A new federal labor report shows a clear trend across the American workforce: healthcare, education, construction, and service jobs continue to dominate hiring, but many of the nation’s biggest occupations still pay below the national average wage.
At the same time, skilled trades and specialized healthcare positions remain among the highest-paying and most in-demand careers in the country.
The latest Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics report from the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics examined employment and wage data across hundreds of occupations nationwide, offering an estimated snapshot of where Americans work — and where the strongest demand continues to grow.
High Demand: Construction and Skilled Trades
Construction and extraction occupations employed 6.4 million workers nationwide in May 2025, accounting for 4.1 percent of total U.S. employment. The average annual wage across the sector was $65,360, slightly below the national average wage of $69,770.
The largest construction occupations:
• Construction laborers: 1.1 million workers
• First-line supervisors of construction trades and extraction workers: 812,210 workers
• Electricians: 757,220
• Carpenters: 670,090
Highly specialized skilled trades:
• Elevator and escalator installers and repairers earned an average annual wage of $109,820
• First-line supervisors earned $86,450
• Terrazzo workers and finishers averaged $84,920.
Lower-paying positions:
• Helpers for painters, plasterers, and stucco masons earn $42,440 annually
• Helpers for plumbers and pipefitters at $43,730.
Wyoming and North Dakota had the nation’s highest concentration of construction and extraction jobs, while Texas metropolitan areas such as Midland and Odessa led the country in construction-related employment concentration.
High Demand: Healthcare practitioners
Healthcare practitioners and technical occupations remained one of the largest and highest-paying employment groups in the country, with 9.8 million workers and an average annual wage of $108,700, according to the report.
Registered nurses remained one of the nation’s most critical occupations, with 3.4 million employed nationwide. Other large healthcare occupations included licensed practical and licensed vocational nurses, as well as pharmacy technicians.
The report found that healthcare also includes some of the nation’s top-paying careers.
Among the highest-paid health occupations:
• Pediatric surgeons: $502,050 annually
• Cardiologists: $454,940
• Nurse anesthetists: $248,320
Demand for Registered Nurses
• Registered nurses earned an average annual wage of $101,420 nationally; Salaries varied significantly by state.
• . California nurses earned the highest average wages at $150,280, while wages in Alabama and South Dakota averaged closer to $77,000.
• RNs in NJ make an average salary range of $95,000 to $108,000.
Hospitals remained the largest employer of nurses, accounting for about 56% of all RN jobs nationwide. Physician offices and home healthcare services also ranked among the top employers.
Lower-paying healthcare technical jobs:
• Dietetic technicians at $40,630
• Psychiatric technicians earn $46,610 annually
High Demand: Education Jobs
Educational instruction and library occupations employed 9.1 million workers nationwide, with an average annual wage of $67,540.
The largest occupations in the category were:
• Teaching assistants, except postsecondary: 1.4 million
• Elementary school teachers, except special education: 1.4 million
Postsecondary health specialties teachers and postsecondary law teachers ranked among the highest-paid education positions, each earning more than $144,000 annually.
At the lower end of the pay scale were teaching assistants and preschool teachers, with average annual wages below $45,000.
Elementary school teacher salaries also varied sharply by geography. Washington and California reported some of the nation’s highest teacher pay, while Mississippi and Oklahoma ranked among the lowest-paying states for the profession.
The Disconnect: High Demand, Low Wages
The report also highlighted a disconnect between employment demand and wages.
Largest Occupation: Home health and personal care aides employ about 4.3 million workers.
Second Largest: Retail salespersons and fast-food workers employ about 3.9 million people nationwide.
Yet eight of the nation’s 10 largest occupations paid below the national average wage. Fast food and counter workers earned an average annual wage of $32,150, while customer service representatives averaged $46,590, BLS data show.
Only two of the 10 largest occupations — registered nurses and general and operations managers — earned above-average wages nationally.
Public Sector Workforce Remains Education-Heavy
The public sector accounted for 14.6 percent of all employment in the United States and had a workforce heavily concentrated in education and public safety positions.
Among the largest public-sector occupations were
• Elementary school teachers
• Teaching assistants
• Secondary school teachers, and
• Middle school teachers.
Outside education, police officers, registered nurses, and janitors ranked among the largest public-sector occupations nationwide.
