Click on an occupation below to see the full occupational profile on the Bureau of Labor Statistics’ Occupational Outlook Handbook.

Source | Bureau of Labor Statistics, U.S. Department of Labor, Occupational Outlook Handbook, Last Modified Date: Friday, April 12, 2019

Occupational Projections by Category

The Occupational Outlook Handbook also has career information on duties, education and training, pay, and outlook for hundreds of occupations. Below, the occupations are grouped by work categories. The links will take you to the Bureau of Labor Statistics website.

• Architecture and Engineering
• Arts and Design
• Building and Grounds Cleaning
• Business and Financial
• Community and Social Service
• Computer and Information Technology
• Construction and Extraction
• Education, Training, and Library
• Entertainment and Sports
• Farming, Fishing, and Forestry
• Food Preparation and Serving
• Healthcare
• Installation, Maintenance, and Repair
• Legal
• Life, Physical, and Social Science
• Management
• Math
• Media and Communication
• Military
• Office and Administrative Support
• Personal Care and Service
• Production
• Protective Service
• Sales
• Transportation and Material Moving

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76% | Percentage of private industry workers who receive paid vacation days.

Consider these statistics from the BLS for private industry workers when determining your company’s vacation policy. As you’ll see, the length of time an employee has been on a company’s payroll is the factor that determines most an employees paid vacation.

1-5 years with the company

After one year of service at a company:

• 0-5 paid vacation days (7%)
• 5-9 paid vacation days (38%)
• 10-14 paid vacation days (35%)
• 15-19 paid vacation days (12%)
• 20-24 paid vacation days (7%)
• 24+ paid vacation days (2%)

As you can see, the majority of workers were offered between five and 14 paid vacation days. The average paid vacation time for small business after one year of service is 10 days.

5-10 years with the company

After five years of service at a company:

• 0-5 paid vacation days (2%)
• 5-9 paid vacation days (9%)
• 10-14 paid vacation days (36%)
• 15-19 paid vacation days (34%)
• 20-24 paid vacation days (12%)
• 24+ paid vacation days (6%)

Typically, the more years an employee has worked at a company, the more vacation days they are allowed. The majority of paid vacation days is 10-19 paid vacation days. The average vacation time in the U.S. after five years of service is 14 days.

10-20 years with a company

After 10 years of service at a company:

• 0-5 paid vacation days (2%)
• 5-9 paid vacation days (7%)
• 10-14 paid vacation days (16%)
• 15-19 paid vacation days (41%)
• 20-24 paid vacation days (22%)
• 24+ paid vacation days (13%)

Almost half of employees (41%) have access to 15-19 paid vacation days. The average vacation time for small business employees after 10 years of service is 17 days.

20+ years with a company

After 20 years of service at a company:

• 0-5 paid vacation days (2%)
• 5-9 paid vacation days (6%)
• 10-14 paid vacation days (13%)
• 15-19 paid vacation days (20%)
• 20-24 paid vacation days (35%)
• 24+ paid vacation days (25%)

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Some employees prefer benefits other than more time off

According to Business News Daily, while every employee loves a salary increase, there are other ways to reward workers besides offering more money or time. Here are 15 perks offered by large and small businesses across the country. (To learn about these perks, see Business News Daily.)

1. A pet-friendly environment
2. Massages and yoga
3. Free books
4. Free food
5. No official work hours
6. Birthdays off
7. Family focus
8. Onsite health services
9. Mental health support
10. Continuing education
11. Student loan paydowns
12. Midday fitness and recreation
13. Donation matching
14. Office parties
15. Freedom (and funding) to travel

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In the past, we’ve been extremely precise in explaining why we believe small business is the term best used to describe a small business. One reason is that terms or acronyms other than “small business” weaken the “institutional brand” of the second most trusted institution in the United States. However, the most important reasons are ones we’ve explored before that are related to the importance of knowing whether the people who work with you are employees or independent contractors.

Independent contractor or nonemployer businesses?

Here’s the first thing you need to know: Independent contractors and nonemployer businesses are the same things. Most U.S. government agencies use the term “small business” exclusively, like the Small Business Administration and congressional committees. The U.S. Code of federal statutes (where all the laws are stored) contains the term “small business” 1,034 times. “Nonemployer” is found only once there.

