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.

SkillTRAN's Comprehensive List of Sedentary Unskilled Simple Occupations -- And the Number of Jobs

SkillTRAN publishes a list of 127 sedentary unskilled occupations that qualify as simple, repetitive. or routine work (reasoning levels 1 and 2). We have discussed this issue in the past. SkillTRAN estimates these job numbers as of May 3, 2021. That is not the publication date for the article, is the release date of the OES (now OEWS) data on May 3, 2021, for data as of May 2020. 

SkillTRAN estimates that there are 58,000 full-time jobs that are sedentary, unskilled, and SRT using the SkillTRAN methodology for estimating job numbers. Sounds significant, but do all those jobs count according to SkillTRAN?

The most numerous occupation accounting for almost 34,000 jobs is escort-vehicle driver (DOT 919.663-022). SkillTRAN does not describe the DOT as accurate or reliable for escort-vehicle driver as sedentary. 

1. Escort-vehicle driver requires eye-hand coordination level 3 (the average range, inconsistent with unskilled work). 
2. Escort-vehicle driver requires constant exertion of negligible force (inconsistent with frequent exertion of negligible force for sedentary work but consistent with light work). 
3. Escort-vehicle driver could require the rapid application of greater than 20 pounds of force on the brake pedal (inconsistent with sedentary and light work but consistent with medium work). 

If Job Browser Pro or any other SkillTRAN product describes the existence of work, this article addressing escort-vehicle driver in an inconsistent statement. If the vocational witness identifies escort-vehicle driver without using a SkillTRAN product, then careful examination needs to focus on the eye-hand coordination, the constant exertion of negligible force, and the occasional (from seldom to one-third of the day) application of greater than 20 pounds of force. Some vocational witnesses will voluntarily withdraw escort-vehicle driver, and they should. 

The second and third most numerous occupations on the list are addresser (DOT 209.587-010) and tube operator (DOT 239.687-014). These represent less than 2,400 and 2,300 jobs respectively. In a 2015 presentation at an ALJ Training, SkillTRAN laid out the problem with addresser -- it is hard to find. OIDAP calls that obsolete. On the OIDAP list of obsolete occupations, we find tube operator. The second and third most numerous occupations that fit the unskilled sedentary SRT hypothetical are obsolete. The ALJ training also labeled escort-vehicle driver as "not really sedentary." 

**SkillTRAN lists document preparer, election clerk, call-out operator, and surveillance-system monitor on its list of examples of sedentary unskilled occupations. These four occupations require reasoning level 3. SkillTRAN criticizes all six targets of vocational identification as the result of "rehabbers/occupational health." **

The first three occupations should not count. The count stands at fewer than 20,000 jobs. 

The next most numerous occupation is nut sorter (DOT 521.687-086). The 2021 estimate of job numbers comes in at a paltry 1,900 jobs. You may remember that the vocational expert in Biestek v. Berryhill, 139 S.Ct. 1148 (2019) testified under oath that her undisclosed personal labor market survey found 120,000 sorter jobs in the nation. The vocational witness in Biestek was at best unreasonably wrong. No one believes that nut sorter represents 120,000 jobs. This juxtaposition illustrates the depth of the vocational witness problem in Social Security disability cases. 

Ten DOT codes report no jobs. Ten DOT codes report 10 or fewer jobs. Thirty-four DOT codes report between 12 and 20 jobs. Twelve DOT codes report between 21 and 30 jobs.  Twenty-five DOT codes report between 31 and 100 jobs. Twenty-eight DOT codes report between 101 and 1,000 jobs. Six DOT codes, including nut sorter, report more than 1,000 but fewer than 2,000 jobs. 

Every claimant limited to sedentary SRT work at step 5 of the sequential evaluation process should win. There are not a significant number of jobs in the national economy that reliably exist. Adding in the most insignificant additional limitation (occasional contact with others, limiting sitting to six hours) solidifies the conclusion. Don't let vocational witnesses spread the Biestek lie. 

But you had me at sedentary SRT. 

