# Industrial-Organizational Psychologists

US SOC code 19-3032. Markdown version of https://futurehistory.earth/timeline/19-3032

Also called: I-o psychologist, Organizational psychologist, People scientist, Workforce scientist, Talent research scientist.

## In brief

In May 2025, [BLS](https://www.bls.gov/oes/special-requests/oesm25nat.zip) counted **790** US industrial-organizational psychologists, with median pay of **$193,950** a year. Of the BLS counts since 2003, the highest was **1,710**, in May 2009. The earliest figure here is [an estimate](https://txwes.pressbooks.pub/iopsychologytxwes/chapter/1-3-history-of-i-o-psychology/) of **10** from 1917, not measured the same way as today's count. The last full technology era for industrial-organizational psychologists: People analytics platforms and O\*NET digital infrastructure, 2010 to 2020.

## What the sources say

### Official outlook

BLS projects employment to grow 6.5% from 2025 to 2035. Source: [BLS Employment Projections 2025-35](https://data.bls.gov/projections/nationalMatrix?queryParams=19-3032&ioType=o).

### AI exposure studies

- **58.9%** 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)

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.

## Industrial-Organizational Psychologists employment and pay by year

- On record since: 1901
- Latest US employment: 790 (May 2025). Source: BLS OEWS May 2025 [4]
- Latest US median pay: $193,950 (May 2025). Source: BLS OEWS May 2025 [7]
- Outlook: +6.5% by 2035. Source: BLS Employment Projections 2025-35 [20]

### All 28 years of cited US data

| Year | US employment | Annual pay (median unless marked) | Source |
| --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 1917 | 10 (estimate) | n/a | Est., TxWes Pressbooks [1] |
| 1929 | 50 (estimate) | n/a | Est., TxWes Pressbooks [1] |
| 1947 | 130 (estimate) | n/a | Est., SIOP History [2] |
| 1956 | n/a | $7,200 (estimate) | Est., University of Missouri Libraries [5] |
| 2001 | 2,400 (estimate) | $82,000 (estimate) | Est., SIOP membership data 2001 (employment) [3]; Est., BLS Occupational Outlook Handbook (pay) [6] |
| 2003 | 1,330 | $64,440 | BLS OEWS May 2003 [4] |
| 2004 | 1,500 | $71,400 | BLS OEWS May 2004 [4] |
| 2005 | 1,070 | $84,690 | BLS OEWS May 2005 [4] |
| 2006 | 1,140 | $86,420 | BLS OEWS May 2006 [4] |
| 2007 | 1,240 | $80,820 | BLS OEWS May 2007 [4] |
| 2008 | 1,460 | $77,010 | BLS OEWS May 2008 [4] |
| 2009 | 1,710 | $83,260 | BLS OEWS May 2009 [4] |
| 2010 | 1,420 | $87,330 | BLS OEWS May 2010 [4] |
| 2011 | 1,230 | $94,720 | BLS OEWS May 2011 [4] |
| 2012 | 1,030 | $83,580 | BLS OEWS May 2012 [4] |
| 2013 | 1,040 | $80,330 | BLS OEWS May 2013 [4] |
| 2014 | 1,110 | $76,950 | BLS OEWS May 2014 [4] |
| 2015 | 990 | $77,350 | BLS OEWS May 2015 [4] |
| 2016 | 1,020 | $82,760 | BLS OEWS May 2016 [4] |
| 2017 | 920 | $87,100 | BLS OEWS May 2017 [4] |
| 2018 | 780 | $97,260 | BLS OEWS May 2018 [4] |
| 2019 | 630 | $92,880 | BLS OEWS May 2019 [4] |
| 2020 | 780 | $96,270 | BLS OEWS May 2020 [4] |
| 2021 | 610 | $105,310 | BLS OEWS May 2021 [4] |
| 2022 | 1,280 | $139,280 | BLS OEWS May 2022 [4] |
| 2023 | 1,030 | $147,420 | BLS OEWS May 2023 (employment) [4]; BLS OEWS May 2023 (pay) [6] |
| 2024 | 1,050 | $109,840 | BLS OEWS May 2024 [4] |
| 2025 | 790 | $193,950 | BLS OEWS May 2025 [4] |