Terms like microbusiness or biz or independent contractor or freelancer are mentioned nowhere in the tax code but show up occasionally in IRS guidelines.

The agency that uses it most (in our unscientific research) is the U.S. Census Bureau who use the term “nonemployer business often.”

Recently, the Small Business Administration’s Office of Advocacy put out a “fact sheet” on the topic of nonemployer businesses. We can understand how their usage helps clearup some confusion, but believe that using the term “nonemployerbusiness” only adds to the confusion.

How the U.S. Census Bureau defines a “nonemployer” business

According to the SBA Office of Advocacy fact sheet, here is the definition of a nonemployer business “derived from administrative record sources”:

“A business that has no paid employees, has annual business receipts of $1,000 or more ($1 or more in the construction industries) and is subject to federal income taxes. Most nonemployers are self-employed individuals operating very small unincorporated businesses, which may or may not be the owner’s principal source of income.”

40% | Percentage of nonemployer businesses that are the primary source of income of their owners
20% | Percentage of  nonemployer businesses in which the owner spends between 20 – 40 hours a week
50% | Percentage of  nonemployer businesses in which the owner spends less than 20 hours a week
30% | Percentage of nonemployer business owners who spend 40 hours a week on the business

80% | Percentage of all businesses that are nonemployee business

15.4 million | Nonemployee businesses in 1997
24.3 million | Nonemployee businesses in 2015

58% | Growth in the number of nonemployee businesses
6% | Growth in the number of businesses with employees since 1997

The chart above reveals that the number of net non-employer businesses has been growing about 2% a year during the past 15 years, reaching 25 million in 2016. Steve King, a partner in Emergent Research and a regular contributor to SmallBusiness.com, explains some possible reasons for the disparity in the growth.

• It’s easier and cheaper to start and operate a non-employer business today.
• More people are starting part-time businesses to supplement their income or pursue a passion
• Small businesses no longer need to hire traditional (W2) employees when they can use contract labor, outsourcing, freelancer and automation.

So what’s wrong with the term “nonemployee business”?

Frankly, it’s not a big deal except for a few folks like me. Many years ago in a book I can’t recall, I read a comment that has stuck with me for decades:

Rarely does great marketing come from telling the customer what a product isn’t. Of course, there are a few exceptions that prove the rule: de-cafe coffee, mirrorless cameras, smokeless tobacco. On the other hand, there are positively names that fail, like Google+.

So what should the name be, if not nonemployee business?

Again, when compared to all issues small businesses face, this is the least one you’ll encounter (unless you run int the buzzsaw with the IRS over an issue related to employee vs. contractor. However, I think “nonemployer business” is government agency gobbledegook.

What about the term, “One-person small business.”?

Do you have a suggestion? Share it on Twitter with the hashtag #OnePersonSmallBusiness

In the U.S., the last Monday of May (May 28, 2018, this year) is Memorial Day, a national holiday honoring members of the military whose lives were lost in service to their nation. Unofficially, the day has also become the beginning of the summer vacation season. However, according to recent research commissioned by TSheets by QuickBooks, 32 percent of U.S. workers are reluctant to use all of their vacation days, saying they feel pressured not to take time off.

Having paid vacations vs. taking paid vacations

Most workers have access to paid time off, but many of them don’t use the full allocation of paid vacation provided.

84% | Percentage of workforce that currently has access to paid time off
65% | Percentage of workers with paid time off who don’t use their full allocation of days (in 2017)

18% | Percentage of those who don’t use full allocation of vacation days who blame their workload.
$573,694,800 | Estimated value of employee time off that is not used

While on vacation, most people do some work

60% | Percentage of employees who took time off but did some work while they were on vacation.
48% | Percentage of employees who believe they do not get enough time off

What do employees want? More time off vs. higher pay

74% | Percentage of employees who say they would prefer a higher salary than more paid time off
39% | Percentage of employees who say they would accept a job without paid time-off

Stressed out employees need vacation days, but often don’t take them

43% | Percentage or workers reporting they are “often” or “always” stressed
33% | Percentage of employees who say the stress they experience at work is detrimental to their health

51% | Percentage of employees who have taken time off due to stress, however many of the workers surveyed have used false reasons with (translation: lied to)  their manager for taking off the time.

