Mid-Atlantic Information Office

Internet address:                  
http://www.bls.gov/ro3/    
INFORMATION:   Gerald Perrins      	PLS - 4245
               (215) 597-3282      	FOR RELEASE:
MEDIA CONTACT: Sheila Watkins      	FRIDAY, OCTOBER 13, 2006
               (215) 861-5600      

                                 
                 OCCUPATIONAL EMPLOYMENT AND WAGES
   IN RICHMOND AND VIRGINIA BEACH-NORFOLK-NEWPORT NEWS, MAY 2005

     Workers in the Richmond, Va. Metropolitan Statistical Area (1)
(MSA) had an average (mean) hourly wage rate of $18.42 in May 2005;
this compares to the nationwide average of $18.21, according to the
U.S. Department of Labor’s Bureau of Labor Statistics.  For the
same period, the Virginia Beach-Norfolk-Newport News, Va.-NC.
Metropolitan Statistical Area2 had a mean hourly wage rate of
$17.10.  Regional Commissioner Sheila Watkins reported that wages
in the Richmond area were significantly higher than their
respective national averages in 5 of the 22 major occupational
groups, including managers, and sales and related, and
significantly below in 6 others.  In the Virginia Beach area, wage
rates were significantly above their respective national averages
in only 2 of the 22 categories (community and social services and
production) and significantly below in 13 others.  Still, it should
be noted that of the 22 major occupational groups in the Virginia
Beach area, 19 had wages that varied by less than $2.00 from their
respective national averages and in the Richmond area, it was 20
out of 22.

     In addition, employment was more highly concentrated in 7 of
the 22 occupational groups including business and financial
operations in the Richmond area than in the nation, while 6 other
occupational groups had a significantly below-average national
presence, one of which was production workers.  In the Virginia
Beach area, employment was more highly concentrated in 7 of the 22
occupational groups than in the nation as a whole; included in this
group were sales and related, and construction and extraction
workers.  Ten other occupational groups had a lower-than-average
presence in Virginia Beach, and, as in Richmond, one such group was
production workers.  (For a complete listing of occupations in the
Richmond and Virginia Beach areas with wages and employment shares
significantly different from their respective national averages,
see the “Reliability of the Estimates” section in the Technical
Note.)

     These statistics for wage and salary workers are from the
Occupational Employment Statistics (OES) survey, a federal-state
cooperative program between BLS and State Workforce Agencies.  The
OES survey provides estimates of employment, hourly wages, and
annual wages for 22 major occupational groups and up to 801
detailed occupations for the nation, the states, and 375
metropolitan areas.
                                 
     In a comparison of wage rates across the two areas, workers in
the Richmond area had significantly higher wages than their
counterparts in the Virginia Beach area in 8 of the 22 major
occupational categories.  The largest differences were found in the
computer and mathematical ($31.65 versus $28.74), and sales and
related ($16.88 versus $14.50) professions.  Wages were also higher
in management; business and financial operations; installation,
maintenance, and repair; office and administrative support;
personal care and service; and healthcare support occupations.
None of the 22 major occupation groups in Virginia Beach had
significantly higher wages than their counterparts in Richmond.

     In addition, employment was more highly concentrated in 7 of
the 22 major occupational groups (management; business and
financial operations; computer and mathematical; life, physical,
and social science; community and social services; legal; and office
and administrative support) in Richmond when compared to Virginia
Beach.  On the other hand, 5 major occupational groups in the
Virginia Beach area (architecture and engineering; food preparation
and serving related; buildings and grounds cleaning and
maintenance; sales and related; and transportation and material
moving) had a higher than average presence than in the Richmond
area.

Occupational wages
     Management and legal occupations were the two highest-paying
occupational groups in the Richmond area in May 2005, with
management positions averaging $44.25 an hour and the legal
profession, $35.53.  (See chart 1.)  Similarly, management and
legal occupations were the top paid in the Virginia Beach area,
with workers earning $42.64 and $34.57 per hour, respectively.
Nationwide, these were also the highest-paying occupational groups,
with average earnings of $42.52 in management and $38.98 in legal
occupations.

     Within the management group in the Richmond and the Virginia
Beach metropolitan areas, hourly wages varied widely.  For example,
chief executives averaged $66.66 in Richmond and $70.87 in Virginia
Beach, while food service managers in these two localities earned
$19.48 and $19.73, respectively.  The largest worker group in the
two areas was general and operations managers, with both employing
more than 5,000 workers and paying over $50.00 per hour.  (See
table 3.)

Chart 1.  Average hourly wages by major occupational group, United
States, the Richmond area, and Virginia Beach area, May 2005



                               
     The food preparation and serving related group was the lowest
paid in both the Richmond ($8.52) and the Virginia Beach ($8.29)
metropolitan areas, as well as in the U.S. ($8.58).  (See table 1.)
Within this group in Richmond, chefs and head cooks were one of the
highest paid, earning $15.32 an hour, while restaurant, lounge, and
coffee shop hosts and hostesses, earning $6.97, were at the lower
end of the pay scale.  In Virginia Beach, chefs and head cooks were
also among the better paid, earning $15.34, while dining room and
cafeteria attendants and bartender helpers were among the lower
paid, earning $6.51 an hour.

Table 1.  Average hourly wages by major occupational group, United States, the 
Virginia Beach-Norfolk-Newport News metropolitan area, and the Richmond metropolitan area, May 2005

Major occupational groups	Average hourly wage
			Virginia Beach-Norfolk-
	United States	Richmond	Newport News
All Occupations	$18.21	$18.42	$17.10
Management occupations	$42.52	$44.25	$42.64
Business and financial operations occupations	$27.85	$27.60	$26.20
Computer and mathematical occupations	$32.26	$31.65	$28.74
Architecture and engineering occupations	$30.73	$29.45	$29.68
Life, physical, and social science occupations	$27.90	$28.42	$27.23
Community and social services occupations	$18.04	$18.01	$18.87
Legal occupations	$38.98	$35.53	$34.57
Education, training, and library occupations	$20.89	$20.87	$21.15
Arts, design, entertainment, sports, and media occupations	$21.30	$20.02	$20.02
Healthcare practitioners and technical occupations	$28.45	$27.36	$28.38
Healthcare support occupations	$11.47	$10.94	$10.45
Protective service occupations	$17.19	$16.70	$15.69
Food preparation and serving related occupations	$8.58	$8.52	$8.29
Building and grounds cleaning and maintenance occupations	$10.55	$9.38	$9.25
Personal care and service occupations	$10.67	$10.62	$9.46
Sales and related occupations	$15.77	$16.88	$14.50
Office and administrative support occupations	$14.28	$14.70	$13.49
Farming, fishing, and forestry occupations	$10.10	$13.44	$11.63
Construction and extraction occupations	$18.39	$16.63	$16.13
Installation, maintenance, and repair occupations	$18.30	$18.78	$17.43
Production occupations	$14.37	$15.02	$15.28
Transportation and material moving occupations	$13.85	$13.02	$12.99

Occupational employment
     The largest major occupational group in both the Richmond and
Virginia Beach metropolitan areas was office and administrative
support, with a total of 106,950 and 120,690 workers, respectively;
it was also the largest group nationally.  Richmond’s employment
share of office and administrative support workers (18.2 percent)
was significantly above their representation nationally (17.5
percent), while Virginia Beach’s share (16.5 percent) was
significantly lower than that of both the nation’s and neighboring
Richmond’s.  Office and administrative support occupations
represented the largest share of workers in all three of these
areas.  (See chart 2 and table 2.)  Within the office and
administrative support group in Richmond, general office clerks
(19,390) and customer services representatives (13,100) were among
the most numerous.  In the Virginia Beach area, general office
clerks (23,900) and customer services representatives (10,330) were
again the most prevalent.  (See table 3.)
                               
     The second-largest occupational group in both metropolitan
areas, as well as the nation, was sales and related occupations.
Virginia Beach’s share of sales and related occupations (12.1
percent) was significantly higher than that of both the nation’s
(10.7 percent) and neighboring Richmond’s (11.6 percent).
Richmond’s share was also significantly above the national
distribution of all workers employed in sales and related
occupations.  Retail salespersons and cashiers were the most
numerous jobs under the sales and related category in both areas as
well as the nation.

Chart 2.  Occupational employment as a share of total employment,
United States, the Virginia Beach-Norfolk-Newport News metropolitan
area, and the Richmond metropolitan area, May 2005



     Both metropolitan areas had larger-than-average percentages of
employment in construction and extraction occupations.  In Virginia
Beach, this group accounted for 6.3 percent of employed, while in
the Richmond the group made up 6.0 percent of the workforce; the
comparable figure for the nation was 4.9 percent.

     On the other hand, both metropolitan areas recorded lower-than-
average shares of employment in the production group.  Nationally,
7.9 percent of the workforce was employed in this line of work,
while 5.7 percent of workers in Richmond and 5.6 percent of workers
in the Virginia Beach held production jobs.  However, the
composition of the production occupational group in these two
locations did differ.  For example, two of the larger detailed
occupational groups in production in the Virginia Beach area,
machinists (2,790) and welders, cutters, solders, and brazers
(2,880), were not nearly as heavily represented in the Richmond
area (numbering 960 and 880, respectively).

