The 2023 Occupational Requirements Survey Data Set -- A Must Use Resource

The Bureau of Labor Statistics released the 2023 data set for the ORS. BLS has finally filled in the gaps and reported significantly more data than in either the first wave culminating in the 2018 first wave or any data set from 2019 to 2022. I examined the data for the go to occupations for vocational experts in the light and sedentary categories -- Production Workers, All Other (SOC 51-9199). This list contains 52 of 137 sedentary unskilled codes and over 400 of the 1,400 light unskilled DOT codes. The testimony that any of those occupations represent more than a handful of jobs is unsupportable. 

The ORS reports that production workers require:

1.   strength required is sedentary: -
2.   strength required is light: 11.1%
3.   strength required is medium: 84.5%
4.   strength required is heavy: 4.2%

The Occupational Outlook Handbook reports that production workers represent 226,900 jobs in the nation. The Occupational Employment & Wage Statistics reports that production workers represent 252,660 jobs in the nation. Trusting government statistics reported to OMB standards, there are no jobs in the sedentary exertion and fewer than 28,000 jobs in the light exertion categories. The ORS reports that production workers have: 

1.   specific vocational preparation is beyond short demonstration through 1 month: 26.4%   
2.   specific vocational preparation is over 1 month through 3 months: 35.6%
3.   specific vocational preparation is over 6 months through 1 year: -
4.   specific vocational preparation is over 1 year through 2 years: 1.4%
5.   specific vocational preparation is over 2 years through 4 years: 13.5%

On the issue of how much standing and walking is required for production workers:

1.    hours of standing (10th percentile): 6
2.    hours of standing (25th percentile): 6
3.    hours of standing (50th percentile - median): 8
4.    hours of standing (75th percentile): 8
5.    hours of standing (90th percentile): 8

The percent of the day reports suggest that some of the jobs are part-time:

1.    percent of day standing is required (10th percentile): 75%
2.    percent of day standing is required (25th percentile): 100%

The existence of sedentary and light unskilled work that exists in significant numbers is less than 7,000 jobs --  total. That gross estimate assumes that skill levels cross exertional levels with the same relative frequency. If skill level and exertion level as inversely correlated (sedentary and light work are more likely to represent skilled or semi-skilled work), then the estimate goes down. If the person has a limit to standing and walking 6 hours in a workday, the estimate drops by over half. 

Job Browser Pro hyperlinks to the ORS data reporting the 2018 final first wave and the 2023 final second wave data side-by-side. OccuCollect reports the data files for 2017 through 2022 in the Archives and 2023 final second wave data on the main page. Note that Job Browser Pro reports the ORS data but does not incorporate that data into job number estimates. 

Vocational testimony that any unskilled production worker occupation represents a significant number of jobs, go after the issue. The witness is wrong. 

Don't let vocational witnesses rob your clients of benefits or you of hard-earned fees. 

___________________________

Suggested Citation:

Lawrence Rohlfing, The 2023 Occupational Requirements Survey Data Set -- A Must Use Resource, California Social Security Attorney (February 19, 2024)

https://californiasocialsecurityattorney.blogspot.com

The author has been AV-rated since 2000 and listed in Super Lawyers since 2008.