Sector trend · NAICS 54

Professional, Scientific, and Technical Services

PERM PERM — Permanent Employment Certification (ETA-9089) Employer's DOL filing to sponsor a specific worker for an employment-based green card after testing the U.S. job marketTemporary visa (often F-1 student → H-1B)→●PERM — employer asks DOL to certify the job (you are here)→I-140 — employer petitions USCIS→Priority-date wait (varies by country of birth — years to decades)→Green card (I-485 / consular)DOL certifies paperwork — it does not issue green cards; per-position; certified ≠ granted. NEVER "work permit"Common path — some categories skip PERM (EB-1, NIW); timelines vary widely by country of birth. Educational info, not legal advice.Official source ↗ (green-card) labor-certification filing volume and median offered wage for the Professional, Scientific, and Technical Services sector, by U.S. fiscal year. Aggregate counts from public DOL records.

Total PERM PERM — Permanent Employment Certification (ETA-9089) Employer's DOL filing to sponsor a specific worker for an employment-based green card after testing the U.S. job marketTemporary visa (often F-1 student → H-1B)→●PERM — employer asks DOL to certify the job (you are here)→I-140 — employer petitions USCIS→Priority-date wait (varies by country of birth — years to decades)→Green card (I-485 / consular)DOL certifies paperwork — it does not issue green cards; per-position; certified ≠ granted. NEVER "work permit"Common path — some categories skip PERM (EB-1, NIW); timelines vary widely by country of birth. Educational info, not legal advice.Official source ↗ Filings

630,554

Employers (2026)

8,445

Median Wage (2026)

$126,381