Workers report that they have used false reasons for taking time off, rather than the actual cause

15% | Percentage of workers who avoided using insomnia as a reason
13% | Mental health
12% | Physical health
7% | A hangover

Going to work sick

89% | Percentage of employees who have come to work sick
19% | Percentage of employees who admit doing this more than once a month
11% | Never come to work sick.

The paid-leave benefits employees want most

91% | Paid holidays
88% | Sick leave
87% | Paid vacation day

Older workers get most paid time off, but are least likely to use it

57% | Percentage of workers 55 years old and over who receive 11 days of  paid time or more
52% | Percentage of workers 18-24 years-old who receive five days of paid time or less

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• Facebook Business is expanding a free job postings feature it launched last year in the U.S. and Canada.
• It will now be available in 40 more countries.
• The postings are expanding into a greater number of job categories — ranging from side gigs, part-time jobs, summer jobs and other skilled and non-skilled blue collar jobs.
• Currently, the postings are free for a business to list jobs on the service.
• However, to reach more potential workers, the business will be encouraged to use Facebook ads.

How it works for businesses and job seekers

Businesses are able to post job openings to a Jobs tab on their company Facebook Page, a Jobs dashboard, the Facebook Marketplace, and the News Feed that they can promote with ads.

Job seekers can discover openings, auto-fill applications with their Facebook profile information, edit and submit their application, and communicate via Messenger to schedule interviews.

Challenge: Can work and Facebook fun co-exist?

Facebook stresses that potential employers can only see what’s been made public on an applicants profile. However, some users may be hard to convince that their party pictures won’t show up on the job application.

Facebook’s local strategy

While many analysts are focusing on the “blue collar” nature of the job listings, a different way to view Facebook’s direction is to view it as a “Facebook meets Craigslist strategy.”

Facebook business pages, Facebook Marketplace, Facebook Jobs are metaphoric infrastructures of a small town, urban neighborhood, or suburban community. All of these, plus features like food ordering, more local news, and the massive commitment it will take to train small business owners and managers how to use these tools will be a massive investment on the part of Facebook.

However, Facebook has that covered, as well. According to Alex Himel, VP of Facebooks Local:

“We know there is more Facebook can do to connect people and businesses. Since 2011, Facebook has invested more than $1 billion to help local businesses grow and help people find jobs. And in 2018 we plan to invest the same amount in more teams, technology, and new programs. Because when businesses succeed, communities thrive.”

How to use Facebook Jobs

Where jobs listings will appear on a Facebook Business page.

• The Jobs dashboard
• The “Jobs” option in the “Explore” section on mobile
• Click on the Jobs icon in Marketplace
• Visit the Jobs tab on any business’ Page.

Here’s how an applicant interacts with the posting

• Create an application, which will populate with job history and other information in your Facebook profile
• Edit your application, the “Submit” it
  • Once submitted, a Messenger conversation will open with the business Page so you can have direct contact with the employer and confirm when your information has been received.
  • Businesses will only be able to see the information you provide them directly, and what’s available publicly on your Facebook profile.
• To stay on top of the type of job you’re interested in, you can also subscribe to alerts.

Here’s how businesses interact with the job posting feature

• Page admins can create job posts directly from their Page with details like job title, job type (full-time, intern, part-time), salary and more.
• While the listings are free, businesses can purchase Facebook advertising to boost posts to reach more candidates.
• Businesses can also manage their applications and communicate with applicants, including scheduling interviews and sending automated reminders, directly through Messenger.

Photos: Facebook, istock

Since last October (2017), dozens of high-profile workplace sexual harassment cases have raised the awareness of how widespread the problem is. A recent Insureon survey of 1,600 small business owners registered in Manta, the online business directory, revealed the need for more training to reduce the occurence of harrassment. Here are some of the findings of the research.

The need for training is widespread

53% | Percentage of companies providing some type of sexual harassment training or education
43% | Companies that provide employee training during an employees onboarding process
32% | Hold regular sexual harassment training for staff
27% | Outline sexual harassment policies in an employee handbook, but offer no formal training.
27% | Provide some other form of training
1% | Require employees to complete online training

79% | Percentage of respondents who have business insurance
83% | Of those who have business insurance, the percentage who have  Employment Practices Liability Insurance (EPLI), the type of insurance that, among other things, addresses sexual harassment lawsuits

The financial cost of sexual harassment in the workplace

In addition to the victimization of the employee, harrassment cases can destroy a small business – even if they are settled out of court. If a jury believes a business owner was aware sexual harassment occurred but failed to take appropriate action, it could award punitive damages to the victim.

