Safety and Occupational Health Management

What the Numbers Say About Safety and Occupational Health Management

Federal agencies employ 6,680 people in the Safety and Occupational Health Management occupation (OPM code 18), accounting for 0.3% of the total federal civilian workforce of 2,289,472 for the March 2025 reporting window. Headcount in this occupation moved down by -0.1% versus the prior period, a useful gauge for job seekers on USAJOBS trying to assess whether this role is expanding government-wide or contracting under hiring freezes and attrition.

The average salary for Safety and Occupational Health Management is $110,678 per year, placing it 0.7% above the overall federal civilian average of $109,869. Salaries moved up by 2.2% from the prior period, a broad shift as locality pay tables and grade-level adjustments moved through the workforce. Average length of service in this role is 13.8 years, a mid-length average tenure, reflecting a mix of career employees and those who transfer or exit mid-career.

Safety and Occupational Health Management sits inside the Miscellaneous Occupations Group family (code 0), which contains 26 related occupations across the federal government. Candidates browsing USAJOBS for Safety and Occupational Health Management postings should also review these sibling occupations, since federal hiring managers often cross-post positions across closely related codes when recruitment is difficult. All figures here come directly from OPM FedScope Employment Cubes, the same official source referenced in federal workforce planning, budget justifications, and GAO reports.

Safety and Occupational Health Management makes up 6.3% of the 105,611 employees across the Miscellaneous Occupations Group family, ranking #6 of 26 occupations in that family by headcount. Its average salary ranks in the top half (69th percentile) of pay among Miscellaneous Occupations Group occupations.