HISCO lookup

Purpose

This is a post for me to come back to as a refrence. I always need to look up HISCO groups, and I have scraped and stored this information in this github repo but it would be nice to have it in a table to qukickly look up.

Overview of HISCO

The Historical International Standard Classification of Occupations (HISCO) is a standardized system developed to classify and compare historical occupations across different countries and time periods. It is based on the International Standard Classification of Occupations (ISCO) from 1968 and has been adapted for historical research purposes. HISCO provides a common framework that enables researchers to analyze social structures, economic development, and labor market changes over time.

Structure of HISCO

HISCO employs a hierarchical coding system consisting of five digits:

• Major Groups: The first digit represents broad occupational categories.
• Minor Groups: The second digit specifies subgroups within the major group.
• Unit Groups: The third digit further refines the occupation category.
• Headings: The fourth and fifth digits provide detailed occupational titles.

This structure allows for detailed classification and analysis of occupations.

HISCO Major Groups

HISCO Major Groups
A table of the HISCO major groups
HISCO Code	HISCO Title	Description
0	0/1 Professional, technical and related workers	Workers in this major group conduct research and apply scientific knowledge to the solution of a variety of technological, economic, social and industrial problems and perform other professional, technical, artistic and related functions in such fields as the physical and natural sciences, engineering, law, medicine, religion, education, literature, art, entertainment and sport.
2	2 Administrative and managerial workers	Workers in this major group conduct research and apply scientific knowledge to the solution of a variety of technological, economic, social and industrial problems and perform other professional, technical, artistic and related functions in such fields as the physical and natural sciences, engineering, law, medicine, religion, education, literature, art, entertainment and sport.
3	3 Clerical and related workers	Workers in this major group put into effect laws, rules and regulations made by central, state, provincial or local governments; supervise clerical and related work, transport and communications service operations; compile and maintain records of financial and other business transactions; handle cash on behalf of an organisation and its customers; record oral or written matter by shorthand writing, typing and other means; operate office machines and telephone and telegraph equipment; conduct passenger transport vehicles; take part in postal work and mail distribution and perform other duties related to the foregoing.
4	4 Sales workers	Workers in this major group are engaged in, or directly associated with, buying and selling goods and services of all kinds and in conducting wholesale and retail businesses on their own behalf.
5	5 Service workers	Workers in this major group organise or perform catering, housekeeping, personal, protective and related services.
6	6 Agricultural, animal husbandry and forestry workers, fishermen and hunters	Workers in this major group conduct farms on their own behalf or in partnership, perform agricultural, animal husbandry and forestry tasks, catch fish, hunt and trap animals, and perform related tasks.
7	7-8-9 Production and related workers, transport equipment operators and labourers	Workers in this major group are engaged in or directly associated with the extraction of minerals, petroleum and natural gas from the earth and their treatment; manufacturing processes; the construction, maintenance and repair of various types of roads, structures, machines and other products. Also included are those who handle materials, operate transport and other equipment and perform labouring tasks requiring primarily physical effort.