                                 
Table 2.  Employment by major occupational group, United States, the 
Virginia Beach-Norfolk-Newport News metropolitan area, and the
Richmond metropolitan area, May 2005

Major occupational groups	Employment as a percent of total
			Virginia Beach-Norfolk-
	United States	Richmond	Newport News
Total	100.0	100.0	100.0
Management	4.6	3.6	2.9
Business and financial operations	4.2	5.8	4.7
Computer and mathematical	2.3	3.0	2.4
Architecture and engineering	1.8	1.8	2.9
Life, physical, and social science	0.9	1.0	0.8
Community and social services	1.3	1.3	1.1
Legal	0.8	0.8	0.5
Education, training, and library	6.2	5.6	6.3
Arts, design, entertainment, sports, and media	1.3	1.2	1.1
Healthcare practitioners and technical	5.0	5.0	4.6
Healthcare support	2.6	2.2	2.1
Protective service	2.3	2.7	2.5
Food preparation and serving related	8.3	6.9	8.8
Building and grounds cleaning and maintenance	3.3	3.4	3.8
Personal care and service	2.4	2.3	2.5
Sales and related	10.7	11.6	12.1
Office and administrative support	17.5	18.2	16.5
Farming, fishing, and forestry	0.3	0.1	0.1
Construction and extraction	4.9	6.0	6.3
Installation, maintenance, and repair	4.1	4.6	4.6
Production	7.9	5.7	5.6
Transportation and material moving	7.4	7.0	7.7

                                 
                          Technical Note
Scope of the Survey
     The Occupational Employment Statistics (OES) survey is a
semiannual mail survey measuring occupational employment and wage
rates for wage and salary workers in nonfarm establishments in the
United States.  Guam, Puerto Rico, and the Virgin Islands also are
surveyed, but their data are not included in this release.  OES
estimates are constructed from a sample of about 1.2 million
establishments.  Forms are mailed to approximately 200,000
establishments in May and November of each year for a 3-year
period.  The nationwide response rate for the May 2005 survey was
78.4 percent based on establishments and 73.2 percent based on
employment.  The survey included establishments sampled in the May
2005, November 2004, May 2004, November 2003, May 2003, and
November 2002 semi-annual panels.  The sample in the Richmond, Va.
Metropolitan Statistical Area included 4,194 establishments with a
response rate of 78 percent and the Virginia Beach-Norfolk-Newport
News, Va.-NC. Metropolitan Statistical Area included 5,300
establishments with a response rate of 77 percent.

                                 
The occupational coding system
     The OES survey uses the Office of Management and Budget's
(OMB) occupational classification system, the Standard Occupational
Classification (SOC) system.  The SOC system is the first OMB-
required occupational classification system for federal agencies.
The OES survey categorizes workers in 1 of 801 detailed
occupations.  Together, these detailed occupations comprise 23
major occupational groups, one of which--military specific
occupations--is not included in the OES survey.  The major groups
are as follows:
     Management occupations
     Business and financial operations occupations
     Computer and mathematical science occupations
     Architecture and engineering occupations
     Life, physical, and social science occupations
     Community and social services occupations
     Legal occupations
     Education, training, and library occupations
     Arts, design, entertainment, sports, and media occupations
     Healthcare practitioner and technical occupations
     Healthcare support occupations
     Protective service occupations
     Food preparation and serving related occupations
     Building and grounds cleaning and maintenance occupations
     Personal care and service occupations
     Sales and related occupations
     Office and administrative support occupations
     Farming, fishing, and forestry occupations
     Construction and extraction occupations
     Installation, maintenance, and repair occupations
     Production occupations
     Transportation and material moving occupations
     Military specific occupations (not surveyed in OES)
     For more information about the SOC system, please see the
Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) Web site at
http://www.bls.gov/soc/.


The industry coding system

     The OES survey uses the North American Industry Classification
System (NAICS).  For more information about NAICS, see the BLS Web
site at http://www.bls.gov/bls/naics.htm.

     The OES survey includes establishments in NAICS sectors 11
(logging and agricultural support activities only), 21, 22, 23, 31-
33, 42, 44-45, 48-49, 51, 52, 53, 54, 55, 56, 61, 62, 71, 72, 81
(except private households), state government, and local
government.  The U.S. Postal Service and the executive branch of
the federal government also are included.  An establishment is
defined as an economic unit that processes goods or provides
services, such as a factory, mine, or store.  The establishment is
generally at a single physical location and is engaged primarily in
one type of economic activity.

     The OES survey covers all full- and part-time wage and salary
workers in nonfarm industries.  The survey does not include the
self-employed owners and partners in unincorporated firms,
household workers, or unpaid family workers.

Survey sample
     BLS funds the survey and provides the procedures and technical
support, while the State Workforce Agencies (SWAs) collect most of
the data.  BLS produces cross-industry and industry-specific
estimates for the nation, states, and metropolitan statistical
areas (MSAs).  Industry-specific estimates are produced at the
NAICS sector, 3-digit, 4-digit, and selected 5-digit industry
levels.  BLS releases all cross-industry and national estimates;
the SWAs release industry-specific estimates at the state and MSA
levels.
                                 
     State Unemployment Insurance (UI) files provide the universe
from which the OES survey draws its sample.  Employment benchmarks
are obtained from reports submitted by employers to the UI program.
Supplemental sources are used for rail transportation (NAICS 4821)
and Guam because they do not report to the UI program.  The OES
survey sample is stratified by metropolitan and nonmetropolitan
areas and industry.  Samples selected in panels prior to May 2005
were stratified using MSA definitions based on the 1990
Metropolitan Statistical Area standards.  Beginning with the May
2005 panel, the sample was stratified using new MSA definitions
based on the 2000 Metropolitan Statistical Area standards.

     A census of federal government and the U.S. Postal Service is
taken every panel.  A census of state government and Hawaii's local
government is taken every November panel.  In order to provide the
most occupational coverage, larger employers are more likely to be
selected than smaller employers.  The unweighted employment of
sampled establishments make up approximately 65 percent of total
national employment.

Concepts
     Occupational employment is the estimate of total wage and
salary employment in an occupation across the industries surveyed.
The OES survey defines employment as the number of workers who can
be classified as full- or part-time employees, including workers on
paid vacations or other types of paid leave; workers on unpaid
short-term absences; salaried officers, executives, and staff
members of incorporated firms; employees temporarily assigned to
other units; and employees for whom the reporting unit is their
permanent duty station regardless of whether that unit prepares
their paycheck.

     The OES survey form sent to establishments with more than 10
workers contains between 50 and 225 SOC occupations selected on the
basis of the sampled establishment's industry classification.  To
reduce paperwork and respondent burden, no survey form contains
every SOC occupation.  Thus, data for specific occupations are
collected primarily from establishments in industries that are the
predominant employers of workers in those occupations.  Each survey
form is structured, however, to allow a respondent to provide
detailed occupational information for each worker at the
establishment; that is, unlisted occupations can be added to the
survey form.  Employers with 10 or fewer workers are sent a form
with no occupations listed, and are instructed to fill in the
occupations for their workers.

     Wages for the OES survey are straight-time, gross pay,
exclusive of premium pay.  Base rate, cost-of-living allowances,
guaranteed pay, hazardous-duty pay, incentive pay including
commissions and production bonuses, tips, and on-call pay are
included.  Excluded are back pay, jury duty pay, overtime pay,
severance pay, shift differentials, nonproduction bonuses, employer
cost for supplementary benefits, and tuition reimbursements.

     The OES survey collects wage data in 12 intervals.  Employers
report the number of employees in an occupation for each wage
range.  The wage intervals used for the May 2005 survey are as
follows:

		          Wages 

|Interval |------------------------------------------- 
	| Hourly 		| Annual     
Range A | Under $6.75 		| Under $14,040 
Range B | $6.75 to $8.49 	| $14,040 to $17,679 
Range C | $8.50 to $10.74 	| $17,680 to $22,359 
Range D | $10.75 to $13.49 	| $22,360 to $28,079 
Range E | $13.50 to $16.99 	| $28,080 to $35,359 
Range F | $17.00 to $21.49 	| $35,360 to $44,719 
Range G | $21.50 to $27.24 	| $44,720 to $56,679 
Range H | $27.25 to $34.49 	| $56,680 to $71,759 
Range I | $34.50 to $43.74 	| $71,760 to $90,999 
Range J | $43.75 to $55.49 	| $91,000 to $115,439 
Range K | $55.50 to $69.99 	| $115,440 to $145,599 
Range L | $70.00 and over 	| $145,600 and over
     

                                 
     Mean hourly wage.  The mean hourly wage rate for an occupation
is the total wages that all workers in the occupation earn in an
hour divided by the total employment of the occupation.  To
calculate the mean hourly wage of each occupation, total weighted
hourly wages are summed across all intervals and divided by the
occupation's weighted survey employment.  The mean wage for each
interval is based on occupational wage data collected by the BLS
Office of Compensation and Working Conditions for the National
Compensation Survey (NCS).

     The mean hourly wage value for the highest wage interval,
$70.00 and over, was computed separately for NCS data from 2004,
2003, and 2002.  The average of these mean wage rates was used for
all of the $70.00 and over data in the May 2005 survey.  The wage
rates for this interval do not go through any wage updating
procedures.

     Percentile wage.  The p-th percentile wage range for an
occupation is the wage where p percent of all workers earn that
amount or less and where (100-p) percent of all workers earn that
amount or more.  This statistic is calculated by uniformly
distributing the workers inside each wage interval, ranking the
workers from lowest paid to highest paid, and calculating the
product of the total employment for the occupation and the desired
percentile to determine the worker that earns the p-th percentile
wage rate.
 