___________________________

Suggested Citation:

Lawrence Rohlfing, SkillTRAN's Comprehensive List of Sedentary Unskilled Simple Occupations -- And the Number of Jobs, California Social Security Attorney (November 14, 2023)

https://californiasocialsecurityattorney.blogspot.com

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

Case Study - Limited Range of Sedentary - No Work

We look at a prior denied claim subject to the continuing presumption of non-disability.  The presumption attaches in the Ninth Circuit, Sixth Circuit, and the Fourth Circuit.  The Sixth Circuit has an additional Acquiescence Ruling to address.  The continuing presumption shifts the burden to the claimant to show changed circumstances.  We start the case study with the prior residual functional capacity assessment:

4. After careful consideration of the entire record, the undersigned finds that the claimant has the residual functional capacity to perform sedentary work as defined in 20 CFR 416.967(a) except she can climb ramps and stairs occasionally. She can never climb ladders, ropes, or scaffold. She can stoop occasionally, but never kneel, crouch, or crawl. She can balance frequently. She should avoid unprotected heights, moving machinery, and vibration. She should be in a clean-air work environment meaning low levels of pollutants and stable temperatures. She would require a sit/stand option in thirty-minute intervals. She should work in a moderate noise environment. She is limited to simple, routine, and repetitive work and a low-stress work environment, which means none production-oriented work, but can do goal-oriented work. She can have only occasional contact with supervisors and coworkers. She could interact with small group of coworkers, as long as those interactions were infrequent and superficial. She can have little to no interaction with general public. She can have only occasional changes in the work setting. She cannot do work that would require directing others, abstract thought, or planning. She can only make simple, work related decisions.

The vocational profile is a younger individual, at least a high school education, able to communicate and literate in English, and no past relevant work.  ALJ announces that he will find changed circumstances, that the claimant has additional impairments or additional limitations and asks for an opening statement.  Claimant argues that she wins on the prior residual functional capacity and if that isn't enough, she wins on the additional limitations.  ALJ propounds the  residual functional capacity to the vocational expert -- no jobs. 

The prior ALJ decision accepted vocational expert testimony identifying work as:

inspector (DOT: 669.687-014), with 100,000 jobs in the national economy; assembler (DOT: 734.687-074), with 100,000 jobs in the national economy; and packer (DOT: 209.587-010), with 80,000 jobs in the national economy.

Put aside the question of the job numbers.  They are utter garbage.  We are focused on the first question of whether occupations exist regardless of job numbers.  Inspector is dowel inspector in the woodworking industry.   The woodworking industry exists in the manufacturing sector.  It is repetitive work.  It is a production occupation. 

Assembler is slide-fastener-chain assembler in the button and notion industry.  The button and notion industry exists in the manufacturing sector.  Assembler is repetitive work.  It is a production occupation. 

Packer is misidentified.  The DOT code refers to addresser.  That occupation is obsolete.  Packers could point to ampoule sealer or hand bander -- both production related work. 

The world of work for simple tasks involves mostly production work.  Simple and limited contact with others wipe out clerical unskilled work.  We must see limitations as erosive and cutting.  When the limitations attack the world of work from opposite directions, there is rarely anything left. 

The ALJ accepted the vocational testimony and stated the intent to issue a favorable decision -- on this application.  The other application is too far gone to reopen and revise. 

Document Preparer and Election Clerk

We have the recurring fact pattern of a younger individual limited to sedentary work:

he is able to sit for 6 hours in an 8-hour period; he is able to stand or walk for 2 hours in an 8-hour period; he is unable to climb, but is able to perform occasional balancing, stooping, kneeling, crouching, and crawling; he is able to tolerate occasional exposure to fumes, odors, dusts, gases, and poor ventilation; he is capable of understanding, remembering simple repetitive tasks, and he is able to interact occasionally with coworkers, supervisors, and no contact with the public.

The vocational expert trots out out the standard document preparer, DOT 249.587-018, representing 28,743 jobs in the nation; and election clerk, DOT 205.367-030, representing 20,757 jobs in the nation.   These are both office clerks, general.  The first problem is that the occupational base is huge.  One percent is a significant number of jobs.  Now we get to work using Occu Collect.  