HISCO Three Digit Occupations

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Number	Name	Description (tasks and duties)
011	Chemists	Workers in this unit group conduct research in such fields as organic, inorganic, physical and analytical chemistry. Their functions include: conducting pure research to increase scientific knowledge in the field of chemistry; conducting applied research and development work to test, develop and improve materials, products and industrial processes; performing chemical tests and analyses for process and quality control; developing analytical methodology and techniques. Metallurgists are classified in unit group 0-26, Biochemists and Pharmacologists in 0-52 and Pharmacists in 0-67.
012	Physicists	Workers in this unit group conduct research into physical phenomena in such fields as mechanics, heat, light, sound, electricity and magnetism, electronics and nuclear physics. Their functions include: conducting pure research to increase scientific knowledge in the field of physics; conducting applied research to develop or improve industrial, medical, military and other practical applications of the laws and theories of physics.
013	Physical Scientists Not Elsewhere Classified	Workers in this unit group conduct research and develop practical applications in areas of the physical sciences not covered by those classified elsewhere. Their functions include: conducting research into the physical nature of the earth, the nature and history of the earth's crust and the physical nature and properties of the atmosphere and the forces affecting it, and developing practical applications in such fields as radio communications, water conservation, mineral exploitation, civil engineering and weather forecasting; observing and interpreting celestial phenomena and developing practical applications in such fields as navigation and space exploration; examining, analysing and classifying minerals and advising on the likely commercial yield of mineral deposits containing gems and precious stones.
014	Physical Science Technicians	Workers in this unit group perform auxiliary technical tasks, normally under the direction and supervision of physical scientists, in connection with research in the physical sciences and the development of industrial, medical, military and other practical applications. Their functions include: preparing materials and equipment for experiments, tests and analyses; assisting with or - under supervision - performing experiments, tests and analyses in such fields as physics, chemistry, geology, geophysics, meteorology and astronomy; applying knowledge of scientific principles to suggest solutions to problems encountered; taking records, making calculations, preparing charts and graphs and writing reports.
020	Engineers, Specialisation Unknown	Workers in this unit group may perform any (but not all) of the occupational activities listed in unit groups 0-22 to 0-29.
021	Architects and Town Planners	Workers in this unit group design and supervise the construction of buildings; plan layout and co-ordinate development of urban areas; and plan, design and supervise aesthetic landscaping for parks, road development and other projects.
022	Civil Engineers	Workers in this unit group carry out research and advise on civil engineering problems, design projects and structures such as bridges, dams, docks, roads, airports, railways, waste disposal systems, flood control systems and industrial and other large buildings, and plan, organise and supervise their construction, maintenance and repair.
023	Electrical and Electronics Engineers	Workers in this unit group carry out research on electrical and electronics engineering problems, design and advise on electrical and electronic systems and equipment, plan and supervise development, construction, installation, operation, maintenance and repair of electrical and electronic equipment.
024	Mechanical Engineers	Workers in this unit group carry out research on, design and advise on mechanically functioning plant and equipment, such as machine tools, engines, vehicles, heating, ventilating and refrigerating installations, and plant and equipment for the release, control and utilisation of nuclear energy, and plan and supervise their development, manufacture, construction, installation, operation, maintenance and repair.
025	Chemical Engineers	Workers in this unit group carry out research, develop and advise on processes for producing on a commercial scale the chemical or physical transformation of substances, as in manufacture of chemicals, petroleum derivatives, metals, food products and synthetic materials, and design appropriate manufacturing plant and plan and supervise its construction, operation, maintenance and repair.

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Related Classification Systems

HISCO serves as a foundation for other classification systems that analyze historical social stratification:

• HISCLASS: An occupational stratification scale that classifies occupations into social classes based on HISCO codes, facilitating international comparisons across different periods, countries, and languages.

• HISCAM: A social status scale derived from HISCO, developed to analyze social stratification and inequality in historical contexts. These systems provide additional tools for researchers studying historical social structures and mobility.

Resources and Tools

For further exploration and practical application of HISCO, consider the following resources:

• HISCO Database: This database offers access to occupational titles and their corresponding HISCO codes, as well as CSV downloads.

• R Package for HISCO Classification: An R package developed for classifying HISCO codes into social class systems such as HISCLASS, HISCLASS 5, SOCPO, and Universal HISCAM. This tool aids researchers in analyzing historical occupational data.

• Machine Learning Based Classifier This GitHub repo hosts “a tool designed to transform occupational descriptions into standardized HISCO (Historical International Standard Classification of Occupations) codes automatically. Developed by Christian Møller Dahl, Torben Johansen and Christian Vedel from the University of Southern Denmark, this tool leverages the power of a finetuned language model to process and classify occupational descriptions with high accuracy, precision, and recall.”

Conclusion

This post provides a structured overview of HISCO, its major groups, related classification systems, and available resources. By consolidating this information, it serves as a convenient reference for quickly accessing and understanding historical occupational classifications.