Employment Practices Liability Insurance (EPLI) can reduce the financial risk associated with sexual harassment legal cases. For instance, a policy can cover lawsuit expenses related to claims of harassment, discrimination, and wrongful termination. But a zero tolerance approach to sexual harassment is much better protection for your company–and is clearly the correct thing to do.

$160,000 | The average EPLI lawsuit settlement

Steps to protect employees while also managing business risks

• From day one, communicate the company’s commitment to a hostility-free environment
• Codify your commitment with a statement that sexual harassment of any kind will not be tolerated
• Provide a written policy that includes
  • An overview of what constitutes sexual harassment.
  • The steps employees should take if they need to file a complaint.
  • Reassurances that anyone reporting harassment will not face retaliation.
  • An overview of the investigative procedure for complaints, including the disciplinary actions perpetrators might face.
• Review this policy with all employees regularly.

Note: Business legal decisions should be discussed with your trusted legal advisors.

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UPDATE | This listing is an update of our 2017 state minimum wage information.

In the U.S., states set minimum per hour wages an employer must pay its employees. However, the federal government sets a national minimum wage that supercedes the state rate. In other words, if the state has set a $5.25 per hour rate, the employer must still pay at least $7.25 per hour, the current federal minimum wage. (Just to make it even more difficult to follow, there are exceptions to that rule, as well. See the footnotes for such exceptions.)

The following list shows state minimum wages in January 2018. (State minimum wages can change frequently and many states have legislated multi-year increases. So always check with your local jurisdiction for the most up to date information.)

State Minimum Wages | 2018

Sources: U.S. Dept. of Labor, and state websites via National Conference of State Legislatures.

Notes

¹ American Samoa: The Fair Minimum Wage Act of 2007 (Public Law 110-28) sets minimum wage rates within American Samoa and provides for additional increases in the minimum wage of $0.50 per hour each year on May 25, until reaching the minimum wage generally applicable in the United States. The wage rates are set for particular industries, not for an employee’s particular occupation. The rates are minimum rates; an employer may choose to pay an employee at a rate higher than the rate(s) for its industry.

²  California: The minimum wage scheduled increases are delayed by one year for employers with 25 or fewer employees. The rate increases to $10.50 per hour effective 1/1/2018 and is increased by $1.00 increments annually until it reaches $15.00 effective 1/1/2023

³  Connecticut: The Connecticut minimum wage rate automatically increases to 1/2 of 1 percent above the rate set in the Fair Labor Standards Act if the Federal minimum wage rate equals or becomes higher than the State minimum.

⁴  The Maine minimum wage is automatically replaced with the Federal minimum wage rate if it is higher than the State minimum.

⁵  The Massachusetts minimum wage rate automatically increases to 10 cents above the rate set in the Fair Labor Standards Act if the Federal minimum wage equals or becomes higher than the State minimum.

⁶  Minnesota: With the passage of H.B. 2091 (2014), the annual sales volume threshold was reduced to $500,000. For large employers, with an annual sales volume of $500,000 or more, the minimum wage is currently $9.50; for small employers, those with an annual sales volume of less than $500,000, the minimum wage is $7.75.

⁷  Missouri – In addition to the exemption for federally covered employment, the law exempts, among others, employees of a retail or service business with gross annual sales or business done of less than $500,000.

⁸  Montana: The $4.00 rate applies to businesses with gross annual sales of $110,000 or less; $8.15 applies to all others.

⁹  Nevada: $8.25 without health benefits; $7.25 with health benefits.

¹⁰  New York: The new minimum wage varies across the state based on geographical location and, in New York City, employer size.

¹¹Ohio: $7:25 for employers grossing $299,000 or less

¹² Oklahoma: Employers of ten or more full-time employees at any one location and employers with annual gross sales over $100,000 (no matter the number of full-time employees) are subject to federal minimum wage; all others are subject to state minimum wage of $2.00 (OK ST T. 40 § 197.5).

