Business and Financial Operations Occupations
BLS May 2025 wages Wide pay band SOC 13-1075

Labor Relations Specialists

The published band from $50,490 to $156,180 is the distinctive signal for this role, not a twin of Management Analysts.

Full salary details → About this data

Same-major-group titles next to Labor Relations Specialists: Management Analysts ($102K) , Market Research Analysts and Marketing Specialists ($79K) , Accountants and Auditors ($84K) , Financial Specialists, All Other ($81K) . Hash-ordered per card so residual SOC siblings do not share an identical peer sentence.

What Labor Relations Specialists publish as work

O*NET task statements for SOC 13-1075 - occupation-level descriptions, not every employer's posting. Sibling cards diverge here because the task set is entity-keyed.

  1. 1. Negotiate collective bargaining agreements
  2. 2. Investigate and evaluate union complaints or arguments to determine viability
  3. 3. Propose resolutions for collective bargaining or other labor or contract negotiations
  4. 4. Draft contract proposals or counter-proposals for collective bargaining or other labor negotiations
  5. 5. Interpret contractual agreements for employers and employees engaged in collective bargaining or other labor relations processes
  6. 6. Prepare evidence for disciplinary hearings, including preparing witnesses to testify
  7. 7. Mediate discussions between employer and employee representatives in attempt to reconcile differences
  8. 8. Review employer practices or employee data to ensure compliance with contracts on matters such as wages, hours, or conditions of employment
  9. 9. Recommend collective bargaining strategies, goals, or objectives
  10. 10. Monitor company or workforce adherence to labor agreements
  11. 11. Call or meet with union, company, government, or other interested parties to discuss labor relations matters, such as contract negotiatio…
  12. 12. Assess risk levels associated with collective bargaining strategies

Labor Relations Specialists: O*NET ranks Active Listening first

Importance-ranked O*NET profile for SOC 13-1075 - lead skill Active Listening at 4.4 ; lead knowledge Personnel and Human Resources. Sibling cards diverge here even when peer titles overlap.

Top skills

  1. 1. Active Listening 4.4
  2. 2. Speaking 4.3
  3. 3. Negotiation 4.1
  4. 4. Reading Comprehension 4.0
  5. 5. Writing 4.0
  6. 6. Critical Thinking 4.0
  7. 7. Persuasion 3.9
  8. 8. Social Perceptiveness 3.8

Knowledge areas

  1. 1. Personnel and Human Resources 4.0
  2. 2. English Language 3.7
  3. 3. Law and Government 3.6
  4. 4. Administration and Management 3.1
  5. 5. Education and Training 2.9
  6. 6. Customer and Personal Service 2.7
Published pay band (10th to 90th)
$50,490 to $156,180
median $95,420 · ~3.1× spread
$95K
National median
↓ -0%
Growth 2024-2034
5,100
Annual openings
64,810
Estimated US jobs
Management Analysts
Highest-pay peer · $102K

Typical Entry and Preparation Assignments

Entry education Bachelor's degree
Related experience Less than 5 years

Top Paying States for Labor Relations Specialists

1. New Jersey $118,370
2. Minnesota $100,760
3. Washington $104,100
4. New York $100,500
5. California $105,810
6. District of Columbia $115,600
7. Illinois $104,180
8. Massachusetts $111,260
9. North Dakota $101,220
10. Virginia $98,730

Other Business and Financial Operations Occupations titles

  1. 1. Accountants and Auditors $83,680
  2. 2. Financial Specialists, All Other $81,100
  3. 3. Management Analysts $101,860
  4. 4. Logisticians $82,320
  5. 5. Market Research Analysts and Marketing Specialists $78,760
  6. 6. Business Operations Specialists, All Other $83,050

The OEWS band for Labor Relations Specialists runs from $50,490 (10th) to $156,180 (90th), about 3.1× wide, with median $95,420. That spread, not the midpoint alone, is the distinctive published fact.

Employment Projections expect -0% change between 2024 and 2034 (declining vs baseline 3.1%). About 5,100 annual openings are projected. BLS assigns Bachelor's degree as typical education needed for entry and less than 5 years as the typical related-work-experience category. These are occupation-level assignments, not universal requirements. BLS does not publish a separate occupation-specific safety rate for this role; its broad SOC-group rate is excluded from this career card's grade.

Highest published state median in this ranking: New Jersey at $118,370. The table records differences without proving causes. Highest-pay peer shown here: Management Analysts at $101,860. Compare the same statistic in the relevant local wage area before treating the national median as a personal benchmark; OEWS excludes employer benefits.

