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HIGHLIGHTS OF KANSAS CITY
NATIONAL COMPENSATION SURVEY SEPTEMBER 2007 (PDF)
Workers in the Kansas City metropolitan area earned an average of $20.15 per hour in September 2007, according to new survey results from the National Compensation Survey (NCS) released by the U.S. Department of Labor's Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS). Regional Commissioner Stanley W. Suchman noted that wage data were reported for workers in a wide range of occupational groups, including average hourly earnings of $34.68 for computer and mathematical science occupations, $27.32 for healthcare practitioner and technical occupations, and $20.07 for construction and extraction occupations. Another occupational group, office and administrative support, had a mean hourly wage rate of $15.84. The NCS data available for the Kansas City area include earnings for 21 major occupational groups with additional detail for selected occupations within those groups. (See table 1.)
Computer systems analysts, part of the computer and mathematical science occupational group, earned $32.15 per hour. Within the healthcare practitioner and technical occupational group, registered nurses averaged $26.81 per hour and licensed practical and licensed vocational nurses, $17.60. Construction laborers, an occupation within the construction and extraction group, registered an average hourly rate of $19.45. Executive secretaries and administrative assistants, part of the office and administrative support occupational group, earned $20.43 per hour. (See table 1.)
Broad coverage of selected occupational characteristics is available from NCS for the local area. Full-time workers averaged $21.35 per hour while their part-time counterparts earned $11.24. Union workers earned $23.28 and non-union workers, $19.81. Workers in establishments with 1-99 workers averaged $17.16 per hour, those in establishments with 100-499 workers earned $20.49, and those in establishments with 500 or more employees earned $26.11.
The occupational wage data available from NCS may be used by businesses for establishing pay plans, making decisions concerning plant relocation, and in collective bargaining negotiations. Individuals may use such data to help choose potential careers. NCS results also include the work level and respective earnings for occupations determined by a point factor leveling process. The four occupational leveling factors are: knowledge, job controls and complexity, contacts, and physical environment. Details on the NCS are available at http://www.bls.gov/ncs/.
The NCS data reported here covered 305 establishments with one or more workers in private industry and State and local governments. Agricultural establishments, private households, the self-employed, and the Federal Government were excluded from the survey. This sample of establishments represented 946,400 workers in the Kansas City Metropolitan Statistical Area (MSA) which is comprised of Bates, Caldwell, Cass, Clay, Clinton, Jackson, Lafayette, Platte, and Ray Counties in Missouri; and Franklin, Johnson, Leavenworth, Linn, Miami, and Wyandotte Counties in Kansas.
Survey Availability
Complete survey results are contained in the Kansas City, MO-KS National Compensation Survey September 2007 which is available on the Internet in both text and PDF formats at http://www.bls.gov/ncs/ocs/compub.htm.
For personal assistance or further information on the National Compensation Survey data, as well as other Bureau data, contact the Mountain-Plains Information Office by calling 816-285-7000 from 9:00 a.m. to 12:00 p.m. and 1:00 p.m. to 4:00 p.m. CT.
