| Internet: www.bls.gov/ro5/ | |
| GENERAL INFORMATION: (312) 353-1880 | FOR RELEASE: |
| MEDIA CONTACT: Paul LaPorte | Wednesday, January 21, 2009 |
| (312) 353-1138 |
Workers in the Grand Rapids-Wyoming Metropolitan Statistical Area earned an average of $18.91 per hour in April 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 Jay A. Mousa noted that wage data were reported for workers in a wide range of occupational groups, including average hourly earnings of $24.04 for healthcare practitioner and technical occupations and $15.43 for office and administrative support occupations. Another occupational group, food preparation and serving related, had a mean hourly wage rate of $8.64. The NCS data available for the Grand Rapids area include earnings for 18 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, were paid $29.64 per hour. Within the office and administrative support occupational group, bookkeeping, accounting, and auditing clerks earned $15.90 per hour. Food preparation workers, an occupation within the food preparation and serving related occupational group, averaged $9.90 per hour.
Broad coverage of selected occupational characteristics is available from NCS for the local area. Full-time workers averaged $20.31 per hour while their part-time counterparts earned $10.87. Union workers earned $24.78 and non-union workers, $18.00. Workers in establishments with 1-99 workers averaged $17.81 per hour, those in establishments with 100-499 workers earned $17.59, and those in establishments with 500 or more employees earned $22.15.
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 here covered 251 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 359,200 workers in the Grand Rapids-Wyoming Metropolitan Statistical Area (MSA), which is comprised of Barry, Ionia, Kent, and Newaygo Counties in Michigan.
Survey Availability
Complete survey results are contained in Grand Rapids-Wyoming National Compensation Survey April 2008. The bulletin is available on the Internet in both text and PDF formats at www.bls.gov/ncs/ocs/compub.htm.
For additional information, please contact the Bureau of Labor Statistics Midwest Information Office in Chicago at (312) 353-1880 from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. ET.
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Bulletin tables - PDF format
- Text format
| 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 |
18.91 | 2.5 | 20.31 | 2.5 | 10.87 | 3.7 |
Management occupations |
31.32 | 10.3 | 31.32 | 10.3 | – | – |
Business and financial operations occupations |
24.74 | 9.1 | 25.13 | 9.4 | – | – |
Computer and mathematical science occupations |
24.00 | 13.8 | 24.00 | 13.8 | – | – |
Architecture and engineering occupations |
29.56 | 12.3 | 29.56 | 12.3 | – | – |
Engineers |
33.64 | 6.6 | 33.64 | 6.6 | – | – |
Education, training, and library occupations |
37.34 | 3.2 | 39.82 | 3.0 | – | – |
Primary, secondary, and special education school teachers |
42.49 | 5.1 | 42.72 | 4.8 | – | – |
Elementary and middle school teachers |
37.42 | 23.2 | 37.73 | 23.0 | – | – |
Elementary school teachers, except special education |
35.61 | 27.0 | 36.04 | 27.1 | – | – |
Arts, design, entertainment, sports, and media occupations |
20.05 | 10.0 | – | – | – | – |
Healthcare practitioner and technical occupations |
24.04 | 4.5 | 23.91 | 4.4 | 24.54 | 7.6 |
Registered nurses |
29.64 | 2.6 | 31.45 | 2.7 | 25.92 | 2.2 |
Therapists |
23.91 | 8.2 | 23.80 | 8.3 | – | – |
Licensed practical and licensed vocational nurses |
18.52 | 5.9 | 18.71 | 6.4 | – | – |
Healthcare support occupations |
14.28 | 8.3 | 14.70 | 7.9 | 11.97 | 11.5 |
Nursing, psychiatric, and home health aides |
12.15 | 1.9 | 12.59 | 3.8 | – | – |
Nursing aides, orderlies, and attendants |
12.34 | 0.9 | 12.92 | 2.5 | – | – |
Protective service occupations |
23.28 | 2.6 | 23.39 | 2.5 | – | – |
Food preparation and serving related occupations |
8.64 | 3.7 | 10.82 | 5.5 | 7.25 | 2.3 |
Cooks |
11.28 | 8.4 | 11.76 | 10.9 | – | – |
Food preparation workers |
9.90 | 4.7 | – | – | – | – |
Food service, tipped |
5.35 | 30.0 | – | – | 5.76 | 22.1 |
Waiters and waitresses |
5.29 | 32.5 | – | – | – | – |
Fast food and counter workers |
7.45 | 0.7 | – | – | 7.41 | 1.4 |
Building and grounds cleaning and maintenance occupations |
