# BLS Occupational Outlook Handbook Scraper (`crawlerbros/bls-ooh-scraper`) Actor

Scrape Bureau of Labor Statistics Occupational Outlook Handbook - wages, employment counts, job outlook, education requirements and career data for 300+ US occupations. No API key needed.

- **URL**: https://apify.com/crawlerbros/bls-ooh-scraper.md
- **Developed by:** [Crawler Bros](https://apify.com/crawlerbros) (community)
- **Categories:** Jobs, Automation, Developer tools
- **Stats:** 2 total users, 1 monthly users, 100.0% runs succeeded, 0 bookmarks
- **User rating**: No ratings yet

## Pricing

from $3.00 / 1,000 results

This Actor is paid per event and usage. You are charged both the fixed price for specific events and for Apify platform usage.
Since this Actor supports Apify Store discounts, the price gets lower the higher subscription plan you have.

Learn more: https://docs.apify.com/actors/running/actors-in-store.md#pay-per-event

## What's an Apify Actor?

Actors are web data automations that power AI and operations. They run on the Apify platform to scrape websites, process data, connect APIs, and automate workflows.
In Batch mode, an Actor accepts a well-defined JSON input, performs an action which can take anything from a few seconds to a few hours,
and optionally produces a well-defined JSON output, datasets with results, or files in key-value store.
In Standby mode, an Actor provides a web server which can be used as a website, API, or an MCP server.
Actors are written with capital "A".

## How to integrate an Actor?

If asked about integration, you help developers integrate Actors into their projects.
You adapt to their stack and deliver integrations that are safe, well-documented, and production-ready.
The best way to integrate Actors is as follows.

- **AI agents and MCP clients** — the [Apify MCP server](https://docs.apify.com/integrations/mcp.md) at `https://mcp.apify.com` (remote, streamable HTTP, OAuth on first use).
- **Agentic workflows and local Actor development** — [Agent Skills](https://apify.com/.well-known/agent-skills/index.json) with the [Apify CLI](https://docs.apify.com/cli/docs.md): `npm install -g apify-cli`, then `apify login`.
- **JavaScript/TypeScript projects** — the official [JS/TS client](https://docs.apify.com/api/client/js/docs.md): `npm install apify-client`.
- **Python projects** — the official [Python client](https://docs.apify.com/api/client/python/docs.md): `pip install apify-client`.
- **Any other language** — the [REST API](https://docs.apify.com/api/v2.md).

For usage examples, see the [API](#api) section below.

For more details, see Apify documentation as [Markdown index](https://docs.apify.com/llms.txt) and [Markdown full-text](https://docs.apify.com/llms-full.txt).

# README

## BLS Occupational Outlook Handbook Scraper

Extract detailed career and wage data for 300+ US occupations from the Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) Occupational Outlook Handbook (OOH). No API key required.

### What This Actor Does

This actor scrapes the BLS OOH website to extract structured occupation data including:

- Median annual and hourly wages
- Employment counts and projections
- 10-year job outlook and growth category
- Education and training requirements
- Typical job duties and work settings
- Related occupations

### Data Source

**Bureau of Labor Statistics — Occupational Outlook Handbook**\
Website: <https://www.bls.gov/ooh/>\
No API key or registration required. The data is published by the U.S. Department of Labor.

### Use Cases

- **Career research** — Compare wages and outlook across occupation groups
- **Workforce analytics** — Analyze labor market trends and projected job growth
- **Education planning** — Map education requirements to occupations
- **Salary benchmarking** — Compare median wages by occupation and group
- **Job market intelligence** — Identify growing vs. declining occupations

### Input Parameters

| Parameter | Type | Description |
|-----------|------|-------------|
| `mode` | Select | How to fetch: `allOccupations`, `byOccupationGroup`, `searchByKeyword`, `byOccupation` |
| `occupationGroup` | Select | One of 23 BLS occupation groups (used with `byOccupationGroup`) |
| `keyword` | String | Keyword to search in occupation names (used with `searchByKeyword`) |
| `occupationUrl` | String | Full URL or relative path to a specific occupation page |
| `minMedianWage` | Integer | Minimum median annual wage (USD) filter |
| `maxItems` | Integer | Maximum records to return (default: 50, max: 1000) |