43-9061 Office clerks, general
Typical Education Needed	High school diploma or equivalent
Work Experience in a Related Occupation	None
Typical On-The-Job Training Needed to Attain Competency	Short-term on-the-job training
2016 Employment	3,117,700

The vocational expert testifies that the identification of these two occupations fit the hypothetical question and is consistent with the Dictionary of Occupational Titles.  

ELECTION CLERK (government ser.)

DOT Code: 205.367-030
SOC Code: 43-9061.00
O*NET URL: https://www.onetonline.org/link/summary/43-9061.00DOT-O*NET Crosswalk: https://www.onetonline.org/crosswalk/DOT?s=205.367-030&g=GODOT Name: ELECTION CLERK (government ser.) 

DOT Narrative: 205.367-030 ELECTION CLERK (government ser.) alternate titles: poll clerk; returning officer

Performs any combination of the following duties during elections: Compiles and verifies voter lists from official registration records. Requests identification of voters at polling place. Obtains signatures and records names of voters to prevent voting of unauthorized persons. Distributes ballots to voters and answers questions concerning voting procedure. Counts valid ballots and prepares official reports of election results.
GOE: 07.04.03 STRENGTH: S GED: R3 M2 L2 SVP: 2 DLU: 77

The VE tells the ALJ that election clerk is a full-time job.  That is not consistent with the DOT.  The DOT says that election clerks work during elections and no other time of the year.  Arguello v. Berryhill says that an apparent conflict exists.  More to the point of the question, these workers deal with the public and require reasoning level 3.  Occu Collect 205.367-030 (free summary DOC/SCO report just for signing up).

DOCUMENT PREPARER, MICROFILMING 

(business ser.)

DOT Code: 249.587-018
SOC Code: 43-9061.00
O*NET URL: https://www.onetonline.org/link/summary/43-9061.00DOT-O*NET Crosswalk: https://www.onetonline.org/crosswalk/DOT?s=249.587-018&g=GO 

DOT Name: DOCUMENT PREPARER, MICROFILMING (business ser.)

DOT Narrative: 249.587-018 DOCUMENT PREPARER, MICROFILMING (business ser.) Prepares documents, such as brochures, pamphlets, and catalogs, for microfilming, using paper cutter, photocopying machine, rubber stamps, and other work devices: Cuts documents into individual pages of standard microfilming size and format when allowed by margin space, using paper cutter or razor knife. Reproduces document pages as necessary to improve clarity or to reduce one or more pages into single page of standard microfilming size, using photocopying machine. Stamps standard symbols on pages or inserts instruction cards between pages of material to notify MICROFILM-CAMERA OPERATOR (business ser.) 976.682-022 of special handling, such as manual repositioning, during microfilming. Prepares cover sheet and document folder for material and index card for company files indicating information, such as firm name and address, product category, and index code, to identify material. Inserts material to be filmed in document folder and files folder for processing according to index code and filming priority schedule. GOE: 07.05.03 STRENGTH: S GED: R3 M1 L2 SVP: 2 DLU: 86

Document preparers require reasoning level 3.  The occupation of election clerk has significant worker functions of speaking/signaling people to convey or exchange information. Occu Collect 249.587-018 (free summary DOC/SCO report just for signing up). The SCO describes the functions of election clerk as requiring frequent talking and hearing as well as average verbal capacity.  

Microfilming is a dead industry.  Film decays and is not easily copied to another medium.  We use our common sense.  Gutierrez v. Colvin.  

The OOH describes general office clerk duties:

General office clerks typically do the following:

·         Answer and transfer telephone calls or take messages
·         Sort and deliver incoming mail and send outgoing mail
·         Schedule appointments and receive customers or visitors
·         Provide general information to staff, clients, or the public
·         Type, format, or edit routine memos or other reports
·         Copy, file, and update paper and electronic documents
·         Prepare and process bills and other office documents
·         Collect information and perform data entry

Rather than performing a single specialized task, general office clerks have responsibilities that often change daily with the current needs of the employer.

