20 C.F.R. § 404.1566

Work which exists in the national economy

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(a) General. We consider that work exists in the national economy when it exists in significant numbers either in the region where you live or in several other regions of the country. It does not matter whether—

(1) Work exists in the immediate area in which you live;

(2) A specific job vacancy exists for you; or

(3) You would be hired if you applied for work.

(b) How we determine the existence of work. Work exists in the national economy when there is a significant number of jobs (in one or more occupations) having requirements which you are able to meet with your physical or mental abilities and vocational qualifications. Isolated jobs that exist only in very limited numbers in relatively few locations outside of the region where you live are not considered “work which exists in the national economy”. We will not deny you disability benefits on the basis of the existence of these kinds of jobs. If work that you can do does not exist in the national economy, we will determine that you are disabled. However, if work that you can do does exist in the national economy, we will determine that you are not disabled.

(c) Inability to obtain work. We will determine that you are not disabled if your residual functional capacity and vocational abilities make it possible for you to do work which exists in the national economy, but you remain unemployed because of—

(1) Your inability to get work;

(2) Lack of work in your local area;

(3) The hiring practices of employers;

(4) Technological changes in the industry in which you have worked;

(5) Cyclical economic conditions;

(6) No job openings for you;

(7) You would not actually be hired to do work you could otherwise do; or

(8) You do not wish to do a particular type of work.

(d) Administrative notice of job data. When we determine that unskilled, sedentary, light, and medium jobs exist in the national economy (in significant numbers either in the region where you live or in several regions of the country), we will take administrative notice of reliable job information available from various governmental and other publications. For example, we will take notice of—

(1) Dictionary of Occupational Titles, published by the Department of Labor;

(2) County Business Patterns, published by the Bureau of the Census;

(3) Census Reports, also published by the Bureau of the Census;

(4) Occupational Analyses, prepared for the Social Security Administration by various State employment agencies; and

(5) Occupational Outlook Handbook, published by the Bureau of Labor Statistics.

(e) Use of vocational experts and other specialists. If the issue in determining whether you are disabled is whether your work skills can be used in other work and the specific occupations in which they can be used, or there is a similarly complex issue, we may use the services of a vocational expert or other specialist. We will decide whether to use a vocational expert or other specialist.

Notes of Decisions

Cited in 1,832 cases (1,073 in the last 5 years), 1980–2026 · leading case: Shaibi v. Berryhill, 883 F.3d 1102 (9th Cir. 2017).

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Shaibi v. Berryhill, 883 F.3d 1102 (9th Cir. 2017). · cites it 3× “20 C.F.R. § 404.1566 (d). He proposes that the ALJ should have taken administrative notice of the CBP and OOH sua sponte ; compared the VE's job numbers against the economic data in the CBP and the OOH; concluded that the VE's job numbers could not have been accurate; and…”

Sanchez v. Berryhill, 336 F. Supp. 3d 174 (W.D.N.Y. 2018). · cites it 5× “1566 (b), "[w]ork exists in the national economy when there is a significant number of jobs (in one or more occupations) having the requirements which [the claimant is] able to meet with [his RFC]." The regulations provide that work exists in the national economy when it exists…”

Jasim Ghanim v. Carolyn W. Colvin, 763 F.3d 1154 (9th Cir. 2014). · cites it 2× “20 C.F.R. § 404.1566 (e). An ALJ may rely on a vocational expert’s testimony that is based on a hypothetical that “contain[s] all of the limitations that the ALJ found credible and supported by substantial evidence in the record.”

Kyle v. Comm'r of Soc. Sec., 609 F.3d 847 (6th Cir. 2010). · cites it 3× “” To establish that work exists in the national economy, the ALJ can rely on evidence such as the testimony of a VE and the DOT. The ALJ takes administrative notice of reliable job information available from various governmental publications such as the DOT, published by the…”

Beltran v. Astrue, 700 F.3d 386 (9th Cir. 2012). · cites it 2× “2005); see also 20 C.F.R. § 404.1566 (e). But the majority insists it can do a better job.”

Eleuterio MARTINEZ, Plaintiff-Appellant, v. Margaret M. HECKLER, Sec'y of Health & Human Servs., Defendant-Appellee, 807 F.2d 771 (9th Cir. 1987). · cites it 3× “shall be determined to be under a disability only if his physical or mental impairment or impairments are of such severity that he is not only unable to do his previous work but cannot, considering his age, education, and work experience, engage in any other kind of substantial…”

Beltran v. Astrue, 676 F.3d 1203 (9th Cir. 2012). · cites it 6× “1546(c), and that Congress instructed the ALJ to disregard whether Beltran would actually be hired if she applied for the jobs she is capable of performing, see 42 U.”