    Annual wage.  Many employees are paid at an hourly rate by
their employers and may work more than or less than 40 hours per
week.  Annual wage estimates for most occupations in this release
are calculated by multiplying the mean hourly wage by a "year-
round, full-time" figure of 2,080 hours (52 weeks by 40 hours).
Thus, annual wage estimates may not represent the actual annual pay
received by the employee if they work more or less than 2,080 hours
per year.  Some workers typically work less than full time, year
round.  For these occupations, the OES survey collects and reports
either the annual salary or the hourly wage rate, depending on how
the occupation is typically paid, but not both.  For example,
teachers, flight attendants, and pilots may be paid an annual
salary, but do not work the usual 2,080 hours per year.  In this
case, an annual salary is reported.  Other workers, such as
entertainment workers, are paid hourly rates, but generally do not
work full time, year round.  For these workers, only an hourly wage
is reported.

     Hourly versus annual wage reporting.  For each occupation,
respondents are asked to report the number of employees paid within
specific wage intervals.  The intervals are defined both as hourly
rates and the corresponding annual rates, where the annual rate for
an occupation is calculated by multiplying the hourly wage rate by
a typical work year of 2,080 hours.  The responding establishment
can reference either the hourly or the annual rate for full-time
workers, but they are instructed to report the hourly rate for part-
time workers.


Estimation methodology

     Each OES panel includes approximately 200,000 establishments.
The OES survey is designed to produce estimates using six panels (3
years) of data.  The full six-panel sample of 1.2 million
establishments allows the production of estimates at detailed
levels of geography, industry, and occupation.

     Wage updating.  Significant reductions in sampling errors are
obtained by combining six panels of data, particularly for small
geographic areas and occupations.  Wages for the current panel need
no adjustment.  However, wages in the five previous panels need to
be updated to the current panel's reference period.

     The OES program uses the BLS Employment Cost Index (ECI) to
adjust survey data from prior panels before combining them with the
current panel's data.  The wage updating procedure adjusts each
detailed occupation's wage rate, as measured in the earlier panel,
according to the average movement of its broader occupational
division.  The procedure assumes that there are no major
differences by geography, industry, or detailed occupation within
the occupational division.

     Imputation.  About 20 percent of establishments do not respond
for a given panel.  A "nearest neighbor" hot deck imputation
procedure is used to impute missing occupational employment totals.
A variant of mean imputation is used to impute missing wage
distributions.  The variant of mean imputation for wage
distributions also is applied to establishments that provide
reports with occupational totals but partial or missing wage data.
                                 
     Weighting and benchmarking.  The sample establishments in each
panel are weighted to represent all establishments that were part
of the in-scope frame from which the panel was selected.  Based on
the sampled establishments, sampling weights are adjusted when six
panels are combined.  Sampling weights are further adjusted by the
ratio of employment totals (the average of November 2004 and May
2005 employment) from the BLS Quarterly Census of Employment and
Wages to employment totals from the OES survey.

     May 2005 OES survey estimates.  The May 2005 OES survey
estimates are based on all data collected form establishments in
the May 2005, November 2004, May 2004, November 2003, May 2003, and
November 2002 semiannual samples.

     Reliability of the estimates.  Estimates calculated from a
sample survey are subject to two types of error:  sampling and
nonsampling.  Sampling error occurs when estimates are calculated
from a subset (that is, a sample) of the population instead of the
full population.  When a sample of the population is surveyed,
there is a chance that the sample estimate of the characteristic of
interest may differ from the population value of that
characteristic.  Differences between the sample estimate and the
population value will vary depending on the sample selected.  This
variability can be estimated by calculating the standard error (SE)
of the sample estimate.  If we were to repeat the sampling and
estimation process countless times using the same survey design,
approximately 90 percent of the intervals created by adding and
subtracting 1.645 SEs from the sample estimate would include the
population value.  These intervals are called 90-percent confidence
intervals.  The OES survey, however, usually uses the relative
standard error (RSE) of a sample estimate instead of its SE to
measure sampling error.  RSE is defined as the SE of a sample
estimate divided by the sample estimate itself.  This statistic
provides the user with a measure of the relative precision of the
sample estimate.  RSEs are calculated for both occupational
employment and mean wage rate estimates.  Occupational employment
RSEs are calculated using a subsample, random group replication
technique called the jackknife.  Mean wage rate RSEs are calculated
using a variance components model that accounts for both the
observed and unobserved components of the wage data.  The variances
of the unobserved components are estimated using wage data from the
BLS National Compensation Survey.  In general, estimates based on
many establishments have lower RSEs than estimates based on few
establishments.  If the distributional assumptions of the models are
violated, the resulting confidence intervals may not reflect the
prescribed level of confidence.

     Nonsampling error occurs for a variety of reasons, none of
which are directly connected to sampling.  Examples of nonsampling
error include: nonresponse, data incorrectly reported by the
respondent, mistakes made in entering collected data into the
database, and mistakes made in editing and processing the collected
data.

     Results of significance testing.  The OES significance tests
in this release compare wage and employment data for the 22 major
occupational groups in the Richmond, Va. Metropolitan Statistical
Area and the Virginia Beach-Norfolk-Newport News, Va.-NC.
Metropolitan Statistical Area, as well as their respective national
averages.  Those occupations with wages or employment shares above
or below the national wage or share after testing for significance
at the 90 percent confidence interval are identified in the table
below.  NOTE:  A value that is statistically different from another
does not necessarily mean that the difference has economic or
practical significance.  Statistical significance is concerned with
our ability to make confident statements about a universe based on
a sample.  It is entirely possible that a large difference between
two values is not significantly different statistically, while a
small difference is, since both the size and heterogeneity of the
sample effect the relative error of the data being tested.

Employment and wage data by occupation for the U.S. and Richmond, May 2005
Major occupational group	Employment Share			Mean hourly wage
	(percent of total)
	U.S.	Richmond	Significant difference1	U.S.	Richmond	Significant difference1
Management	4.6	3.6	yes	$42.52	$44.25	yes
Business and financial operations	4.2	5.8	yes	27.85	27.60	no
Computer and mathematical	2.3	3.0	yes	32.26	31.65	no
Architecture and engineering	1.8	1.8	no	30.73	29.45	yes
Life, physical, and social science	0.9	1.0	no	27.90	28.42	no
Community and social services	1.3	1.3	no	18.04	18.01	no
Legal	0.8	0.8	no	38.98	35.53	no
Education, training, and library	6.2	5.6	yes	20.89	20.87	no
Arts, design, entertainment, sports,
and media	1.3	1.2	no	21.30	20.02	yes
Healthcare practitioners and technical	5.0	5.0	no	28.45	27.36	no
Healthcare support	2.6	2.2	yes	11.47	10.94	yes
Protective service	2.3	2.7	yes	17.19	16.70	no
Food preparation and serving related	8.3	6.9	yes	8.58	8.52	no
Building and grounds cleaning
and maintenance	3.3	3.4	no	10.55	9.38	yes
Personal care and service	2.4	2.3	no	10.67	10.62	no
Sales and related	10.7	11.6	yes	15.77	16.88	yes
Office and administrative support	17.5	18.2	yes	14.28	14.70	yes
Farming, fishing, and forestry	0.3	0.1	yes	10.10	13.44	yes
Construction and extraction	4.9	6.0	yes	18.39	16.63	yes
Installation, maintenance, and repair	4.1	4.6	yes	18.30	18.78	no
Production	7.9	5.7	yes	14.37	15.02	yes
Transportation and material moving	7.4	7.0	no	13.85	13.02	yes
1 Statistical significance testing at the 90 percent confidence interval.

Employment and wage data by occupation for the U.S. and Virginia Beach, May 2005
Major occupational group	Employment Share			Mean hourly wage
	(percent of total)
	U.S.	Virginia Beach	Significant difference1	U.S.	Virginia Beach	Significant difference1
Management	4.6	2.9	yes	$42.52	$42.64	no
Business and financial operations	4.2	4.7	yes	27.85	26.20	yes
Computer and mathematical	2.3	2.4	no	32.26	28.74	yes
Architecture and engineering	1.8	2.9	yes	30.73	29.68	no
Life, physical, and social science	0.9	0.8	yes	27.90	27.23	no
Community and social services	1.3	1.1	yes	18.04	18.87	yes
Legal	0.8	0.5	yes	38.98	34.57	no
Education, training, and library	6.2	6.3	no	20.89	21.15	no
Arts, design, entertainment, sports,
and media	1.3	1.1	yes	21.30	20.02	yes
Healthcare practitioners and technical	5.0	4.6	yes	28.45	28.38	no
Healthcare support	2.6	2.1	yes	11.47	10.45	yes
Protective service	2.3	2.5	no	17.19	15.69	yes
Food preparation and serving related	8.3	8.8	yes	8.58	8.29	yes
Building and grounds cleaning
and maintenance	3.3	3.8	yes	10.55	9.25	yes
Personal care and service	2.4	2.5	no	10.67	9.46	yes
Sales and related	10.7	12.1	yes	15.77	14.50	yes
Office and administrative support	17.5	16.5	yes	14.28	13.49	yes
Farming, fishing, and forestry	0.3	0.1	yes	10.10	11.63	no
Construction and extraction	4.9	6.3	yes	18.39	16.13	yes
Installation, maintenance, and repair	4.1	4.6	yes	18.30	17.43	yes
Production	7.9	5.6	yes	14.37	15.28	yes
Transportation and material moving	7.4	7.7	no	13.85	12.99	yes
1 Statistical significance testing at the 90 percent confidence interval.

