102 Lower-income Occupations
For its 2017 report License to Work, the Institute for Justice documented the requirements to get a license for 102 lower-income occupations across all 50 states and the District of Columbia. Read more about the research methods.
State Profiles
For its 2017 report License to Work, the Institute for Justice documented the requirements to get a license for 102 lower-income occupations across all 50 states and the District of Columbia. Read more about the research methods.
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What is Occupational Licensing?
An “occupational license” is, put simply, government permission to work in a particular field. To earn the license, an aspiring worker must clear various hurdles, such as earning a certain amount of education or training or passing an exam. In the 1950s, only one in 20 U.S. workers needed the government’s permission to pursue their chosen occupation. Today, that figure stands at almost one in four.
Electrical Helper
License required in 2 states
86th most burdensome licensing requirements among moderate-income occupations
95th most heavily regulated occupation among moderate-income occupations
What They Do
Electrical helpers help electricians by performing duties of lesser skill, which include using, supplying or holding materials or tools, and cleaning work area and equipment.Licensing
Two states license electrical helpers: Maine and Minnesota. Both states set only fee and minimum age requirements: $96 in fees and 16 years of age in Maine and $14 in fees and 17 years of age in Minnesota. These burdens are the 86th most onerous of the 102 occupations studied here. Also, because so few states license electrical helpers, the occupation ranks as the 95th most widely and onerously licensed.