ORS Reports for SVP 1 or 2, 35-40 Hours per Week by Minimum Education

BLS reports "SVP level 1 or 2 and 35-40 weekly hours by Minimum Education Requirement" in an excel spreadsheet. This same report is replicated by SOC code on OccuCollect.com. Today, we look at electrical and electronic equipment assemblers (SOC 51-2022). Line 358 of the ORS report:

SOC	Occupation	Illiterate		No Min		HS or less
512022	Electrical and electronic equipment assemblers	<10	[15]	<10	[15]	26.3	10.1

The second number in each column is the standard error. If a user runs this report in OccuCollect, that person will get a null result. Why? Thanks for asking. The OOH and OEWS report combines SOC 51-2022 and 51-2023 to form electrical, electronic, and electromechanical assemblers, except coil winders, tapers, and finishers (SOC 51-2028). The OccuCollect report, sans the ORS header, reports:

51-2022 - Electrical and electronic equipment assemblers

SVP level 1 or 2 and 35-40 weekly hours by Minimum Education Requirement

The OOH Dataset does not report a Job numbers for this SOC.

Minimum Education Required	Percentage	# of Jobs
Total Jobs (OOH 2023)	100%	Not Reported
No literacy	<10%	Not Reported
No Minimum	<10%	Not Reported
High School Diploma	26.3%	Not Reported

There are job numbers in the OEWS and OOH. Running the OEWS data on the report states:

51-2028 -

SVP level 1 or 2 and 35-40 weekly hours by Minimum Education Requirement

Minimum Education Required	Percentage	# of Jobs
Total Jobs (OEWS 2023)	100%	267,440
No literacy	Not Reported	Not Reported
No Minimum	Not Reported	Not Reported
High School Diploma	Not Reported	Not Reported

Users can put those two together. There are less than 10% of jobs (< 26,744) jobs that do not require a high school education, some of those may not require literacy.  The problem gets worse. The 2018 and 2023 ORS date report on education states:

Occupational Requirements – education	2018	2023	2024
no minimum education requirement	26.7	23.1
no minimum education required, and literacy is not required	--	<10
no minimum education required, and literacy is required	--	<35
minimum education level is a high school diploma	66.8	66.7
minimum education level is a high school vocational degree	-	-	--
minimum education level is an associate's degree	-	-
minimum education level is an associate's vocational degree	-	-	--
minimum education level is a bachelor's degree	-	<0.5
minimum education level is a master's degree	-	<0.5
minimum education level is a doctorate degree	-	<0.5
minimum education level is a professional degree	-	<0.5

The ORS reports two-thirds of jobs require a high school education or equivalent (see the Collections Manual for the definition of high school education) and 23.1 to 26.7% of jobs have no minimum education requirement. Of those jobs that do not have a minimum education requirement, less than 35% require literacy and les than 10% do not require literacy. Less than 35% plus less than 10% equal 23.1%. That's stats. 

This aggregation of 90+% of jobs includes all skill levels. The ORS reports for skill level SVP1 and 2:

Occupational Requirements – specific vocational preparation	2018	2023	2024
specific vocational preparation is short demonstration only	-	<0.5
specific vocational preparation is beyond short demonstration through 1 month	29.2	29.2

The difference between 29.2% of jobs as unskilled and the report of 26.3% of jobs as requiring a high school diploma or less is answered by two syllables, part-time. There are approximately 70,300 jobs in the national economy for a person limited to unskilled work. Less than 10% of those jobs exist for a person limited to simple work, less than 7,000 jobs at all exertional levels. 

The regulations define a high school education as having the "abilities in reasoning, arithmetic, and language skills acquired through formal schooling." 20 CFR 404.1564(b)(4). A limitation to simple work is in fact a limitation on the ability to access a high school education under subsection (b), "the numerical grade level that you completed in school may not represent your actual educational abilities."

Of those less than 7,000 jobs at all exertion levels, the ORS tells us that less than 3,000 are sedentary and less than 1,500 are light jobs:

Occupational Requirements – strength, exertion	2018	2023	2024
strength required is sedentary	-	34
strength required is light work	28.3	20.8

In today's economy, the number of sedentary and light jobs for a person with a limited education or a limitation to simple work is less than 4,500. Less than is the critical phrase. Because SSA defines full-time work as a 40-hour workweek or an equivalent schedule, the reliable number is even lower. 

Proper presentation of the number of jobs as rebuttal evidence requires chasing the rabbit all the way down the hole, ignoring the Cheshire Cat, evading the Queen of Hearts, and escaping the a-statistical methodology used by witnesses with a request that the agency adhere to its promise -- administrative notice. 20 CFR f404.1566(d).

Be not afraid. 

___________________________

Suggested Citation:

Lawrence Rohlfing, ORS Reports for SVP 1 or 2, 35-40 Hours per Week by Minimum Education, California Social Security Attorney (March 1, 2025)  https://californiasocialsecurityattorney.blogspot.com

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

High School Education in Another Language is Irrelevant

Recent hearing, a claimant over the age of 50 and limited to light work lacking the ability to communicate in English -- ALJ says that claimant has a high school education in Mexico.  So what, right?  Let's look at the regulations and explanations found in POMS/HALLEX.

20 C.F.R. §§ 404.1564(b)(5); 416.964(b)(5) provides:

Inability to communicate in English. Since the ability to speak, read and understand English is generally learned or increased at school, we may consider this an educational factor. Because English is the dominant language of the country, it may be difficult for someone who doesn't speak and understand English to do a job, regardless of the amount of education the person may have in another language. Therefore, we consider a person's ability to communicate in English when we evaluate what work, if any, he or she can do. It generally doesn't matter what other language a person may be fluent in.

Hmm, regardless of the amount of education that the person may have and it doesn't matter what language the person is fluent in.

20 C.F.R. part 404, subpart P, Appendix 2 § 201.00(h)(1)

Accordingly, a finding of “disabled” is warranted for individuals age 45-49 who:

(i) Are restricted to sedentary work,

(ii) Are unskilled or have no transferable skills,

(iii) Have no past relevant work or can no longer perform past relevant work, and

(iv) Are unable to communicate in English, or are able to speak and understand English but are unable to read or write in English.

  There it is in subparagraph (iv) -- the inability to communicate in English or able to speak and understand English but unable to read and write along with the rest of the profile results in a finding of disability.  Appendix 2, Rule 201.17 applies even with a high school or more education in another language if the person is illiterate in English. 

Appendix 2 § 202.00(d)

Where the same factors in paragraph (c) of this section regarding education and work experience are present, but where age, though not advanced, is a factor which significantly limits vocational adaptability (i.e., closely approaching advanced age, 50-54) and an individual's vocational scope is further significantly limited by illiteracy or inability to communicate in English, a finding of disabled is warranted.

 Same analysis.  Appendix 2, Rule 202.09 applies with illiteracy or inability to communicate in English.

And we have to remember the definition of high school education. 20 C.F.R. §§ 404.1564(b)(4); 416.964(b)(4) includes the person obtaining language skills.  The regulations describe the pertinent language skills as English.  

In case anyone is confused by the regulation, POMS 25015.010 describes the issue:

When to apply illiterate or unable to communicate in English

This category applies when the claimant is unable to:

• read a simple message (such as short instructions or inventory lists) in English,
• write a simple message in English,
• speak or understand a simple message in English, or
• any combination of the above.

 A high school education in another language -- a college degree in another language -- is irrelevant to the presence of disability under Rules 201.17, 202.09, and 203.01, 203.02, 203.10.