African American Occupations in 2023 – Empowering strategies

Latest data from the Current Population Survey, Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) provides insights into national African American/Black workforce trends. This data can also guide long term career and workforce pathways into jobs that pay family sustaining and wealth building wages.

The table below is compiled from BLS data that can be found at this link at the national level: https://www.bls.gov/cps/cpsaat11.htm. You can also find the data for other ALANA groups at the link.

The table below includes both occupational categories as well as specific occupations.

Employed persons by detailed occupation, sex, race, and Hispanic or Latino ethnicity (XLSX)

Occupation	Percent Black or African American
Postal service mail sorters, processors, and processing machine operators	48.4
Nursing assistants	38.1
Security guards and gambling surveillance officers	36.1
Postal service clerks	36
Probation officers and correctional treatment specialists	34.9
Orderlies and psychiatric aides	33
Psychiatric technicians	33
Bus drivers, transit and intercity	32.5
Licensed practical and licensed vocational nurses	31.8
First-line supervisors of security workers	31.6
Barbers	31.1
Shuttle drivers and chauffeurs	30
Home health aides	29.8
Eligibility interviewers, government programs	29.2
Healthcare social workers	28.9
Motor vehicle operators, all other	27.4
Correctional officers and jailers	27.1
Other community and social service specialists	26.9
Child, family, and school social workers	26.3
Dietetic technicians and ophthalmic medical technicians	26.3
Judges, magistrates, and other judicial workers	26.2
Bill and account collectors	25.8
Packers and packagers, hand	25.8
Personal care aides	25.3
Interviewers, except eligibility and loan	25.2
Healthcare support occupations	25
Taxi drivers	24.9
Electrical, electronics, and electromechanical assemblers	24.8
Industrial truck and tractor operators	24.6
Packaging and filling machine operators and tenders	24.5
Social and human service assistants	24.4
Bus drivers, school	23.7
Couriers and messengers	23.7
Social workers, all other	23.2
Counselors, all other	23.1
Parking attendants	22.6
Gambling services workers	22.4
Other healthcare support workers	22.3
Protective service occupations	22.3
Logisticians	22.2
Food processing workers, all other	22.1
Surgical technologists	22
Postal service mail carriers	21.9
Other assemblers and fabricators	21.3
Actors	21
First-line supervisors of correctional officers	21
Driver/sales workers and truck drivers	20.5
Baggage porters, bellhops, and concierges	20.2
Phlebotomists	20.2
Transportation and material moving occupations	20.1
Crossing guards and flaggers	20
Reservation and transportation ticket agents and travel clerks	19.9
Cleaners of vehicles and equipment	19.7
Community and social service occupations	19.6
Supervisors of transportation and material moving workers	19.6
Hotel, motel, and resort desk clerks	19.4
Laborers and freight, stock, and material movers, hand	19.3
Insurance claims and policy processing clerks	19.2
Private detectives and investigators	19.2
Telecommunications line installers and repairers	19.2
Chefs and head cooks	18.9
Food servers, nonrestaurant	18.9
Miscellaneous health technologists and technicians	18.9
Preschool and kindergarten teachers	18.7
Court, municipal, and license clerks	18.5
Executive secretaries and executive administrative assistants	18.5
Legal secretaries and administrative assistants	18.4
Mental health counselors	18.4
Customer service representatives	18.2
Claims adjusters, appraisers, examiners, and investigators	18.1
Counter and rental clerks	17.8
Production, transportation, and material moving occupations	17.8
Recreation workers	17.7
Skincare specialists	17.7
Information and record clerks, all other	17.5
Public safety telecommunicators	17.5
Social and community service managers	17.5
First-line supervisors of housekeeping and janitorial workers	17.3