### Output Fields

| Field | Type | Description |
|-------|------|-------------|
| `occupation_title` | String | Occupation name |
| `occupation_group` | String | Major occupation group |
| `median_annual_wage_usd` | Integer | Median annual wage in USD |
| `median_hourly_wage_usd` | Number | Median hourly wage in USD |
| `employment_count` | Integer | Number of jobs in the reference year |
| `employment_percent_change_10yr` | Number | Projected % change in employment over 10 years |
| `job_outlook_category` | String | Growth category (e.g., "Faster than average") |
| `entry_level_education` | String | Typical education to enter the occupation |
| `work_experience` | String | Work experience requirement |
| `on_the_job_training` | String | On-the-job training requirement |
| `number_of_jobs` | Integer | Total number of jobs |
| `projected_employment_change` | Integer | Projected new jobs over 10 years |
| `occupation_code` | String | SOC code |
| `summary` | String | Brief occupation description |
| `typical_duties` | Array | List of common job duties |
| `work_settings` | Array | List of common work environments |
| `related_occupations` | Array | List of similar occupations |
| `url` | String | BLS OOH page URL |
| `scrapedAt` | String | ISO-8601 scrape timestamp |

### Example Output

```json
{
  "occupation_title": "Registered Nurses",
  "occupation_group": "Healthcare Practitioners and Technical",
  "median_annual_wage_usd": 86070,
  "median_hourly_wage_usd": 41.38,
  "employment_count": 3372400,
  "employment_percent_change_10yr": 6.0,
  "job_outlook_category": "Faster than average",
  "entry_level_education": "Bachelor's degree",
  "work_experience": "None",
  "on_the_job_training": "None",
  "number_of_jobs": 3372400,
  "projected_employment_change": 193100,
  "summary": "Registered nurses (RNs) provide and coordinate patient care...",
  "typical_duties": [
    "Assess patient health problems and needs",
    "Maintain accurate, detailed reports and records"
  ],
  "work_settings": [
    "Hospitals; state, local, and private",
    "Ambulatory health care services"
  ],
  "related_occupations": [
    "Nurse Anesthetists, Nurse Midwives, and Nurse Practitioners",
    "Licensed Practical and Licensed Vocational Nurses"
  ],
  "url": "https://www.bls.gov/ooh/healthcare/registered-nurses.htm",
  "scrapedAt": "2026-06-02T10:00:00+00:00"
}
```

### Modes

#### `allOccupations`

Scrapes all ~330 occupations from the A-Z index. Best for comprehensive data collection.

#### `byOccupationGroup`

Scrapes all occupations within a specific group (e.g., Healthcare, Management). Faster than all occupations.

#### `searchByKeyword`

Filters occupations by keyword in the title. E.g., `keyword=nurse` returns all nursing-related occupations.

#### `byOccupation`

Scrapes a single specific occupation by URL or path.

### Occupation Groups

- Management
- Business and Financial Operations
- Computer and Information Technology
- Architecture and Engineering
- Life, Physical, and Social Science
- Community and Social Service
- Legal
- Educational Instruction and Library
- Arts, Design, Entertainment, Sports, and Media
- Healthcare Practitioners and Technical
- Healthcare Support
- Protective Service
- Food Preparation and Serving Related
- Building and Grounds Cleaning and Maintenance
- Personal Care and Service
- Sales and Related
- Office and Administrative Support
- Farming, Fishing, and Forestry
- Construction and Extraction
- Installation, Maintenance, and Repair
- Production
- Transportation and Material Moving
- Military

### Frequently Asked Questions

**Q: Is an API key required?**\
A: No. The BLS OOH is a public government website with no authentication required.

**Q: How current is the data?**\
A: The BLS updates OOH data periodically (typically every 2 years). Wage data is from the most recent BLS Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics survey.

**Q: How many occupations are covered?**\
A: The OOH covers approximately 330 occupational profiles across 23 major groups.

**Q: What does "≥$239,200 per year" mean for wage?**\
A: For high-wage occupations (like physicians), the BLS reports a threshold rather than a specific median. The actor records this as the threshold value.

