Occupation salary profile

Human Resources Specialists

SOC 13-1071 BLS OEWS May 2025 H-1B LCAs, last 12 months

Recruit, screen, interview, or place individuals within an organization. May perform other activities in multiple human resources areas. Excludes “Compensation, Benefits, and Job Analysis Specialists” (13-1141) and “Training and Development Specialists” (13-1151).

National median · BLS
$75,940
▲ +4.16% YoY
H-1B sponsor median
$77,428
▲ +3.24% YoY · 806 LCAs
Average salary · BLS
$81,990
Mean annual wage
U.S. employment
912,430
Jobs (BLS)
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Enter your pay and a location to see where you stand against BLS and H-1B pay, your estimated take-home pay, and your purchasing power.

Pay range for Human Resources Specialists

Annual base pay at each percentile. BLS covers all U.S. workers in this occupation; H-1B covers 806 certified Labor Condition Applications filed by sponsoring employers in the last 12 months.

Percentile All U.S. workers (BLS) H-1B sponsored
10th — entry pay$47,180$55,910
25th$58,610$62,000
Median (50th)$75,940$77,428
75th$99,380$105,000
90th — top pay$128,720$136,500
H-1B sponsors pay a median of $77,428 for Human Resources Specialists — 2% above the BLS national median of $75,940.

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Based on hrs/week × weeks/year = 2,080 hrs
Projections 2025–2035

Job outlook for Human Resources Specialists

BLS projects employment of human resources specialists to grow 6.4% from 2025 to 2035, faster than the 3.5% average for all occupations. About 73,700 openings are projected each year, on average, from new jobs and from replacing workers who retire or move to other occupations.

Jobs 2025 → 2035
939,700 → 999,700
+60,100 jobs
Projected change
+6.4%
All occupations: +3.5%
Openings per year
73,700
Average, 2025–2035
Typical entry education
Bachelor's degree
No related experience required
Self-employed
1.1% of workers (2025)
Preparation needed (O*NET Job Zone 4)
Considerable Preparation Needed. Most of these occupations require a four-year bachelor's degree, but some do not.
Fastest-growing jobs → Best-paying jobs that need a bachelor's degree →

Source: U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, Employment Projections 2025–2035 · BLS Occupational Outlook Handbook →

H-1B sponsored pay

Pay by H-1B wage level

Employers assign every H-1B filing a Department of Labor prevailing-wage level, from Level I (entry) to Level IV (fully competent). Pay rises steeply with level.

H-1B median $77,428
Change vs prior year +3.24%
After inflation (CPI-U) +0.11%
Wage level LCAs Share P25 Median P75
Level I 211 26.2% $53,389 $58,157 $65,000
Level II 300 37.2% $62,852 $75,000 $90,000
Level III 167 20.7% $83,406 $98,758 $124,862
Level IV 122 15.1% $100,000 $122,765 $150,600
H-1B job titles

Salaries by job title in Human Resources Specialists

The 10 most-filed job titles inside SOC 13-1071, from 806 H-1B filings. Seniority words and level numbers are grouped (“Senior Data Engineer II” counts as Data Engineer). Tap a title for its full range, wage levels and the exact titles employers used.

Job title LCAs Share P25 Median P75 YoY
Human Resources Specialist 134 16.63% $57,836 $65,240 $78,022 +0.23%
HR Specialist 82 10.17% $55,000 $62,660 $73,770 -8.17%
Technical Recruiter 40 4.96% $62,284 $74,100 $76,727 +0.01%
HR Generalist 22 2.73% $68,404 $79,000 $125,175 +2.89%
Recruiter 19 2.36% $85,000 $98,758 $113,000 +16.19%
HR Business Partner 17 2.11% $88,546 $112,200 $134,742 -13.69%
Talent Acquisition Partner 16 1.99% $114,258 $121,000 $128,500 -4.48%
Human Resources Generalist 13 1.61% $57,782 $65,000 $85,000 +21.79%
Associate generic 12 1.49% $91,750 $100,000 $107,500 +53.85%
Human Resources Business Partner 11 1.36% $89,045 $120,000 $122,616 +11.1%

Titles are cleaned from the employer's own LCA text (codes and typos removed, nothing invented). Rows need 10+ filings in this SOC.

Skills & tools

Skills needed for Human Resources Specialists

How important each skill and knowledge area is for this job, rated by O*NET on a 1–5 scale from surveys of workers and occupational analysts.