¹³ Oregon: In addition to the new standard minimum wage rate, SB 1532 sets out a higher rate for employers located in the urban growth boundary, and a lower rate for employers located in nonurban counties. Their respective planned increases are below.

Other Exceptions¹⁴ 

• Puerto Rico: Employers covered by the Federal Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA) are subject to the Federal minimum wage of $7.25. Employers not covered by the FLSA will be subject to a minimum wage that is at least 70 percent of the Federal minimum wage or the applicable mandatory decree rate of $5.08, whichever is higher. The Secretary of Labor and Human Resources may authorize a rate based on a lower percentage for any employer who can show that implementation of the 70 percent rate would substantially curtail employment in that business.
• Missouri, Oklahoma, Texas, Puerto Rico, Utah, and Virginia exclude from coverage any employment that is subject to the Federal Fair Labor Standards Act.
• Hawaii, Kansas, and Michigan exclude from coverage any employment that is subject to the Federal Fair Labor Standards Act, if the State wage is higher than the Federal wage.
• The Georgia state minimum wage is $5.15. Employees covered under the federal Fair Labor Standards Act are subject to the federal minimum wage of $7.25, but those not covered under the FLSA may be paid the state minimum wage of $5.15.

Cities and counties with minimum wage requirements

In some states, a city or county can enact a minimum wage higher than the states’. The cities and jurisdictions in the list below have different minimum wages than the states in which they are located. As these can change often, check with local tax departments for information on these locales.

Alabama

• Birmingham

Arizona

• Flagstaff

California

• Berkeley
• Cupertino
• El Cerrito
• Emeryville
• California
• Los Angeles County
• Los Angeles
• Malibu
• Milpitas
• Mountain View
• Oakland
• Palo Alto
• Pasadena
• Richmond
• San Diego
• San Francisco
• San Jose
• San Leandro
• San Mateo
• Santa Clara
• Santa Monica
• Sunnyvale

New Mexico

• Albuquerque
• Bernalillo County
• Las Cruces
• Santa Fe City
• Santa Fe County

Illinois

• Chicago
• Cook County

Maine

• Portland

Maryland

• Montgomery County
• Prince George’s County

New York

• Nassau County
• New York City
• Suffolk County
• Westchester County

Oregon

• Portland Urban Growth Boundary

Washington

• SeaTac
• Seattle
• Tacoma

Sources 

• Economic Policy Institute
  
• National Conference of State Legislatures
  
• Labor Law Center

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As your business grows and prospers, it may be time to hire your first employee. From the U.S. Small Business Administration, here are eight steps you should take that will help you start the hiring process and ensure you are compliant with key federal and state regulations.

Nearly one-third of an employee’s compensation can come in the form of benefits. While most benefits are optional for small businesses, so important are benefits to employment, Atrium Staffing, a New York City-based employment agency, surveyed its database of job seekers and found 91 percent would accept a different job if better benefits were offered, according to U.S. News in an article listing these 12 benefits valued most by employees.

1 | Health Insurance

The Kaiser Family Foundation found the average annual cost for an employer-sponsored family health insurance plan was $18,142 in 2016. Of that, employers covered $12,865 of the cost.

2 | Retirement Plan

The standard company retirement plan is a 401(k). Although these are funded largely by workers, some firms make an automatic contribution to the fund as part of a compensation package.

3 | Health Savings Account

Health savings accounts are still underutilized but provide a great value for employees. Money deposited into the account is tax-deductible. It then grows tax-free, and withdrawals used for qualified health care expenses are tax-exempt.

4 | Company Equity

Google made hundreds of people instant millionaires when the company went public in 2004. These people were workers who had been awarded stock options as part of their employment at the then startup.

5 | Employee Health Care and Assistance Services

Some companies offer screenings for early cancer detection, resources to treat chronic conditions or free gym memberships. Other employee-assistance programs offer free counseling, legal services or financial planning.

6 | Parental Leave

Parental leave can be a significant benefit both financially and emotionally. Current U.S.  maternity leave policy is regulated by the Family and Medical Leave Act of 1993 (FMLA) which includes a provision mandating 12 weeks of unpaid leave annually for mothers of newborn or newly adopted children. Some states have additional requirements. Small businesses are typically not covered by these regulations or guidelines.

