FOR FURTHER INFORMATION: FOR RELEASE: Cheryl Abbot, Regional Economist December 17, 2008 (214) 767-6970 http://www.bls.gov/ro6/ HIGHLIGHTS OF BROWNSVILLE-HARLINGEN, TX NATIONAL COMPENSATION SURVEY AUGUST 2008 Workers in the Brownsville-Harlingen metropolitan area earned an average of $13.07 per hour in August 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 $27.30 for healthcare practitioner and technical occupations and $10.40 for office and administrative support occupations. Another occupational group, transportation and material moving, had an average hourly wage rate of $9.13. The NCS data available for the Brownsville 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 occupational group, earned $31.68 per hour. Customer service representatives, an occupation within the office and administrative support group, registered an average hourly rate of $9.63, and general office clerks earned $9.11 per hour. Within the transportation and material moving occupational group, industrial truck and tractor operators averaged $8.06 per hour and hand laborers and freight, stock, and material movers, $7.88. (See table 1.) Broad coverage of selected occupational characteristics is available from NCS for the local area. Full-time workers averaged $14.47 per hour while their part-time counterparts earned $7.30. Union workers earned $17.94 and non-union workers, $13.00. Workers in establishments with 1-99 workers averaged $10.87 per hour, those in establishments with 100- 499 workers earned $12.09, and those in establishments with 500 or more employees earned $17.70. 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 provided in the detailed bulletin covered 209 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 119,700 workers in the Brownsville-Harlingen metropolitan area which is comprised of Cameron County in Texas. Survey Availability Complete survey results are contained in the Brownsville-Harlingen, TX National Compensation Survey August 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.
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 |
$13.07 | 5.1 | $14.47 | 5.9 | $7.30 | 1.7 |
Management occupations |
32.69 | 11.1 | 32.69 | 11.1 | - | - |
Business and financial operations occupations |
26.32 | 10.8 | 26.32 | 10.8 | - | - |
Architecture and engineering occupations |
18.26 | 27.1 | 18.26 | 27.1 | - | - |
Community and social services occupations |
20.41 | 21.8 | 20.41 | 21.8 | - | - |
Counselors |
29.39 | 21.5 | 29.39 | 21.5 | - | - |
Educational, vocational, and school counselors |
29.39 | 21.5 | 29.39 | 21.5 | - | - |
Miscellaneous community and social service specialists |
12.26 | 5.9 | 12.26 | 5.9 | - | - |
Education, training, and library occupations |
25.28 | 10.8 | 25.47 | 10.4 | 15.00 | 30.4 |
Primary, secondary, and special education school teachers |
29.67 | 0.9 | 29.67 | 0.9 | - | - |
Elementary and middle school teachers |
31.34 | 1.2 | 31.34 | 1.2 | - | - |
Elementary school teachers, except special education |
31.77 | 0.4 | 31.77 | 0.4 | - | - |
Middle school teachers, except special and vocational education |
30.85 | 3.5 | 30.85 | 3.5 | - | - |
Secondary school teachers |
31.27 | 1.3 | 31.27 | 1.3 | - | - |
Secondary school teachers, except special and vocational education |
31.25 | 1.2 | 31.25 | 1.2 | - | - |
Teacher assistants |
10.87 | 4.2 | 10.96 | 4.4 | - | - |
Healthcare practitioner and technical occupations |
27.30 | 14.9 | 27.64 | 15.8 | 19.55 | 11.0 |
Registered nurses |
31.68 | 2.5 | 31.68 | 2.5 | - | - |
Clinical laboratory technologists and technicians |
13.43 | 12.6 | - | - | - | - |
