Occupational Employment and Wages in New Orleans-Metairie-Kenner, Louisiana, May 2008

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION:                                                                      FOR RELEASE:
Cheryl Abbot, Regional Economist                                                              June 10, 2009    
(972) 850-4800                                                  
http://www.bls.gov/ro6/


                                      OCCUPATIONAL EMPLOYMENT AND WAGES IN
                                   NEW ORLEANS-METAIRIE-KENNER: MAY 2008 (PDF)

     Workers in the New Orleans-Metairie-Kenner Metropolitan Statistical Area had an average (mean) hourly 
wage of $18.26 during May 2008, roughly 10 percent below the nationwide average of $20.32, according to the 
Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) of the U.S. Department of Labor.  Regional Commissioner Stanley W. Suchman 
noted that, after testing for statistical significance, wages in the local area were measurably lower than 
their respective national averages in 19 of the 22 major occupational groups.  Only two groups, one of which 
was production, had significantly higher wages.  (For a comprehensive definition of the New Orleans-Metairie-
Kenner Metropolitan Statistical Area, please see Technical Note; this area is referred to as New Orleans 
throughout this release.) 

     When compared to the nationwide distribution, local employment was more highly concentrated in 8 of the  
22 occupational groups including food preparation and serving related; construction and extraction; and 
transportation and material moving.  Conversely, eight groups had employment shares significantly below their 
national representation; included in this group were education, training, and library, as well as production.

Table A. Occupational employment and wages by major occupational group, United States and the New Orleans-Metairie-Kenner Metropolitan Statistical Area and measures of statistical significance, May 2008
Major occupational group	Percent of total employment			Average hourly wage
Major occupational group	United States	New Orleans- Metairie-Kenner		United States	New Orleans- Metairie-Kenner
Total, all occupations	100.0%	100.0%		$20.32	$18.26	*
Management	4.6	4.8	*	48.23	41.17	*
Business and financial operations	4.5	3.8	*	31.12	26.08	*
Computer and mathematical science	2.4	1.2	*	35.82	28.87	*
Architecture and engineering	1.9	2.0		34.34	32.12	*
Life, physical, and social science	1.0	0.7	*	30.90	28.87	*
Community and social services	1.4	1.3		20.09	18.81	*
Legal	0.7	1.2	*	44.36	37.73	*
Education, training, and library	6.3	4.7	*	23.30	20.76	*
Arts, design, entertainment, sports, and media	1.3	1.4		24.36	19.97	*
Healthcare practitioner and technical	5.2	5.7		32.64	29.99	*
Healthcare support	2.8	2.5		12.66	11.55	*
Protective service	2.3	3.1	*	19.33	15.79	*
Food preparation and serving related	8.5	9.7	*	9.72	8.92	*
Building and grounds cleaning and maintenance	3.3	3.1		11.72	10.12	*
Personal care and service	2.5	2.2	*	11.59	10.88	*
Sales and related	10.6	11.5	*	17.35	14.89	*
Office and administrative support	17.2	16.5	*	15.49	14.10	*
Farming, fishing, and forestry	0.3	0.1	*	11.32	15.39	*
Construction and extraction	4.8	5.9	*	20.36	18.08	*
Installation, maintenance, and repair	4.0	5.1	*	19.82	18.66	*
Production	7.3	5.4	*	15.54	18.38	*
Transportation and material moving	7.0	8.0	*	15.12	14.88
* Statistical significance testing at the 90-percent confidence level.


     One occupational group, production, was chosen to illustrate the diversity of data available for any of 
the 22 major occupational categories.  In New Orleans, 27,750 workers were employed in production jobs, 
accounting for 5.4 percent of local area employment, significantly less than the occupational group’s 
representation nationally at 7.3 percent.  However, the average hourly wage for local production workers was 
$18.38, measurably above the national wage of $15.54.

     Welders, cutters, solderers, and brazers were the largest occupation within the production group with 
3,760 employees, followed by first-line supervisors/managers of production workers and operating workers 
(2,240) and petroleum pump system operators, refinery operators, and gaugers (1,990).  Four occupations had 
hourly wages exceeding $25.00 led by chemical plant and system operators averaging $29.39 and petroleum pump 
system operators, refinery operators, and gaugers at $28.54; wages in both occupations were significantly above 
their respective national averages.  At the lower end of the wage scale in production jobs were laundry and 
dry-cleaning workers ($9.28) and meat, poultry, and fish cutters and trimmers ($8.00).  (Detailed occupational 
data for production workers are presented in table B; for a complete listing of detailed occupations available 
go to www.bls.gov/oes/2008/may/oes_35380.htm.)