7 | Paid Time Off

While paid vacations are not required, companies who need skilled workers have determined the return-on-investment in vacations can be worth it. In fact, some companies like Netflix have placed a high emphasis on individual performance, they let employees determine their own work and vacation schedules. With such freedom comes accountability, however. At Netflix, employees earn the perks they enjoy.

8 | Career or Personal Development

Career development sessions give workers the chance to gain skills and knowledge needed to further their careers.

9 | Tuition Reimbursement or Loan Repayment

Talent experts say loan repayment will be increasingly rolled out. Forward-thinking companies are doing that because they see young people suffocating under their student loans.

10 | College Savings Accounts

Although employers don’t often make contributions to “529” college savings accounts on behalf of workers, merely offering payroll deductions for the plans can be valuable.

11 | Parking

In Los Angeles, parking can cost up to $400 a month.

12 | Food

Complimentary meals have long been a mainstay at startups. Others have food brought in weekly.

VIA | USNews.com

Photos: istock

As you shuffle through résumés of job candidates, don’t get too hung up on finding the perfect mixture of background and technical skills. The most important qualification a job seeker can possess isn’t always evident on paper. Be sure your new hires have entrepreneurial DNA, write Michael Houlihan and Bonnie Harvey in this article, a version of which first appeared in the magazine and website Ceramic Industry. (Used by permission.)

Hiring an entrepreneurial employee is one of the best things you can do for your bottom line, because these individuals will be self-reliant, engaged, empowered, and innovative problem solvers. In today’s ever-changing business world, adaptable and entrepreneurial employees are your most valuable competitive advantage. Here are seven ways to help you determine if a job candidate has the entrepreneurial DNA you seek.

1 | Are they willing to bet on themselves?

Entrepreneurs don’t have any income unless they are constantly satisfying their customers, and they’re constantly looking for ways to increase their income, profits, and growth.

2 | Pay attention to body language

Entrepreneurs’ confidence shows in their posture and their body language. They have prepared themselves by learning about your company and display self assurance when they are interviewed and scrutinized by strangers like you. These “tells” are physical evidence of your candidate’s attitude and self esteem.

3 | Talk about their mistakes

Successful entrepreneurs know that blame is disempowering while doing what can be done to prevent a reoccurrence is staying in control. Ask follow-up questions to see how well each candidate analyzed what happened and whether they took steps to prevent the same thing from happening again. Entrepreneurs can’t afford to make the same mistake twice. They build their successes on the backs of their mistakes.

4 | Look for evidence of resourcefulness

Ask job seekers how they solved a professional problem when they lacked the time, support or funds they needed. Listen for evidence of how they used their imagination, asked for help and thought outside the box. See if their solution solved more than one problem. Entrepreneurs know that the ball is always in their court.

5 | Gauge their preparedness

Candidates with entrepreneurial DNA will treat you like a prospect for their services. They think of everyone as a customer for them, their service or their product. They know that the best sales pitch is, “I can help you sell your product,” and they can’t do that unless they have thoroughly researched your company in preparation for the interview.  They’ll come to the interview with a pen and notepad and a list of questions.

6 | Determine how they work on a team

Look for candidates who show an interest in understanding all the jobs, procedures, outsourced services and suppliers that keep the customer loyal. Ask them how their last job fit into their company’s big picture. Ask them how they worked with their teammates and improved communication both inside and outside their previous company.

7 | Test their attentiveness and organization

During the final portion of the interview process, tell the candidate more about what the job entails, who they will be working with and why, how the job supports the customer experience, how your company is organized, and what the performance expectations are. Be sure to include how the funds get from the ultimate consumer to the company to cover their paycheck. After your explanation is finished, ask the candidate to write a one-page summary of your company, the money trail, how they will be working with their colleagues, and why they qualify for the job. Then tell them it’s due by 5 p.m. the next day. This summary will tell you volumes about the candidate’s comprehension, organization, communication and ability to hit a deadline; these are all attributes of an entrepreneur.

Additional Considerations

Remember, it’s not enough to say you are looking for entrepreneurial DNA in your candidates—you and your company have to walk the walk. You must build a culture of permission, enthusiasm, inclusiveness, recognition, and acknowledgment, and have a performance-based compensation plan. If you want your employees to be more entrepreneurial, create the fertile ground in which they will bloom.