Thursday, January 10, 2019

Inspectors, Testers, Sorters, Samplers, and Weighers -- Shockingly Low Job Numbers


Inspectors, testers, sorters, samplers, and weighers (inspectors) (SOC 51-9061) is a huge occupational group containing 782 DOT codes ranging from SVP 1 to 8 and from sedentary to heavy. Labor places 14 sedentary and 135 light unskilled DOT codes in inspectors.  That makes up about 10% of the unskilled DOT codes forming the foundation of the Medical Vocational Guidelines.  Here is the list of the sedentary codes:

DOT Code
DOT Title
SVP
STRENGTH
521.687-086
NUT SORTER
2
S
529.666-014
CIGARETTE-MAKING-MACHINE CATCHER
2
S
539.485-010
WEIGHT TESTER
2
S
669.687-014
DOWEL INSPECTOR
2
S
712.687-018
GAUGER
2
S
716.687-030
LENS-BLOCK GAUGER
2
S
726.684-050
FILM TOUCH-UP INSPECTOR
2
S
726.684-110
TOUCH-UP SCREENER, PRINTED CIRCUIT BOARD ASSEMBLY
2
S
734.687-042
BUTTON RECLAIMER
2
S
734.687-094
ZIPPER TRIMMER, HAND
2
S
737.687-026
CHECK WEIGHER
2
S
737.687-126
SHADOWGRAPH-SCALE OPERATOR
2
S
739.687-182
TABLE WORKER
2
S
979.687-026
TYPE-COPY EXAMINER
2
S

Nut sorter is pending before the Supreme Court.  Weight tester, dowel inspector, and table worker are identified by vocational experts frequently.  Inspectors represents a large number of jobs, collectively. 

 51-9061 Inspectors, testers, sorters, samplers, and weighers
Typical Education Needed
High school diploma or equivalent
Work Experience in a Related Occupation
None
Typical On-The-Job Training Needed to Attain Competency
Moderate-term on-the-job training
2016 Employment
520,700

The OOH reports the Bureau of Labor Statistics employment projections jobs number and the observation that these occupations have a typical requirement of a high school diploma or equivalent and moderate-term on-the-job training, i.e. they are semi-skilled or skilled with more than 30 days and up to one year of training. 

To evaluate the number of sedentary and light unskilled jobs, we must ascertain the boundaries of that education and training data.  We use the ORS for that purpose:

51-9061.00 (inspectors, testers, sorters, samplers, and weighers)


Series ID: ORUV1000005A00000065
Not seasonally adjusted
Series Title: % of inspectors, testers, sorters, samplers, and weighers; svp is beyond short demonstration, up to & including 1 month
Requirement: Education, Training, And Experience
Occupation: inspectors, testers, sorters, samplers, and weighers
Estimate: svp is beyond short demonstration, up to & including 1 month
Year
Period
Estimate
2017
Annual
16.5

The ORS confirms the observation made by the OOH about skill level. In doing so, the ORS drops the estimate of the number of unskilled inspector jobs to 85,915 – at all exertion levels. We can now break down the exertion question.

Series ID: ORUP1000005A00000236
Not seasonally adjusted
Series Title: inspectors, testers, sorters, samplers, and weighers; pounds maximum weight lifted/carried (50th percentile - median)
Requirement: Physical Demands
Occupation: inspectors, testers, sorters, samplers, and weighers
Estimate: pounds maximum weight lifted/carried (50th percentile - median)
Year
Period
Estimate
2017
Annual
25

Series ID: ORUP1000005A00000239
Not seasonally adjusted
Series Title: % of inspectors, testers, sorters, samplers, and weighers; lifting/carrying up to 10 lbs is required, seldom
Requirement: Physical Demands
Occupation: inspectors, testers, sorters, samplers, and weighers
Estimate: lifting/carrying up to 10 lbs is required, seldom
Year
Period
Estimate
2017
Annual
23

Lifting/carrying 10 pounds does not establish sedentary, it establishes lifting/carrying. To qualify as sedentary, the occupation must also permit sitting most of the day with occasional standing/walking.

