Internet: www.bls.gov/ro3/ PLS – 4464
FOR RELEASE:
WEDNESDAY, NOVEMBER 5,2008
INFORMATION: Cassidy Canzani
(215) 597-3282
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Highlights of Philadelphia-Camden-Vineland National Compensation Survey January 2008 (PDF)

Workers in the Philadelphia-Camden-Vineland metropolitan area earned an average of $22.36 per hour in January 2008, according to new survey results from the National Compensation Survey (NCS) released by the Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) of the U.S. Department of Labor. Sheila Watkins, the Bureau’s regional commissioner, noted that wage data were reported for workers in a wide range of occupational groups, including average hourly earnings of $45.85 for management occupations and $22.10 for installation, maintenance, and repair occupations. Another occupational group, healthcare support, had a mean hourly wage rate of $12.70. The NCS data available for the Philadelphia area include earnings for 21 major occupational groups with additional detail for selected occupations within those groups. (See table 1.)

Sales managers, part of the management occupational group, earned $42.32 per hour, and education administrators, postsecondary averaged $30.23. Within the installation, maintenance, and repair occupational group, electrical power-line installers and repairers registered an average hourly wage of $33.70 per hour and automotive service technicians and mechanics, $18.05. Dental assistants, an occupation within the healthcare support group, earned $18.36 per hour and nursing aides, orderlies, and attendants, $12.22 per hour. (See table 1.)

Broad coverage of selected occupational characteristics is available from NCS for the local area. Full-time workers averaged $23.69 per hour while their part-time counterparts earned $12.92. Union workers earned $25.08 and non-union workers, $21.81. Workers in establishments with 1-99 workers averaged $18.77 per hour, those in establishments with 100-499 workers earned $20.34, and those in establishments with 500 or more employees earned $29.30.

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 www.bls.gov/ncs/.

The NCS data reported here covered 859 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 2,670,500 workers in the Philadelphia-Camden-Vineland Combined Statistical Area (CSA) which is comprised of Bucks, Chester, Delaware, Montgomery, and Philadelphia Counties in Pennsylvania; Burlington, Camden, Cumberland, Gloucester, and Salem Counties in New Jersey; New Castle County in Delaware; and Cecil County in Maryland.

Survey Availability

Complete survey results are contained in the Philadelphia-Camden-Vineland, PA-NJ-DE-MD National Compensation Survey January 2008 which is available on the Internet in both text and PDF formats at 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 Mid-Atlantic Information Office by calling (215) 597-3282 from 8:30 a.m. to 12:00 p.m. and 1:00 p.m. to 3:30 p.m. ET.
Table 1. Civilian workers: Mean hourly earnings(1) for full-time and part-time workers(2), Philadelphia-Camden-Vineland, PA-NJ-DE-MD CSA, January 2008
Occupation(3) Total Full-time workers Part-time workers
Mean Relative error(4) (percent) Mean Relative error(4) (percent) Mean Relative error(4) (percent)

