The Physical Exertion Requirements of Unskilled Work

This paper develops methods for estimating the exertion (or strength) requirements of unskilled work for each detailed occupation in the federal government’s Standard Occupational Classification (SOC) system. Estimates and confidence intervals from these methods are displayed in easy-to-use and publicly-available Excel files that accompany this paper. These results will be of value to vocational experts and claimant attorneys involved in Social Security’s disability determination process. Data underlying the estimates come from the Occupational Requirements Survey – an important new data collection designed to replace the Dictionary of Occupational Titles in disability determinations. Beyond disability determinations, results from this paper illustrate important features of employment in the United States that will be of interest to labor economists and public policy officials.