     These statistics are from the Occupational Employment Statistics (OES) survey, a federal-state 
cooperative program between BLS and State Workforce Agencies, in this case, the Louisiana Workforce Commission.  
The OES survey provides estimates of employment and hourly and annual wages for wage and salary workers in 22 
major occupational groups and up to 801 non-military detailed occupations for the nation, states, metropolitan 
statistical areas, metropolitan divisions, and nonmetropolitan areas.


 ______________________________________________________________________________________________________________
|                                                                                                              |
|      OES wage and employment data for the 22 major occupational groups in the New Orleans-Metairie-Kenner    |
| metropolitan area were compared to their respective national averages based on statistical significance      |
| testing.  Only those occupations with wages or employment shares above or below the national wage or share   |
| after testing for significance at the 90-percent confidence level meet the criteria.                         |                      |
|                                                                                                              |
|      A value that is statistically different from another does not necessarily mean that the difference has  |
| economic or practical significance.  Statistical significance is concerned with the ability to make confident| 
| statements about a universe based on a sample.  It is entirely possible that a large difference between two  |
| values is not significantly different statistically, while a small difference is, since both the size and    |
| heterogeneity of the sample affect the relative error of the data being tested.                              |
|______________________________________________________________________________________________________________|




	Table B.  Employment and wage data from the Occupational Employment Statistics survey, for production operations occupations, New Orleans-Metairie-Kenner Metropolitan Statistical Area, May 2008
	
		
			Occupation
			Employment
(1)

			Mean wages
			 Median
hourly
wages 
		
		
			Hourly
			Annual
(2)
		
	
	
		
			Production occupations
			  27,750
			$18.38
			 $38,240
			17.05
		
		
			First-line supervisors/managers of production and operating workers
			  2,240
			28.38
			  59,020
			24.95
		
		
			Structural metal fabricators and fitters
			  800
			19.01
			  39,550
			18.95
		
		
			Team assemblers
			  800
			13.59
			  28,260
			13.02
		
		
			Assemblers and fabricators, all other
			  510
			17.54
			  36,480
			17.98
		
		
			Bakers
			  470
			10.31
			  21,450
			10.03
		
		
			Butchers and meat cutters
			  620
			11.46
			  23,840
			11.21
		
		
			Meat, poultry, and fish cutters and trimmers
			  490
			8.00
			  16,630
			7.45
		
		
			Food and tobacco roasting, baking, and drying machine operators and tenders
			  70
			12.63
			  26,260
			13.11
		
		
			Food batchmakers
			  220
			10.41
			  21,660
			9.56
		
		
			Food cooking machine operators and tenders
			  80
			11.26
			  23,430
			11.02
		
		
			Extruding and drawing machine setters, operators, and tenders, metal and plastic
			  60
			14.93
			  31,050
			16.17
		
		
			Cutting, punching, and press machine setters, operators, and tenders, metal and plastic
			  170
			15.51
			  32,260
			15.79
		
		
			Grinding, lapping, polishing, & buffing machine tool setters, operators, & tenders, metal & plastic
			(3) 
			11.48
			  23,880
			11.15
		
		
			Lathe and turning machine tool setters, operators, and tenders, metal and plastic
			  60
			14.72
			  30,630
			13.97
		
		
			Machinists
			  1,430
			20.73
			  43,120
			19.61
		
		
			Molding, coremaking, & casting machine setters, operators, and tenders, metal and plastic
			  270
			11.63
			  24,200
			10.09
		
		
			Welders, cutters, solderers, and brazers
			  3,760
			19.18
			  39,900
			18.63
		
		
			Welding, soldering, and brazing machine setters, operators, and tenders
			  60
			17.56
			  36,510
			17.32
		
		
			Metal workers and plastic workers, all other
			  80
			12.62
			  26,250
			11.80
		
		
			Bindery workers
			(3) 
			10.04
			  20,870
			8.03
		
		
			Job printers
			(3) 
			13.68
			  28,450
			11.79
		
		
			Prepress technicians and workers
			  140
			13.07
			  27,190
			13.26
		
		
			Printing machine operators
			  520
			14.30
			  29,750
			13.22
		
		
			Laundry and dry-cleaning workers
			  1,190
			9.28
			  19,310
			8.97
		
		
			Pressers, textile, garment, and related materials
			  240
			10.90
			  22,670
			10.93
		
