# General and Operations Managers

US SOC code 11-1021. Markdown version of https://futurehistory.earth/timeline/11-1021

Also called: General manager, GM, Operations manager, Director of operations, VP of operations.

## In brief

In May 2025, [BLS](https://www.bls.gov/oes/special-requests/oesm25nat.zip) counted **3,503,020** US general and operations managers, with median pay of **$105,770** a year. Of the BLS counts since 2021, the highest was **3,584,420**, in May 2024, close to the May 2025 count. The earliest figure here is [an estimate](https://www.hup.harvard.edu/books/9780674940529) of **360,000** from 1900, not measured the same way as today's count. The last full technology era for general and operations managers: Cloud workflow platforms, 2015 to 2023.

## What the sources say

### Official outlook

BLS projects employment to grow 5% from 2025 to 2035. Source: [BLS Employment Projections 2025-35](https://data.bls.gov/projections/nationalMatrix?queryParams=11-1021&ioType=o).

### AI exposure studies

- **38.5%** of this job's tasks are exposed to large language models. Not a forecast of job losses. [Eloundou and others, 2023](https://github.com/openai/GPTs-are-GPTs/blob/main/data/occ_level.csv)
- **0.16** estimated probability that the whole occupation could be computerised, over an unspecified number of years. Not a forecast of job losses. [Frey and Osborne, 2013](https://oms-www.files.svdcdn.com/production/downloads/academic/The_Future_of_Employment.pdf)

### Since the 2013 prediction

In 2013, Frey and Osborne put this job's probability of computerisation at 0.16. BLS counted **1,973,700** of these jobs in May 2013 and **3,503,020** in May 2025. The count moved sharply in one step, May 2020 to May 2021, when BLS changed how it estimates these counts, so no change is derived here.

Data as of BLS OEWS May 2025; BLS Employment Projections 2025-35. BLS publishes these counts as yearly survey snapshots and cautions against reading them as a precise trend. In May 2021 BLS changed how it estimates these counts (a model-based method using three years of survey data) and moved fully to the 2018 occupation codes, so part of a change across 2021 can come from the method rather than the work.

## General and Operations Managers employment and pay by year

- On record since: 1841
- Latest US employment: 3,503,020 (May 2025). Source: BLS OEWS May 2025 [5]
- Latest US median pay: $105,770 (May 2025). Source: BLS OEWS May 2025 [9]
- Outlook: +5% by 2035. Source: BLS Employment Projections 2025-35 [30]

### In other countries

The latest figure each country's statistics agency publishes for this job. Each uses its own occupation definition, survey basis and currency, so the numbers are not directly comparable with each other or with the US figures.

- **Australia** (ANZSCO 1112)
  - Employment, 2025: 68,700. Source: ABS Labour Force Survey [6]. ABS Labour Force Survey (Detailed), table EQ08: employed persons in ANZSCO 1112 General Managers, national (summed across sex and state/territory), annual average of 4 quarterly estimates.

### All 28 years of cited US data

| Year | US employment | Annual pay (median unless marked) | Source |
| --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 1900 | 360,000 (estimate) | n/a | Est., Chandler (1977), The Visible Hand [1] |
| 1930 | 800,000 (estimate) | n/a | Est., Chandler (1977), The Visible Hand [1] |
| 1960 | 1,750,000 (estimate) | $7,500 (estimate) | Est., Derived estimate (employment) [2]; Est., Census Bureau (pay) [7] |
| 1980 | 2,750,000 | $27,000 (estimate) | Decennial Census (employment) [3]; Est., BLS Historical Statistics (pay) [7] |
| 2000 | 2,221,590 | $61,160 | BLS OEWS 2000 [4] |
| 2003 | 1,892,060 | $72,800 | BLS OEWS May 2003 [5] |
| 2004 | 1,752,910 | $77,420 | BLS OEWS May 2004 [5] |
| 2005 | 1,663,810 | $81,480 | BLS OEWS May 2005 [5] |
| 2006 | 1,663,280 | $85,230 | BLS OEWS May 2006 [5] |
| 2007 | 1,655,410 | $88,700 | BLS OEWS May 2007 [5] |
| 2008 | 1,697,690 | $91,570 | BLS OEWS May 2008 [5] |
| 2009 | 1,689,680 | $92,650 | BLS OEWS May 2009 [5] |
| 2010 | 1,708,080 | $94,400 | BLS OEWS May 2010 [5] |
| 2011 | 1,805,030 | $95,150 | BLS OEWS May 2011 [5] |
| 2012 | 1,899,460 | $95,440 | BLS OEWS May 2012 [5] |
| 2013 | 1,973,700 | $96,430 | BLS OEWS May 2013 [5] |
| 2014 | 2,049,870 | $97,270 | BLS OEWS May 2014 [5] |
| 2015 | 2,145,140 | $97,730 | BLS OEWS May 2015 [5] |
| 2016 | 2,188,870 | $99,310 | BLS OEWS May 2016 [5] |
| 2017 | 2,212,200 | $100,410 | BLS OEWS May 2017 [5] |
| 2018 | 2,289,770 | $100,930 | BLS OEWS May 2018 [5] |
| 2019 | 2,400,280 | $100,780 | BLS OEWS May 2019 [5] |
| 2020 | 2,347,420 | $103,650 | BLS OEWS May 2020 [5] |
| 2021 | 2,984,920 | $97,970 | BLS OEWS May 2021 [5] |
| 2022 | 3,376,680 | $98,100 | BLS OEWS May 2022 [5] |
| 2023 | 3,507,810 | $101,280 | BLS OEWS May 2023 (employment) [5]; BLS OEWS May 2023 (pay) [10] |
| 2024 | 3,584,420 | $102,950 | BLS OEWS May 2024 [5] |
| 2025 | 3,503,020 | $105,770 | BLS OEWS May 2025 [5] |

