Jun 12 -- The Office of Management and Budget (OMB), on behalf of the Standard Occupational Classification Policy Committee (SOCPC), announces the review of the 2018 Standard Occupational Classification (SOC) Manual for potential revisions to be made for 2028 and solicits public comment. This review and possible revision of the 2018 SOC is intended to be completed by the beginning of 2027 and then released to begin use in reference year 2028. To ensure consideration of comments on this notice, they must be received no later than August 12, 2024.
OMB) announces the review of the 2018 SOC Manual for possible revision in 2028 and solicits public comment on the following topics:
-- intention to retain the 2018 SOC Classification Principles;
-- intention to retain the 2018 SOC Coding Guidelines;
-- intention to retain the 2018 SOC Major Group Structure;
-- whether to develop definitions for major occupation groups;
-- whether to consider changes to, or consolidation of, selected 2018 SOC detailed occupations, including specifically public safety telecommunicators and whether production occupations should be combined based on common job duties;
-- whether to consider the addition of new detailed occupations or occupational groups, including specifically care workers;
-- possible changes to major, minor, and broad occupation groups;
-- possible changes to the STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering, and Math) occupation framework and its domains; and
-- uses and applications of the SOC.
The SOC classifies all occupations for which work is performed for pay or profit. It is designed to cover all jobs in the national economy, including occupations in the public, private, and military sectors. In this way, the SOC is designed to reflect the current occupational composition of the United States. The SOC supports efficiency and effectiveness of the U.S. Federal statistical system by providing a standard for occupation-based statistical data classification, thereby ensuring comparability of these data across Federal statistical agencies. Accordingly, all Federal agencies that publish occupational data for statistical purposes are required to use the SOC. State and local government agencies are also strongly encouraged to use this national system to promote a common language for categorizing and analyzing occupations. Consistent with good statistical practice, these classifications are reviewed and revised periodically to ensure statistical robustness, relevance, accuracy, and comparability of occupational data produced for statistical purposes.
This is the first Federal Register Notice requesting public comment in the process leading up to the potential 2028 SOC revision. More information on the SOC, including information on past revision processes, is available at
https://www.bls.gov/SOC.
BLS 2028 SOC:
https://www.bls.gov/soc/notices/2024/next_revision.htm
FRN:
https://www.federalregister.gov/d/2024-12825