**Q: Can I filter by wage?**\
A: Yes. Use `minMedianWage` to filter out occupations below a salary threshold.

# Actor input Schema

## `mode` (type: `string`):

How to fetch occupations.

## `occupationGroup` (type: `string`):

Major occupation group to browse (mode=byOccupationGroup).

## `keyword` (type: `string`):

Filter occupations by keyword in title (mode=searchByKeyword). E.g. 'nurse', 'engineer', 'manager'.

## `occupationUrl` (type: `string`):

Full URL or relative path for a specific occupation (mode=byOccupation). E.g. '/ooh/healthcare/physicians-and-surgeons.htm' or 'https://www.bls.gov/ooh/computer-and-information-technology/software-developers.htm'.

## `minMedianWage` (type: `integer`):

Filter out occupations with median annual wage below this threshold.

## `maxItems` (type: `integer`):

Maximum number of occupation records to return.

## Actor input object example

```json
{
  "mode": "byOccupationGroup",
  "occupationGroup": "Healthcare Practitioners and Technical",
  "maxItems": 10
}
```

# Actor output Schema

## `records` (type: `string`):

Dataset containing all scraped BLS Occupational Outlook Handbook records.

# API

You can run this Actor programmatically using our API. Below are code examples in JavaScript, Python, and CLI, as well as the OpenAPI specification and MCP server setup.

## JavaScript example

```javascript
import { ApifyClient } from 'apify-client';

// Initialize the ApifyClient with your Apify API token
// Replace the '<YOUR_API_TOKEN>' with your token
const client = new ApifyClient({
    token: '<YOUR_API_TOKEN>',
});

// Prepare Actor input
const input = {
    "mode": "byOccupationGroup",
    "occupationGroup": "Healthcare Practitioners and Technical",
    "maxItems": 10
};

// Run the Actor and wait for it to finish
const run = await client.actor("crawlerbros/bls-ooh-scraper").call(input);

// Fetch and print Actor results from the run's dataset (if any)
console.log('Results from dataset');
console.log(`💾 Check your data here: https://console.apify.com/storage/datasets/${run.defaultDatasetId}`);
const { items } = await client.dataset(run.defaultDatasetId).listItems();
items.forEach((item) => {
    console.dir(item);
});

// 📚 Want to learn more 📖? Go to → https://docs.apify.com/api/client/js/docs

```

## Python example

```python
from apify_client import ApifyClient

# Initialize the ApifyClient with your Apify API token
# Replace '<YOUR_API_TOKEN>' with your token.
client = ApifyClient("<YOUR_API_TOKEN>")

# Prepare the Actor input
run_input = {
    "mode": "byOccupationGroup",
    "occupationGroup": "Healthcare Practitioners and Technical",
    "maxItems": 10,
}

# Run the Actor and wait for it to finish
run = client.actor("crawlerbros/bls-ooh-scraper").call(run_input=run_input)

# Fetch and print Actor results from the run's dataset (if there are any)
print(f"💾 Check your data here: https://console.apify.com/storage/datasets/{run.default_dataset_id}")
for item in client.dataset(run.default_dataset_id).iterate_items():
    print(item)

# 📚 Want to learn more 📖? Go to → https://docs.apify.com/api/client/python/docs/quick-start

```

## CLI example

```bash
echo '{
  "mode": "byOccupationGroup",
  "occupationGroup": "Healthcare Practitioners and Technical",
  "maxItems": 10
}' |
apify call crawlerbros/bls-ooh-scraper --silent --output-dataset

```

## MCP server setup

```json
{
    "mcpServers": {
        "apify": {
            "type": "http",
            "url": "https://mcp.apify.com/?tools=fetch-actor-details,crawlerbros/bls-ooh-scraper"
        }
    }
}

```

The hosted server signs you in with OAuth on first connect, so no API token belongs in this config. Clients without OAuth support can send an `Authorization: Bearer <APIFY_API_TOKEN>` header instead, using a token from API & Integrations in Apify Console (https://console.apify.com/settings/integrations).

## OpenAPI specification

Download the OpenAPI definition: https://api.apify.com/v2/actors/Hzo5FRpHkGLGaBWjF/builds/nSTWopc0G9N2buVVf/openapi.json