Tuesday, December 4, 2018

Wrapping Our Heads Around Maids and Housekeeping Cleaners -- How Many Are Light and Unskilled?

A frequent example of light unskilled work is cleaner, housekeeping.  The DOT describes the occupation:

323.687-014 CLEANER, HOUSEKEEPING (any industry) alternate titles: maid Cleans rooms and halls in commercial establishments, such as hotels, restaurants, clubs, beauty parlors, and dormitories, performing any combination of following duties: Sorts, counts, folds, marks, or carries linens. Makes beds. Replenishes supplies, such as drinking glasses and writing supplies. Checks wraps and renders personal assistance to patrons. Moves furniture, hangs drapes, and rolls carpets. Performs other duties as described under CLEANER (any industry) I Master Title. May be designated according to type of establishment cleaned as Beauty Parlor Cleaner (personal ser.); Motel Cleaner (hotel & rest.); or according to area cleaned as Sleeping Room Cleaner (hotel & rest.). GOE: 05.12.18 STRENGTH: L GED: R1 M1 L1 SVP: 2 DLU: 86
 The Department of Labor lists occupations in Maids and Housekeeping Cleaners, including one post-1991 addition to the DOT that never made it into print (381.684-560):
DOT Code
DOT Title
SVP
STRENGTH
301.474-010
HOUSE WORKER, GENERAL
3
M
301.687-010
CARETAKER
2
M
301.687-014
DAY WORKER
2
M
302.685-010
LAUNDRY WORKER, DOMESTIC
2
L
302.687-010
IRONER
2
L
309.674-010
BUTLER, SECOND
3
L
323.687-010
CLEANER, HOSPITAL
2
M
323.687-014
CLEANER, HOUSEKEEPING
2
L
323.687-018
HOUSECLEANER
2
H
381.684-560
Housekeeper, Commercial, Residential, or Industrial
(blank)
(blank)
The Occupational Outlook Handbook describes the group as large, requiring no formal education, and short-term training. 

37-2012 Maids and housekeeping cleaners

Typical Education Needed
No formal educational credential
Work Experience in a Related Occupation
None
Typical On-The-Job Training Needed to Attain Competency
Short-term on-the-job training
2016 Employment
1,443,200

The Occupational Requirements Survey confirms the OOH -- the vast majority of the jobs are in fact unskilled. 

Series ID: ORUV1000062300000064
Not seasonally adjusted
Series Title: % of maids and housekeeping cleaners; svp is short demonstration only
Requirement: Education, Training, And Experience
Occupation: maids and housekeeping cleaners
Estimate: svp is short demonstration only
YearPeriodEstimate
2017Annual5.9
Series ID: ORUV1000062300000065
Not seasonally adjusted
Series Title: % of maids and housekeeping cleaners; svp is beyond short demonstration, up to & including 1 month
Requirement: Education, Training, And Experience
Occupation: maids and housekeeping cleaners
Estimate: svp is beyond short demonstration, up to & including 1 month
YearPeriodEstimate
2017Annual80.6

The ORS describes the incidence of work at the various ranges of exertion.  Despite the number of DOT codes representing half or nearly half of the occupations in the group, our growing chorus of rejection of equal distribution tells us that light work probably doesn't make up half the jobs. 

Series ID: ORUP1000062300000662
Not seasonally adjusted
Series Title: % of maids and housekeeping cleaners; strength is light work
Requirement: Physical Demands
Occupation: maids and housekeeping cleaners
Estimate: strength is light work
YearPeriodEstimate
2017Annual23.1

Series ID: ORUP1000062300000663
Not seasonally adjusted
Series Title: % of maids and housekeeping cleaners; strength is medium work
Requirement: Physical Demands
Occupation: maids and housekeeping cleaners
Estimate: strength is medium work
YearPeriodEstimate
2017Annual73.6
Series ID: ORUP1000062300000664
Not seasonally adjusted
Series Title: % of maids and housekeeping cleaners; strength is heavy work
Requirement: Physical Demands
Occupation: maids and housekeeping cleaners
Estimate: strength is heavy work
YearPeriodEstimate
2017Annual3

The rest is math. 
1,443,200 x 86.5% (unskilled) x 23.1% (light) = 288,373
That is the starting point for analysis of the number of housekeeping cleaners are available to a particular claimant.  If the claimant is limited to short demonstration, the math is:
2,384,600 x 5.9% (SVP 1) x 23.1% (light) = 19,669
A slight limitation in the ability to engage in prolonged standing/walking in an eight-hour day will start to erase the number of jobs. 

Series ID: ORUP1000062300001004
Not seasonally adjusted
Series Title: maids and housekeeping cleaners; % of day standing/walking is required (10th percentile)
Requirement: Physical Demands
Occupation: maids and housekeeping cleaners
Estimate: % of day standing/walking is required (10th percentile)
YearPeriodEstimate
2017Annual86.7

That estimate puts full-time housekeeping cleaners at 6.9 hours of standing/walking in a work day.  Contact with others, work pace, and other factors will reduce the number of jobs. 

The point is pedestrian.  The number of jobs estimated by the Department of Labor in the OOH or in the Occupational Employment Statistics are subject to dissection with the skill and exertional levels designated in the ORS.  The methodology is one of erosion -- whittling away at the occupational base one characteristic at a time. 

No comments:

Post a Comment