		
			Sewing machine operators
			  180
			9.44
			  19,640
			9.50
		
		
			Tailors, dressmakers, and custom sewers
			  130
			12.00
			  24,960
			11.51
		
		
			Upholsterers
			(3) 
			13.83
			  28,770
			12.88
		
		
			Textile, apparel, and furnishings workers, all other
			(3) 
			19.51
			  40,590
			19.41
		
		
			Cabinetmakers and bench carpenters
			  120
			15.15
			  31,510
			14.50
		
		
			Furniture finishers
			(3) 
			12.41
			  25,810
			12.33
		
		
			Stationary engineers and boiler operators
			  150
			18.73
			  38,960
			18.38
		
		
			Water and liquid waste treatment plant and system operators
			  360
			16.43
			  34,170
			16.05
		
		
			Chemical plant and system operators
			  700
			29.39
			  61,120
			29.17
		
		
			Petroleum pump system operators, refinery operators, and gaugers
			  1,990
			28.54
			  59,360
			28.53
		
		
			Plant and system operators, all other
			  270
			21.28
			  44,250
			19.99
		
		
			Chemical equipment operators and tenders
			  320
			26.65
			  55,440
			27.66
		
		
			Crushing, grinding, and polishing machine setters, operators, and tenders
			  210
			16.34
			  34,000
			15.03
		
		
			Mixing and blending machine setters, operators, and tenders
			  120
			20.04
			  41,680
			20.36
		
		
			Cutting and slicing machine setters, operators, and tenders
			  40
			12.92
			  26,880
			11.70
		
		
			Furnace, kiln, oven, drier, and kettle operators and tenders
			  40
			17.86
			  37,140
			20.02
		
		
			Inspectors, testers, sorters, samplers, and weighers
			  1,480
			18.70
			  38,890
			17.91
		
		
			Jewelers and precious stone and metal workers
			(3) 
			22.01
			  45,770
			22.14
		
		
			Dental laboratory technicians
			  160
			15.32
			  31,870
			13.59
		
		
			Ophthalmic laboratory technicians
			  140
			12.39
			  25,770
			11.67
		
		
			Packaging and filling machine operators and tenders
			  760
			15.03
			  31,260
			14.88
		
		
			Coating, painting, and spraying machine setters, operators, and tenders
			  170
			14.33
			  29,800
			14.37
		
		
			Painters, transportation equipment
			(3) 
			20.72
			  43,090
			18.79
		
		
			Photographic processing machine operators
			  200
			10.05
			  20,910
			10.03
		
		
			Helpers--production workers
			  1,200
			12.59
			  26,190
			12.49
		
		
			Production workers, all other
			  1,910
			16.53
			  34,390
			15.60
		
	
	
		
			
				
					Footnotes:

					(1)  Estimates for detailed occupations do not sum to the totals because the totals include occupations not shown separately.  Estimates do not include self-employed workers.

					(2) Annual wages have been calculated by multiplying the hourly mean wage by a 'year-round, full-time' hours figure of 2,080 hours; for those  ccupations where there is not an hourly mean wage published, the annual wage has been directly calculated from the reported survey data.

					(3)  Estimate not released.

				
			
		
	




                                             Technical Note

     The Occupational Employment Statistics (OES) survey is a semiannual mail survey measuring occupational 
employment and wage rates for wage and salary workers in nonfarm establishments in the United States.  Guam, 
Puerto Rico, and the Virgin Islands also are surveyed, but their data are not included in this release.  OES 
estimates are constructed from a sample of about 1.2 million establishments.  Forms are mailed to approximately 
200,000 establishments in May and November of each year for a 3-year period.  The nationwide response rate for 
the May 2008 estimates is 78.2 percent based on establishments and 74.3 percent based on employment.  The 
survey included establishments sampled in the May 2008, November 2007, May 2007, November 2006, May 2006, and 
November 2005 semiannual panels.  The sample in the New Orleans Metropolitan Statistical Area included 4,320 
establishments with a response rate of 74 percent.  For more information about OES concepts and methodology, go 
to www.bls.gov/news.release/ocwage.tn.htm

Metropolitan Statistical Area definition
     The substate area data published in this release reflect the standards and definitions established by the 
U.S. Office of Management and Budget, dated December 2005.