## Sources (87)

### Employment series

1. [TxWes Pressbooks -- History of I/O Psychology: "approximately 10 practicing I/O psychologists" in 1917](https://txwes.pressbooks.pub/iopsychologytxwes/chapter/1-3-history-of-i-o-psychology/), Texas Wesleyan University Open Educational Resources
2. [SIOP History -- "At the APA meeting in Detroit in 1947, 80 fellows and 50 associates were counted as charter members" of Division 14](https://www.siop.org/about-siop/siop-history/early-history/), Society for Industrial and Organizational Psychology
3. [SIOP membership data 2001: 5,841 members in May 2001 (membership total includes students, international, and retired; employed practitioner count estimated at approximately 40-50% of membership)](https://www.siop.org/about-siop/siop-history/koppes-history-of-siop-and-the-apa/), Society for Industrial and Organizational Psychology
4. 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)

### Wage series

5. [University of Missouri Libraries -- "Prices and Wages by Decade: 1950-1959": applied psychologist earnings relative to 1956 median household income ($4,400); industrial psychology practitioners earned approximately $6,000-$9,000 annually](https://libraryguides.missouri.edu/pricesandwages/1950-1959), University of Missouri Libraries / historical wage sources
6. [BLS Occupational Outlook Handbook -- Industrial-Organizational Psychologists (historical salary trajectory; 2001 approximate derived from 2024 median of $109,840 and long-run real wage growth)](https://www.bls.gov/ooh/life-physical-and-social-science/industrial-organizational-psychologists.htm), Bureau of Labor Statistics
7. 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), [2025](https://www.bls.gov/oes/special-requests/oesm25nat.zip)
8. [BLS OEWS May 2024, national cross-industry estimates (flat file)](https://www.bls.gov/oes/special-requests/oesm24nat.zip), U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics

### Tool eras

9. [Medium -- "The Pioneers of Industrial-Organizational Psychology": Walter Dill Scott's 1901 advertising talk and 1903 book; Hugo Munsterberg's "Psychology and Industrial Efficiency" (1913)](https://saif-farooqi.medium.com/the-pioneers-of-industrial-organizational-psychology-ee929ef02a59), Medium / Saif Farooqi PhD
10. [Wikipedia -- Army Alpha: WWI testing program, 1,726,966 soldiers tested, Yerkes/Bingham/Terman committee; Army Beta for illiterate and non-English-speaking recruits](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Army_Alpha), Wikipedia
11. [Smithsonian National Museum of American History -- Psychological Test, Army Group Examination Alpha Form 7 (artifact record)](https://americanhistory.si.edu/collections/object/nmah_692434), Smithsonian Institution
12. [TxWes Pressbooks -- History of I/O Psychology: 1954 Critical Incident Technique introduction; APA Division 14 founding milestones; AT&T Management Progress Study origins](https://txwes.pressbooks.pub/iopsychologytxwes/chapter/1-3-history-of-i-o-psychology/), Texas Wesleyan University Open Educational Resources
13. [Wikipedia -- Griggs v. Duke Power Co. (1971): unanimous Supreme Court ruling that facially neutral selection criteria with adverse impact on protected groups violate Title VII without demonstrated job-relatedness; foundational case for I-O psychology compliance work](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Griggs_v._Duke_Power_Co.), Wikipedia
14. [EEOC -- Questions and Answers on Uniform Guidelines on Employee Selection Procedures (1979): 4/5 rule (adverse impact threshold), validity evidence requirements (criterion-related, content, construct), selection procedure documentation standards](https://www.eeoc.gov/laws/guidance/questions-and-answers-clarify-and-provide-common-interpretation-uniform-guidelines), U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission
15. [Visier -- enterprise people analytics platform product documentation; Josh Bersin "HR Technology 2026" identifies Visier as leading enterprise people analytics platform](https://www.visier.com/), Visier Inc.
16. [Culture Amp -- ML-powered engagement benchmarking; 6,500+ organization comparison database; product documentation 2025](https://www.cultureamp.com/), Culture Amp
17. [NYC Local Law 144 (2023) -- AEDT bias audit requirement; annual independent audit by credentialed practitioner; NYC DCWP enforcement guidance 2024](https://www.nyc.gov/site/dca/about/automated-employment-decision-tools.page), NYC Department of Consumer and Worker Protection
18. [EU AI Act (Regulation (EU) 2024/1689) -- high-risk AI systems in employment; Articles 6, 9, 10, 26; Annex III; conformity assessment and bias documentation required](https://eur-lex.europa.eu/legal-content/EN/TXT/?uri=CELEX:32024R1689), EUR-Lex / European Parliament
19. [SIOP TIP Vol. 62 No. 3 (2025) -- NYC LL144 AEDT audits generating $10,000-$50,000 consulting engagements; Workday Skills Cloud validation as growing I-O practice area](https://www.siop.org/Research-Publications/TIP), Society for Industrial and Organizational Psychology