## Sources (102)

### Employment series

1. [Chandler (1977), The Visible Hand: The Managerial Revolution in American Business — scholarly estimate of the professional managerial class, c. 1900](https://www.hup.harvard.edu/books/9780674940529), Harvard University Press (Alfred D. Chandler Jr.)
2. [Derived estimate: 1960 Census salaried "Managers, officials, and proprietors, except farm" (n.e.c.), excluding farm managers and self-employed proprietors, crosswalked to the modern narrow SOC 11-1021 General & Operations Managers (base data: IPUMS USA 1960 Census occupational series)](https://usa.ipums.org/usa/volii/96occup.shtml), Derived from IPUMS USA / 1960 U.S. Census of Population
3. [IPUMS USA — OCC1950 variable codes: "Managers, officials, and proprietors (n.e.c.)" (code 290), the 1950-scheme category used for historical census crosswalks of general managers; BLS CPS historical occupational series 1968-2000](https://usa.ipums.org/usa-action/variables/OCC1950#codes_section), IPUMS USA / University of Minnesota
4. [BLS OES 2000 national estimates (flat file)](https://www.bls.gov/oes/special-requests/oes00nat.zip), Bureau of Labor Statistics
5. BLS OEWS, national cross-industry estimates (flat file), Bureau of Labor Statistics. Editions: [2003](https://www.bls.gov/oes/special-requests/oesm03nat.zip), [2004](https://www.bls.gov/oes/special-requests/oesm04nat.zip), [2005](https://www.bls.gov/oes/special-requests/oesm05nat.zip), [2006](https://www.bls.gov/oes/special-requests/oesm06nat.zip), [2007](https://www.bls.gov/oes/special-requests/oesm07nat.zip), [2008](https://www.bls.gov/oes/special-requests/oesm08nat.zip), [2009](https://www.bls.gov/oes/special-requests/oesm09nat.zip), [2010](https://www.bls.gov/oes/special-requests/oesm10nat.zip), [2011](https://www.bls.gov/oes/special-requests/oesm11nat.zip), [2012](https://www.bls.gov/oes/special-requests/oesm12nat.zip), [2013](https://www.bls.gov/oes/special-requests/oesm13nat.zip), [2014](https://www.bls.gov/oes/special-requests/oesm14nat.zip), [2015](https://www.bls.gov/oes/special-requests/oesm15nat.zip), [2016](https://www.bls.gov/oes/special-requests/oesm16nat.zip), [2017](https://www.bls.gov/oes/special-requests/oesm17nat.zip), [2018](https://www.bls.gov/oes/special-requests/oesm18nat.zip), [2019](https://www.bls.gov/oes/special-requests/oesm19nat.zip), [2020](https://www.bls.gov/oes/special-requests/oesm20nat.zip), [2021](https://www.bls.gov/oes/special-requests/oesm21nat.zip), [2022](https://www.bls.gov/oes/special-requests/oesm22nat.zip), [2023](https://www.bls.gov/oes/special-requests/oesm23nat.zip), [2024](https://www.bls.gov/oes/special-requests/oesm24nat.zip), [2025](https://www.bls.gov/oes/special-requests/oesm25nat.zip)
6. [ABS: Labour Force, Australia, Detailed, table EQ08 (Employed persons by Occupation unit group, ANZSCO 2013), latest release](https://www.abs.gov.au/statistics/labour/employment-and-unemployment/labour-force-australia-detailed/latest-release), Australian Bureau of Statistics

