Maids and Housekeeping Cleaners

Overview Nature of Work Knowledge Areas Skills Utilized Job Activities Abilities Job Conditions Work Satisfaction Education/Training

Maids and Housekeeping Cleaners Career Overview Perform any combination of light cleaning duties to maintain private households or commercial establishments, such as hotels, restaurants, and hospitals, in a clean and orderly manner. Duties include making beds, replenishing linens, cleaning rooms and halls, and vacuuming. Salary for Maids and Housekeeping Cleaners Select a State Alabama Alaska Arizona Arkansas California Colorado Connecticut Delaware District of Columbia Florida Georgia Hawaii Idaho Illinois Indiana Iowa Kansas Kentucky Louisiana Maine Maryland Massachusetts Michigan Minnesota Mississippi Missouri Montana Nebraska Nevada New Hampshire New Jersey New Mexico New York North Carolina North Dakota Ohio Oklahoma Oregon Pennsylvania Rhode Island South Carolina South Dakota Tennessee Texas Utah Vermont Virginia Washington West Virginia Wisconsin Wyoming American Samoa Federated States of Micronesia Guam Marshall Islands Northern Mariana Islands Puerto Rico U.S. Virgin Islands Outside of US   25th Percentile 75th Percentile Mean U.S. $16,480 ($7.92) $23,080 ($11.10) $20,290 ($9.76) Annual figures are on top. Hourly figures are below in parentheses. N/A = Information not available

Watch Videos about this Career English Videos Windows Media RealOne Spanish Videos Windows Media RealOne Video Player Downloads Windows Media RealOne

Overall employment of building cleaning workers is expected to grow more slowly than average, and job opportunities are expected to be good.

Employment change. The number of building cleaning workers is expected to grow by 5 percent from 2008 and 2018, more slowly than the average for all occupations. Unlike some occupations, increased productivity is not expected to impact the employment of building cleaning workers. Despite small improvements in cleaning supplies, tools, and processes, roughly the same number of workers will be needed for any given building.

Employment of janitors and cleaners is projected to increase by 4 percent, more slowly than the average for all occupations. As the pace of construction contracts and fewer buildings are built, growth in this occupation should be relatively slow. Many new jobs are expected in healthcare, however, as this industry is expected to grow rapidly, and in administrative support firms as more claiming work is contracted out. Employment of maids and housekeeping cleaners is also expected to increase more slowly than the average, growing by 6 percent from 2008 to 2018. Many new jobs are expected in hotels as demand for accommodations increases, in private households as more people purchase residential cleaning services, and companies that supply maid services on a contract basis, as more of this work is contracted out. Employment of supervisors and managers of these workers, in addition, is projected to grow more slowly than the average, increasing by 5 percent. An increasing number of supervisors will be needed to manage the growing number of janitors, maids, and other cleaning workers.

Job prospects. Job prospects are expected to be good. Most job openings should result from the need to replace the many workers who leave this very large occupation.

Building cleaning workers held about 4.1 million jobs in 2008. About 299,000 were self-employed.

Janitors and cleaners worked in nearly every type of establishment and held about 2.4 million jobs. Around 33 percent of janitors worked for firms supplying services to buildings and dwellings, about 20 percent were employed in educational services, and 6 percent worked in government. About 132,700 were self employed.

Maids and housekeepers held about 1.5 million jobs. Private households employed about 30 percent of these workers, while hotels, motels, and other traveler accommodations employed 29 percent. Hospitals, nursing homes, and other residential care facilities employed about 17 percent. Although cleaning jobs can be found in all cities and towns, most are located in highly populated areas where there are many office buildings, schools, apartment houses, nursing homes, and hospitals. About 106,900 maids and housekeeping cleaners were self employed in 2008.

First-line supervisors of housekeeping and janitorial workers held 251,100 jobs. Approximately 22 percent worked in firms supplying services to buildings and dwellings, while approximately 15 percent were employed in educational services. About 12 percent worked in hotels, motels, and all other traveler accommodation while about 9 percent worked in healthcare organizations. About 58,400 were self employed.

1.	Chefs and Head Cooks
2.	Cooks, Fast Food
3.	Dining Room and Cafeteria Attendants and Bartender Helpers
4.	Dishwashers
5.	Floor Layers, Except Carpet, Wood, and Hard Tiles
6.	Packers and Packagers, Hand

Information about janitorial jobs may be obtained from State employment service offices.

For information on certification in executive housekeeping, contact:

• International Executive Housekeepers Association, Inc., 1001 Eastwind Dr., Suite 301, Westerville, OH 43081-3361. Internet: http://www.ieha.org

Sources: O*Net data version 12.0
Occupational Outlook Handbook
Department of Labor

[Back to Top]