Career Trends: Janitors and Building Cleaners

Janitors and building cleaners keep many types of buildings clean, orderly, and in good condition.

Most janitors and building cleaners work indoors. However, some work outdoors part of the time, sweeping walkways, mowing lawns, and removing snow. Because office buildings often are cleaned while they are empty, many cleaners work evening hours. The work can be physically demanding and sometimes dirty and unpleasant.

Most janitors and building cleaners learn on the job. Formal education is not required.

Employment of janitors and building cleaners is projected to 6 percent from 2014 to 2024, about as fast as the average for all occupations. Many new jobs are expected in facilities related to healthcare, an industry that is expected to grow rapidly.

This occupation supported 2,324,000 jobs in 2012 and 2,360,600 jobs in 2014, reflecting an increase of 1.6%. In 2012, this occupation was projected to increase by 12.0% in 2022 to 2,604,000 jobs. As of 2014, to keep pace with prediction, the expected number of jobs was 2,380,000, compared with an observed value of 2,360,600, 0.8% lower than expected. This indicates current employment trends are about on track with the 2012 trend within this occupation. In 2014, this occupation was projected to increase by 5.9% in 2024 to 2,496,900 jobs. Linear extrapolation of the 2012 projection for 2022 results in an expected number of 2,660,000 jobs for 2024, 6.5% higher than the 2014 projection for 2024. This indicates expectations for future employment trends are much worse than the 2012 trend within this occupation.