All workers

 $22.36 1.6 $23.69 1.5 $12.92 5.9

Management occupations

 45.85 4.0 45.85 4.0 – –

General and operations managers

 38.03 21.9 38.03 21.9 – –

Marketing and sales managers

 48.65 10.1 48.65 10.1 – –

Sales managers

 42.32 9.5 42.32 9.5 – –

Computer and information systems managers

 62.03 8.0 62.03 8.0 – –

Financial managers

 53.70 9.2 53.70 9.2 – –

Human resources managers

 40.60 10.1 40.60 10.1 – –

Education administrators

 33.93 8.6 33.93 8.6 – –

Education administrators, elementary and secondary school

 40.58 16.7 40.58 16.7 – –

Education administrators, postsecondary

 30.23 7.1 30.23 7.1 – –

Social and community service managers

 30.57 14.0 30.57 14.0 – –

Business and financial operations occupations

 32.80 4.1 32.80 4.1 – –

Buyers and purchasing agents

 31.95 6.9 31.95 6.9 – –

Claims adjusters, appraisers, examiners, and investigators

 31.40 9.8 31.40 9.8 – –

Claims adjusters, examiners, and investigators

 31.40 9.8 31.40 9.8 – –

Human resources, training, and labor relations specialists

 36.76 19.8 36.76 19.8 – –

Management analysts

 37.23 12.9 37.23 12.9 – –

Accountants and auditors

 31.80 10.2 31.41 10.7 – –

Financial analysts and advisors

 29.12 9.0 29.12 9.0 – –

Financial analysts

 33.10 7.7 33.10 7.7 – –

Personal financial advisors

 24.49 13.8 24.49 13.8 – –

Computer and mathematical science occupations

 36.08 3.8 36.67 2.8 – –

Computer software engineers

 42.24 7.8 42.24 7.8 – –

Computer software engineers, applications

 37.78 11.9 37.78 11.9 – –

Computer software engineers, systems software

 46.43 7.4 46.43 7.4 – –

Computer support specialists

 25.15 4.8 25.15 4.8 – –

Computer systems analysts

 40.93 7.1 40.93 7.1 – –

Network and computer systems administrators

 37.32 6.6 37.32 6.6 – –

Network systems and data communications analysts

 41.10 8.6 41.10 8.6 – –

Architecture and engineering occupations

 36.00 11.9 36.00 11.9 – –

Engineers

 41.36 12.0 41.36 12.0 – –

Electrical and electronics engineers

 41.80 19.3 41.80 19.3 – –

Mechanical engineers

 36.39 7.0 36.39 7.0 – –

Engineering technicians, except drafters

 28.05 5.5 28.05 5.5 – –

Life, physical, and social science occupations

 34.00 8.6 34.01 8.6 – –

Life scientists

 42.67 7.9 42.69 7.9 – –

Biological scientists

 37.92 8.7 37.92 8.7 – –

Medical scientists

 44.07 22.3 44.12 22.5 – –

Community and social services occupations

 19.35 12.6 21.86 11.7 – –

Counselors

 21.97 15.8 22.64 16.7 – –

Educational, vocational, and school counselors

 27.15 22.2 31.09 20.7 – –

Social workers

 20.21 12.2 19.28 9.8 – –

Miscellaneous community and social service specialists

 – – 23.37 22.7 – –

Legal occupations

 44.05 21.8 45.29 21.8 – –

Lawyers

 57.40 21.4 59.28 20.9 – –

Miscellaneous legal support workers

 20.27 5.5 – – – –

Education, training, and library occupations

 34.45 1.4 35.24 1.5 16.38 8.8

Postsecondary teachers

 42.59 5.2 42.62 5.4 40.80 11.2

Arts, communications, and humanities teachers, postsecondary

 43.13 11.1 43.15 11.7 – –

Miscellaneous postsecondary teachers

 36.58 8.5 36.38 9.2 – –

Primary, secondary, and special education school teachers

 36.44 3.3 36.66 3.3 – –

Preschool and kindergarten teachers

 20.30 11.9 20.30 11.9 – –

Preschool teachers, except special education

 14.21 9.5 14.21 9.5 – –

Elementary and middle school teachers

 37.78 5.3 38.21 4.9 – –

Elementary school teachers, except special education

 36.34 5.2 36.84 4.8 – –

Middle school teachers, except special and vocational education

 42.77 2.9 42.87 2.6 – –

Secondary school teachers

 42.80 7.3 42.91 7.6 – –

Secondary school teachers, except special and vocational education

 42.80 7.3 42.91 7.6 – –

Special education teachers

 40.80 6.5 40.80 6.5 – –

Special education teachers, preschool, kindergarten, and elementary school

 43.80 4.8 43.80 4.8 – –

Librarians

 32.08 13.3 32.08 13.3 – –

Teacher assistants

 13.04 4.5 13.70 5.9 10.68 6.5

Arts, design, entertainment, sports, and media occupations

 34.85 24.9 36.62 25.1 15.30 28.0

Designers

 19.41 6.5 21.47 12.1 – –

Graphic designers

 23.10 9.8 23.10 9.8 – –

Healthcare practitioner and technical occupations

 35.21 2.8 35.78 3.5 32.31 6.6

