Laboring
Everything OPM FedScope (June 2026) reports about the Laboring occupation series (code 3502): headcount, average salary, length of service, and pay comparison.
The verdict
In the General Services and Support Work Family family, Laboring counts 1,663 employees, a smaller, specialized federal occupation at 0.1% of the federal civilian workforce, and headcount grew from the prior period; pay averages $48,277, which pays below the federal-wide average.
- Headcount change
- +4.4%
- Pay change
- -0.0%
- Avg tenure
- 6.3 yrs
- Rank in family
- #2 of 5
FedScope read on Laboring (dense series)
For job seekers weighing career length: this series shows a comparatively short average tenure, which can reflect faster turnover, a competitive private-sector alternative, or a newer program still building up its workforce. Headcount moved up versus the prior period, a modest but trackable signal for anyone considering this specialized federal career path. As for pay, the latest move was a small shift, within the range of normal year-to-year rounding rather than a broad pay-table change.
Laboring sits inside the General Services and Support Work Family family (code 35), which contains 5 related occupations across the federal government. Candidates browsing USAJOBS for Laboring postings should also review these sibling occupations in the General Services and Support Work Family family. Laboring makes up 11.7% of the General Services and Support Work Family family's 14,196 combined employees. Its average salary ranks in the bottom half (25th percentile) of pay among General Services and Support Work Family occupations.
Salary context · lean-pay series
How Laboring pay compares to the federal average
Occupation Average
$48,277
Federal Average
$117,339
vs. Federal Avg
-58.9%
Where Laboring ranks on lean federal pay
Laboring earns more on average than 5% of federal occupation series (25 of 541). The highlighted bar marks where Laboring sits in the federal pay distribution.
Average-salary distribution across all 541 federal occupation series; the highlighted bar marks Laboring.
Related Occupations in General Services and Support Work Family
4 other occupations in the same family
| Occupation | Employees | Avg Salary | Avg LOS |
|---|---|---|---|
| Custodial Working | 12,122 | $47,108 | 8.9 yrs |
| Misc General Services and Support Work | 371 | $51,243 | 6 yrs |
| Laboratory Working | 23 | $50,290 | 10.5 yrs |
| Railroad Repairing | 17 | n/a | 4.8 yrs |
Nationwide peers near this dense headcount
Two peer sets for Laboring outside the General Services and Support Work Family family, on headcount and average salary axes that vary across all OPM occupation series.
Similar dense headcount
Nearest employee counts in other occupation families (1,663 here).
Similar lean average salary
Nearest average salaries in other occupation families ($48,277 here).
Key takeaways
- Place Laboring pay in context with the pay-rank chart above, then compare it with another occupation.
- Turn an average salary into a grade: the GS pay grade tables show how grades and steps map to pay.
- Browse the General Services and Support Work Family family occupations in the table above, or search current Laboring postings on USAJOBS.
OPM FedScope and Federal Workforce Data figures are federal civilian headcounts, average salaries, and length-of-service statistics - not job-quality scores, hiring advice, or a live vacancy listing. A larger or higher-paid agency is not a better employer.