Cooks	17.2
Educational, guidance, and career counselors and advisors	17.2
Refuse and recyclable material collectors	17.1
First-line supervisors of food preparation and serving workers	17
Service occupations	17
Other production workers	16.8
Detectives and criminal investigators	16.7
Janitors and building cleaners	16.7
Cutting workers	16.5
Butchers and other meat, poultry, and fish processing workers	16.3
Cashiers	16.3
Flight attendants	16.3
Therapists, all other	16.2
Data entry keyers	16.1
Maids and housekeeping cleaners	16.1
Operations research analysts	16.1
Purchasing managers	16.1
Other metal workers and plastic workers	16
Musicians and singers	15.9
Childcare workers	15.8
Insurance underwriters	15.6
Registered nurses	15.6
Substance abuse and behavioral disorder counselors	15.6
Education and childcare administrators	15.5
Food preparation workers	15.5
Stockers and order fillers	15.5
Door-to-door sales workers, news and street vendors, and related workers	15.4
File Clerks	15.4
Tellers	15.4
Legal support workers, all other	15.3
Paralegals and legal assistants	15.3
Office and administrative support occupations	15.1
Weighers, measurers, checkers, and samplers, recordkeeping	15.1
Medical assistants	15
Tax examiners and collectors, and revenue agents	14.9
Billing and posting clerks	14.8
Crushing, grinding, polishing, mixing, and blending workers	14.8
Pharmacy technicians	14.8
Computer, automated teller, and office machine repairers	14.7
Financial clerks, all other	14.7
Food batchmakers	14.7
Human resources managers	14.7
Human resources workers	14.7
Printing press operators	14.7
Production occupations	14.7
Coaches and scouts	14.6
Dishwashers	14.5
Medical records specialists	14.4
Other educational instruction and library workers	14.4
Building and grounds cleaning and maintenance occupations	14.3
Clinical laboratory technologists and technicians	14.3
Dispatchers, except police, fire, and ambulance	14.3
Medical and health services managers	14.2
Other teachers and instructors	14.2
Police officers	14.2
Training and development specialists	14.1
First-line supervisors of production and operating workers	14
Other entertainment attendants and related workers	14
Other financial specialists	14
Financial and investment analysts	13.8
Other healthcare practitioners and technical occupations	13.8
Painting workers	13.8
Human resources assistants, except payroll and timekeeping	13.7
Loan interviewers and clerks	13.6
Office clerks, general	13.6
Food preparation and serving related occupations	13.5
Healthcare practitioners and technical occupations	13.5
Inspectors, testers, sorters, samplers, and weighers	13.5
Nurse practitioners	13.5
Personal care and service occupations	13.5
Sales and office occupations	13.5
Retail salespersons	13.4
Insurance sales agents	13.3
Computer support specialists	13.2
Hairdressers, hairstylists, and cosmetologists	13.2
News analysts, reporters, and journalists	13.2
Transportation, storage, and distribution managers	13.1
Dietitians and nutritionists	13
Laundry and dry-cleaning workers	13
Total, 16 years and over	12.8
Receptionists and information clerks	12.8
Business operations specialists, all other	12.7
Occupational health and safety specialists and technicians	12.6
Compliance officers	12.5
First-line supervisors of office and administrative support workers	12.5
Shipping, receiving, and inventory clerks	12.5
Television, video, and film camera operators and editors	12.5
Computer occupations, all other	12.4
Order clerks	12.3
Other life, physical, and social science technicians	12.3
Payroll and timekeeping clerks	12.3
Teaching assistants	12.3
Training and development managers	12.3
Directors, religious activities and education	12.2
Maintenance and repair workers, general	12.2
Public relations and fundraising managers	12.2
Transportation service attendants	12.2
Producers and directors	12.1
Computer systems analysts	12
First-line supervisors of landscaping, lawn service, and groundskeeping workers	12
