Combined food preparation and serving workers were among the lowest paying occupations in 2007, but were among the occupations with the highest U.S. employment in 2007, the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics reports. Retail salespersons, cashiers, general office clerks, and registered nurses were the other occupations with high employment last year.

The highest paying occupations included physician specialists, dentist specialists, and chief executives, according to BLS.

Mean hourly wages for office and administrative support group occupations ranged from $18.83 in the utilities sector to $11.60 in accommodation and food services. Hotel, motel, and resort desk clerks ($9.66 per hour); stock clerks and order fillers ($10.93); and tellers ($11.36) were among the lowest paid occupations in the group.

In an additional report, BLS says that real average weekly earnings fell by 0.5 percent from March 2008 to April after seasonal adjustment. A 0.1 percent increase in average hourly earnings for the period was offset by a 0.3 percent decrease in average weekly hours and a 0.2 percent increase in the Consumer Price Index for Urban Wage Earners and Clerical Workers.