HRS Linkage to Occupational Information Network Data (HRS-O*NET)

The three data products provided here are all part of a project to create linkages between the Occupational Information Network Data (O*NET) and detailed Census occupational codes found in restricted access Health and Retirement Study (HRS) data. O*NET is a program of the U.S. Department of Labor that produces detailed data about occupational characteristics and worker requirements in the United States. They can be linked to HRS survey data through Census occupation codes, which in the HRS have been coded using three different coding regimes: 1980, 2000, and 2010. The current project links O*NET data to HRS using the 2000 and 2010 Census codes, mapped to three different versions of the O*NET data that reflect changes in occupations over time.

Specifically, this project links worker and occupational characteristics data taken from the:

  • O*NET 5.0 database, which reflects occupations in the early 2000s, with HRS detailed 2000 Census codes (corresponding to releases for 2004 to 2010)
  • O*NET 10.0 database, which reflects occupations mid-to-late 2000s, with HRS detailed 2000 Census codes (corresponding to releases for 2004 to 2010)
  • O*NET 26.1 database, which reflects occupations since 2010, with HRS detailed 2010 Census codes (corresponding to releases for 2010 to 2016)

The corresponding linked datasets are named:

  • HRS-O*NET 5.0
  • HRS-O*NET 10.0
  • HRS-O*NET 26.1

Each of these datasets are comprised of nine datafiles that reflect the O*NET dimensions: Knowledge, Skills, Abilities, Interests, Work Values, Work Styles, Work Activities, Work Context, and Job Zones. Although there are three separate datasets, there are only two data descriptions, one that includes information for HRS-O*NET 5.0 and 10.0 and one that just provides information about HRS-O*NET 26.1.

Using the HRS “hhidpn” respondent identification variable, the HRS-O*NET datasets can be linked with any user-accessible HRS dataset at the respondent level.

Census-O*NET data products that were used to link with the HRS data can be found at https://claudepeppercenter.fsu.edu/onet/.

Note: The 26.1 is the second version. Note the following difference between the version 2 update and version 1:

  • Only 3 datasets were physically changed in the update of versions (interests, work values, and work activities)
  • For the interests and work values datasets, we deleted the “highpoint variables” (i.e., *highpoint_1, *highpoint_2, *highpoint_3)
  • For the work activities dataset, we changed data for four of the elements: work activities 8, 9, 29, and 30 (both importance and level variables)

Product Details

Product Type
Industry/Occupation
Latest Release October 2022 (v2)
Documentation and Links