C.F.R. » Title 20 » CHAPTER III—SOCIAL SECURITY ADMINISTRATION › PART 416—SUPPLEMENTAL SECURITY INCOME FOR THE AGED, BLIND, AND DISABLED › Subpart I—Determining Disability and Blindness

20 C.F.R. § 416.966

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 358 cases (203 in the last 5 years), 1995–2026 · leading case: Carlos Gutierrez v. Commissioner of Social Securit
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Carlos Gutierrez v. Commissioner of Social Securit (2014) ca9 · cites it 10× “” The court explained that 20 C.F.R. § 416.966 (a)(1) specifies that “it does not matter whether work exists in the immediate area” where a claimant lives, but that 20 C.”
Lindell Washington v. Commissioner of Social Security (2018) ca11 · cites it 3× “See 20 C.F.R. § 416.966 . The regulations, much like the statute itself, provide that "[w]ork exists in *1360 the national economy when there is a significant number of jobs (in one or more occupations) having requirements which [the claimant is] able to meet with [his] physical…”
Sczepanski v. Saul (2020) ca2 · cites it 4× “” 20 C.F.R. § 416.966 (c)(1), (3), (7). 9 To determine whether a claimant is disabled, the Social Security Administration has prescribed a “five‐step sequential evaluation process,” id.”
Chavez v. Berryhill (2018) ca7 · cites it 3× “§ 423 (d)(2)(A) ; 20 C.F.R. § 416.966 (a). In the same vein, the regulations direct that other factors of clear import to anyone pursuing employment, such as economic conditions or an employer's hiring practices, are not to affect step-five estimates of job numbers.”
Rachel Goode v. Commissioner of Social Security (2020) ca11 · cites it 3× “See also 20 C.F.R. § 416.966 (a) (same). The Social Security Administration, however, “does not tally the number of job openings at a given time, but rather approximates the number of positions that exist, whether vacant or filled, and without regard to the location of the work…”
Sarahrose Kilpatrick v. Kilolo Kijakazi (2022) ca9 · cites it 2× “75760 (2000); see also 20 C.F.R. § 416.966 (e) (authorizing VE testimony to assist in step-five determinations).”
Igor Zavalin v. Carolyn W. Colvin (2015) ca9 · cites it 2× “See 20 C.F.R. § 416.966 . In making this determination, the ALJ relies on the DOT, which is the SSA’s “primary *846 source of reliable job information” regarding jobs that exist in the national economy.”
Nelms v. Astrue (2009) ca7 · cites it 2× “at 1112 ; see also 20 C.F.R. § 416.966 (e); Binion, 13 F.3d at 246 (explaining that use of a vocational expert is discretionary).”
Sarah M. BOONE, Appellant v. Jo Anne BARNHART Commissioner of Social Security (2004) ca3 · cites it 2× “”) (citing 20 C.F.R. § 416.966 (d) (2002)). Boone argues for reversal of the ALJ’s non-disability determination on the grounds that the VE’s testimony that Boone can work as an inventory clerk, a home health aide, and a sales counter clerk conflicts with the DOT and that neither…”
Eshagh Massachi v. Michael J. Astrue, Commissioner of the Social Security Administration (2007) ca9 “See 20 C.F.R. § 416.966 (d)(1); Prochaska, 454 F.”
Brownrigg v. Berryhill (2017) ca10 “§ 423 (d)(2)(A) (using the national economy as the benchmark but defining “ ‘work which exists in the national economy”’ to mean “work which exists in significant numbers either in the region where such individual lives or in several regions of the country”); 20 C.F.R. § 416.966…”
Antonio Viverette v. Commissioner of Social Security (2021) ca11 “See 20 C.F.R. § 416.966 (d)(1). As relevant here, the DOT specifies the general educational requirements, including the level of reasoning skills, required for each job.”
Show all 358 citing cases →
— 20 C.F.R. § 416.966(b) — 3 cases
MEJIA v. SAUL (2022) paed
Bassett v. Commissioner of Social Security (2025) ohnd
Leslie Fitzpatrick v. Commissioner of Social Security (2025) flmd
— 20 C.F.R. § 416.966(c) — 1 case
Bassett v. Commissioner of Social Security (2025) ohnd
— 20 C.F.R. § 416.966(d) — 3 cases
Stinson v. Saul (2020) nvd
Leslie Fitzpatrick v. Commissioner of Social Security (2025) flmd
Burns v. Comm Social Security (2002) ca3
— 20 C.F.R. § 416.966(e) — 12 cases
Lewis v. Barnhart (2006) txed
Najoo Dykes v. Commissioner of Social Security (2022) flmd
McCoy v. Commissioner Social Security Administration (2023) ord
Caldwell v. Commissioner Social Security Administration (2024) ord
Counts v. Commissioner Social Security Administration (2024) ord
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