### Wage series

7. [Census Bureau — Historical Income Tables: People (Table P-37 and related series), covering managerial and professional specialty workers' median earnings back to 1960; consistent with AMA Management Review salary surveys of the period (~$7,000-$8,000 for mid-career industrial managers circa 1960)](https://www.census.gov/data/tables/time-series/demo/income-poverty/historical-income-people.html), US Census Bureau
8. [BLS OES 2000 national estimates (flat file)](https://www.bls.gov/oes/special-requests/oes00nat.zip), Bureau of Labor Statistics
9. BLS OEWS, national cross-industry estimates (flat file), Bureau of Labor Statistics. Editions: [2003](https://www.bls.gov/oes/special-requests/oesm03nat.zip), [2004](https://www.bls.gov/oes/special-requests/oesm04nat.zip), [2005](https://www.bls.gov/oes/special-requests/oesm05nat.zip), [2006](https://www.bls.gov/oes/special-requests/oesm06nat.zip), [2007](https://www.bls.gov/oes/special-requests/oesm07nat.zip), [2008](https://www.bls.gov/oes/special-requests/oesm08nat.zip), [2009](https://www.bls.gov/oes/special-requests/oesm09nat.zip), [2010](https://www.bls.gov/oes/special-requests/oesm10nat.zip), [2011](https://www.bls.gov/oes/special-requests/oesm11nat.zip), [2012](https://www.bls.gov/oes/special-requests/oesm12nat.zip), [2013](https://www.bls.gov/oes/special-requests/oesm13nat.zip), [2014](https://www.bls.gov/oes/special-requests/oesm14nat.zip), [2015](https://www.bls.gov/oes/special-requests/oesm15nat.zip), [2016](https://www.bls.gov/oes/special-requests/oesm16nat.zip), [2017](https://www.bls.gov/oes/special-requests/oesm17nat.zip), [2018](https://www.bls.gov/oes/special-requests/oesm18nat.zip), [2019](https://www.bls.gov/oes/special-requests/oesm19nat.zip), [2020](https://www.bls.gov/oes/special-requests/oesm20nat.zip), [2021](https://www.bls.gov/oes/special-requests/oesm21nat.zip), [2022](https://www.bls.gov/oes/special-requests/oesm22nat.zip), [2024](https://www.bls.gov/oes/special-requests/oesm24nat.zip), [2025](https://www.bls.gov/oes/special-requests/oesm25nat.zip)
10. [BLS OOH 2023-33 — Top Executives: 11-1021 median annual wage $101,280 (May 2023 OEWS)](https://www.bls.gov/ooh/management/top-executives.htm), Bureau of Labor Statistics