Table 1. Civilian workers: Mean hourly earnings(1) for full-time and part-time workers(2), Kansas City, MO-KS, September 2007 Total Full-time workers Part-time workers Occupation(3) Relative Relative Relative Mean error(4) Mean error(4) Mean error(4) (percent) (percent) (percent) All workers........................................................... $20.15 4.7 $21.35 3.9 $11.24 10.4 Management occupations.............................................. 33.44 8.8 33.45 8.8 - - General and operations managers................................... 33.09 7.9 33.09 7.9 - - Financial managers................................................ 31.23 4.9 31.23 4.9 - - Medical and health services managers.............................. 40.28 29.2 40.28 29.2 - - Business and financial operations occupations....................... 29.82 6.7 29.83 6.7 - - Buyers and purchasing agents...................................... 29.15 9.6 29.15 9.6 - - Human resources, training, and labor relations specialists........ 29.11 19.9 29.11 19.9 - - Management analysts............................................... 34.35 14.4 34.35 14.4 - - Financial analysts and advisors................................... 30.74 13.9 30.74 13.9 - - Computer and mathematical science occupations....................... 34.68 6.0 34.02 4.9 - - Computer programmers.............................................. 27.73 10.5 27.73 10.5 - - Computer software engineers....................................... 33.44 13.6 33.44 13.6 - - Computer systems analysts......................................... 32.15 4.5 32.15 4.5 - - Architecture and engineering occupations............................ 35.48 3.1 35.48 3.1 - - Engineers......................................................... 37.46 3.7 37.46 3.7 - - Electrical engineers.......................................... 35.89 11.2 35.89 11.2 - - Life, physical, and social science occupations...................... 27.25 27.1 35.63 8.8 - - Community and social services occupations........................... 15.72 11.1 17.02 9.5 - - Legal occupations................................................... 46.36 23.1 46.36 23.1 - - Education, training, and library occupations........................ 26.87 4.4 28.11 5.7 14.98 3.9 Postsecondary teachers............................................ 28.51 13.0 28.45 14.0 - - Primary, secondary, and special education school teachers......... 30.74 4.7 31.15 5.6 - - Elementary and middle school teachers........................... 32.13 6.6 32.13 6.6 - - Elementary school teachers, except special education.......... 31.47 9.0 31.47 9.0 - - Middle school teachers, except special and vocational education.................................................. 33.27 2.6 33.27 2.6 - - Secondary school teachers....................................... 31.84 1.8 33.48 4.2 - - Secondary school teachers, except special and vocational education.................................................. 31.07 7.6 32.91 .3 - - Other teachers and instructors.................................... 18.65 3.8 - - 14.07 3.3 Teacher assistants................................................ 11.69 5.0 - - - - Arts, design, entertainment, sports, and media occupations.......... 27.08 11.4 27.17 11.3 - - Writers and editors............................................... 22.34 9.6 22.34 9.6 - - Editors......................................................... 22.34 9.6 22.34 9.6 - - Healthcare practitioner and technical occupations................... 27.32 10.0 27.44 10.7 26.37 4.8 Registered nurses................................................. 26.81 2.3 26.17 1.7 28.82 2.4 Therapists........................................................ 28.50 5.8 30.04 5.9 - - Diagnostic related technologists and technicians.................. 25.65 5.9 26.05 6.8 - - Radiologic technologists and technicians........................ 26.43 1.5 26.43 1.5 - - Licensed practical and licensed vocational nurses................. 17.60 2.3 17.88 1.4 - - Medical records and health information technicians................ 14.93 4.9 14.93 4.9 - - Healthcare support occupations...................................... 11.51 3.2 13.18 10.6 - - Nursing, psychiatric, and home health aides....................... 9.60 7.2 10.68 3.0 - - Nursing aides, orderlies, and attendants........................ 11.33 3.8 11.26 4.1 - - Miscellaneous healthcare support occupations...................... 15.68 13.0 16.02 12.7 - - Protective service occupations...................................... 20.93 8.9 22.11 6.3 13.01 15.7 Police officers................................................... 22.07 13.2 - - - - Police and sheriff's patrol officers............................ 22.07 13.2 - - - - Security guards and gaming surveillance officers.................. 12.29 15.3 - - - - Security guards................................................. 12.36 20.0 - - - - Food preparation and serving related occupations.................... 