Series ID: ORUP1000005A00001001
Not seasonally adjusted
Series Title: inspectors, testers, sorters, samplers, and weighers; % of day sitting is required (75th percentile)
Requirement: Physical Demands
Occupation: inspectors, testers, sorters, samplers, and weighers
Estimate: % of day sitting is required (75th percentile)
Year
Period
Estimate
2017
Annual
62.5

Series ID: ORUP1000005A00001002
Not seasonally adjusted
Series Title: inspectors, testers, sorters, samplers, and weighers; % of day sitting is required (90th percentile)
Requirement: Physical Demands
Occupation: inspectors, testers, sorters, samplers, and weighers
Estimate: % of day sitting is required (90th percentile)
Year
Period
Estimate
2017
Annual
90

If we use 67% of the day as the minimum amount of sitting to qualify as sedentary, we would use a percentile higher than the 75th. If we use six hours per day as the minimum amount of sitting to qualify as sedentary, we would use a percentile lower than the 90th. The lifting limitation appears to represent a reasonable approximation, 23% of the jobs qualify as sedentary. The summary conclusion is that the 14 sedentary unskilled jobs represent in the aggregate very few jobs.

# of Jobs
% Unskilled
# Unskilled
520,700
16.5%
85,916
# Unskilled
% Sedentary
# Sedentary
85,916
23.0%
19,761

Surprising is the number of jobs that qualify as light, there are fewer as compared to sedentary. If limited to six hours of sitting in a day, we would lop off at least the top 10% leaving less than 12,000 jobs and probably fewer than that.

Series ID: ORUP1000005A00000240
Not seasonally adjusted
Series Title: % of inspectors, testers, sorters, samplers, and weighers; lifting/carrying > 10 lbs & <= 20 lbs is required, seldom
Requirement: Physical Demands
Occupation: inspectors, testers, sorters, samplers, and weighers
Estimate: lifting/carrying > 10 lbs & <= 20 lbs is required, seldom
Year
Period
Estimate
2017
Annual
16.6

The 135 light unskilled jobs do not represent a significant number of jobs in the aggregate, much less individually.

# of Jobs
% Unskilled
# Unskilled
520,700
16.5%
85,916
# Unskilled
% Light
# Light
85,916
16.6%
14,262

Series ID: ORUP1000005A00000126
Not seasonally adjusted
Series Title: inspectors, testers, sorters, samplers, and weighers; hours of standing/walking (10th percentile)
Requirement: Physical Demands
Occupation: inspectors, testers, sorters, samplers, and weighers
Estimate: hours of standing/walking (10th percentile)
Year
Period
Estimate
2017
Annual
0.8

Series ID: ORUP1000005A00000128
Not seasonally adjusted
Series Title: inspectors, testers, sorters, samplers, and weighers; hours of standing/walking (50th percentile - median)
Requirement: Physical Demands
Occupation: inspectors, testers, sorters, samplers, and weighers
Estimate: hours of standing/walking (50th percentile - median)
Year
Period
Estimate
2017
Annual
6

Series ID: ORUP1000005A00000129
Not seasonally adjusted
Series Title: inspectors, testers, sorters, samplers, and weighers; hours of standing/walking (75th percentile)
Requirement: Physical Demands
Occupation: inspectors, testers, sorters, samplers, and weighers
Estimate: hours of standing/walking (75th percentile)
Year
Period
Estimate
2017
Annual
8

If the person is limited to six hours of standing/walking in a day, that assumption eliminates jobs at the 75th percentile and higher, further reducing the number of jobs by about 25%.

The aggregate of sedentary and light unskilled jobs that do not require more than six hours of sitting or standing/walking in an eight-hour day looks like less than 32,000 jobs.

# of Jobs
% Unskilled
# Unskilled
520,700
16.5%
85,916
# Unskilled
% S&L
# S&L
85,916
39.6%
34,023
# S&L
% ≤ 6 SSW
# ≤ 6 SSW
34,023
65.0%
22,115

How we whittle that number down depends on the other exertional and non-exertional impairments. With a limited education, the number of jobs within the light and sedentary classifications is 22.4% of the numbers stated. Education matters more than literacy for this group.

Series ID: ORUV1000005A00000075
Not seasonally adjusted
Series Title: % of inspectors, testers, sorters, samplers, and weighers; minimum education level is none
Requirement: Education, Training, And Experience
Occupation: inspectors, testers, sorters, samplers, and weighers
Estimate: minimum education level is none
Year
Period
Estimate
2017
Annual
22.4

Series ID: ORUV1000005A00000085
Not seasonally adjusted
Series Title: % of inspectors, testers, sorters, samplers, and weighers; literacy is required
Requirement: Education, Training, And Experience
Occupation: inspectors, testers, sorters, samplers, and weighers
Estimate: literacy is required
Year
Period
Estimate
2017
Annual
21.4

We keep chasing the rabbit until we are satisfied that the number of jobs cited by a vocational expert is statistically reliable.

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