### Forecasts and exposure studies

20. [BLS Employment Projections 2025-35, National Employment Matrix: 19-3032 Industrial-organizational psychologists (2025: 4.0 thousand; 2035: 4.3 thousand; +6.5%)](https://data.bls.gov/projections/nationalMatrix?queryParams=19-3032&ioType=o), Bureau of Labor Statistics
21. [Eloundou, Manning, Mishkin & Rock (2023), "GPTs are GPTs", occupation-level exposure data occ\_level.csv (O\*NET-SOC 19-3032.00, human-rated β 0.589)](https://github.com/openai/GPTs-are-GPTs/blob/main/data/occ_level.csv), OpenAI

### Historical notes

22. [Britannica -- Industrial-organizational psychology: Munsterberg's "Psychology and Industrial Efficiency" (1913); founding texts of the field](https://www.britannica.com/science/industrial-organizational-psychology), Encyclopaedia Britannica
23. [Britannica -- Elton Mayo: Hawthorne Studies at Western Electric (1927-1932); discovery of the Hawthorne effect; origins of the human relations movement](https://www.britannica.com/biography/Elton-Mayo), Encyclopaedia Britannica
24. [SIOP Early History -- "At the APA meeting in Detroit in 1947, 80 fellows and 50 associates were counted as charter members" of APA Division 14](https://www.siop.org/about-siop/siop-history/early-history/), Society for Industrial and Organizational Psychology
25. [Wikipedia -- Griggs v. Duke Power Co. (1971): adverse impact doctrine, Title VII employer liability for discriminatory selection criteria, EEOC enforcement; foundational for I-O compliance practice](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Griggs_v._Duke_Power_Co.), Wikipedia
26. [Wikipedia -- Society for Industrial and Organizational Psychology: 1973 renaming of APA Division 14 to "Division of Industrial and Organizational Psychology"](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Society_for_Industrial_and_Organizational_Psychology), Wikipedia
27. [NYC DCWP -- Automated Employment Decision Tools (AEDT) Law; Local Law 144; enforcement from July 2023; annual bias audit requirement by independent credentialed auditor](https://www.nyc.gov/site/dca/about/automated-employment-decision-tools.page), NYC Department of Consumer and Worker Protection

### Predecessors & successors

28. [Medium -- "Pioneers of Industrial-Organizational Psychology": Scott, Munsterberg, Bingham all trained as academic experimental psychologists before applying methods to workplace contexts](https://saif-farooqi.medium.com/the-pioneers-of-industrial-organizational-psychology-ee929ef02a59), Medium / Saif Farooqi PhD
29. [TxWes Pressbooks -- History of I/O Psychology: WWII Army General Classification Test; OSS assessment center development; post-WWII veterans entering I-O practice](https://txwes.pressbooks.pub/iopsychologytxwes/chapter/1-3-history-of-i-o-psychology/), Texas Wesleyan University Open Educational Resources