10.55 | 6.6 | 12.98 | 8.0 | 8.99 | 3.4 |
Building cleaning workers |
10.31 | 6.5 | 12.46 | 6.5 | 8.91 | 3.4 |
Janitors and cleaners, except maids and housekeeping cleaners |
10.40 | 8.6 | 13.46 | 8.3 | 8.93 | 3.4 |
Maids and housekeeping cleaners |
9.91 | 6.6 | – | – | – | – |
Personal care and service occupations |
11.35 | 9.4 | – | – | 10.08 | 10.3 |
Sales and related occupations |
23.30 | 7.9 | 30.16 | 9.3 | 8.99 | 5.2 |
Retail sales workers |
9.70 | 10.8 | 10.73 | 13.3 | 8.91 | 6.1 |
Cashiers, all workers |
9.24 | 9.7 | 10.58 | 15.7 | 8.51 | 1.6 |
Cashiers |
9.24 | 9.7 | 10.58 | 15.7 | 8.51 | 1.6 |
Counter and rental clerks and parts salespersons |
10.80 | 8.6 | – | – | – | – |
Retail salespersons |
10.08 | 10.9 | 10.22 | 15.1 | 9.93 | 6.4 |
Office and administrative support occupations |
15.43 | 3.1 | 16.15 | 3.0 | 10.71 | 4.6 |
First-line supervisors/managers of office and administrative support workers |
23.44 | 3.7 | 23.44 | 3.7 | – | – |
Financial clerks |
14.77 | 2.0 | 15.10 | 3.8 | 13.18 | 6.9 |
Billing and posting clerks and machine operators |
14.42 | 3.9 | 14.42 | 3.9 | – | – |
Bookkeeping, accounting, and auditing clerks |
15.90 | 3.7 | 16.10 | 5.3 | 14.91 | 9.2 |
Tellers |
12.08 | 0.6 | 12.36 | 3.2 | 11.49 | 1.5 |
Customer service representatives |
14.52 | 6.2 | 15.35 | 5.4 | – | – |
Shipping, receiving, and traffic clerks |
13.84 | 8.7 | 13.84 | 8.7 | – | – |
Stock clerks and order fillers |
10.45 | 8.6 | – | – | 8.00 | 0.5 |
Secretaries and administrative assistants |
16.48 | 6.0 | 16.49 | 6.1 | – | – |
Secretaries, except legal, medical, and executive |
15.97 | 7.5 | 15.97 | 7.5 | – | – |
Office clerks, general |
12.77 | 6.3 | 13.62 | 4.5 | 10.80 | 11.8 |
Construction and extraction occupations |
20.09 | 6.5 | 20.13 | 6.4 | – | – |
Installation, maintenance, and repair occupations |
18.49 | 3.3 | 19.33 | 3.3 | – | – |
Industrial machinery installation, repair, and maintenance workers |
19.83 | 8.7 | 21.92 | 4.0 | – | – |
Industrial machinery mechanics |
23.28 | 3.7 | 23.28 | 3.7 | – | – |
Production occupations |
16.37 | 5.8 | 16.44 | 5.5 | – | – |
First-line supervisors/managers of production and operating workers |
32.91 | 5.1 | 32.91 | 5.1 | – | – |
Miscellaneous assemblers and fabricators |
14.69 | 2.6 | 14.69 | 2.6 | – | – |
Team assemblers |
12.76 | 11.7 | 12.76 | 11.7 | – | – |
Machine tool cutting setters, operators, and tenders, metal and plastic |
14.30 | 31.3 | 14.57 | 30.7 | – | – |
Cutting, punching, and press machine setters, operators, and tenders, metal and plastic |
14.16 | 46.1 | 14.56 | 46.0 | – | – |
Molders and molding machine setters, operators, and tenders, metal and plastic |
13.62 | 6.1 | 14.39 | 4.4 | – | – |
Molding, coremaking, and casting machine setters, operators, and tenders, metal and plastic |
13.05 | 8.7 | 13.84 | 0.0 | – | – |
Tool and die makers |
24.36 | 4.1 | 24.36 | 4.1 | – | – |
Welding, soldering, and brazing workers |
12.72 | 2.1 | 12.72 | 2.1 | – | – |
Welders, cutters, solderers, and brazers |
13.52 | 4.9 | 13.52 | 4.9 | – | – |
Woodworking machine setters, operators, and tenders |
14.51 | 10.8 | 14.51 | 10.8 | – | – |
Woodworking machine setters, operators, and tenders, except sawing |
15.21 | 10.7 | 15.21 | 10.7 | – | – |
Inspectors, testers, sorters, samplers, and weighers |
18.43 | 16.3 | 18.43 | 16.3 | – | – |
Painting workers |
14.32 | 13.1 | 14.32 | 13.1 | – | – |
Coating, painting, and spraying machine setters, operators, and tenders |
12.90 | 16.0 | 12.90 | 16.0 | – | – |
Miscellaneous production workers |
13.56 | 3.8 | 13.56 | 3.8 | – | – |
Transportation and material moving occupations |
15.26 | 12.7 | 15.66 | 13.0 | 10.19 | 13.6 |
Driver/sales workers and truck drivers |
18.94 | 3.6 | 19.12 | 3.2 | – | – |
Truck drivers, heavy and tractor-trailer |
18.50 | 5.4 | 18.51 | 5.5 | – | – |
Industrial truck and tractor operators |
13.74 | 8.3 | 13.74 | 8.3 | – | – |
Laborers and material movers, hand |
10.76 | 11.7 | 11.16 | 14.3 | 8.28 | 4.2 |
Laborers and freight, stock, and material movers, hand |
12.28 | 13.3 | 13.25 | 15.0 | 8.49 | 5.5 |
Packers and packagers, hand |
8.46 | 2.8 | – | – | – | – |
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.
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: January 21, 2009