Pharmacists

 35.43 37.6 45.04 15.6 – –

Physicians and surgeons

 67.29 8.7 67.31 8.7 – –

Registered nurses

 34.06 2.9 33.43 3.4 36.60 2.3

Therapists

 27.65 7.7 27.97 7.5 – –

Clinical laboratory technologists and technicians

 20.37 5.4 20.29 5.9 – –

Diagnostic related technologists and technicians

 24.92 17.7 – – – –

Licensed practical and licensed vocational nurses

 23.31 2.6 22.27 3.0 25.52 4.9

Medical records and health information technicians

 12.76 2.3 12.76 2.3 – –

Healthcare support occupations

 12.70 2.7 13.00 3.2 11.79 4.5

Nursing, psychiatric, and home health aides

 12.00 3.0 12.14 3.4 11.33 2.9

Home health aides

 10.25 3.5 – – – –

Nursing aides, orderlies, and attendants

 12.22 3.2 12.17 3.5 12.49 2.8

Miscellaneous healthcare support occupations

 13.82 6.1 14.86 6.1 12.07 8.1

Dental assistants

 18.36 5.3 19.28 4.0 – –

Medical assistants

 13.61 7.5 – – – –

Pharmacy aides

 8.58 1.0 – – – –

Protective service occupations

 21.22 9.1 22.44 8.0 10.22 2.0

Bailiffs, correctional officers, and jailers

 22.96 5.0 22.96 5.0 – –

Correctional officers and jailers

 22.96 5.0 22.96 5.0 – –

Police officers

 26.76 2.6 26.93 2.7 – –

Police and sheriff's patrol officers

 26.76 2.6 26.93 2.7 – –

Security guards and gaming surveillance officers

 11.47 8.8 11.85 9.8 9.93 1.6

Security guards

 11.47 8.8 11.85 9.8 9.93 1.6

Miscellaneous protective service workers

 10.60 4.1 – – 10.60 4.1

Food preparation and serving related occupations

 9.28 4.5 11.22 4.9 7.04 2.0

First-line supervisors/managers, food preparation and serving workers

 19.80 6.3 19.88 6.1 – –

First-line supervisors/managers of food preparation and serving workers

 18.94 4.0 19.02 4.1 – –

Cooks

 10.66 4.0 11.74 3.1 8.41 4.8

Cooks, institution and cafeteria

 12.31 9.4 12.72 9.3 – –

Cooks, restaurant

 11.25 2.6 11.46 5.2 – –

Food preparation workers

 9.87 6.4 10.36 11.8 9.15 7.8

Food service, tipped

 5.52 6.5 6.36 21.7 4.92 11.1

Bartenders

 6.86 10.8 – – 5.98 15.3

Waiters and waitresses

 4.74 4.4 5.24 23.8 4.37 12.0

Dining room and cafeteria attendants and bartender helpers

 7.85 15.4 8.70 26.5 6.70 13.1

Fast food and counter workers

 8.95 5.0 11.85 12.2 7.88 2.0

Combined food preparation and serving workers, including fast food

 8.83 5.9 12.64 18.2 7.88 2.3

Counter attendants, cafeteria, food concession, and coffee shop

 9.44 13.7 – – – –

Food servers, nonrestaurant

 11.17 7.0 – – – –

Dishwashers

 8.27 3.3 – – – –

Hosts and hostesses, restaurant, lounge, and coffee shop

 10.75 14.9 – – – –

Building and grounds cleaning and maintenance occupations

 12.05 5.7 12.48 5.9 9.22 6.6

Building cleaning workers

 11.44 4.1 11.85 4.4 8.90 4.8

Janitors and cleaners, except maids and housekeeping cleaners

 11.52 5.0 12.08 5.7 8.62 4.5

Maids and housekeeping cleaners

 10.94 4.1 10.86 4.5 – –

Grounds maintenance workers

 13.41 7.7 – – – –

Landscaping and groundskeeping workers

 12.08 5.8 – – – –

Personal care and service occupations

 14.76 6.0 16.28 8.4 10.83 7.5

First-line supervisors/managers of gaming workers

 15.20 9.6 15.20 9.6 – –

Slot key persons

 13.78 3.6 13.78 3.6 – –

Gaming services workers

 6.91 0.0 7.31 3.3 – –

Gaming dealers

 6.82 1.5 7.31 3.3 – –

Child care workers

 9.77 7.1 9.85 9.9 9.52 7.7

Recreation and fitness workers

 14.35 8.7 – – – –

Recreation workers

 13.50 9.2 – – – –

Sales and related occupations

 17.40 6.1 20.42 6.4 8.87 4.0

First-line supervisors/managers, sales workers

 20.43 16.3 20.43 16.3 – –

First-line supervisors/managers of retail sales workers

 16.00 1.3 16.00 1.3 – –

Retail sales workers

 11.94 2.6 14.08 2.4 8.53 2.2

Cashiers, all workers

 9.75 4.4 11.30 8.2 8.52 3.7

Cashiers

 9.61 4.4 11.07 8.2 8.52 3.7

Counter and rental clerks and parts salespersons

 15.86 5.8 16.65 1.0 – –

Parts salespersons

 16.67 1.1 16.67 1.1 – –

Retail salespersons

 12.68 2.0 14.66 3.3 8.55 1.1

Securities, commodities, and financial services sales agents

 22.65 23.1 22.65 23.1 – –

Sales representatives, wholesale and manufacturing

 31.00 8.3 31.00 8.3 – –

Sales representatives, wholesale and manufacturing, except technical and scientific products

