Bureau of Labor Statistics
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION: FOR RELEASE: Cheryl Abbot, Regional Economist October 1, 2008 (214) 767-6970 http://www.bls.gov/ro6/ HIGHLIGHTS OF AMARILLO, TX NATIONAL COMPENSATION SURVEY MAY 2008 Workers in the Amarillo metropolitan area earned an average of $16.30 per hour in May 2008, 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 $23.95 for healthcare practitioner and technical occupations and $13.22 for office and administrative support occupations. Another occupational group, food preparation and serving related occupations, had a mean hourly wage rate of $7.78. The NCS data available for the Amarillo area include earnings for 19 major occupational groups with additional detail for selected occupations within those groups. (See table 1.) Licensed practical and vocational nurses, part of the healthcare practitioner and technical occupational group, earned $15.37 per hour. Within the office and administrative support occupational group, stock clerks and order fillers averaged $10.01 per hour and tellers, $9.86. Cooks, an occupation within the food preparation and serving related group, registered an average hourly rate of $9.05, and fast food and counter workers earned $7.76 per hour. (See table 1.) Broad coverage of selected occupational characteristics is available from NCS for the local area. Full-time workers averaged $17.15 per hour while their part-time counterparts earned $10.14. Union workers earned $23.33 and non-union workers, $15.93. Workers in establishments with 1-99 workers averaged $14.35 per hour, those in establishments with 100-499 workers earned $14.32, and those in establishments with 500 or more employees earned $20.72. 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/home.htm. The NCS data reported here covered 211 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 105,800 workers in the Amarillo Metropolitan Statistical Area (MSA) which is comprised of Armstrong, Carson, Potter, and Randall Counties in Texas. Survey Availability Complete survey results are contained in the Amarillo, TX National Compensation Survey May 2008 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, as well as other Bureau data, contact the Southwest Information Office by calling (214) 767-6970 from 8:00 a.m. to 11:00 a.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), Amarillo, TX, May 2008 =========================================================================================================== | | | | Total | Full-time workers | Part-time workers |---------------------|---------------------|---------------------- Occupation(3) | | Relative | | Relative | | Relative | | error(4)| | error(4)| | error(4) | Mean | (percent)| Mean | (percent)| Mean | (percent) =========================================================================================================== All workers............................. $16.30 1.9 $17.15 1.6 $10.14 12.5 Management occupations................ 43.66 11.2 43.67 11.2 – – Business and financial operations occupations..................... 23.29 4.5 23.29 4.5 – – Computer and mathematical science occupations..................... 27.76 5.9 27.76 5.9 – – Computer programmers................ 30.26 11.5 30.26 11.5 – – Life, physical, and social science occupations..................... 30.36 9.4 – – – – Community and social services occupations..................... 21.90 18.6 21.90 18.6 – – Education, training, and library occupations..................... 25.60 9.4 25.99 9.6 – – Postsecondary teachers.............. 35.15 8.1 – – – – Primary, secondary, and special education school teachers....... 29.02 .1 29.04 .2 – – Elementary and middle school teachers........................ 28.85 .5 28.86 .6 – – Elementary school teachers, except special education........ 28.81 .4 28.82 .4 – – Arts, design, entertainment, sports, and media occupations........... 12.83 10.0 13.19 9.9 – – Healthcare practitioner and technical occupations........... 23.95 8.6 21.71 6.6 51.58 30.6 Registered nurses................... 25.47 5.8 25.42 6.2 – – Licensed practical and licensed vocational nurses............... 15.37 4.5 15.34 4.6 – – Healthcare support occupations........ 10.49 8.8 11.12 12.1 – – Nursing, psychiatric, and home health aides.................... 9.30 1.8 9.70 3.0 – – Nursing aides, orderlies, and attendants...................... 9.78 3.1 9.69 3.2 – – Protective service occupations........ 18.23 2.4 18.28 2.4 – – Food preparation and serving related occupations..................... 7.78 7.6 8.53 13.0 7.10 4.8 Cooks............................... 9.05 3.3 9.32 2.2 – – Food service, tipped................ 5.86 28.0 6.00 32.5 5.66 27.6 Waiters and waitresses............ 6.22 23.9 – – – – Fast food and counter workers....... 7.76 1.5 9.01 8.6 7.22 .6 Combined food preparation and serving workers, including fast food............................ 7.80 1.7 8.83 7.7 7.32 .1 Hosts and hostesses, restaurant, lounge, and coffee shop......... 5.49 13.2 – – – – Building and grounds cleaning and maintenance occupations......... 10.90 7.1 11.00 7.1 – – Building cleaning workers........... 9.99 8.0 10.06 7.9 – – Janitors and cleaners, except maids & housekeeping cleaners... 10.81 6.0 10.91 5.5 – – Maids and housekeeping cleaners... 7.82 9.9 – – – – Personal care & service occupations... 7.78 10.3 – – – – Sales and related occupations......... 12.35 6.1 14.31 6.9 7.73 2.3 First-line supervisors/managers, sales workers................... 18.64 5.9 18.64 5.9 – – First-line supervisors/managers of retail sales workers......... 16.92 9.7 16.92 9.7 – – Retail sales workers................ 10.59 12.0 12.27 13.6 7.69 3.1 Cashiers, all workers............. 8.60 2.8 9.25 1.8 7.43 2.0 Cashiers........................ 8.60 2.8 9.25 1.8 7.43 2.0 Retail salespersons............... 12.92 20.2 15.65 22.4 8.20 5.8 Office and administrative support occupations..................... 13.22 4.7 13.60 4.8 9.10 4.8 Financial clerks.................... 14.19 10.3 14.60 10.4 – – Bookkeeping, accounting, and auditing clerks................. 13.65 7.4 13.65 7.4 – – Tellers........................... 9.86 1.3 – – – – Customer service representatives.... 10.92 6.2 – – – – Receptionists and information clerks.......................... 10.70 7.7 11.70 3.3 – – Stock clerks and order fillers...... 10.01 .9 10.46 1.6 – – Secretaries and administrative assistants...................... 14.73 10.9 14.73 10.9 – – Insurance claims and policy processing clerks............... 13.49 15.0 13.49 15.0 – – Office clerks, general.............. 11.29 9.9 10.94 11.1 – – Construction and extraction occupations..................... 17.58 3.9 17.58 3.9 – – Electricians........................ 21.00 7.2 21.00 7.2 – – Installation, maintenance, and repair occupations..................... 19.81 6.6 19.81 6.6 – – First-line supervisors/managers of mechanics, installers, and repairers....................... 26.38 4.8 26.38 4.8 – – Production occupations................ 13.41 5.6 13.42 5.6 – – Transportation and material moving occupations..................... 14.61 6.4 15.20 6.7 – – Driver/sales workers and truck drivers......................... 13.61 8.4 13.69 8.6 – – Truck drivers, heavy and tractor-trailer................. 17.91 9.3 17.91 9.3 – – Industrial truck and tractor operators....................... 14.57 11.4 14.57 11.4 – – Laborers and material movers, hand.. 7.49 8.5 8.41 3.8 – – =========================================================================================================== (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. For more information see Bulletin 3140-18. (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. NOTE: Dashes indicate that no data were reported or that data did not meet publication criteria. Overall occupational groups may include data for categories not shown separately. SOURCE: Bureau of Labor Statistics, National Compensation Survey.
Last Modified Date: October 1, 2008
