Industry describes an employer’s main business activity; occupation describes the work a person does. A bookkeeper, for example, may work in a hospital, a store, a manufacturer, or a government office: the occupation is similar, but the employer’s industry differs. This U.S.-focused guide groups example jobs by industry while showing how to compare career options without assuming that a job title belongs to just one sector.
Industry vs. occupation: what is the difference?
The U.S. Census Bureau classifies an organization by the kind of business it conducts and a worker by the kind of work they perform. The Bureau’s industry and occupation FAQ summarizes the distinction. These are complementary categories: one answers where a job is situated in the economy; the other describes the worker’s duties.
That distinction explains why industries and occupations do not map one-to-one. A hospital may employ clinicians, technicians, food-service workers, facilities staff, and administrators. A bookkeeper may work in healthcare, manufacturing, retail, or government. The examples below are illustrative, not exclusive assignments of a job title to a sector.
For federal statistics, Census’s current industry code list follows 2022 NAICS concepts and organizes 266 codes, including military, into 20 sectors. It is designed for household surveys and does not reproduce every NAICS detail. In the Bureau of Labor Statistics’ Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics (OEWS) program, occupations are classified using the 2018 Standard Occupational Classification (SOC), while establishments are classified by primary activity using 2022 NAICS in the May 2025 estimates.
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Types of jobs by industry
This selected guide provides examples of work found in major U.S. industry groupings. Exact sector boundaries and codes depend on the classification system and its edition; other countries use different systems.
Agriculture, forestry, fishing, and related work
- Growers and agricultural technicians
- Farm equipment operators
- Forestry workers
- Food production specialists
Construction
- Carpenters, electricians, and plumbers
- Construction laborers
- Estimators
- Project managers
Manufacturing
- Production operators and machinists
- Quality inspectors
- Industrial engineers and maintenance technicians
- Supply chain staff
Wholesale and retail trade
- Buyers and sales associates
- Cashiers and customer service representatives
- Inventory coordinators
- Store managers
Transportation and warehousing
- Drivers and dispatchers
- Warehouse associates
- Logistics analysts
- Operations supervisors
Utilities and energy
- Lineworkers and plant operators
- Engineers and technicians
- Energy analysts
Information and technology-related services
- Software developers and support specialists
- Data professionals
- Network technicians
- Media workers
Finance and insurance
- Tellers and loan officers
- Accountants and actuaries
- Claims adjusters
- Compliance specialists
Education
- Teachers and instructional aides
- Librarians and counselors
- Administrators
- Facilities staff
Healthcare and social assistance
- Nurses, physicians, and therapists
- Medical assistants and home health aides
- Social workers
- Community support staff
Accommodation and food services
- Cooks and servers
- Hotel desk clerks and housekeepers
- Food service managers
Public administration
- Policy and program staff
- Inspectors and administrative professionals
- Public safety roles
Public administration is not simply a category for every publicly funded service. Census classifies public schools, public hospitals, and bus lines according to the activity they perform, rather than automatically placing them in public administration. Industry classification is therefore not the same as dividing work into public and private employers. See Census’s explanation of industry classification.
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What current U.S. projections say—and what they do not
The BLS’s 2025–35 projections, published in 2026, show that projected growth varies by industry and occupation. Selected figures illustrate different ways to read the data:
| Area | BLS projection for 2025–35 | How to interpret it |
|---|---|---|
| Utilities | 9.8% employment growth | The projected increase represents 58,800 jobs, reflecting the sector’s smaller employment base. |
| Private healthcare and social assistance | 9.5% employment growth | BLS links growth to demand for services, including care for older adults and people with disabilities. |
| Services for the elderly and persons with disabilities | 625,400 additional jobs | Projected additions over the decade, not a growth percentage. |
| Nurse practitioners | 41.0% employment growth | The fastest-growing detailed occupation in the release; occupation-level growth is not the same as industry growth. |
These are national projections, not a ranking of the best industries and not a promise of a job or a particular outcome for an individual. BLS describes projections as outcomes expected under specified assumptions; actual results will differ if those assumptions are not realized. The projections focus on long-term structural trends, not future business-cycle activity. Read the qualifications in the BLS employment projections release.
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Start with the occupation or kind of work you might want to do, then compare how that work differs across employers and settings. Useful factors include:
- Tasks and setting: What would a typical workday involve, and where is the work performed?
- Training for the specific occupation: Check education, licensing, or experience requirements for the role rather than assuming an entire industry has one entry route.
- Pay and outlook: Compare estimates for the particular occupation and location, not just an industry-wide headline.
- Work conditions: Consider schedules, physical demands, and the amount of contact with customers or the public.
- Local demand: National projections can differ from state and local employment conditions and openings.
The BLS Occupational Outlook Handbook provides profiles for covered occupations, including work activities, wages, education and training, and outlook. For wage and employment estimates across occupations and industries, OEWS offers geographic and industry breakdowns. Its May 2025 estimates cover wage-and-salary workers in nonfarm establishments; they exclude self-employed people, owners and partners in unincorporated firms, household workers, and unpaid family workers. A figure from that program should not be treated as a complete count of every person doing a type of work.
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Finding the right official job and industry categories
When searching government data, a written job title may not match the standardized occupational label exactly. Census’s 2024 alphabetical indexes list more than 24,500 industry descriptions and 34,500 job titles to help map descriptions to codes. The Census code lists and crosswalks are useful when a comparison spans classification editions; systems are periodically revised, so codes should not be compared across years without checking the edition and any relevant crosswalk.
For a practical search, identify the occupation by its duties, then look at the industries and locations where that occupation is reported. If you are comparing a career with another person’s job title, check what the role actually entails: the same title can cover different duties, and similar duties can appear under different titles.
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