Top skills
  • Speaking4.1
  • Active Listening4.0
  • Reading Comprehension4.0
  • Critical Thinking3.9
  • Writing3.9
  • Service Orientation3.4
  • Social Perceptiveness3.4
  • Active Learning3.3
  • Judgment and Decision Making3.3
  • Complex Problem Solving3.1
Top knowledge areas
  • Personnel and Human Resources4.6
  • Administrative3.9
  • Administration and Management3.8
  • English Language3.8
  • Customer and Personal Service3.5
  • Law and Government3.3
  • Education and Training3.1
  • Computers and Electronics2.7
Software and technology used
Microsoft ExcelMicrosoft Office softwareMicrosoft OutlookMicrosoft PowerPointWorkday softwareApplicant tracking softwareOracle HRISAdobe AcrobatAdobe Creative Cloud softwareAdobe IllustratorAdobe InDesignAdobe PhotoshopApple macOSCisco WebexESRI ArcGIS softwareExtensible markup language XMLFacebookGitHub

Highlighted = in demand: frequently listed in employer job postings for this occupation (O*NET).

Source: O*NET 31.0 Database by the U.S. Department of Labor, Employment and Training Administration (USDOL/ETA), used under the CC BY 4.0 license. O*NET® is a trademark of USDOL/ETA.

About the job

What human resources specialists do

  • Interpret and explain human resources policies, procedures, laws, standards, or regulations.
  • Hire employees and process hiring-related paperwork.
  • Maintain current knowledge of Equal Employment Opportunity (EEO) and affirmative action guidelines and laws, such as the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA).
  • Prepare or maintain employment records related to events, such as hiring, termination, leaves, transfers, or promotions, using human resources management system software.
  • Address employee relations issues, such as harassment allegations, work complaints, or other employee concerns.
  • Review employment applications and job orders to match applicants with job requirements.
  • Inform job applicants of details such as duties and responsibilities, compensation, benefits, schedules, working conditions, or promotion opportunities.
  • Select qualified job applicants or refer them to managers, making hiring recommendations when appropriate.
Also called
HR Coordinator (Human Resources Coordinator)HR Generalist (Human Resources Generalist)Human Resources Specialist (HR Specialist)RecruiterCorporate RecruiterEmployment RepresentativeHR Analyst (Human Resources Analyst)Human Resources Representative (HR Rep)Personnel AnalystPersonnel Officer
More job titles for this occupation (80)
Business Intelligence EngineerCareer Development SpecialistCareer Development TechnicianCareer SpecialistCertification SpecialistContract RecruiterCredentialing CoordinatorCredentialing SpecialistCredentials SpecialistEmployee AdvisorEmployee CounselorEmployee Health Maintenance Program SpecialistEmployee Operations ExaminerEmployee Placement SpecialistEmployee Service OfficerEmployment AdvisorEmployment Appeals ExaminerEmployment InterviewerEmployment OfficerEmployment Program RepresentativeEmployment RecruiterEmployment Security OfficerEmployment Service SpecialistEmployment SpecialistEnlisted AdvisorEthics OfficerExecutive CoachExecutive RecruiterHeadhunterHealthcare RecruiterHR Advisor (Human Resource Advisor)HR Associate (Human Resources Associate)HR Business Partner (Human Resources Business Partner)HR Consultant (Human Resources Consultant)HR Recruiter (Human Resources Recruiter)HR Tech (Human Resources Technician)HRIS Analyst (Human Resources Information System Analyst)Job DeveloperJob Development SpecialistJob InterviewerJob Placement OfficerJob Placement SpecialistJob RecruiterJob Service ConsultantJob Service SpecialistLabor ContractorLabor Service RepresentativeLabor Services RepresentativeMentor RecruiterMorale OfficerOutplacement ConsultantPersonnel AdvisorPersonnel ConsultantPersonnel CoordinatorPersonnel CounselorPersonnel InterviewerPersonnel Placement SpecialistPersonnel RecruiterPersonnel RepresentativePersonnel SpecialistPersonnel TechnicianPersonnel WorkerPlacement CoordinatorPlacement CounselorPlacement OfficerPlacement SpecialistPrisoner Classification InterviewerRecruiting CoordinatorRecruiting SpecialistRecruitment ConsultantResume WriterRetention SpecialistRetirement OfficerRules ExaminerSelection SpecialistSourcing RecruiterStaffing AssociateStaffing ConsultantStaffing CoordinatorStaffing Specialist

Source: O*NET 31.0 (USDOL/ETA, CC BY 4.0). These are general job titles, not H-1B filings; for titles employers actually filed, see “Job titles” above.