Funeral service workers organize and manage the details of a funeral.

Funeral service workers are employed in funeral homes and crematories. They are often on call and long workdays are common, including evenings and weekends. Most work full time.

An associate’s degree in funeral service or mortuary science is the typical education requirement for funeral service workers. With the exception of funeral service managers, all workers must be licensed in Washington, D.C. and every state in which they work, except Colorado which offers a voluntary certification program. 

Overall employment of funeral service workers is projected to grow 5 percent from 2014 to 2024, about as fast as the average for all occupations. Those who are licensed as funeral directors and embalmers and who are willing to relocate should have the best job opportunities.

This occupation supported 32,800 jobs in 2012 and 60,400 jobs in 2014, reflecting an increase of 84.1%. In 2012, this occupation was projected to increase by 12.2% in 2022 to 36,800 jobs. As of 2014, to keep pace with prediction, the expected number of jobs was 33,500, compared with an observed value of 60,400, 80.3% higher than expected. This indicates current employment trends are much better than the 2012 trend within this occupation. In 2014, this occupation was projected to increase by 9.5% in 2024 to 63,500 jobs. Linear extrapolation of the 2012 projection for 2022 results in an expected number of 37,500 jobs for 2024, 40.9% lower than the 2014 projection for 2024. This indicates expectations for future employment trends are much better than the 2012 trend within this occupation.