PSOC Major Groups
These are the top-level occupation groupings used to narrow a PSOC lookup before moving into finer occupational detail.
Armed forces occupations
Military and armed-services roles form the top PSOC major group for occupations that are not civilian labor-market jobs in the ordinary sense.
Use this major group when the real role is held under military discipline or active service in the armed forces rather than a comparable civilian title.Managers
Managers plan, direct and evaluate the overall activities of enterprises, government units and other organizations.
Use this group for people whose main work is directing operations, setting policy, managing budgets and approving resources.Professionals
Professionals apply advanced knowledge in science, engineering, health, law, education and other specialist fields.
Use this group for analytically trained roles that normally require university-level expertise or equivalent professional specialization.Technicians and associate professionals
Technicians and associate professionals perform technical and specialized support work in science, health, engineering, administration and creative fields.
Use this group when the role supports professional work with practical technical skills, controlled procedures and specialized operational knowledge.Clerical support workers
Clerical support workers handle office administration, records, bookkeeping, customer transactions and routine support processes.
Use this group for office-based administrative jobs where the core work is handling information, documents, counters or routine financial records.Service and sales workers
Service and sales workers provide personal services, protect people and property, and sell goods or services directly to clients and customers.
Use this group for frontline service jobs in hospitality, care, security, retail, food service and direct selling.Skilled agricultural, forestry and fishery workers
This group covers skilled work in crop production, animal raising, forestry, aquaculture and other primary production activities.
Use this group for jobs centered on farming, forestry, fishing, nursery work and other skilled primary-sector occupations.Craft and related trades workers
Craft and related trades workers build, repair, process and fit materials, equipment and products using skilled manual work.
Use this group for construction, metalwork, mechanics, electrical trades, food processing, textiles and similar skilled craft occupations.Plant and machine operators, and assemblers
Plant and machine operators and assemblers run machinery, monitor equipment, drive vehicles and assemble products to specification.
Use this group for jobs where the dominant task is operating, monitoring or assembling with machinery rather than doing the work manually from start to finish.Elementary occupations
Elementary occupations are routine, simple-task jobs that generally require limited formal training and focus on basic physical or service work.
Use this group for entry-level or routine jobs in cleaning, delivery, helpers, street services, basic farming and simple manual tasks.