Telephone operators

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Total Workforce

33.8k

Average Age

41.5

Average Salary

$30,891

Average Male Salary

$30,406

Average Female Salary

$31,159

About

Employment

Diversity

Education

Skills

About

Telephone operators are most often employed by the Business support services industry. The average yearly wage for Telephone operators was $30,891 in 2016. The top 3 most similar occupations to Telephone operators by wage are Medical assistants, Shoe & leather workers, and File clerks.

Telephone operators are part of the Office & Administrative Support Occupations, along with Firstline supervisors of office & administrative support workers, Switchboard operators, including answering service, Telephone operators, Communications equipment operators, all other, Bill & account collectors, and 45 more.

The top 3 locations that employ the most Telephone operators are . The top 3 locations with a relatively high concentration of Telephone operators are .

Photo by Chung Ho Leung

Sales & Office Occupations Office & Administrative Support Occupations Office & Administrative Support Occupations

Employment

Information on the businesses and industries that employ Telephone operators and on wages and locations for those in the field. Business support services is the industry that employs the most Telephone operators, both by share and by number, though the highest paid industry for Telephone operators, by average wage, is Scientific research & development services. Telephone operators are paid most in Paradise (South) & Enterprise PUMA, NV but are relatively concentrated in false.

Wages

Yearly Wage

$30,891

AVERAGE SALARY

± $5,215

In 2018, Telephone operators earned an average of $30,891, $22,997 less than than the average national salary of $53,888.

Medical assistants make somewhat more than Telephone operators while Shoe & leather workers make somewhat less. This chart shows the various occupations closest to Telephone operators as measured by average annual salary in the US.

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Wage Distribution

0.313

WAGE GINI

In 2018, Telephone operators had a wage GINI coefficient of 0.313, which is lower than than the national average of 0.479. In other words, wages are distributed more evenly for Telephone operators (shown in red) than for the overall labor force (shown in gray).

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Wage by Location

Paradise (South) & Enterprise PUMA, NV

HIGHEST PAYING PUMAS

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

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Spatial Concentration

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

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Industries

Most Common

The most common industries employing Telephone operators, by number of employees, are Business support services, General medical and surgical hospitals, and specialty (except psychiatric and substance abuse) hospitals, and Wired telecommunications carriers.

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Highest Paying

The highest paying industries for Telephone operators, by average wage, are Scientific research & development services, Administration of human resource programs, Justice, public order, & safety activities , Banking & related activities, Other health care services, and Wired telecommunications carriers.

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Industries by Share

33.8k

2018 Workforce

± 4,515

-17.1%

1 YEAR GROWTH

± 21.8%

The number of people employed as Telephone operators has been declining at a rate of -17.1%, from 40,813 people in 2017 to 33,820 people in 2018.

This graphic shows the share of Telephone operators employed by various industries. Business support services employs the largest share of Telephone operators at 21.5%, followed by General medical and surgical hospitals, and specialty (except psychiatric and substance abuse) hospitals with 12% and Wired telecommunications carriers with 8.52%.

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Diversity

Demographic information on Telephone operators in the US. The average age of male Telephone operators in the workforce is 38.9 and of female Telephone operators is 42.9, and the most common race/ethnicity for Telephone operators is White (Non-Hispanic).

Gender Composition

12k

MALE WORKFORCE

± 2,693

21.8k

FEMALE WORKFORCE

± 3,624

64.4% of Telephone operators are Female, making them the more common gender in the occupation. This chart shows the gender breakdown of Telephone operators.

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Race & Ethnicity

Most Common Race or Ethnicity of Telephone operators

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

58% of Telephone operators are White (Non-Hispanic), making that the most common race or ethnicity in the occupation. Representing 20.6% of Telephone operators, Black (Non-Hispanic) is the second most common race or ethnicity in this occupation. This chart shows the racial and ethnic breakdown of Telephone operators.

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Age by Gender

38.9

AVERAGE MALE AGE

± 3.43

42.9

AVERAGE FEMALE AGE

± 2.62

The median age of Telephone operators is 41.5, and Male employees are generally 3.99 years younger than than their Female counterparts.

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Education

Data on higher education choices for Telephone operators from The Department of Education and Census Bureau. The most common major for Telephone operators is Computer and Information Sciences and Support Services but a relatively high number of Telephone operators hold a major in Computer and Information Sciences and Support Services.

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

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Skills

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