### Tool eras

11. [Chandler (1977) — "The Visible Hand: The Managerial Revolution in American Business" — Ch. 3: the railroad as the first modern business enterprise; telegraph and the organizational chart](https://www.hup.harvard.edu/books/9780674940529), Harvard University Press
12. [Wikipedia — Daniel McCallum and the Erie Railroad organizational chart (1854): the first modern org chart in American business history](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Daniel_McCallum), Wikipedia
13. [Taylor (1911) — "The Principles of Scientific Management" (Harper & Brothers, New York): the foundational text of professional management practice](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Principles_of_Scientific_Management), Wikipedia / Harper & Brothers
14. [Wikipedia — American Management Association: founded 1923 to professionalize management; descended from NIMA (1913) and related associations](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/American_Management_Association), Wikipedia
15. [Mintzberg (1973) — "The Nature of Managerial Work" (Harper & Row): empirical study of what managers actually do; foundational text on management practice](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Henry_Mintzberg), Wikipedia / Harper & Row
16. [Wikipedia — McGregor's Theory X and Theory Y (1960): "The Human Side of Enterprise"; foundational framework for management practice](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Theory_X_and_Theory_Y), Wikipedia / MIT
17. [Wikipedia — IBM System/360: announced April 7, 1964; first shipped April 1965; transformed business computing](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/IBM_System/360), Wikipedia
18. [Wikipedia — Management information system: origins in the 1960s; IBM mainframe as the platform for the first business MIS deployments](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Management_information_system), Wikipedia
19. [Wikipedia — VisiCalc: introduced October 1979 by Dan Bricklin and Bob Frankston; first killer app for the personal computer; transformed business finance](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/VisiCalc), Wikipedia
20. [Wikipedia — Lotus 1-2-3: released January 26, 1983; made the IBM PC the dominant business platform](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lotus_1-2-3), Wikipedia
21. [Wikipedia — SAP R/3: released 1992; first client-server ERP; within a decade became the dominant enterprise management platform](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/SAP_R/3), Wikipedia
22. [Kaplan & Norton (1992) — "The Balanced Scorecard: Measures That Drive Performance" (Harvard Business Review, January 1992)](https://hbr.org/1992/01/the-balanced-scorecard-measures-that-drive-performance-2), Harvard Business Review
23. [Wikipedia — Tableau Software: founded 2003; pioneered self-service visual analytics and business intelligence for non-technical users](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tableau_Software), Wikipedia
24. [Wikipedia — Six Sigma: developed at Motorola 1986; Jack Welch deployed at GE from 1995; became standard management quality framework of the 2000s](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Six_Sigma), Wikipedia
25. [Wikipedia — Slack (software): publicly launched August 2013 by Stewart Butterfield; redefined internal team communication; acquired by Salesforce for $27.7B (2021)](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Slack_%28software%29), Wikipedia
26. [Wikipedia — Objectives and key results (OKRs): goal-setting framework developed at Intel, popularized by John Doerr's "Measure What Matters" (2018) at Google and across the management class](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Objectives_and_key_results), Wikipedia
27. [Microsoft — Copilot for Microsoft 365: general availability November 1, 2023; enterprise AI productivity suite targeting management coordination overhead](https://www.microsoft.com/en-us/microsoft-365-copilot), Microsoft
28. [Forrester TEI — Total Economic Impact of Microsoft 365 Copilot: meeting recap time 30 min → 5 min; 3+ hours/week saved at Vodafone; up to 116% ROI (2024)](https://tei.forrester.com/go/microsoft/M365Copilot/), Forrester Research
29. [Salesforce — Agentforce Operations GA: cuts back-office cycle times 50-70%, eliminates 80% of manual data entry (April 2026)](https://www.salesforce.com/news/stories/agentforce-operations-announcement/), Salesforce

### Forecasts and exposure studies

30. [BLS Employment Projections 2025-35, National Employment Matrix: 11-1021 General and operations managers (2025: 3,599.0 thousand; 2035: 3,780.3 thousand; +5.0%)](https://data.bls.gov/projections/nationalMatrix?queryParams=11-1021&ioType=o), Bureau of Labor Statistics
31. [Frey & Osborne (2013), "The Future of Employment: How Susceptible Are Jobs to Computerisation?", Appendix (SOC 11-1021 General and Operations Managers: probability 0.16, rank 195 of 702)](https://oms-www.files.svdcdn.com/production/downloads/academic/The_Future_of_Employment.pdf), Oxford Martin School, University of Oxford
32. [Eloundou, Manning, Mishkin & Rock (2023), "GPTs are GPTs", occupation-level exposure data occ\_level.csv (O\*NET-SOC 11-1021.00, human-rated β 0.385)](https://github.com/openai/GPTs-are-GPTs/blob/main/data/occ_level.csv), OpenAI

### Historical notes

33. [Chandler (1977) — "The Visible Hand" Ch. 3: Western Railroad, the 1841 accident, and the first general superintendent appointment as origin of professional management](https://www.hup.harvard.edu/books/9780674940529), Harvard University Press
34. [Wikipedia — Daniel McCallum: Erie Railroad org chart (1854), first modern organizational chart; management principles that defined professional management](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Daniel_McCallum), Wikipedia
35. [Taylor (1911) — "The Principles of Scientific Management": foundational text of professional management; adopted in business schools and government agencies within a decade](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Principles_of_Scientific_Management), Wikipedia / Harper & Brothers
36. [Wikipedia — Alfred P. Sloan and General Motors: multidivisional M-form structure (1921); described by Chandler as "most important organizational innovation of the 20th century in American business"](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Alfred_Sloan), Wikipedia
37. [Wikipedia — American Management Association: founded 1923; descended from NIMA and related associations; Management Review launched 1923](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/American_Management_Association), Wikipedia
38. [Wikipedia — "The Organization Man" (1956) by William H. Whyte: sociological study of the postwar American corporate management culture; sold 2M+ copies](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Organization_Man), Wikipedia / Simon & Schuster
39. [Wikipedia — Henry Mintzberg: career and works including "The Nature of Managerial Work" (1973, Harper & Row), empirical study of five senior managers; identified 10 managerial roles; subverted the planning-organizing-controlling textbook model](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Henry_Mintzberg), Wikipedia
40. [Wikipedia — Jack Welch at General Electric: GE delayering program launched 1985; "neutron Jack" and middle management reduction; foundational influence on management theory and practice](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jack_Welch), Wikipedia
41. [Kaplan & Norton (1992) — "The Balanced Scorecard: Measures That Drive Performance" (Harvard Business Review, January 1992)](https://hbr.org/1992/01/the-balanced-scorecard-measures-that-drive-performance), Harvard Business Review
42. [Microsoft — Copilot for Microsoft 365: general availability November 1, 2023; enterprise AI productivity suite; Forrester TEI: up to 116% ROI, 30-min recap → 5 min](https://www.microsoft.com/en-us/microsoft-365-copilot), Microsoft