### Present-day analysis

- [O\*NET 30.3 — Industrial-Organizational Psychologists (19-3032.00): tasks, work activities, technology skills, knowledge domains, employment data](https://www.onetonline.org/link/summary/19-3032.00), accessed 2026-05-24
- [BLS OOH 2024-2034 — Industrial-Organizational Psychologists: ~3,900 employed; +6% growth; median wage $147,420; highest employment in management consulting, R&D social sciences, and state government](https://www.bls.gov/ooh/life-physical-and-social-science/industrial-organizational-psychologists.htm), accessed 2026-05-24
- [SIOP Principles for the Validation and Use of Personnel Selection Procedures (5th ed., 2024) — I-Os bear professional responsibility for UGESP compliance when AI-assisted selection tools are used; algorithm opacity does not relieve employers of adverse impact obligations](https://www.siop.org/Research-Publications/SIOP-Publications/Principles), accessed 2026-05-24
- [NYC Local Law 144 (2023) — Automated Employment Decision Tool (AEDT) bias audit requirement; annual independent audit by credentialed practitioner; NYC DCWP enforcement guidance 2024](https://www.nyc.gov/site/dca/about/automated-employment-decision-tools.page), accessed 2026-05-24
- [EU AI Act (Regulation (EU) 2024/1689) — high-risk AI systems in employment require conformity assessment, bias testing documentation, and human oversight; I-Os are natural compliance partners for EU-based employers using AI hiring tools](https://eur-lex.europa.eu/legal-content/EN/TXT/?uri=CELEX:32024R1689), accessed 2026-05-24
- [EEOC — "Navigating Employment Discrimination in AI-Enabled Hiring and Decision-Making Tools" (technical assistance, 2023, updated 2025): 4/5 rule adverse impact analysis applies to AI selection tools; employers liable for third-party AI tool disparate impact](https://www.eeoc.gov/laws/guidance/questions-and-answers-clarify-and-provide-common-interpretation-uniform-guidelines), accessed 2026-05-24
- [SIOP — "Considerations and Recommendations for the Validation and Use of AI-Based Assessments for Employee Selection" (2024): I-O psychologists' validation methodology, psychometrics, and adverse impact analysis expertise uniquely positions them as practitioners and auditors for AI hiring tools under NYC LL144 and EU AI Act](https://www.siop.org/post/siop-releases-recommendations-for-ai-based-assessments/), accessed 2026-06-21
- [TIP — The Industrial-Organizational Psychologist (Vol. 62, No. 3, 2025): NYC LL144 AEDT audits producing $10,000-$50,000 consulting engagements for I-Os; Workday Skills Cloud validation a growing consulting practice area](https://www.siop.org/Research-Publications/TIP), accessed 2026-05-24
- [SHRM — "The Role of AI in HR Continues to Expand" (2025 Talent Trends): AI adoption in HR tasks climbed to 43% in 2025; HR leaders cite bias and legal compliance as top concern; I-Os and psychometricians increasingly sought to validate AI tool outputs](https://www.shrm.org/topics-tools/research/2025-talent-trends/ai-in-hr), accessed 2026-06-21
- [McKinsey — "The State of AI" (2025): organizations deploying AI in HR workflows are building governance models and putting senior leaders in AI oversight roles; skill transformation and AI governance identified as critical organizational needs](https://www.mckinsey.com/capabilities/quantumblack/our-insights/the-state-of-ai), accessed 2026-06-21
- [Eloundou et al. 2024 — GPTs are GPTs (Science): occupational LLM exposure framework; I-Os at β=0.489 moderate-high text-task exposure; framework does not capture expert witness standing, regulatory compliance accountability, or consulting relationship depth](https://arxiv.org/abs/2303.10130), accessed 2026-05-24
- [Visier People AI — enterprise people analytics; AI workforce planning, headcount forecasting, predictive attrition models; Josh Bersin "HR Technology 2026" report identifies Visier as leading enterprise people analytics platform](https://www.visier.com/), accessed 2026-05-24
- [Semantic Scholar — AI-powered research discovery; 220M+ papers; semantic search and citation analysis across I-O, HRM, organizational behavior, and applied psychology literature (Allen Institute for AI, product documentation 2025)](https://www.semanticscholar.org/), accessed 2026-05-24
- [Consensus AI — AI-powered evidence synthesis from peer-reviewed research; structured claim extraction; used by I-O practitioners for rapid evidence reviews on HR interventions (Consensus product documentation 2025)](https://consensus.app/), accessed 2026-05-24
- [Microsoft Viva Insights / Glint — NLP-powered open-text survey analysis; 1,000+ enterprise deployments; AI-surfaced engagement themes and sentiment drivers (Microsoft product documentation 2025)](https://www.microsoft.com/en-us/microsoft-viva/insights), accessed 2026-05-24
- [Culture Amp — ML-powered engagement benchmarking; predictive attrition models; manager-facing AI action plans from survey results; 6,500+ organization benchmark database (Culture Amp product documentation 2025; People Matters 2025)](https://www.cultureamp.com/), accessed 2026-05-24

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