Labor Relations Specialists pay-rank #6 in Business and Financial Operations Occupations

Among 32 detailed Business and Financial Operations Occupations with a published OEWS median, Labor Relations Specialists is pay-rank #6, the upper third of that major group. The order is ROW_NUMBER on national median (title as tiebreak), not a worker-level percentile.

Other upper-third titles · closest medians

Full Salary Details Compare this role

Data from U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics (OEWS), May 2025. Projections from BLS Employment Projections program, 2024-2034.

The 10th-to-90th percentile spread for Labor Relations Specialists is unusually wide, so the state map and peer comparison carry more signal than the median alone.

Labor Relations Specialists salary map

State, metro, and percentile for SOC 13-1075

New Jersey · top state for Labor Relations Specialists

$118K published median

Minnesota · #2 state pay

$101K · behind New Jersey

Management Analysts

Highest-pay peer vs Labor Relations Specialists · $102K

Market Research Analysts and Marketing Specialists

Lower-pay peer beside Labor Relations Specialists · $79K

Compare Labor Relations Specialists

Head-to-head OEWS medians with another SOC
Compare Labor Relations Specialists with another occupation →

Pay-band next reads

Entry-Level vs Experienced Pay

What percentile bands reveal

Using Salary Data for Negotiation

Leverage BLS percentiles

Frequently Asked Questions

Which Business and Financial Operations Occupations titles sit near Labor Relations Specialists at the top of the pay table? ▼
Labor Relations Specialists is pay-rank #6 of 32 detailed Business and Financial Operations Occupations with an OEWS median, upper third. Nearest upper-third titles: Financial Examiners ($94K), Budget Analysts ($92K), Management Analysts ($102K), Project Management Specialists ($102K). Rank is ROW_NUMBER on national median.
What do labor relations specialists do day to day? ▼
O*NET lists published task statements for Labor Relations Specialists. Leading ones include: Negotiate collective bargaining agreements; Investigate and evaluate union complaints or arguments to determine viability; Propose resolutions for collective bargaining or other labor or contract negotiations; Draft contract proposals or counter-proposals for collective bargaining or other labor negotiations. These are occupation-level task descriptions, not every employer's job description.
Which O*NET skills rank highest for labor relations specialists? ▼
For SOC 13-1075, O*NET importance scores lead with Active Listening (4.4), Speaking (4.3), Negotiation (4.1), Reading Comprehension (4.0). Knowledge areas emphasize Personnel and Human Resources, English Language, Law and Government. These are occupation-level profiles, not a hiring checklist for every employer.
How wide is the published pay band for Labor Relations Specialists? ▼
OEWS places the 10th percentile at $50,490 and the 90th at $156,180 for Labor Relations Specialists (3.1× spread). The national median is $95,420. OEWS does not isolate experience, employer, or geography as the cause of that spread.
What employment change does BLS publish for Labor Relations Specialists? ▼
The 2024-2034 projection for Labor Relations Specialists is -0%. Projected annual openings: about 5,100. Relative to the current all-occupations baseline of 3.1%: declining.
What typical entry education does BLS assign to Labor Relations Specialists? ▼
BLS assigns Bachelor's degree as the typical-education-needed-for-entry category for Labor Relations Specialists. Related-work-experience category: less than 5 years. These are occupation-level labels, not every employer's hiring rule.
Which three states show the highest OEWS medians for Labor Relations Specialists? ▼
New Jersey ($118,370), Minnesota ($100,760), Washington ($104,100) lead this ranking. The table does not identify why those state estimates differ.

Source data and WageDex calculations are identified in context on this page. Wage and state figures use BLS OEWS May 2025; growth and education use BLS Employment Projections for 2024-2034; safety fields cite BLS CFOI/SOII; task statements cite O*NET where shown. See our editorial standards & corrections policy, the methodology behind these numbers, or report a data error.

Disclaimer: Wage and outlook figures on this page are provided for informational purposes only and do not constitute career, financial, or salary-negotiation advice. Actual pay varies by employer, experience, and local conditions; consult a career counselor or the hiring employer for guidance specific to your situation.

Source: U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, OES Occupational wage estimates by area and industry · 2025

Federal sources on this Labor Relations Specialists card
  • BLS Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics (OEWS / OES) - national median and percentiles for SOC 13-1075. bls.gov/oes
  • O*NET OnLine - task and skill statements for Labor Relations Specialists. onetcenter.org
  • BLS Employment Projections - 2024-2034 change and openings for this occupation. bls.gov/emp
  • U.S. Census Bureau ACS - demographic and labor-force context for state and metro geography. census.gov/programs-surveys/acs
  • IRS Statistics of Income (SOI) - payroll-tax aggregate context for wage comparisons. irs.gov/statistics