Some clerks file documents or answer phones; others enter data into computers or perform other tasks using software applications. They also frequently use photocopiers, scanners, fax machines, and other office equipment.

The specific duties assigned to clerks will depend on the type of office in which they work. For example, a general office clerk at a college or university may process application materials and answer questions from prospective students, while a clerk at a hospital may file and retrieve medical records.

We don't find microfilming on the list.  Scanning is there.  We don't know if that occupation is unskilled, simple, or repetitive.  We do know that the vocational expert did not square the testimony with the OOH. 

The Department of Labor states that the O*NET OnLine provides current information about work.  The O*NET OnLine states that general office clerks have contact with others half the time, most of the time, or constantly in 98% of jobs.  In 2% of jobs, general office clerks have no contact with others.  General office clerks work with a group or team as at least fairly important in 98% of jobs.  General office clerks deal with external customers as at least fairly important in 94% of jobs.  

43-9061.00 - Office Clerks, General

Interpersonal Relationships	%	Response
Contact With Others — How much does this job require the worker to be in contact with others (face-to-face, by telephone, or otherwise) in order to perform it?	82	Constant contact with others
	14	Contact with others most of the time
	2	Contact with others about half the time
	0	Occasional contact with others
	2	No contact with others

Interpersonal Relationships	%	Response
Work With Work Group or Team — How important is it to work with others in a group or team in this job?	64	Extremely important
	24	Very important
	7	Important
	2	Fairly important
	2	Not important at all

Structural Job Characteristics	%	Response
Duration of Typical Work Week — Number of hours typically worked in one week.	15	More than 40 hours
	59	40 hours
	26	Less than 40 hours

We now turn to the Occupational Requirements Survey to examine the nature and requirements of general office clerks.  

43-9061.00 (office clerks, general)

Series ID: ORUV1000075800000064

Not seasonally adjusted

Series Title: % of office clerks, general; svp is short demonstration only

Requirement: Education, Training, And Experience

Occupation: office clerks, general

Estimate: svp is short demonstration only

Year	Period	Estimate
2017	Annual	5.8

https://beta.bls.gov/dataViewer/view/timeseries/ORUV1000075800000064

Series ID: ORUV1000075800000065

Not seasonally adjusted

Series Title: % of office clerks, general; svp is beyond short demonstration, up to & including 1 month

Requirement: Education, Training, And Experience

Occupation: office clerks, general

Estimate: svp is beyond short demonstration, up to & including 1 month

Year	Period	Estimate
2017	Annual	29.5

https://beta.bls.gov/dataViewer/view/timeseries/ORUV1000075800000065

Series ID: ORUP1000075800000661

Not seasonally adjusted

Series Title: % of office clerks, general; strength is sedentary

Requirement: Physical Demands

Occupation: office clerks, general

Estimate: strength is sedentary

Year	Period	Estimate
2017	Annual	32.8

https://beta.bls.gov/dataViewer/view/timeseries/ORUP1000075800000661

Series ID: ORUC1000075800001050

Not seasonally adjusted

Series Title: % of office clerks, general; frequency of contact with regular contacts is continuous

Requirement: Cognitive And Mental Requirements

Occupation: office clerks, general

Estimate: frequency of contact with regular contacts is continuous

Year	Period	Estimate
2017	Annual	21.6

https://beta.bls.gov/dataViewer/view/timeseries/ORUC1000075800001050

Series ID: ORUC1000075800001051

Not seasonally adjusted

Series Title: % of office clerks, general; frequency of contact with regular contacts is more than once per hour

Requirement: Cognitive And Mental Requirements

Occupation: office clerks, general

Estimate: frequency of contact with regular contacts is more than once per hour

Year	Period	Estimate
2017	Annual	53.4

https://beta.bls.gov/dataViewer/view/timeseries/ORUC1000075800001051

Series ID: ORUC1000075800001052

Not seasonally adjusted

Series Title: % of office clerks, general; frequency of contact with regular contacts is more than once per day

