CONTACT: Media Interviews (415) 625-2270 (415) 625-2282 Internet address: http://www.bls.gov/ro9/news.htm

BLS 09-28 FOR RELEASE: Tuesday, March 31, 2009

Workers in the Salinas metropolitan area earned an average of $22.13 per hour in November 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 Richard J. Holden reported wage data for workers in a wide range of occupational groups, including average hourly earnings of $42.37 for healthcare practitioner and technical occupations and $40.71 for education, training, and library occupations. In two other occupational groups, building and grounds cleaning and maintenance had a mean hourly wage rate of $12.94 and food preparation and serving related workers earned $11.56. The NCS data available for the Salinas area include earnings for 17 major occupational groups with additional detail for selected occupations within those groups. (See table 1.)

Registered nurses, part of the healthcare practitioner and technical group, earned $49.58 per hour. Within the education, training, and library occupational group, teacher assistants earned $14.95 per hour and in the building and grounds cleaning and maintenance occupational group, landscaping and groundskeeping workers averaged $14.74. Dishwashers, an occupation within the food preparation and serving related group, registered an average hourly rate of $9.45 per hour.

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 $15.85. Union workers earned $26.40 and non-union workers, $20.09. Workers in establishments with 1-99 workers averaged $18.47 per hour, those in establishments with 100-499 workers earned $21.36, and those in establishments with 500 or more employees earned $29.96.

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 provided in the detailed bulletin covered 182 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 122,200 workers in the Salinas Metropolitan Statistical Area (MSA) which is comprised of Monterey County in California.

Complete survey results are contained in the Salinas, CA National Compensation Survey November 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, as well as other Bureau data, contact the Western Information Office by calling (415) 625-2270 from 9:00 a.m. to 11:30 a.m. and 1:30 p.m. to 4:00 p.m. PT.

Please click here for a text formatted copy of the table issued with this release.

 

Last Modified Date: March 31, 2009