 30.84 15.8 30.84 15.8 – –

Miscellaneous sales and related workers

 27.17 33.3 27.91 34.0 – –

Office and administrative support occupations

 16.76 2.1 17.06 1.9 13.90 7.4

First-line supervisors/managers of office and administrative support workers

 24.62 2.4 24.62 2.4 – –

Financial clerks

 16.06 4.7 16.07 4.7 15.89 9.0

Billing and posting clerks and machine operators

 15.33 7.3 15.33 7.3 – –

Bookkeeping, accounting, and auditing clerks

 15.92 6.2 15.97 6.6 – –

Payroll and timekeeping clerks

 15.30 12.7 – – – –

Court, municipal, and license clerks

 15.22 8.5 15.22 8.5 – –

Customer service representatives

 15.68 4.7 15.95 5.5 12.50 8.9

File clerks

 12.08 3.6 – – – –

Interviewers, except eligibility and loan

 15.42 2.0 15.70 2.2 – –

Order clerks

 13.76 14.3 – – – –

Receptionists and information clerks

 12.90 6.0 13.10 5.3 11.90 15.1

Dispatchers

 15.95 10.0 15.95 10.0 – –

Shipping, receiving, and traffic clerks

 14.16 2.9 14.16 3.2 – –

Stock clerks and order fillers

 12.48 6.3 14.25 1.5 – –

Secretaries and administrative assistants

 20.02 2.5 20.04 2.8 19.79 11.3

Executive secretaries and administrative assistants

 22.05 3.4 22.27 4.1 – –

Legal secretaries

 25.61 2.4 25.61 2.4 – –

Medical secretaries

 18.68 5.2 – – – –

Secretaries, except legal, medical, and executive

 16.66 2.3 16.78 2.6 – –

Data entry and information processing workers

 14.50 5.3 15.03 5.2 – –

Data entry keyers

 12.39 5.0 12.44 5.6 – –

Insurance claims and policy processing clerks

 17.22 2.1 17.14 2.5 – –

Mail clerks and mail machine operators, except postal service

 12.55 1.2 12.50 1.7 – –

Office clerks, general

 15.45 7.5 15.61 7.8 13.19 9.9

Construction and extraction occupations

 19.38 8.4 19.50 8.5 – –

Carpenters

 22.29 6.0 22.41 6.3 – –

Construction and building inspectors

 19.31 10.1 – – – –

Installation, maintenance, and repair occupations

 22.10 3.7 22.19 3.8 – –

First-line supervisors/managers of mechanics, installers, and repairers

 35.50 6.6 35.50 6.6 – –

Miscellaneous electrical and electronic equipment mechanics, installers, and repairers

 21.47 13.9 21.47 13.9 – –

Automotive technicians and repairers

 18.61 4.2 18.61 4.2 – –

Automotive service technicians and mechanics

 18.05 3.9 18.05 3.9 – –

Bus and truck mechanics and diesel engine specialists

 22.91 2.9 22.94 2.9 – –

Heating, air conditioning, and refrigeration mechanics and installers

 24.41 14.1 24.41 14.1 – –

Industrial machinery installation, repair, and maintenance workers

 20.15 5.0 20.27 5.2 – –

Maintenance and repair workers, general

 20.08 4.6 20.35 5.0 – –

Line installers and repairers

 31.27 4.3 31.27 4.3 – –

Electrical power-line installers and repairers

 33.70 1.0 33.70 1.0 – –

Miscellaneous installation, maintenance, and repair workers

 16.30 8.1 16.42 8.3 – –

Helpers--installation, maintenance, and repair workers

 16.84 4.5 17.04 5.0 – –

Production occupations

 15.72 4.9 15.92 4.7 10.45 12.5

First-line supervisors/managers of production and operating workers

 22.13 6.4 22.13 6.4 – –

Electrical, electronics, and electromechanical assemblers

 17.94 14.6 17.94 14.6 – –

Miscellaneous assemblers and fabricators

 12.80 20.2 12.80 20.2 – –

Machine tool cutting setters, operators, and tenders, metal and plastic

 16.21 8.8 16.21 8.8 – –

Inspectors, testers, sorters, samplers, and weighers

 16.25 13.7 16.25 13.7 – –

Painting workers

 16.46 2.8 16.46 2.8 – –

Miscellaneous production workers

 14.70 5.3 14.70 5.4 – –

Transportation and material moving occupations

 16.61 4.3 17.15 5.1 12.04 8.8

First-line supervisors/managers of helpers, laborers, and material movers, hand

 18.82 9.1 – – – –

Bus drivers

 17.74 6.8 19.39 5.5 16.03 3.2

Bus drivers, school

 16.66 3.9 17.78 2.8 – –

Driver/sales workers and truck drivers

 18.99 4.9 19.40 4.6 – –

Driver/sales workers

 15.16 9.9 15.58 9.9 – –

Truck drivers, heavy and tractor-trailer

 19.93 4.9 20.32 4.6 – –

Truck drivers, light or delivery services

 19.00 9.7 19.36 8.9 – –

Industrial truck and tractor operators

 17.31 9.8 17.31 9.8 – –

Laborers and material movers, hand

 11.71 4.6 12.18 5.0 10.12 2.9

Cleaners of vehicles and equipment

 10.91 8.7 11.09 12.6 – –

Laborers and freight, stock, and material movers, hand

 12.47 10.0 13.44 10.6 10.28 5.1

Packers and packagers, hand

 11.00 8.0 11.22 8.0 – –

Footnotes:
(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: November 5, 2008