Employment and wage data by occupation for Richmond and Virginia Beach, May 2005
Major occupational group	Employment Share			Mean hourly wage
	(percent of total)
	Richmond	Virginia Beach	Significant difference1	Richmond	Virginia Beach	Significant difference1
Management	3.6	2.9	yes	$44.25	$42.64	yes
Business and financial operations	5.8	4.7	yes	27.60	26.20	yes
Computer and mathematical	3.0	2.4	yes	31.65	28.74	yes
Architecture and engineering	1.8	2.9	yes	29.45	29.68	no
Life, physical, and social science	1.0	0.8	yes	28.42	27.23	no
Community and social services	1.3	1.1	yes	18.01	18.87	no
Legal	0.8	0.5	yes	35.53	34.57	no
Education, training, and library	5.6	6.3	no	20.87	21.15	no
Arts, design, entertainment, sports,
and media	1.2	1.1	no	20.02	20.02	no
Healthcare practitioners and technical	5.0	4.6	no	27.36	28.38	no
Healthcare support	2.2	2.1	no	10.94	10.45	yes
Protective service	2.7	2.5	no	16.70	15.69	no
Food preparation and serving related	6.9	8.8	yes	8.52	8.29	no
Building and grounds cleaning
and maintenance	3.4	3.8	yes	9.38	9.25	no
Personal care and service	2.3	2.5	no	10.62	9.46	yes
Sales and related	11.6	12.1	yes	16.88	14.50	yes
Office and administrative support	18.2	16.5	yes	14.70	13.49	yes
Farming, fishing, and forestry	0.1	0.1	no	13.44	11.63	no
Construction and extraction	6.0	6.3	no	16.63	16.13	no
Installation, maintenance, and repair	4.6	4.6	no	18.78	17.43	yes
Production	5.7	5.6	no	15.02	15.28	no
Transportation and material moving	7.0	7.7	yes	13.02	12.99	no
1 Statistical significance testing at the 90 percent confidence interval.

Additional information:
     The May 2005 OES national data by occupation, comparable to
data in table 1 are available on the BLS Web site at
http://www.bls.gov/oes/.  Users also may access each occupation's
definition and percentile wages.  The May 2005 cross-industry data
for states and metropolitan areas are available on the BLS Web
site.  Industry staffing patterns at the sector, 3-, 4-, and
selected 5-digit NAICS levels also are available from the Internet.
These data will include industry-specific occupational employment
and wage data.

     OES information is available through our regional web page at
http://www.bls.gov/ro3/ and on our fax-on-demand system.
For a catalog of items available to be faxed to you, call our fax-
on-demand number at 215-597-4153.  If you have additional
questions, you can contact the Mid-Atlantic Information Office at
215-597-3282.  Information in this release will be made available
to sensory impaired individuals upon request.  Voice phone:  202-
691-5200; TDD message referral phone number:  1-800-877-8339.

1 The Richmond, Va. Metropolitan Statistical Area (MSA) referenced
in this release includes Amelia, Caroline, Charles City,
Chesterfield, Cumberland, Dinwiddie, Goochland, Hanover, Henrico,
King and Queen, King William, Louisa, New Kent, Powhatan, Prince
George, and Sussex Counties and Colonial Heights, Hopewell,
Petersburg, and Richmond Cities in Virginia.  For convenience, this
area will be referred to as the Richmond area (or by similarly
abbreviated titles) throughout this release.

2 The Virginia Beach-Norfolk-Newport News, Va.-N.C. Metropolitan
Statistical Area (MSA) includes Gloucester, Isle of Wright, James
City, Mathews, Surry, and York Counties and Chesapeake, Hampton,
Newport News, Norfolk, Poquoson, Portsmouth, Suffolk, Virginia
Beach, and Williamsburg Cities in Virginia; and Currituck County in
North Carolina.  For convenience, this area will be referred to as
the Virginia Beach area (or by similarly abbreviated titles)
throughout this release.

