New analysis of government data finds 37.4 million Americans work in roles requiring no formal educational credential
Occupations that typically require no formal educational credential now employ 37.4 million Americans, or 24.1% of the US workforce, according to an analysis released by hospitality job platform OysterLink.
The analysis, based on the latest Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics data from the US Bureau of Labor Statistics, found that jobs requiring no formal credential now make up nearly one in four positions nationwide.
This is ahead of occupations that require a master's degree (2.3%), a doctoral or professional degree (2.6%), an associate's degree (2.1%), or some college but no degree (2.5%).
High school diploma-level occupations remained the largest single category in the labour market, accounting for 35.2% of all jobs and employing 54.7 million workers, with a mean annual wage of $55,920.
Bachelor's degree occupations represented 25.1% of jobs, employing 39.0 million workers at a mean annual wage of $111,220.
The data also pointed to a substantial wage gap between education categories.
Occupations requiring a bachelor's degree reported a mean annual wage nearly three times higher than occupations requiring no formal educational credential, which had a mean annual wage of $39,270.
Occupations requiring a doctoral or professional degree reported the highest mean annual wage of any category, at $165,580, though they accounted for only 2.6% of jobs and 4.0 million workers.
Impact of skills-based hiring
OysterLink said the findings come as employers across multiple industries continue to face labour shortages and increasingly turn to skills-based hiring practices to attract workers.
Globally, 85% of companies were already using skills-based hiring in 2025, up from 81% in 2024 and 73% in 2023, according to TestGorilla data.
Implementation, however, remains inconsistent.
Research from non-profit group OneTen found that only about a third of organisations adopting skills-first hiring are applying it consistently across teams, with leaders citing resistance from leadership (24%) and a lack of internal resources and expertise (21%) as key barriers.
Hiring managers separately reported difficulty assessing skills directly (40%) and said skill requirements in job descriptions remain unclear (30%).
Training gaps appear to be a major barrier. OneTen's research found that only half of hiring managers had actually received training on skills-first approaches, even though 70% said they wanted more guidance, particularly on how to define and evaluate skills.
The non-profit group also pointed to leadership buy-in as a critical factor, noting that leaders and hiring managers need a shared, clearly articulated business case, along with updated job descriptions, systems, and assessment tools built around skills rather than credentials.
"Our research shows that when leaders are aligned around a skills-first strategy, organisations are better positioned to transform their talent pipelines, strengthen retention, and drive stronger business performance," said Debbie Dyson, CEO of OneTen.
