BLS: Telecommunications Technicians’ Pay Rose 3% Last Year; 10-Year Outlook Predicts Job Loss

Earlier this year the United States Bureau of Labor Statistics released occupational information, including compensation and a 10-year outlook, about telecommunications technicians. The BLS first recognized Telecommunications Technician as a job category in 2023 and provided similar information at that time. The compensation data that BLS provides is from the previous year, so in 2023 it reported 2022 compensation info, while this year it reported 2023 info. The BLS counted 276,500 workers employed as telecommunications technicians in 2023. That year (specifically as of May 2023), the median pay for a telecommunications technician was $62,350 annually, and $29.98 per hour. A year prior, the BLS reported that telecom technicians’ median pay was $60,190, reflecting an increase of approximately 3.4% from 2022 to 2023.

As the BLS explains, the median wage is the wage at which half the workers earned more than that amount and half the workers earned less. The lowest 10% of telecom technicians in 2023 earned less than $39,230, while the highest 10% earned more than $96,300.

The BLS includes different job types within the overall category of telecommunications technicians. Here are the median annual wages for those job types.

Telecommunications line installers and repairers: $64,640
Radio, cellular, and tower equipment installers and repairers: $61,310
Telecommunications equipment installers and repairers, except line installers: $61,270

Employment projections data for telecommunications technicians, 2023-2033

In a sharp turnaround from the previous year’s report, the BLS expects the number of people employed in the U.S. as telecommunications technicians to drop by 7400 over a 10-year period, from 2023’s 276,500 to a projected 269,000 in 2033. That is a 3% decline over the decade. While the bureau expects radio/cellular/tower equipment installers to increase from 12,000 to 12,900 (7% growth), it expects line installers and repairers to fall from 102,200 to 99,400 (-3%) and equipment installers and repairers other than line installers to decline from 162,300 to 156,800 (-3%).

The BLS posits, “Demand for radio, cellular, and tower equipment installers and repairers is expected to increase due to continued growth in the construction of power and communications line and related structures.”

However, it adds, “Employment of telecommunications equipment and line installers and repairers is expected to decrease as many of the recent 5G infrastructure upgrades and government-funded broadband internet expansion projects are completed, reducing the number of workers needed for new installations. In addition, newer telecommunications structures and technologies, such as fiber-optic cables, require less frequent repairs and maintenance schedules.

“Despite declining employment, about 24,600 openings for telecommunications technicians are projected each year, on average, over the decade,” the BLS continues. “All of those openings are expected to result from the need to replace workers who transfer to other occupations or exit the labor force, such as to retire.”

As part of its reporting, the Bureau of Labor Statistics provides estimated state and area data through the Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics (OEWS) program. The BLS explains, “These estimates are available for the nation as a whole, for individual states, and for metropolitan and nonmetropolitan areas.” It provides this state and area data for the three subcategories of telecom technicians: radio/cellular/tower equipment installers and repairers; telecom equipment installers and repairers except line installers; and telecom line installers and repairers.