Table 3.  Employment and wage data from the Occupational Employment Statistics survey, by occupation,  Richmond and Virginia Beach metropolitan areas, May 2005
Occupation	Richmond		Virginia Beach
	Employment(1)	Mean hourly wage	Employment(1)	Mean hourly wage
All occupations	588,780	$18.42	733,580	$17.10
Management occupations	21,340	44.25	21,150	42.64
Chief executives	590	66.66	530	70.87
General and operations managers	5,450	50.53	5,310	51.82
Legislators	90	(2)	70	(2)
Advertising and promotions managers	110	32.36	70	25.18
Marketing managers	730	53.28	340	36.54
Sales managers	1,020	47.42	1,020	47.42
Public relations managers	200	41.93	90	37.26
Administrative services managers	630	32.93	730	37.04
Computer and information systems managers	1,130	51.38	1,020	44.02
Financial managers	1,940	54.22	1,570	44.18
Compensation and benefits managers	180	32.93	110	39.19
Training and development managers	140	35.05	180	31.34
Human resources managers, all other	360	46.89	250	44.66
Industrial production managers	640	44.17	470	42.93
Purchasing managers	360	36.32	260	41.93
Transportation, storage, and distribution managers	300	35.12	310	38.14
Construction managers	710	40.29	580	41.60
Education administrators, preschool and child care
center/program	110	16.70	170	16.47
Education administrators, elementary and secondary school	900	(2)	1,390	(2)
Education administrators, postsecondary	520	42.27	350	42.69
Education administrators, all other	(3)	34.57	220	33.64
Engineering managers	590	42.13	1,360	46.31
Food service managers	570	19.48	910	19.73
Funeral directors	(3)	26.64	-	-
Lodging managers	110	21.76	140	25.87
Medical and health services managers	880	37.95	780	39.64
Natural sciences managers	200	50.31	170	41.47
Postmasters and mail superintendents	80	27.26	70	24.67
Property, real estate, and community association managers	320	25.57	250	29.20
Social and community service managers	490	28.74	(3)	33.06
Managers, all other	1,580	39.32	2,050	38.68
Business and financial operations occupations	34,370	27.60	34,770	26.20
Purchasing agents and buyers, farm products	40	28.09	(3)	30.55
Wholesale and retail buyers, except farm products	570	26.23	460	20.45
Purchasing agents, except wholesale, retail, and farm products	2,110	27.41	2,320	26.04
Claims adjusters, examiners, and investigators	1,440	24.70	-	-
Insurance appraisers, auto damage	110	21.55	-	-
Compliance officers, except agriculture, construction,
health and safety, and transportation	1,060	22.84	900	21.78
Cost estimators	1,120	27.64	1,990	23.50
Emergency management specialists	60	29.13	140	24.24
Employment, recruitment, and placement specialists	1,030	20.15	810	19.29
Compensation, benefits, and job analysis specialists	460	23.66	400	22.79
Training and development specialists	1,830	23.18	2,320	24.43
Human resources, training, and labor relations specialists, all other	1,600	25.65	1,290	24.71
Logisticians	290	37.96	480	25.61
Management analysts	4,020	34.66	4,230	34.02
Meeting and convention planners	170	19.15	180	20.29
Business operations specialists, all other	4,210	26.97	4,530	28.31
Accountants and auditors	5,550	28.16	6,160	24.39
Appraisers and assessors of real estate	450	21.05	310	30.35
Budget analysts	320	30.38	670	28.21
Credit analysts	420	33.36	300	26.98
Financial analysts	1,630	31.00	1,000	30.08
Personal financial advisors	840	44.44	370	33.53
Insurance underwriters	1,150	27.52	780	22.46
Financial examiners	240	35.04	(3)	27.06
Loan counselors	70	17.41	110	25.95
Loan officers	1,910	23.27	2,390	27.59
Tax examiners, collectors, and revenue agents	610	21.92	270	23.19
Tax preparers	520	15.11	(3)	12.03
Financial specialists, all other	470	26.30	690	25.46
Computer and mathematical occupations	17,830	31.65	17,380	28.74
Computer and information scientists, research	(3)	36.09	230	37.14
Computer programmers	1,550	37.29	1,870	24.79
Computer software engineers, applications	2,910	34.08	2,970	26.64
Computer software engineers, systems software	1,650	38.04	1,510	35.62
Computer support specialists	3,390	21.47	2,560	20.56
Computer systems analysts	3,360	33.69	3,700	33.15
Database administrators	600	35.51	530	29.05
Network and computer systems administrators	1,680	31.99	1,700	27.94
Network systems and data communications analysts	1,600	29.84	1,000	30.71
Computer specialists, all other	270	31.38	-	-
Operations research analysts	-	-	950	34.42
Statisticians	150	28.26	100	24.85
Mathematical scientists, all other	(3)	13.79	-	-
Architecture and engineering occupations	10,530	29.45	21,380	29.68
Architects, except landscape and naval	450	27.90	460	32.37
Landscape architects	(3)	28.10	60	27.28
Cartographers and photogrammetrists	(3)	25.99	90	28.31
Surveyors	280	25.11	240	22.08
Aerospace engineers	-	-	1,000	45.40
Agricultural engineers	-	-	(3)	22.54
Chemical engineers	370	39.62	120	44.70
Civil engineers	1,340	33.15	2,160	33.35
Computer hardware engineers	-	-	340	37.32
Electrical engineers	1,090	32.20	1,270	35.66
Electronics engineers, except computer	270	33.90	940	38.70
Environmental engineers	400	31.32	420	30.27
Health and safety engineers, except mining safety
engineers and inspectors	170	34.42	170	27.23
Industrial engineers	490	32.69	780	29.49
Marine engineers and naval architects	-	-	610	32.24
Materials engineers	30	32.18	60	40.13
Mechanical engineers	740	35.41	2,400	30.90
Nuclear engineers	-	-	540	35.48
Engineers, all other	(3)	30.57	890	38.60
Architectural and civil drafters	500	19.40	720	18.22
Electrical and electronics drafters	40	21.32	150	18.98
Mechanical drafters	200	22.05	-	-
Drafters, all other	80	15.21	-	-
Civil engineering technicians	440	20.27	400	16.79
Electrical and electronic engineering technicians	650	21.76	1,980	24.93
Environmental engineering technicians	80	21.08	150	16.10
Industrial engineering technicians	(3)	21.85	160	23.85
Mechanical engineering technicians	200	24.58	330	18.68
Engineering technicians, except drafters, all other	(3)	28.41	1,660	30.96
Surveying and mapping technicians	350	14.18	530	14.78
Life, physical, and social science occupations	6,170	28.42	5,730	27.23
Soil and plant scientists	40	27.67	-	-
Biochemists and biophysicists	30	32.22	-	-
Microbiologists	-	-	40	21.52
Zoologists and wildlife biologists	-	-	90	20.63
Biological scientists, all other	(3)	28.48	120	26.79
Conservation scientists	(3)	27.44	50	22.04
Foresters	30	21.81	-	-
Medical scientists, except epidemiologists	260	36.80	110	30.57
Life scientists, all other	190	29.82	80	26.37
Physicists	(3)	33.13	200	41.27
Atmospheric and space scientists	(3)	34.34	-	-
Chemists	730	29.91	210	27.52
Materials scientists	100	48.02	(3)	34.37
Environmental scientists and specialists, including health	430	26.69	510	26.63
Geoscientists, except hydrologists and geographers	70	25.66	80	36.11
Hydrologists	-	-	(3)	31.79
Physical scientists, all other	100	23.71	140	44.02
Economists	80	39.12	-	-
Market research analysts	1,510	32.12	1,090	27.57
Survey researchers	-	-	(3)	31.09
Clinical, counseling, and school psychologists	470	29.16	620	30.31
Psychologists, all other	40	36.16	30	37.66
Urban and regional planners	220	24.42	310	25.60
Anthropologists and archeologists	-	-	40	22.61
Historians	(3)	29.61	(3)	38.91
Social scientists and related workers, all other	140	31.53	400	33.33
Agricultural and food science technicians	(3)	19.80	-	-
Biological technicians	(3)	21.63	120	12.63
Chemical technicians	430	21.99	80	18.55
Social science research assistants	-	-	30	13.88
Environmental science and protection technicians, including health	130	19.86	150	16.71
Forensic science technicians	50	17.67	70	17.39
Life, physical, and social science technicians, all other	(3)	18.70	540	19.94
Community and social services occupations	7,750	18.01	8,250	18.87
Substance abuse and behavioral disorder counselors	170	15.06	110	20.27
Educational, vocational, and school counselors	810	24.66	1,250	25.30
Marriage and family therapists	100	18.94	70	18.51
Mental health counselors	690	15.97	410	22.98
Rehabilitation counselors	460	16.06	960	11.63
Counselors, all other	60	22.26	-	-
Child, family, and school social workers	830	19.12	1,510	18.10
Medical and public health social workers	340	19.97	550	18.64
Mental health and substance abuse social workers	410	18.95	810	21.17
Social workers, all other	-	-	340	25.11
Health educators	180	21.73	250	20.80
Probation officers and correctional treatment
specialists	730	17.83	730	18.66
Social and human service assistants	1,390	12.08	840	12.35
Community and social service specialists, all other	1,120	20.31	230	19.31
Clergy	160	17.11	140	18.17
Directors, religious activities and education	110	17.36	-	-
Legal occupations	4,860	35.53	4,020	34.57
Lawyers	2,410	52.82	1,860	54.94
Administrative law judges, adjudicators, and hearing officers	100	30.99	50	30.72
Paralegals and legal assistants	1,140	19.35	1,130	17.88
Law clerks	90	20.18	240	17.36
Title examiners, abstractors, and searchers	(3)	14.37	560	13.13
Legal support workers, all other	280	21.23	160	20.70
Education, training, and library occupations	32,750	20.87	46,220	21.15
Business teachers, postsecondary	(3)	(2)	500	(2)
Computer science teachers, postsecondary	(3)	(2)	190	(2)
Mathematical science teachers, postsecondary	180	(2)	190	(2)
Engineering teachers, postsecondary	(3)	(2)	270	(2)
Biological science teachers, postsecondary	(3)	(2)	560	(2)
Chemistry teachers, postsecondary	70	(2)	70	(2)
Physics teachers, postsecondary	(3)	(2)	60	(2)
Economics teachers, postsecondary	60	(2)	60	(2)
Political science teachers, postsecondary	(3)	(2)	70	(2)
Psychology teachers, postsecondary	110	(2)	150	(2)
Sociology teachers, postsecondary	50	(2)	80	(2)