Licensed practical and licensed vocational nurses |
17.62 | 4.1 | - | - | - | - |
Healthcare support occupations |
7.58 | 7.7 | 8.16 | 13.5 | 6.63 | 1.3 |
Nursing, psychiatric, and home health aides |
6.89 | 1.9 | 7.07 | 4.8 | 6.67 | 1.1 |
Home health aides |
6.61 | 0.6 | - | - | 6.63 | 1.0 |
Nursing aides, orderlies, and attendants |
7.94 | 5.8 | - | - | - | - |
Miscellaneous healthcare support occupations |
9.52 | 13.0 | - | - | - | - |
Medical assistants |
9.52 | 13.0 | - | - | - | - |
Protective service occupations |
15.13 | 16.8 | 15.13 | 16.8 | - | - |
Food preparation and serving related occupations |
6.63 | 6.8 | 6.64 | 9.0 | 6.63 | 5.5 |
Cooks |
7.19 | 5.2 | - | - | - | - |
Cooks, fast food |
7.15 | 7.1 | - | - | - | - |
Food preparation workers |
6.81 | 4.1 | - | - | - | - |
Food service, tipped |
3.94 | 6.0 | 3.19 | 9.6 | - | - |
Waiters and waitresses |
2.93 | 19.7 | 2.98 | 18.7 | - | - |
Fast food and counter workers |
7.29 | 4.0 | 8.09 | 9.1 | 6.77 | 1.5 |
Combined food preparation and serving workers, including fast food |
7.31 | 4.2 | 8.09 | 9.1 | - | - |
Building and grounds cleaning and maintenance occupations |
8.95 | 5.8 | 9.03 | 6.2 | 8.16 | 6.6 |
Building cleaning workers |
8.87 | 6.2 | 8.96 | 6.6 | 8.16 | 6.6 |
Janitors and cleaners, except maids and housekeeping cleaners |
9.23 | 4.5 | 9.31 | 4.4 | 8.33 | 11.1 |
Personal care and service occupations |
7.00 | 2.4 | 8.41 | 10.8 | 6.80 | 0.8 |
Personal and home care aides |
6.78 | 0.8 | - | - | 6.78 | 0.8 |
Sales and related occupations |
10.66 | 9.1 | 11.65 | 11.1 | 7.85 | 2.6 |
First-line supervisors/managers, sales workers |
15.91 | 22.7 | 15.91 | 22.7 | - | - |
First-line supervisors/managers of retail sales workers |
12.47 | 18.5 | 12.47 | 18.5 | - | - |
Retail sales workers |
9.07 | 1.9 | 9.78 | 3.8 | 7.86 | 2.7 |
Cashiers, all workers |
8.20 | 5.6 | 8.97 | 4.2 | 7.63 | 6.7 |
Cashiers |
8.20 | 5.6 | 8.97 | 4.2 | 7.63 | 6.7 |
Retail salespersons |
9.79 | 13.3 | 10.11 | 11.4 | 8.50 | 15.8 |
Office and administrative support occupations |
10.40 | 4.2 | 10.65 | 4.2 | 8.05 | 6.9 |
Financial clerks |
9.23 | 6.7 | 9.28 | 7.1 | - | - |
Customer service representatives |
9.63 | 2.7 | - | - | - | - |
Stock clerks and order fillers |
8.83 | 11.1 | - | - | - | - |
Secretaries and administrative assistants |
11.64 | 5.6 | 11.81 | 5.4 | - | - |
Medical secretaries |
9.58 | 1.8 | 9.71 | 1.5 | - | - |
Secretaries, except legal, medical, and executive |
13.31 | 3.6 | 13.31 | 3.6 | - | - |
Office clerks, general |
9.11 | 6.1 | 9.31 | 6.7 | - | - |
Construction and extraction occupations |
10.82 | 2.0 | 10.84 | 2.1 | - | - |
Installation, maintenance, and repair occupations |
16.64 | 12.1 | 16.62 | 12.3 | - | - |
Production occupations |
11.73 | 5.2 | 12.17 | 6.3 | - | - |
Welding, soldering, and brazing workers |
12.33 | 13.2 | 12.33 | 13.2 | - | - |
Welders, cutters, solderers, and brazers |
12.33 | 13.2 | 12.33 | 13.2 | - | - |
Inspectors, testers, sorters, samplers, and weighers |
9.52 | 16.9 | 9.52 | 16.9 | - | - |
Miscellaneous production workers |
9.95 | 5.6 | - | - | - | - |
Transportation and material moving occupations |
9.13 | 8.0 | 9.18 | 8.3 | - | - |
Industrial truck and tractor operators |
8.06 | 7.6 | 8.06 | 7.6 | - | - |
Laborers and material movers, hand |
7.55 | 3.1 | 7.48 | 3.6 | - | - |
Laborers and freight, stock, and material movers, hand |
7.88 | 2.7 | 7.81 | 3.0 | - | - |
Footnotes SOURCE: Bureau of Labor Statistics, National Compensation Survey. 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. |
Last Modified Date: December 17, 2008