### Predecessors & successors

43. [Chandler (1977) — "The Visible Hand": railroad superintendent and works manager as precursors of the professional general manager](https://www.hup.harvard.edu/books/9780674940529), Harvard University Press
44. [Taylor (1911) — "Principles of Scientific Management": the foreman and superintendent layer as the target of scientific management reform](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Principles_of_Scientific_Management), Wikipedia / Harper & Brothers
45. [BLS OOH — Top Executives (11-1011 + 11-1021): CEO track as the standard promotion path for experienced General Managers](https://www.bls.gov/ooh/management/top-executives.htm), Bureau of Labor Statistics

### Present-day analysis

- [Eloundou et al. 2024 — GPTs are GPTs (Science)](https://arxiv.org/abs/2303.10130), accessed 2026-05-23
- [O\*NET 30.3 — General and Operations Managers (11-1021.00)](https://www.onetonline.org/link/summary/11-1021.00), accessed 2026-05-23
- [BLS — Top Executives Occupational Outlook Handbook (308,700 annual openings, 2024-2034)](https://www.bls.gov/ooh/management/top-executives.htm), accessed 2026-05-23
- [McKinsey — State of AI: How Organizations Are Rewiring to Capture Value (2025)](https://www.mckinsey.com/capabilities/quantumblack/our-insights/the-state-of-ai-how-organizations-are-rewiring-to-capture-value), accessed 2026-05-23
- [McKinsey — Superagency in the Workplace: Empowering People to Unlock AI's Full Potential (2025)](https://www.mckinsey.com/capabilities/tech-and-ai/our-insights/superagency-in-the-workplace-empowering-people-to-unlock-ais-full-potential-at-work), accessed 2026-05-23
- [McKinsey — Agentic and Gen AI in Operations (2025)](https://www.mckinsey.com/capabilities/operations/our-insights/agentic-and-gen-ai-in-operations), accessed 2026-05-23
- [HBR — How AI Is Redefining Managerial Roles (July 2025)](https://hbr.org/2025/07/how-ai-is-redefining-managerial-roles), accessed 2026-05-23
- [Forrester — Total Economic Impact of Microsoft 365 Copilot: up to 116% ROI, 5-min meeting recaps, 3+ hrs/week saved (2024)](https://tei.forrester.com/go/microsoft/M365Copilot/), accessed 2026-05-23
- [Salesforce — Agentforce Operations GA: cuts back-office cycle times 50-70%, eliminates 80% of manual data entry (April 2026)](https://siliconangle.com/2026/04/29/salesforce-introduces-agentforce-operations-automate-outdated-back-office-tasks/), accessed 2026-05-23
- [Glean — Surpasses $200M ARR; enterprise AI search cuts 20% of internal support requests (December 2025)](https://www.glean.com/press/glean-surpasses-200m-in-arr-for-enterprise-ai-doubling-revenue-in-nine-months), accessed 2026-05-23
- [Workday — Illuminate Expands with New AI Agents for HR, Finance, and Industry (September 2025)](https://newsroom.workday.com/2025-09-16-Workday-Illuminate-TM-Expands-with-New-AI-Agents-for-HR,-Finance,-and-Industry), accessed 2026-05-23
- [Otter.ai — AI meeting assistant saves 4+ hours per week for 62% of users (internal survey, July-August 2024)](https://otter.ai/how-otter-ai-can-save-you-time-at-work), accessed 2026-06-22
- [Salesforce — Agentforce Operations GA: cycle times cut 50-70%, manual data entry eliminated by 80%, audit trails per action (April 2026)](https://martech.org/salesforce-launches-agentforce-operations-to-automate-back-office-work/), accessed 2026-05-23
- [Asana — Smart Status AI: generates stakeholder updates by synthesizing task completion, blockers, and timeline data; AI Teammates accept and respond to task assignments (GA 2025)](https://asana.com/product/ai), accessed 2026-05-23

How to read these figures: https://futurehistory.earth/methodology. Every figure links to its own source; gaps stay gaps.