Social sciences teachers, postsecondary	-	-	(3)	(2)
Health specialties teachers, postsecondary	(3)	(2)	170	(2)
Nursing instructors and teachers, postsecondary	120	(2)	140	(2)
Education teachers, postsecondary	(3)	(2)	240	(2)
Criminal justice and law enforcement teachers, postsecondary	(3)	(2)	30	(2)
Law teachers, postsecondary	(3)	(2)	-	-
Social work teachers, postsecondary	-	-	(3)	(2)
Art, drama, and music teachers, postsecondary	190	(2)	310	(2)
Communications teachers, postsecondary	30	(2)	90	(2)
English language and literature teachers, postsecondary	210	(2)	310	(2)
Foreign language and literature teachers, postsecondary	120	(2)	80	(2)
History teachers, postsecondary	90	(2)	100	(2)
Philosophy and religion teachers, postsecondary	90	(2)	100	(2)
Graduate teaching assistants	(3)	(2)	-	-
Recreation and fitness studies teachers, postsecondary	30	(2)	80	(2)
Vocational education teachers, postsecondary	340	22.09	-	-
Postsecondary teachers, all other	700	(2)	(3)	(2)
Preschool teachers, except special education	1,690	13.47	2,600	9.84
Kindergarten teachers, except special education	850	(2)	730	(2)
Elementary school teachers, except special education	5,090	(2)	8,480	(2)
Middle school teachers, except special and vocational education	2,690	(2)	4,460	(2)
Vocational education teachers, middle school	60	(2)	-	-
Secondary school teachers, except special and vocational
education	4,620	(2)	5,980	(2)
Vocational education teachers, secondary school	370	(2)	460	(2)
Special education teachers, preschool, kindergarten, and
elementary school	820	(2)	1,550	(2)
Special education teachers, middle school	600	(2)	800	(2)
Special education teachers, secondary school	510	(2)	1,010	(2)
Adult literacy, remedial education, and GED teachers
and instructors	600	20.04	190	22.68
Self-enrichment education teachers	1,130	16.32	550	17.08
Teachers and instructors, all other	2,390	(2)	3,740	(2)
Archivists	-	-	(3)	20.09
Curators	60	23.45	90	24.05
Museum technicians and conservators	60	14.33	80	17.46
Librarians	760	24.30	990	25.28
Library technicians	350	12.13	760	13.55
Audio-visual collections specialists	-	-	50	17.66
Farm and home management advisors	60	22.13	-	-
Instructional coordinators	480	27.82	1,080	27.30
Teacher assistants	4,350	(2)	5,930	(2)
Education, training, and library workers, all other	80	21.11	-	-
Arts, design, entertainment, sports, and media occupations	7,090	20.02	8,350	20.02
Art directors	160	31.86	90	28.63
Fine artists, including painters, sculptors, and illustrators	60	18.20	(3)	24.56
Multi-media artists and animators	180	22.29	130	22.34
Commercial and industrial designers	110	25.53	60	18.27
Floral designers	250	12.13	380	11.26
Graphic designers	1,000	20.54	790	17.31
Interior designers	210	21.60	140	19.50
Merchandise displayers and window trimmers	220	11.72	160	9.46
Actors	(3)	16.81	-	-
Set and exhibit designers	-	-	(3)	19.16
Producers and directors	170	23.11	560	(3)
Athletes and sports competitors	120	(2)	-	-
Coaches and scouts	900	(2)	730	(2)
Choreographers	-	-	(3)	17.04
Music directors and composers	-	-	50	21.95
Musicians and singers	-	-	170	19.26
Radio and television announcers	150	16.56	220	17.96
Public address system and other announcers	-	-	(3)	11.50
Broadcast news analysts	110	24.71	(3)	29.15
Reporters and correspondents	(3)	16.24	180	19.23
Public relations specialists	920	24.71	1,150	23.76
Editors	410	19.03	370	20.98
Technical writers	210	28.09	340	24.89
Writers and authors	230	26.34	250	22.69
Interpreters and translators	70	18.55	170	21.10
Media and communication workers, all other	30	19.70	50	23.62
Audio and video equipment technicians	160	15.62	300	16.72
Broadcast technicians	(3)	12.76	250	20.37
Sound engineering technicians	(3)	27.47	-	-
Photographers	200	20.46	440	11.27
Camera operators, television, video, and motion picture	50	17.95	110	24.32
Film and video editors	(3)	11.16	-	-
Media and communication equipment workers, all other	(3)	32.68	120	30.48
Healthcare practitioners and technical occupations	29,290	27.36	33,880	28.38
Chiropractors	120	32.19	120	24.62
Dentists, general	430	59.67	(3)	76.13
Oral and maxillofacial surgeons	-	-	(3)	93.95
Orthodontists	-	-	(3)	(4)
Dietitians and nutritionists	160	21.65	140	20.43
Optometrists	80	63.26	130	40.70
Pharmacists	950	41.24	1,130	44.27
Family and general practitioners	-	-	410	62.52
Internists, general	(3)	78.00	170	88.45
Obstetricians and gynecologists	(3)	90.48	-	-
Pediatricians, general	(3)	75.76	(3)	76.57
Psychiatrists	-	-	100	54.06
Surgeons	(3)	92.92	420	(4)
Physicians and surgeons, all other	-	-	1,480	55.35
Physician assistants	200	31.46	200	34.51
Podiatrists	-	-	40	69.00
Registered nurses	10,390	26.25	11,530	24.98
Audiologists	-	-	(3)	23.93
Occupational therapists	350	29.67	300	30.23
Physical therapists	610	34.48	520	31.74
Radiation therapists	160	26.17	100	28.27
Recreational therapists	330	15.76	90	15.45
Respiratory therapists	370	21.95	410	22.59
Speech-language pathologists	380	27.01	450	29.32
Veterinarians	240	43.16	330	29.33
Health diagnosing and treating practitioners, all other	40	38.43	40	31.59
Medical and clinical laboratory technologists	840	20.98	1,280	21.65
Medical and clinical laboratory technicians	580	14.82	610	14.96
Dental hygienists	570	34.48	420	29.49
Cardiovascular technologists and technicians	150	18.01	640	19.31
Diagnostic medical sonographers	140	26.97	210	25.07
Nuclear medicine technologists	60	25.99	130	25.82
Radiologic technologists and technicians	840	21.03	1,050	21.38
Emergency medical technicians and paramedics	570	12.55	490	13.76
Dietetic technicians	140	9.69	70	12.77
Pharmacy technicians	980	11.29	1,190	11.26
Psychiatric technicians	-	-	950	11.32
Respiratory therapy technicians	-	-	170	20.34
Surgical technologists	460	16.23	490	17.12
Veterinary technologists and technicians	(3)	16.32	310	13.18
Licensed practical and licensed vocational nurses	3,840	17.20	4,120	16.17
Medical records and health information technicians	390	13.79	930	13.66
Opticians, dispensing	90	16.47	150	14.44
Orthotists and prosthetists	-	-	(3)	28.94
Health technologists and technicians, all other	190	17.99	160	18.08
Occupational health and safety specialists	300	26.42	350	24.63
Occupational health and safety technicians	-	-	40	19.00
Athletic trainers	40	(2)	90	(2)
Healthcare practitioners and technical workers, all other	410	23.46	120	15.80
Healthcare support occupations	13,240	10.94	15,590	10.45
Home health aides	3,320	8.61	1,840	8.35
Nursing aides, orderlies, and attendants	4,930	10.53	6,510	9.43
Occupational therapist assistants	110	19.06	110	19.51
Occupational therapist aides	70	12.40	-	-
Physical therapist assistants	240	19.96	230	18.70
Physical therapist aides	300	11.04	160	9.40
Massage therapists	90	17.09	30	21.47
Dental assistants	900	14.75	2,000	12.64
Medical assistants	1,140	12.15	1,970	10.74
Medical equipment preparers	230	11.27	530	10.50
Medical transcriptionists	440	12.55	400	13.11
Pharmacy aides	170	8.42	230	9.92
Veterinary assistants and laboratory animal caretakers	440	9.48	510	9.61
Healthcare support workers, all other	(3)	14.36	(3)	12.35
Protective service occupations	15,830	16.70	18,210	15.69
First-line supervisors/managers of correctional officers	600	20.89	320	21.54
First-line supervisors/managers of police and detectives	580	29.74	570	30.63
First-line supervisors/managers of fire fighting and
prevention workers	350	29.78	610	26.43
First-line supervisors/managers, protective service
workers, all other	250	24.87	410	20.75
Fire fighters	1,330	18.66	2,380	17.11
Bailiffs	40	15.46	-	-
Correctional officers and jailers	3,080	15.43	1,590	14.26
Detectives and criminal investigators	300	27.32	310	28.82
Police and sheriff's patrol officers	2,590	19.16	4,220	18.85
Animal control workers	90	15.11	110	14.61
Security guards	5,540	13.00	5,130	10.43
Crossing guards	70	12.14	270	9.13
Lifeguards, ski patrol, and other recreational protective service
workers	550	9.64	1,150	7.71
Protective service workers, all other	270	15.82	940	15.91
Food preparation and serving related occupations	40,730	8.52	64,490	8.29
Chefs and head cooks	550	15.32	450	15.34
First-line supervisors/managers of food preparation and
serving workers	2,770	14.33	5,090	13.52
Cooks, fast food	2,290	7.38	4,350	6.71
Cooks, institution and cafeteria	890	10.32	1,250	11.85
Cooks, restaurant	2,970	9.53	5,140	9.11
Cooks, short order	410	8.51	910	7.57
Cooks, all other	-	-	(3)	15.47
Food preparation workers	2,660	8.78	3,640	8.13
Bartenders	930	9.19	1,490	9.35
Combined food preparation and serving workers, including
fast food	10,240	7.55	17,010	7.53
Counter attendants, cafeteria, food concession, and coffee shop	1,170	7.02	1,940	7.16
Waiters and waitresses	9,070	7.96	13,930	7.80
Food servers, nonrestaurant	760	8.83	1,040	8.24
Dining room and cafeteria attendants and bartender helpers	2,450	7.72	3,040	6.51
Dishwashers	1,850	7.34	2,760	7.44
Hosts and hostesses, restaurant, lounge, and coffee shop	1,660	6.97	2,200	7.10
Food preparation and serving related workers, all other	50	9.09	200	8.22
Building and grounds cleaning and maintenance occupations	19,840	9.38	27,890	9.25
First-line supervisors/managers of housekeeping and
janitorial workers	900	13.22	1,130	15.67
First-line supervisors/managers of landscaping, lawn
service, and groundskeeping workers	380	19.37	560	23.14
Janitors and cleaners, except maids and housekeeping cleaners	10,200	8.48	12,280	8.55
Maids and housekeeping cleaners	3,940	8.23	7,420	7.52
Pest control workers	290	15.28	450	12.82
Landscaping and groundskeeping workers	4,050	10.49	5,540	9.76