First-line supervisors of police and detectives	12
Office and administrative support workers, all other	12
Sales and related workers, all other	12
Accountants and auditors	11.9
Administrative services managers	11.9
Library assistants, clerical	11.9
Meeting, convention, and event planners	11.8
Tax preparers	11.8
Purchasing agents, except wholesale, retail, and farm products	11.7
Sales and related occupations	11.7
Food service managers	11.5
Radio and telecommunications equipment installers and repairers	11.5
Water and wastewater treatment plant and system operators	11.5
Professional and related occupations	11.3
Education, training, and library occupations	11.2
Elementary and middle school teachers	11.2
Helpers–production workers	11.2
Public relations specialists	11.2
Stationary engineers and boiler operators	11.2
Facilities managers	11.1
First-line supervisors of retail sales workers	11.1
Information security analysts	11.1
Secretaries and administrative assistants, except legal, medical, and executive	11.1
Welding, soldering, and brazing workers	11.1
Business and financial operations occupations	11
Highway maintenance workers	11
Agents and business managers of artists, performers, and athletes	10.9
Computer network architects	10.9
Exercise trainers and group fitness instructors	10.9
Sewing machine operators	10.9
Sales representatives of services, except advertising, insurance, financial services, and travel	10.7
Credit counselors and loan officers	10.6
Database administrators and architects	10.6
Management, professional, and related occupations	10.6
Supervisors of personal care and service workers	10.6
Property, real estate, and community association managers	10.4
Software quality assurance analysts and testers	10.4
Other material moving workers	10.3
Lodging managers	10.2
Financial managers	10.1
Plumbers, pipefitters, and steamfitters	10.1
Fast food and counter workers	10
Legal occupations	10
Pharmacists	10
Industrial and refractory machinery mechanics	9.9
Sheet metal workers	9.9
Waiters and waitresses	9.9
Management, business, and financial operations occupations	9.8
Special education teachers	9.8
Dining room and cafeteria attendants and bartender helpers	9.7
Arts, design, entertainment, sports, and media occupations	9.6
Automotive body and related repairers	9.6
Project management specialists	9.6
Aircraft mechanics and service technicians	9.5
Clergy	9.5
Heating, air conditioning, and refrigeration mechanics and installers	9.5
Construction and building inspectors	9.4
Installation, maintenance, and repair occupations	9.4
Computer and mathematical occupations	9.2
Emergency medical technicians	9.2
Management occupations	9.2
Managers, all other	9.2
Pest control workers	9.2
Photographers	9.2
Physical scientists, all other	9.2
Travel agents	9.2
Construction laborers	9.1
Crane and tower operators	9
Other physicians	9
Real estate brokers and sales agents	8.8
Other protective service workers	8.7
Aerospace engineers	8.6
Landscaping and groundskeeping workers	8.6
Network and computer systems administrators	8.6
Securities, commodities, and financial services sales agents	8.6
Title examiners, abstractors, and searchers	8.6
Other engineering technologists and technicians, except drafters	8.5
Paramedics	8.5
Dental assistants	8.4
General and operations managers	8.4
Postsecondary teachers	8.4
First-line supervisors of non-retail sales workers	8.3
Medical scientists	8.3
Other designers	8.3
Personal care and service workers, all other	8.3
Cutting, punching, and press machine setters, operators, and tenders, metal and plastic	8.2
Hosts and hostesses, restaurant, lounge, and coffee shop	8.2
Life, physical, and social science occupations	8.2
Medical secretaries and administrative assistants	8.2
Automotive service technicians and mechanics	8.1
Firefighters	8
Massage therapists	8
Occupational therapists	8
Radiologic technologists and technicians	8
Wholesale and retail buyers, except farm products	8
Archivists, curators, and museum technicians	7.9
