and Cafeteria Attendants and Bartender Helpers | 940 | $9.64 | $9.86 | $0.22 |
| Total labor certifications in top 15 | 67,978 |
Note: All values in 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