Pesticide handlers, sprayers, and applicators, vegetation	-	-	220	11.74
Tree trimmers and pruners	-	-	140	16.83
Grounds maintenance workers, all other	(3)	10.63	(3)	12.05
Personal care and service occupations	13,590	10.62	18,190	9.46
First-line supervisors/managers of personal service workers	770	16.34	770	17.42
Animal trainers	(3)	11.55	-	-
Nonfarm animal caretakers	(3)	15.72	570	8.80
Gaming and sports book writers and runners	-	-	(3)	8.89
Motion picture projectionists	-	-	50	8.60
Ushers, lobby attendants, and ticket takers	320	6.62	890	6.96
Amusement and recreation attendants	1,000	8.03	1,830	7.17
Locker room, coatroom, and dressing room attendants	(3)	9.14	110	7.60
Embalmers	120	25.91	110	21.61
Funeral attendants	110	11.51	300	10.78
Hairdressers, hairstylists, and cosmetologists	1,460	12.39	3,210	9.54
Manicurists and pedicurists	330	9.26	170	9.52
Shampooers	100	6.99	250	6.94
Skin care specialists	140	12.71	40	11.72
Baggage porters and bellhops	(3)	10.89	250	12.02
Concierges	-	-	90	9.01
Tour guides and escorts	310	8.58	80	12.12
Transportation attendants, except flight attendants and
baggage porters	-	-	(3)	12.09
Child care workers	2,340	7.86	3,350	7.42
Personal and home care aides	1,360	8.01	1,810	7.45
Fitness trainers and aerobics instructors	1,200	13.41	1,390	14.74
Recreation workers	1,900	11.31	2,040	10.69
Residential advisors	280	14.16	70	9.04
Personal care and service workers, all other	(3)	9.31	(3)	8.13
Sales and related occupations	68,580	16.88	89,030	14.50
First-line supervisors/managers of retail sales workers	5,030	18.33	6,220	18.65
First-line supervisors/managers of non-retail sales workers	1,500	39.09	1,340	37.70
Cashiers	16,930	8.01	22,540	7.41
Counter and rental clerks	2,460	12.28	3,740	9.46
Parts salespersons	1,090	13.48	(3)	12.36
Retail salespersons	19,990	11.06	27,500	10.14
Advertising sales agents	580	26.89	730	24.82
Insurance sales agents	2,140	26.89	1,640	24.19
Securities, commodities, and financial services sales agents	1,930	45.14	740	47.07
Travel agents	250	14.56	820	15.79
Sales representatives, services, all other	3,140	28.83	3,980	26.63
Sales representatives, wholesale and manufacturing,
technical and scientific products	2,680	31.59	720	33.07
Sales representatives, wholesale and manufacturing,
except technical and scientific products	6,330	28.54	7,990	25.48
Demonstrators and product promoters	190	11.00	270	9.89
Real estate brokers	(3)	27.67	200	49.97
Real estate sales agents	1,700	19.83	3,720	29.86
Sales engineers	270	34.12	90	31.42
Telemarketers	-	-	4,330	9.62
Door-to-door sales workers, news and street vendors,
and related workers	-	-	(3)	9.46
Sales and related workers, all other	490	19.31	560	23.42
Office and administrative support occupations	106,950	14.70	120,690	13.49
First-line supervisors/managers of office and
administrative support workers	6,070	23.98	6,370	22.04
Switchboard operators, including answering service	660	10.43	1,140	9.60
Communications equipment operators, all other	-	-	80	17.28
Bill and account collectors	2,950	14.32	3,980	11.49
Billing and posting clerks and machine operators	2,060	14.14	2,590	12.86
Bookkeeping, accounting, and auditing clerks	8,560	15.23	8,430	13.70
Payroll and timekeeping clerks	800	15.47	1,010	14.55
Procurement clerks	640	17.19	730	15.58
Tellers	2,190	11.03	3,340	10.33
Brokerage clerks	340	16.41	(3)	14.42
Correspondence clerks	60	18.48	-	-
Court, municipal, and license clerks	220	14.56	470	13.43
Credit authorizers, checkers, and clerks	-	-	380	12.59
Customer service representatives	13,100	14.47	10,330	13.08
Eligibility interviewers, government programs	550	16.51	600	16.80
File clerks	830	10.96	970	10.49
Hotel, motel, and resort desk clerks	1,060	8.54	1,870	8.51
Interviewers, except eligibility and loan	700	12.65	1,130	11.51
Library assistants, clerical	300	12.31	560	10.68
Loan interviewers and clerks	1,290	15.71	(3)	15.35
New accounts clerks	380	13.88	580	12.38
Order clerks	1,290	15.53	1,800	11.32
Human resources assistants, except payroll and timekeeping	790	16.61	1,110	14.08
Receptionists and information clerks	4,830	10.53	5,280	9.57
Reservation and transportation ticket agents and travel clerks	320	16.11	690	15.95
All other information and record clerks	1,850	21.17	2,590	21.98
Cargo and freight agents	80	22.68	520	18.41
Couriers and messengers	400	11.61	710	10.11
Police, fire, and ambulance dispatchers	440	15.42	440	14.07
Dispatchers, except police, fire, and ambulance	600	16.41	930	13.98
Meter readers, utilities	130	14.75	250	14.85
Postal service clerks	320	22.51	270	23.10
Postal service mail carriers	1,330	20.76	1,560	21.99
Postal service mail sorters, processors, and processing
machine operators	1,150	20.66	760	21.01
Production, planning, and expediting clerks	1,200	20.64	3,540	20.38
Shipping, receiving, and traffic clerks	3,920	13.40	4,050	12.34
Stock clerks and order fillers	7,850	11.23	9,700	10.27
Weighers, measurers, checkers, and samplers, recordkeeping	490	12.85	380	12.89
Executive secretaries and administrative assistants	4,000	17.95	3,360	16.90
Legal secretaries	1,080	19.17	380	16.60
Medical secretaries	910	12.65	1,050	13.76
Secretaries, except legal, medical, and executive	3,120	14.78	5,100	14.29
Computer operators	670	17.09	500	15.87
Data entry keyers	2,030	10.61	1,070	10.93
Word processors and typists	510	11.88	450	12.71
Desktop publishers	180	16.87	(3)	14.72
Insurance claims and policy processing clerks	1,390	15.74	-	-
Mail clerks and mail machine operators, except
postal service	1,060	11.80	1,180	11.70
Office clerks, general	19,390	13.12	23,900	11.60
Office machine operators, except computer	680	11.62	510	10.81
Proofreaders and copy markers	-	-	60	11.95
Office and administrative support workers, all other	1,380	14.42	1,210	14.46
Farming, fishing, and forestry occupations	510	13.44	570	11.63
First-line supervisors/managers of farming, fishing, and
forestry workers	70	21.88	40	21.88
Agricultural inspectors	-	-	40	14.52
Farmworkers and laborers, crop, nursery, and greenhouse	90	8.35	(3)	9.31
Farmworkers, farm and ranch animals	70	9.76	150	9.11
Fallers	90	12.53	-	-
Logging equipment operators	130	13.87	-	-
Construction and extraction occupations	35,600	16.63	46,030	16.13
First-line supervisors/managers of construction trades
and extraction workers	4,070	28.76	4,270	26.73
Boilermakers	40	18.32	220	17.13
Brickmasons and blockmasons	940	18.45	1,300	18.61
Carpenters	4,710	16.65	5,450	16.73
Carpet installers	130	20.62	(3)	13.00
Floor layers, except carpet, wood and hard tiles	-	-	(3)	13.85
Floor sanders and finishers	30	14.02	-	-
Tile and marble setters	(3)	14.26	90	15.04
Cement masons and concrete finishers	590	14.53	1,830	14.64
Construction laborers	3,810	10.50	5,660	10.42
Paving, surfacing, and tamping equipment operators	360	13.18	440	12.81
Pile-driver operators	-	-	70	19.08
Operating engineers and other construction equipment operators	2,070	16.21	2,980	14.45
Drywall and ceiling tile installers	710	13.91	550	15.57
Tapers	30	14.93	(3)	15.51
Electricians	3,160	20.58	4,970	17.86
Glaziers	220	16.04	170	14.55
Insulation workers, floor, ceiling, and wall	410	13.56	450	16.46
Painters, construction and maintenance	1,610	13.93	2,000	13.94
Pipelayers	190	16.84	300	12.45
Plumbers, pipefitters, and steamfitters	2,570	17.05	4,890	17.97
Plasterers and stucco masons	(3)	14.31	(3)	15.15
Reinforcing iron and rebar workers	140	20.31	(3)	18.64
Roofers	560	14.52	990	13.79
Sheet metal workers	750	15.29	1,900	15.90
Structural iron and steel workers	680	17.82	250	17.93
Helpers--brickmasons, blockmasons, stonemasons, and tile
and marble setters	1,010	10.79	710	11.09
Helpers--carpenters	1,500	10.65	720	10.99
Helpers--electricians	1,240	11.68	730	9.58
Helpers--painters, paperhangers, plasterers, and stucco masons	220	8.25	120	9.69
Helpers--pipelayers, plumbers, pipefitters, and steamfitters	710	10.66	950	11.40
Helpers--roofers	180	10.49	140	9.44
Helpers, construction trades, all other	240	11.54	570	10.53
Construction and building inspectors	460	21.08	710	20.35
Elevator installers and repairers	110	32.43	(3)	22.69
Fence erectors	140	15.40	-	-
Hazardous materials removal workers	280	13.94	430	14.16
Highway maintenance workers	710	13.42	250	14.43
Septic tank servicers and sewer pipe cleaners	-	-	(3)	15.03
Construction and related workers, all other	(3)	13.14	330	16.85
Earth drillers, except oil and gas	40	14.38	140	18.25
Continuous mining machine operators	(3)	16.01	-	-
Installation, maintenance, and repair occupations	26,830	18.78	34,020	17.43
First-line supervisors/managers of mechanics,
installers, and repairers	2,280	28.01	2,730	27.07
Computer, automated teller, and office machine repairers	630	19.12	1,410	17.36
Radio mechanics	30	15.93	210	21.16
Telecommunications equipment installers and repairers,
except line installers	-	-	630	21.59
Avionics technicians	50	22.46	150	19.07
Electric motor, power tool, and related repairers	160	17.99	130	18.99
Electrical and electronics repairers, commercial and
industrial equipment	420	25.03	790	20.94
Electronic equipment installers and repairers, motor vehicles	(3)	15.05	110	14.11
Electronic home entertainment equipment installers and repairers	(3)	12.78	(3)	15.76
Security and fire alarm systems installers	570	17.37	230	15.81
Aircraft mechanics and service technicians	190	22.01	360	20.67
Automotive body and related repairers	830	20.01	760	20.67
Automotive glass installers and repairers	80	14.92	(3)	14.73
Automotive service technicians and mechanics	4,110	18.87	4,480	16.73
Bus and truck mechanics and diesel engine specialists	1,410	17.67	1,040	16.99
Farm equipment mechanics	50	14.12	70	15.22