8.26 11.6 8.91 15.1 7.41 6.3 First-line supervisors/managers, food preparation and serving workers........................................................ 11.09 22.0 - - - - Cooks............................................................. 8.14 5.5 8.88 4.7 7.48 6.6 Cooks, institution and cafeteria................................ 10.28 2.3 - - - - Food preparation workers.......................................... 10.31 5.5 - - - - Fast food and counter workers..................................... 7.05 1.3 - - - - Building and grounds cleaning and maintenance occupations........... 10.41 4.1 10.27 5.4 10.70 6.4 Building cleaning workers......................................... 10.25 7.0 10.32 7.8 - - Janitors and cleaners, except maids and housekeeping cleaners... 10.09 8.7 10.86 8.6 - - Personal care and service occupations............................... 9.72 5.8 10.77 4.4 8.29 11.9 Sales and related occupations....................................... 18.61 10.2 21.05 12.2 11.73 10.4 Retail sales workers.............................................. 12.89 13.5 13.82 10.5 11.90 15.5 Cashiers, all workers........................................... 9.21 2.0 10.13 5.1 8.51 .9 Cashiers...................................................... 9.19 2.1 10.11 5.2 8.51 .9 Retail salespersons............................................. 16.81 14.1 16.57 2.2 17.18 29.2 Sales representatives, wholesale and manufacturing................ 32.13 18.8 32.13 18.8 - - Office and administrative support occupations....................... 15.84 5.0 16.09 4.9 11.21 10.2 First-line supervisors/managers of office and administrative support workers................................................ 27.51 7.1 27.51 7.1 - - Financial clerks.................................................. 13.15 5.5 13.24 6.1 - - Bookkeeping, accounting, and auditing clerks.................... 15.69 4.3 15.69 4.3 - - Tellers......................................................... 10.55 2.9 10.52 3.0 - - Customer service representatives.................................. 14.84 6.5 14.83 6.5 - - Receptionists and information clerks.............................. 13.77 2.5 - - - - Shipping, receiving, and traffic clerks........................... 14.78 11.6 14.78 11.6 - - Secretaries and administrative assistants......................... 19.08 3.2 19.18 3.2 - - Executive secretaries and administrative assistants............. 20.43 6.3 20.43 6.3 - - Secretaries, except legal, medical, and executive............... 17.90 3.7 18.10 3.7 - - Office clerks, general............................................ 12.72 14.0 12.60 15.2 - - Construction and extraction occupations............................. 20.07 6.8 20.11 6.9 - - Construction laborers............................................. 19.45 9.3 19.45 9.3 - - Installation, maintenance, and repair occupations................... 19.57 5.8 19.73 5.3 - - Industrial machinery installation, repair, and maintenance workers 18.64 5.3 18.64 5.3 - - Maintenance and repair workers, general......................... 17.23 7.4 17.23 7.4 - - Miscellaneous installation, maintenance, and repair workers....... 18.95 10.4 18.95 10.4 - - Production occupations.............................................. 18.14 12.8 18.37 13.6 - - First-line supervisors/managers of production and operating workers........................................................ 23.30 .7 23.30 .7 - - Miscellaneous assemblers and fabricators.......................... 19.86 24.4 19.86 24.4 - - Inspectors, testers, sorters, samplers, and weighers.............. 26.32 2.4 26.32 2.4 - - Transportation and material moving occupations...................... 14.21 7.4 15.52 10.8 10.23 9.3 Driver/sales workers and truck drivers............................ 11.88 17.6 12.97 23.8 - - Laborers and material movers, hand................................ 13.24 7.9 14.68 6.5 10.89 10.2 Laborers and freight, stock, and material movers, hand.......... 13.52 8.4 15.26 6.9 11.13 10.7 Packers and packagers, hand..................................... 11.89 6.1 12.71 4.5 - - 1 Earnings are the straight-time hourly wages or salaries paid to employees. They include incentive pay, cost-of-living adjustments, and hazard pay. Excluded are premium pay for overtime, vacations, holidays, nonproduction bonuses, and tips. The mean is computed by totaling the pay of all workers and dividing by the number of workers, weighted by hours. 2 Employees are classified as working either a full-time or a part-time schedule based on the definition used by each establishment. Therefore, a worker with a 35-hour-per-week schedule might be considered a full-time employee in one establishment, but classified as part-time in another firm, where a 40-hour week is the minimum full-time schedule. 3 Workers are classified by occupation using the 2000 Standard Occupational Classification (SOC) system. 4 The relative standard error (RSE) is the standard error expressed as a percent of the estimate. It can be used to calculate a "confidence interval" around a sample estimate.
Last Modified Date: July 9, 2008