Computer and information systems managers	7.9
Drywall installers, ceiling tile installers, and tapers	7.9
Natural resources, construction, and maintenance occupations	7.8
Pipelayers	7.8
Compensation, benefits, and job analysis specialists	7.7
Electrical and electronics engineers	7.7
Insulation workers	7.5
Bakers	7.4
Other mathematical science occupations	7.4
Other psychologists	7.4
Advertising sales agents	7.3
Bartenders	7.3
Market research analysts and marketing specialists	7.3
Bookkeeping, accounting, and auditing clerks	7.2
Civil engineers	7.2
Construction and extraction occupations	7.2
Entertainment and recreation managers	7.1
Marketing managers	7.1
Librarians and media collections specialists	7
Bus and truck mechanics and diesel engine specialists	6.9
Management analysts	6.9
Other installation, maintenance, and repair workers	6.9
Computer numerically controlled tool operators and programmers	6.8
Graphic designers	6.8
Lawyers	6.8
Artists and related workers	6.7
Electricians	6.7
Tutors	6.7
Chiropractors	6.6
Computer programmers	6.5
Production, planning, and expediting clerks	6.5
Software developers	6.5
Manicurists and pedicurists	6.4
Personal financial advisors	6.4
Speech-language pathologists	6.4
Industrial production managers	6.3
Tailors, dressmakers, and sewers	6.3
Mechanical engineers	6.2
Architecture and engineering occupations	6.1
Diagnostic medical sonographers	6.1
Industrial engineers, including health and safety	6.1
Secondary school teachers	6.1
Animal caretakers	6
Chemical technicians	6
Machinists	6
Sales representatives, wholesale and manufacturing	6
Engineers, all other	5.9
Construction equipment operators	5.7
Interpreters and translators	5.7
School psychologists	5.7
Surgeons	5.7
Veterinary technologists and technicians	5.7
First-line supervisors of mechanics, installers, and repairers	5.6
Respiratory therapists	5.6
Painters and paperhangers	5.5
Roofers	5.5
Tree trimmers and pruners	5.5
Writers and authors	5.5
Architectural and engineering managers	5.4
Parts salespersons	5.4
Helpers, construction trades	5.3
Carpenters	5.2
Chief executives	5.2
Farming, fishing, and forestry occupations	5.1
Chemical engineers	5
First-line supervisors of firefighting and prevention workers	5
Physical therapists	5
Computer hardware engineers	4.9
Jewelers and precious stone and metal workers	4.9
Construction managers	4.8
First-line supervisors of construction trades and extraction workers	4.8
Fundraisers	4.8
Physician assistants	4.8
Sales managers	4.8
Broadcast, sound, and lighting technicians	4.5
Miscellaneous vehicle and mobile equipment mechanics, installers, and repairers	4.5
Dentists	4.3
First-line supervisors of farming, fishing, and forestry workers	4.3
Physical therapist assistants and aides	4.3
Animal trainers	4.1
Electrical power-line installers and repairers	4.1
Miscellaneous construction and related workers	4.1
Dental hygienists	4
Miscellaneous agricultural workers	3.9
Dental and ophthalmic laboratory technicians and medical appliance technicians	3.8
Heavy vehicle and mobile equipment service technicians and mechanics	3.7
Religious workers, all other	3.7
Veterinary assistants and laboratory animal caretakers	3.7
Aircraft pilots and flight engineers	3.6
Tour and travel guides	3.6
Web and digital interface designers	3.6
Architects, except landscape and naval	3.5
Editors	3.5
Logging workers	3.4
Cabinetmakers and bench carpenters	3.3
Other drafters	3.2
Biological scientists	3.1
Chemists and materials scientists	3
Miscellaneous social scientists and related workers	3
Floral designers	2.7
Electrical and electronic engineering technologists and technicians	2.4
Interior designers	2.3
Surveying and mapping technicians	2.3
Cement masons, concrete finishers, and terrazzo workers	1.9
Carpet, floor, and tile installers and finishers	1.5
Farmers, ranchers, and other agricultural managers	1.4
Veterinarians	1.3
Web developers	1.2
Brickmasons, blockmasons, and stonemasons	1.1
Property appraisers and assessors	0.6
Cost estimators	0.3