Mobile heavy equipment mechanics, except engines	860	17.69	670	18.38
Motorboat mechanics	(3)	16.81	(3)	15.91
Motorcycle mechanics	(3)	13.37	(3)	12.23
Outdoor power equipment and other small engine mechanics	50	12.08	30	14.67
Recreational vehicle service technicians	-	-	(3)	13.29
Tire repairers and changers	450	11.08	530	9.95
Mechanical door repairers	-	-	(3)	14.43
Heating, air conditioning, and refrigeration mechanics
and installers	1,450	18.53	2,290	15.31
Home appliance repairers	-	-	(3)	10.04
Industrial machinery mechanics	1,270	23.62	1,260	18.50
Maintenance and repair workers, general	5,570	15.35	6,880	14.46
Maintenance workers, machinery	770	21.89	310	15.09
Millwrights	420	18.18	310	25.30
Electrical power-line installers and repairers	390	24.02	480	19.31
Telecommunications line installers and repairers	970	17.18	930	21.20
Camera and photographic equipment repairers	-	-	(3)	14.89
Medical equipment repairers	150	19.30	80	26.22
Watch repairers	-	-	(3)	15.38
Precision instrument and equipment repairers, all other	90	24.23	200	16.98
Coin, vending, and amusement machine servicers and repairers	180	12.87	200	15.13
Commercial divers	-	-	(3)	23.78
Locksmiths and safe repairers	90	14.13	180	15.36
Manufactered building and mobile home installers	-	-	(3)	11.09
Riggers	-	-	880	17.75
Helpers--installation, maintenance, and repair workers	970	11.43	850	9.91
Installation, maintenance, and repair workers, all other	560	15.65	1,280	15.21
Production occupations	33,770	15.02	41,350	15.28
First-line supervisors/managers of production and
operating workers	2,230	27.36	3,120	25.80
Electrical and electronic equipment assemblers	150	14.15	-	-
Electromechanical equipment assemblers	110	13.09	220	11.83
Structural metal fabricators and fitters	270	14.54	670	16.12
Fiberglass laminators and fabricators	(3)	11.68	-	-
Team assemblers	1,930	12.29	2,360	12.68
Assemblers and fabricators, all other	(3)	10.92	-	-
Bakers	110	11.92	260	10.17
Butchers and meat cutters	210	13.17	440	13.91
Meat, poultry, and fish cutters and trimmers	(3)	14.31	-	-
Food and tobacco roasting, baking, and drying
machine operators and tenders	(3)	11.07	-	-
Food batchmakers	250	13.84	70	9.88
Food cooking machine operators and tenders	-	-	200	11.02
Computer-controlled machine tool operators, metal and plastic	290	16.18	140	17.46
Numerical tool and process control programmers	90	27.46	30	20.17
Extruding and drawing machine setters, operators, and
tenders, metal and plastic	160	16.17	150	14.63
Forging machine setters, operators, and tenders, metal
and plastic	(3)	13.39	-	-
Rolling machine setters, operators, and tenders, metal
and plastic	320	15.72	(3)	10.33
Cutting, punching, and press machine setters, operators
and tenders, metal and plastic	1,080	12.60	740	12.92
Drilling and boring machine tool setters, operators, and
tenders, metal and plastic	-	-	(3)	14.26
Grinding, lapping, polishing, and buffing machine tool
setters, operators, and tenders, metal and plastic	40	14.63	130	16.65
Lathe and turning machine tool setters, operators,
and tenders, metal and plastic	30	15.45	-	-
Milling and planing machine setters, operators, and
tenders, metal and plastic	-	-	30	15.91
Machinists	960	17.40	2,790	16.82
Patternmakers, metal and plastic	-	-	40	17.44
Molding, coremaking, and casting machine setters,
operators, and tenders, metal and plastic	210	13.28	400	12.18
Multiple machine tool setters, operators, and tenders,
metal and plastic	90	13.26	520	13.60
Tool and die makers	110	18.65	210	22.58
Welders, cutters, solderers, and brazers	880	16.19	2,880	17.84
Welding, soldering, and brazing machine setters,
operators, and tenders	(3)	14.75	390	16.71
Heat treating equipment setters, operators, and tenders,
metal and plastic	50	12.39	50	14.25
Lay-out workers, metal and plastic	-	-	220	16.20
Plating and coating machine setters, operators, and
tenders, metal and plastic	130	14.91	100	13.94
Tool grinders, filers, and sharpeners	-	-	(3)	10.47
Metal workers and plastic workers, all other	180	18.66	190	17.13
Bindery workers	370	11.88	180	11.51
Job printers	190	23.43	40	15.86
Prepress technicians and workers	400	17.10	150	15.55
Printing machine operators	760	15.28	1,020	12.78
Laundry and dry-cleaning workers	1,100	8.10	1,250	7.93
Pressers, textile, garment, and related materials	460	8.19	390	8.53
Sewing machine operators	530	9.37	560	8.84
Shoe and leather workers and repairers	(3)	9.18	-	-
Sewers, hand	-	-	40	9.17
Tailors, dressmakers, and custom sewers	190	11.83	310	9.58
Textile cutting machine setters, operators, and tenders	(3)	10.51	60	9.34
Upholsterers	(3)	9.67	130	14.37
Textile, apparel, and furnishings workers, all other	60	12.35	(3)	14.90
Cabinetmakers and bench carpenters	290	11.61	490	14.76
Furniture finishers	140	10.92	110	13.32
Sawing machine setters, operators, and tenders, wood	350	11.71	210	10.53
Woodworking machine setters, operators, and tenders,
except sawing	370	11.52	320	10.43
Power distibutors and dispatchers	-	-	100	25.37
Power plant operators	190	23.46	130	19.44
Stationary engineers and boiler operators	130	15.96	200	19.39
Water and liquid waste treatment plant and
system operators	580	17.00	500	18.61
Chemical plant and system operators	(3)	24.05	-	-
Gas plant operators			40	28.86
Petroleum pump system operators, refinery operators,
and gaugers	-	-	30	19.23
Plant and system operators, all other	50	17.90	50	20.37
Chemical equipment operators and tenders	80	21.86	90	19.67
Separating, filtering, clarifying, precipitating, and
still machine setters, operators, and tenders	480	19.28	-	-
Crushing, grinding, and polishing machine setters,
operators, and tenders	240	13.19	220	15.40
Grinding and polishing workers, hand	-	-	250	15.72
Mixing and blending machine setters, operators, and
tenders	660	18.93	250	16.11
Cutters and trimmers, hand	50	9.37	130	16.25
Cutting and slicing machine setters, operators, and
tenders	570	15.56	170	14.79
Extruding, forming, pressing, and compacting machine
setters, operators, and tenders	-	-	290	12.38
Furnace, kiln, oven, drier, and kettle operators
and tenders	50	11.36	(3)	13.82
Inspectors, testers, sorters, samplers, and weighers	1,930	17.17	2,350	18.03
Jewelers and precious stone and metal workers	40	16.85	30	15.42
Dental laboratory technicians	150	15.37	230	21.36
Medical appliance technicians	(3)	21.91	(3)	17.52
Ophthalmic laboratory technicians	60	13.23	50	15.08
Packaging and filling machine operators and tenders	2,480	10.16	1,600	14.04
Coating, painting, and spraying machine setters,
operators, and tenders	350	12.57	730	15.41
Painters, transportation equipment	160	18.48	860	16.72
Painting, coating, and decorating workers	160	11.64	110	11.34
Photographic process workers	140	11.52	-	-
Photographic processing machine operators	170	9.93	480	9.43
Cementing and gluing machine operators and tenders	50	14.65	-	-
Cleaning, washing, and metal pickling equipment
operators and tenders	-	-	120	13.31
Etchers and engravers	-	-	(3)	17.03
Molders, shapers, and casters, except metal and plastic	(3)	15.16	400	9.42
Paper goods machine setters, operators, and tenders	580	13.50	-	-
Helpers--production workers	1,680	10.91	1,920	9.88
Production workers, all other	1,330	11.33	1,630	14.96
Transportation and material moving occupations	41,300	13.02	56,390	12.99
First-line supervisors/managers of helpers, laborers,
and material movers, hand	830	21.40	800	22.16
First-line supervisors/managers of transportation and
material-moving machine and vehicle operators	980	24.66	1,230	23.85
Airline pilots, copilots, and flight engineers	(3)	(2)	30	(2)
Commercial pilots	60	(2)	50	(2)
Air traffic controllers	-	-	80	45.37
Bus drivers, transit and intercity	770	14.60	1,000	11.00
Bus drivers, school	2,660	11.78	3,340	11.47
Driver/sales workers	1,760	11.44	3,210	10.55
Truck drivers, heavy and tractor-trailer	6,650	17.51	6,330	15.36
Truck drivers, light or delivery services	4,710	11.31	5,140	10.04
Taxi drivers and chauffeurs	500	10.04	690	9.03
Motor vehicle operators, all other	110	12.90	410	12.15
Rail yard engineers, dinkey operators, and hostlers	-	-	(3)	13.00
Sailors and marine oilers	-	-	2,370	17.77
Captains, mates, and pilots of water vessels	-	-	1,330	29.13
Ship engineers	-	-	1,480	28.72
Parking lot attendants	710	8.11	840	8.00
Service station attendants	340	9.69	670	8.76
Transportation inspectors	50	32.01	-	-
Transportation workers, all other	-	-	370	11.47
Conveyor operators and tenders	210	13.30	350	12.60
Crane and tower operators	270	16.34	480	19.03
Excavating and loading machine and dragline operators	180	13.97	350	14.45
Hoist and winch operators	-	-	30	16.09
Industrial truck and tractor operators	3,280	12.95	4,390	13.46
Cleaners of vehicles and equipment	1,470	9.41	2,200	10.02
Laborers and freight, stock, and material movers, hand	10,350	11.54	13,480	9.94
Machine feeders and offbearers	630	10.66	500	11.16
Packers and packagers, hand	3,510	8.45	3,820	8.54
Refuse and recyclable material collectors	640	13.06	570	13.79
Tank car, truck, and ship loaders	100	15.24	(3)	19.16
Material moving workers, all other	30	14.46	250	19.12
(1)  Estimates for detailed occupations do not sum to the totals because the totals include occupations not shown separately.  Estimates do not include self-employed workers.
(2)  Hourly wage rates for some occupations where workers typically work fewer than 2,080 hours per year are not available.
(3) Estimates not released.
(4) This wage is equal to or greater than $70.00 per hour or $145,600 per year.
- Data not available for this occupation.

 

Last Modified Date: October 13, 2006