Human resources workers

Detailed Occupation

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2020 Workforce

868k

Average Age

Average Salary

$70,736

Average Male Salary

$82,160

Average Female Salary

$66,567

About

Human resources workers are most often employed by the Employment services industry. The average yearly wage for Human resources workers was $70,736 in 2016. The top 3 most similar occupations to Human resources workers by wage are Police officers, Property appraisers and assessors, and Firstline supervisors of construction trades & extraction workers.

Human resources workers are part of the Business & financial operations occupations, along with Agents & business managers of artists, performers, & athletes, Buyers & purchasing agents, farm products, Wholesale & retail buyers, except farm products, Purchasing agents, except wholesale, retail, & farm products, Claims adjusters, appraisers, examiners, & investigators, and 24 more.

The top 3 locations that employ the most Human resources workers are Upper East Side PUMA, NY, Dale City, Lake Ridge & Woodbridge PUMA, VA, and Bowie City, Kettering, Largo, Mitchellville & Lanham PUMA, MD. The top 3 locations with a relatively high concentration of Human resources workers are Ashburn (Southwest/Belmont Ridge) & Dulles Airport PUMA, VA, Charlotte City (Central) PUMA, NC, and Murray Hill, Gramercy & Stuyvesant Town PUMA, NY.

Photo by World Relief Spokane

Information on the businesses and industries that employ Human resources workers and on wages and locations for those in the field. Employment services is the industry that employs the most Human resources workers, both by share and by number, though the highest paid industry for Human resources workers, by average wage, is Miscellaneous petroleum & coal products. Human resources workers are paid most in Norfolk (Northeast) & Middlesex (Southeast) Counties (West of Boston City) PUMA, MA but are relatively concentrated in Ashburn (Southwest/Belmont Ridge) & Dulles Airport PUMA, VA.

Yearly Wage

$70,736

AVERAGE SALARY

± $1,583

In 2020, Human resources workers earned an average of $70,736, $14,782 more than than the average national salary of $55,954.

Police officers make somewhat more than Human resources workers while Property appraisers and assessors make somewhat less. This chart shows the various occupations closest to Human resources workers as measured by average annual salary in the US.

Wage Distribution

0.37

WAGE GINI

In 2015, Human resources workers had a wage GINI coefficient of 0.37, which is lower than than the national average of 0.478. In other words, wages are distributed more evenly for Human resources workers (shown in red) than for the overall labor force (shown in gray).

Wage by Location

HIGHEST PAYING PUMAS

This map shows the Public Use Microdata Areas (PUMAs) in the United States shaded by average annual wage for Human resources workers.

Spatial Concentration

PUMAs with a Relatively High Concentration of Human resources workers

This map displays which Public Use Microdata Areas (PUMAs) in the United States have a relatively high population of Human resources workers.

Most Common

The most common industries employing Human resources workers, by number of employees, are Employment services, Colleges, universities & professional schools, including junior colleges, General medical and surgical hospitals, and specialty (except psychiatric and substance abuse) hospitals, National security & international affairs, Computer Systems Design, Management, scientific & technical consulting services, Insurance carriers, Elementary & secondary schools, Administration of human resource programs, Labor unions, and Executive offices & legislative bodies.

Highest Paying

The highest paying industries for Human resources workers, by average wage, are Miscellaneous petroleum & coal products, Household appliance manufacturing, and Internet publishing, broadcasting & web search portals.

Industries by Share

868k

2020 Workforce

± 22,808

4.26%

1 YEAR GROWTH

± 3.6%

The number of people employed as Human resources workers has been growing at a rate of 4.26%, from 832,648 people in 2019 to 868,094 people in 2020.

This graphic shows the share of Human resources workers employed by various industries. Employment services employs the largest share of Human resources workers at 14.8%, followed by Colleges, universities & professional schools, including junior colleges with 4.22% and General medical and surgical hospitals, and specialty (except psychiatric and substance abuse) hospitals with 4.08%.

Diversity

Demographic information on Human resources workers in the US. The average age of male Human resources workers in the workforce is 40.7 and of female Human resources workers is 41.1, and the most common race/ethnicity for Human resources workers is White (Non-Hispanic).

Composition by Sex

232k

MALE WORKFORCE

± 11,819

636k

FEMALE WORKFORCE

± 19,537

73.3% of Human resources workers are Female, making them the more common sex in the occupation. This chart shows the sex breakdown of Human resources workers.

Race & Ethnicity

Most Common Race or Ethnicity of Human resources workers

White (Non-Hispanic)
Black (Non-Hispanic)
White (Hispanic)

63.9% of Human resources workers are White (Non-Hispanic), making that the most common race or ethnicity in the occupation. Representing 14.4% of Human resources workers, Black (Non-Hispanic) is the second most common race or ethnicity in this occupation. This chart shows the racial and ethnic breakdown of Human resources workers.

Age by Sex

40.7

AVERAGE MALE AGE

± 0.657

41.1

AVERAGE FEMALE AGE

± 0.383

The median age of Human resources workers is 41, and Male employees are generally 0.486 years younger than than their Female counterparts.

Education

Data on higher education choices for Human resources workers from The Department of Education and Census Bureau. The most common major for Human resources workers is Business but a relatively high number of Human resources workers hold a major in Communications.

Majors

ACS PUMS data only shows the major for bachelor's degrees. However, we can filter the data based on highest degree obtained.

MOST COMMON MAJORS

MOST SPECIALIZED MAJORS

Skills

Data on the critical and distinctive skills necessary for Human resources workers from the Bureau of Labor Statistics. Human resources workers need many skills, but most especially Speaking, Active Listening, and Negotiation. The revealed comparative advantage (RCA) shows that Human resources workers need more than the average amount of Service Orientation, Negotiation, and Social Perceptiveness.