Beatriz v. Lounsburry v. Jo Anne B. Barnhart, Comm'r of Soc. Sec., 468 F.3d 1111 (9th Cir. 2006). · cites it 2× “The Commissioner’s reliance on 20 C.F.R. § 404.1566 (b) (2004), which provides that “[wjork exists in the national economy when there is a significant number of jobs (in one or more occupations),” is misplaced.”

Todd Moats v. Comm'r of Soc. Sec., 42 F.4th 558 (6th Cir. 2022). · cites it 2× “; 20 C.F.R. §§ 404.1566 (e), 416.966(e). And, as Biestek suggests, when a qualified vocational expert testifies that a person with the claimant’s work experience and physical limitations could perform a significant number of jobs available in the national economy, the ALJ has a…”

Robert M. Haddock v. Kenneth S. Apfel, Comm'r, Soc. Sec. Admin., 196 F.3d 1084 (10th Cir. 1999). · cites it 3× “20 C.F.R. § 404.1566 (d)(1) states that “[w]hen [the agency] determines that unskilled, sedentary, light, and medium jobs exist in the national economy .”

Espanola Masterson v. Jo Anne B. Barnhart, Comm'r of Soc. Sec., 363 F.3d 731 (8th Cir. 2004). · cites it 2× “See 20 C.F.R. § 404.1566 (ALJ may use a vocational expert to assess the existence of work in the national economy).”

Karrine Milhem v. Kilolo Kijakazi, 52 F.4th 688 (7th Cir. 2022). · cites it 2× “” 20 C.F.R. §§ 404.1566 (b), 416.966(b). No standard for “signiﬁcant.”

Show all 1,832 citing cases →

— 20 C.F.R. § 404.1566(a) — 2 cases

Cavins v. Comm'r of Soc. Sec. (N.D. Ind. 2022).

Macciachera v. Shalala, 892 F. Supp. 427 (N.D.N.Y. 1995).

— 20 C.F.R. § 404.1566(b) — 7 cases

Davis v. Astrue, 647 F. Supp. 2d 598 (E.D.N.C. 2009).

Gravel v. Comm'r of Soc. Sec. (W.D.N.C. 2022).

Berrocal v. Comm'r of Soc. Sec. (D.N.J. 2021).

Anderson v. Saul (N.D.N.Y. 2020).

King, Bruce v. Kijakazi, Kilolo (W.D. Wis. 2023).

— 20 C.F.R. § 404.1566(b)(1993) — 1 case

Edwards v. HHS (D.N.H. 1994).

— 20 C.F.R. § 404.1566(c) — 1 case

Barga (S.D. Ohio 2026).

— 20 C.F.R. § 404.1566(c)(3) — 1 case

Cornwell v. Kijakazi (S.D. Ind. 2022).

— 20 C.F.R. § 404.1566(c)(5)(e) — 1 case

Guerra v. Berryhill (S.D. Cal. 2019).

— 20 C.F.R. § 404.1566(d) — 17 cases

Gary G. Lohse v. Donna E. Shalala, Sec'y of Dep't of Health & Human Servs., 28 F.3d 113 (10th Cir. 1994).

Henderson v. Berryhill (D.D.C. 2019).

Kennedy v. Soc. Sec. Admin. Comm'r (W.D. Ark. 2022).

Everett M. Long v. Donna E. Shalala, Sec'y of Health & Human Servs., 9 F.3d 117 (10th Cir. 1993).

Sullivan v. Comm'r of Soc. Sec. (S.D. Ill. 2023).

— 20 C.F.R. § 404.1566(d)(1) — 5 cases

Warf v. Shalala, 844 F. Supp. 285 (W.D. Va. 1994).

Gary G. Lohse v. Donna E. Shalala, Sec'y of Dep't of Health & Human Servs., 28 F.3d 113 (10th Cir. 1994).

Marietta M. Sanders v. Shirley S. Chater, Comm'r of Soc. Sec., 1, 72 F.3d 138 (10th Cir. 1995).

Ford v. Kijakazi (S.D. Ala. 2022).

Borys v. Kijakazi (M.D. Penn. 2025).

— 20 C.F.R. § 404.1566(e) — 13 cases

Rivera v. Berryhill, 242 F. Supp. 3d 1226 (D.N.M. 2017).

Vaile v. Chater, 916 F. Supp. 821 (N.D. Ill. 1996).

Parker v. Barnhart, 431 F. Supp. 2d 665 (E.D. Tex. 2006).

Ortiz v. Chater, 986 F. Supp. 479 (N.D. Ill. 1997).

Sullivan v. Comm'r of Soc. Sec. (S.D. Ill. 2023).

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