Requirement: Cognitive And Mental Requirements

Occupation: office clerks, general

Estimate: frequency of contact with regular contacts is more than once per day

Year	Period	Estimate
2017	Annual	21.5

https://beta.bls.gov/dataViewer/view/timeseries/ORUC1000075800001052

Series ID: ORUC1000075800001050

Not seasonally adjusted

Series Title: % of office clerks, general; frequency of contact with regular contacts is continuous

Requirement: Cognitive And Mental Requirements

Occupation: office clerks, general

Estimate: frequency of contact with regular contacts is continuous

Year	Period	Estimate
2017	Annual	21.6

https://beta.bls.gov/dataViewer/view/timeseries/ORUC1000075800001050

Series ID: ORUC1000075800001046

Not seasonally adjusted

Series Title: % of office clerks, general; frequency of contact with other contacts is more than once per hour

Requirement: Cognitive And Mental Requirements

Occupation: office clerks, general

Estimate: frequency of contact with other contacts is more than once per hour

Year	Period	Estimate
2017	Annual	27.3

https://beta.bls.gov/dataViewer/view/timeseries/ORUC1000075800001046

Series ID: ORUC1000075800001047

Not seasonally adjusted

Series Title: % of office clerks, general; frequency of contact with other contacts is more than once per day

Requirement: Cognitive And Mental Requirements

Occupation: office clerks, general

Estimate: frequency of contact with other contacts is more than once per day

Year	Period	Estimate
2017	Annual	30.7

https://beta.bls.gov/dataViewer/view/timeseries/ORUC1000075800001047

Series ID: ORUP1000075800000999

Not seasonally adjusted

Series Title: office clerks, general; % of day sitting is required (25th percentile)

Requirement: Physical Demands

Occupation: office clerks, general

Estimate: % of day sitting is required (25th percentile)

Year	Period	Estimate
2017	Annual	75

https://beta.bls.gov/dataViewer/view/timeseries/ORUP1000075800000999

Series ID: ORUP1000075800001000

Not seasonally adjusted

Series Title: office clerks, general; % of day sitting is required (50th percentile - median)

Requirement: Physical Demands

Occupation: office clerks, general

Estimate: % of day sitting is required (50th percentile - median)

Year	Period	Estimate
2017	Annual	85

https://beta.bls.gov/dataViewer/view/timeseries/ORUP1000075800001000

General office clerks engage in unskilled work in 35.3% of jobs. General office clerks jobs require sedentary exertion in 32.8% of jobs. General office clerks have continuous contact with regular contacts in 21.6% of jobs and more than hourly in 53.4% of jobs and hourly or less in 21.5% of jobs. General office clerks have continuous contact with other contacts in 10.1% of jobs and more than hourly in 27.3% of jobs and hourly or less in 30.7% of jobs. The vocational expert’s testimony fits inside of the published data if an only if every sedentary job is unskilled and has contact with regular and other contacts hourly or less. General office clerks have contact with other contacts not more than once per day including never in 31.7% of jobs. General office clerks sit 75% of the day or less in 25% of jobs. On a full-time schedule, 75% of the day equals six hours. Please recall that 26% of general office clerks work part-time per the O*NET OnLine. 

OFFICE CLERK, GENERAL
SOC 43-9061
No. of Jobs	% Unskilled	# Unskilled
3,117,700	35.30%	1,100,548
# Unskilled	% Sedentary	# Sedentary
1,100,548	32.80%	360,980
# Sedentary	% Occ. Reg. Contacts	# Occ. Reg. Contacts
360,980	21.50%	77,611
# Occ. Reg. Contacts	% No Other Contacts	# No Other Contacts
77,611	31.90%	24,758
# No Other Contacts	% Full-Time	# Full-Time
24,758	74.00%	18,321
# Full-Time	% 6 Hours Sitting	# 6 Hours Sitting
18,321	25.00%	4,580

 
How many sedentary, unskilled office clerks have occasional contact with coworkers and supervisors, no contact with the public?  About 4,580.  And lest you have forgotten, the DOT describes the work as requiring reasoning level 3 -- the occupations are not simple.