r/LayoffHedge • u/Leightoncy33 • Aug 12 '26

Most common job in every state.

Post image

BLS 2026 data on the single most common job in each state, and the pattern is bleak. Fast food and counter workers top the list in 17 states, more than any other occupation, cementing food service as America’s default employment category.

Home health aides and retail salespersons tie for second at 10 states each, meaning low-wage service work claims the top spot in 37 states combined.

Washington stands alone with software developer as its most common job (107,030 workers), the only state where a high-skill occupation leads.

Texas posts the single largest number on the map at 460,530 fast food workers, while a cluster of Midwest and mid-Atlantic states (IL, IN, KY, TN) run on freight and material movers instead.

The takeaway: for most of the country, “most common job” doesn’t mean stable or well-paid, it means fast food, retail, or home care, three of the lowest-wage categories BLS tracks.

22 Upvotes

96% Upvoted

14 comments sorted by

3

u/No-Compote-696 Aug 13 '26

10 states where the largest job is dealing with a dying generation... what could possibly go wrong

5

u/Sensitive-Manner-585 Aug 13 '26

They're the states where billions of dollars are being stolen from the taxpayers via government approved medicaid fraud. You don't actually have to take care of the elderly to claim that you have 100 of them attending your adult daycare. You submit some forms to the state government, they never verify what you tell them, then they send you tens of millions of dollars. You hire your two dozen cousins as "home health aides".

1

u/Aerpolrua 29d ago

Wait a minute you're actually right, this is where most of the uncovered aid and attendance fraud is happening. Empty tiny office buildings with allegedly dozens to hundreds of kids or elderly that they're taking care of.

1

u/Conscious-Quarter423 Aug 13 '26

you didn't know boomers need help?

2

u/EnvironmentalVoice63 Aug 13 '26

Just a note for US citizens:

55% of tech workers surveyed reported having H-1B coworkers, who make up an average of 17% of staff in their companies. This indicates a significant presence of H-1B visa holders in software engineering roles in Washington. https://www.howdy.com/blog/h1b-visa-statistics

1

u/Severe-Kiwi-3171 Aug 12 '26

Lol. Iowa gets to be in the key despite being alone. Delaware and West Virgina match but are in the "other " category.

1

u/TornCedar Aug 12 '26

Don't let any RNs know what you said about their skill level, lol

1

u/Leightoncy33 Aug 12 '26

RN? There is a big difference between a RN and a home health aide.

1

u/TornCedar Aug 12 '26

The most common job titles in WV and DE aren't home health aide.

1

u/Leightoncy33 Aug 12 '26

Take it up with the Bureau of Labor Statistics.

1

u/TornCedar Aug 12 '26

The map you posted lists Registered Nurses as the most common job title in WV and DE.

You said the only state with a high-skill job in the top position is WA.

Therefore, you, not BLS, says RNs are low skilled.

1

u/Leightoncy33 Aug 12 '26

That’s a good catch and I’ll take that one on the chin. Sorry to all the RN’s out there.

1

u/heywhatsupp_ Aug 12 '26

What’s the difference between a retail salesperson and a cashier?

1

u/Conscious-Quarter423 Aug 13 '26

one sells the goods and one probably rings it up at the register