Bureau of Labor Statistics
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION: FOR RELEASE:
Cheryl Abbot, Regional Economist June 10, 2008
(214) 767-6970
HIGHLIGHTS OF OKLAHOMA CITY, OK
NATIONAL COMPENSATION SURVEY FEBRUARY 2008
Workers in the Oklahoma City metropolitan area earned an average of $16.56
per hour in February 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 reported wage
data for workers in a wide range of occupational groups, including average
hourly earnings of $13.01 for office and administrative support occupations and
$10.68 for healthcare support occupations. Another occupational group,
building and grounds cleaning and maintenance, had a mean hourly wage rate of
$10.08. The NCS data available for the Oklahoma City area include earnings for
20 major occupational groups with additional detail for selected occupations
within those groups. (See table 1.)
Financial clerks, an occupation within the office and administrative
support group, registered an average hourly rate of $13.81, and receptionists
and information clerks earned $12.06 per hour. Within the healthcare support
occupational group, nursing aides, orderlies and attendants averaged $10.30 per
hour. Janitors and cleaners, except maids and housekeeping cleaners, part of
the building and grounds cleaning and maintenance occupational group, earned
$10.19 per hour. (See table 1.)
Broad coverage of selected occupational characteristics is available from
NCS for the local area. Full-time workers averaged $17.55 per hour while their
part-time counterparts earned $8.23. Union workers earned $21.48 and non-union
workers, $16.06. Workers in establishments with 1-99 workers averaged $14.53
per hour, those in establishments with 100-499 workers earned $18.14, and those
in establishments with 500 or more employees earned $19.06.
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 provided in the detailed bulletin covered 247 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 532,700 workers in the Oklahoma City metropolitan
area which is comprised of Canadian, Cleveland, Grady, Lincoln, Logan, McClain,
and Oklahoma Counties in Oklahoma.
Survey Availability
Complete survey results are contained in the San Antonio, TX National
Compensation Survey November 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, 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), Oklahoma City,
OK, February 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............................. $16.56 4.2 $17.55 4.0 $8.23 5.3
Management occupations................ 31.25 10.3 31.32 10.2 – –
Education administrators............ 24.11 20.0 24.11 20.0 – –
Business and financial
operations occupations.......... 23.18 9.5 23.26 9.6 – –
Accountants and auditors............ 28.24 9.5 28.24 9.5 – –
Computer and mathematical
science occupations............. 27.39 9.3 28.46 8.2 – –
Architecture and engineering
occupations..................... 34.60 13.7 34.60 13.7 – –
Engineers........................... 31.93 6.5 31.93 6.5 – –
Life, physical, and social
science occupations............. 30.50 12.1 30.50 12.1 – –
Community and social services
occupations..................... 14.86 5.8 14.86 5.8 – –
Education, training, and
library occupations............. 27.36 2.5 27.87 2.4 12.72 18.5
Postsecondary teachers.............. 37.81 9.2 37.90 9.4 – –
Miscellaneous postsecondary
teachers........................ 38.80 16.7 38.91 17.2 – –
Primary, secondary, and special
education school teachers....... 26.95 3.0 27.18 2.8 – –
Elementary and middle school
teachers........................ 27.66 3.1 27.66 3.1 – –
Secondary school teachers......... 26.52 4.7 26.52 4.7 – –
Secondary school teachers,
except special and
vocational education............ 26.52 4.7 26.52 4.7 – –
Teacher assistants.................. 10.65 9.5 – – – –
Arts, design, entertainment,
sports, and media occupations... 20.05 24.5 – – – –
Healthcare practitioner and
technical occupations........... 22.21 7.4 22.05 7.4 25.60 47.4
Registered nurses................... 27.90 7.7 27.99 7.6 – –
Clinical laboratory technologists
and technicians................. 15.63 3.6 – – – –
Licensed practical and
licensed vocational nurses...... 16.67 3.0 16.64 3.2 – –
Healthcare support occupations........ 10.68 4.4 10.88 4.1 – –
Nursing, psychiatric, and
home health aides............... 10.40 4.6 10.58 4.4 – –
Nursing aides, orderlies,
and attendants.................. 10.30 4.4 10.48 4.4 – –
Protective service occupations........ 20.09 26.3 20.49 26.5 14.86 17.9
Security guards and gaming
surveillance officers........... 10.55 13.8 – – – –
Security guards................... 10.55 13.8 – – – –
Food preparation and serving related
occupations..................... 6.77 9.1 8.04 12.8 5.51 3.6
Cooks............................... 8.06 2.9 7.97 4.5 – –
Food service, tipped................ 2.96 3.4 – – 2.64 9.0
Waiters and waitresses............ 2.84 9.4 – – 2.41 4.1
Fast food and counter workers....... 7.37 2.1 8.44 1.7 6.39 .2
Combined food preparation
and serving workers, including
fast food....................... 7.38 2.0 8.44 1.7 – –
Building and grounds cleaning and
maintenance occupations.......... 10.08 2.8 10.41 2.9 – –
Building cleaning workers............ 10.13 3.0 10.48 3.0 – –
Janitors and cleaners, except
maids and housekeeping cleaners.. 10.19 2.9 10.61 2.6 – –
Personal care and service occupations.. 9.66 5.4 – – 8.96 11.1
Sales and related occupations.......... 13.30 16.2 15.02 16.1 8.28 .3
First-line supervisors/managers,
sales workers.................... 28.02 15.6 28.02 15.6 – –
Retail sales workers................. 9.92 5.9 10.66 5.8 8.20 1.8
Cashiers, all workers.............. – – 9.06 11.1 – –
Cashiers......................... – – 9.06 11.1 – –
Retail salespersons................ 11.07 1.5 11.48 3.2 – –
Office and administrative support
occupations...................... 13.01 4.8 13.18 4.9 10.47 11.9
First-line supervisors/managers of
office and administrative
support workers.................. 19.80 17.2 19.80 17.2 – –
Financial clerks..................... 13.81 4.8 14.61 3.6 10.91 17.3
Billing and posting clerks and
machine operators................ 12.81 7.4 13.60 6.7 – –
Bookkeeping, accounting, and
auditing clerks.................. 14.44 6.3 14.74 4.1 – –
Tellers............................ 10.67 4.9 – – – –
Receptionists and information clerks. 12.06 3.7 12.55 1.9 – –
Shipping, receiving, and
traffic clerks................... 10.72 2.6 10.72 2.6 – –
Secretaries and administrative
assistants....................... 12.04 7.8 12.12 8.0 – –
Secretaries, except legal,
medical, and executive........... 12.69 8.5 12.86 8.5 – –
Data entry and information
processing workers............... 10.64 7.9 10.60 8.0 – –
Data entry keyers.................. 10.24 9.7 10.24 9.7 – –
Office clerks, general............... 13.30 9.8 13.40 10.3 – –
Construction and extraction
occupations...................... 19.38 18.0 19.38 18.0 – –
Installation, maintenance, and repair
occupations...................... 21.03 8.5 21.05 8.5 – –
Industrial machinery installation,
repair, and maintenance workers.. 13.14 7.0 13.17 7.1 – –
Miscellaneous installation,
maintenance, and repair workers.. 20.17 13.6 20.17 13.6 – –
Production occupations................. 13.19 4.6 13.20 4.6 – –
Transportation and material moving
occupations...................... 14.99 10.7 15.40 10.6 8.79 8.3
Driver/sales workers and
truck drivers.................... 14.63 7.0 14.63 7.0 – –
Laborers and material movers, hand... 9.08 1.7 – – – –
===========================================================================================================
(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: June 10, 2008
