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Participant asks whether direct care jobs have a dedicated SOC code; panelists point to practical workarounds
Summary
A webinar participant from West Virginia asked how to find direct care workers in labor market data when there is no single Standard Occupational Classification (SOC) code; New Mexico officials said they worked with labor economists to map multiple SOC codes into an agreed scope.
During Q&A, Tina White (a West Virginia participant) asked about a common practical problem: the direct care worker does not have a single SOC (Standard Occupational Classification) code, making labor market searches difficult.
"We realized that the direct care worker doesn't specifically have an SOC or standard occupational classification code," White said. Panelists responded that the team worked with state labor market economists to pull a set of candidate SOC codes and then held a workgroup process to decide which occupations to include. They advised other states to undertake a similar mapping exercise and to document the choices made so analyses are reproducible.
The host then moved participants into small‑group breakouts with prepared questions (partners, definitions, measures, sources) and asked scribes to capture key takeaways for a reconvening at 4:10 p.m. Eastern.