     New Orleans-Metairie-Kenner Metropolitan Statistical Area consists of consists of Jefferson, Orleans, 
     Plaquemines, St. Bernard, St. Charles, St. John the Baptist and St. Tammany Parishes in Louisiana.

Additional information
     OES data are available on our regional web page at www.bls.gov/ro6/home.htm.  If you have additional questions, 
contact the Southwest Economic Analysis and Information Unit at 972-850-4800.  Information in this release will be 
made available to sensory impaired individuals upon request.  Voice phone:  202-691-5200; TDD message referral phone 
number: 1-800-877-8339.

 ________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
|                                                                                                                |
| NOTE:  Effective with this news release, the Occupational Employment Statistics program has switched the basis |
| for their industry classification from the 2002 North American Industry Classification System (NAICS) to the   | 
| 2007 NAICS.  Historical data were not revised.                                                                 |
|________________________________________________________________________________________________________________|

Table B. Employment and wage data from the Occupational Employment Statistics survey, for production operations occupations, New Orleans-Metairie-Kenner Metropolitan Statistical Area, May 2008
Occupation	Employment (1)	Mean wages	Median hourly wages
Production occupations	27,750	$18.38	$38,240	17.05
First-line supervisors/managers of production and operating workers	2,240	28.38	59,020	24.95
Structural metal fabricators and fitters	800	19.01	39,550	18.95
Team assemblers	800	13.59	28,260	13.02
Assemblers and fabricators, all other	510	17.54	36,480	17.98
Bakers	470	10.31	21,450	10.03
Butchers and meat cutters	620	11.46	23,840	11.21
Meat, poultry, and fish cutters and trimmers	490	8.00	16,630	7.45
Food and tobacco roasting, baking, and drying machine operators and tenders	70	12.63	26,260	13.11
Food batchmakers	220	10.41	21,660	9.56
Food cooking machine operators and tenders	80	11.26	23,430	11.02
Extruding and drawing machine setters, operators, and tenders, metal and plastic	60	14.93	31,050	16.17
Cutting, punching, and press machine setters, operators, and tenders, metal and plastic	170	15.51	32,260	15.79
Grinding, lapping, polishing, & buffing machine tool setters, operators, & tenders, metal & plastic	(3)	11.48	23,880	11.15
Lathe and turning machine tool setters, operators, and tenders, metal and plastic	60	14.72	30,630	13.97
Machinists	1,430	20.73	43,120	19.61
Molding, coremaking, & casting machine setters, operators, and tenders, metal and plastic	270	11.63	24,200	10.09
Welders, cutters, solderers, and brazers	3,760	19.18	39,900	18.63
Welding, soldering, and brazing machine setters, operators, and tenders	60	17.56	36,510	17.32
Metal workers and plastic workers, all other	80	12.62	26,250	11.80
Bindery workers	(3)	10.04	20,870	8.03
Job printers	(3)	13.68	28,450	11.79
Prepress technicians and workers	140	13.07	27,190	13.26
Printing machine operators	520	14.30	29,750	13.22
Laundry and dry-cleaning workers	1,190	9.28	19,310	8.97
Pressers, textile, garment, and related materials	240	10.90	22,670	10.93
Sewing machine operators	180	9.44	19,640	9.50
Tailors, dressmakers, and custom sewers	130	12.00	24,960	11.51
Upholsterers	(3)	13.83	28,770	12.88
Textile, apparel, and furnishings workers, all other	(3)	19.51	40,590	19.41
Cabinetmakers and bench carpenters	120	15.15	31,510	14.50
Furniture finishers	(3)	12.41	25,810	12.33
Stationary engineers and boiler operators	150	18.73	38,960	18.38
Water and liquid waste treatment plant and system operators	360	16.43	34,170	16.05
Chemical plant and system operators	700	29.39	61,120	29.17
Petroleum pump system operators, refinery operators, and gaugers	1,990	28.54	59,360	28.53
Plant and system operators, all other	270	21.28	44,250	19.99
Chemical equipment operators and tenders	320	26.65	55,440	27.66
Crushing, grinding, and polishing machine setters, operators, and tenders	210	16.34	34,000	15.03
Mixing and blending machine setters, operators, and tenders	120	20.04	41,680	20.36
Cutting and slicing machine setters, operators, and tenders	40	12.92	26,880	11.70
Furnace, kiln, oven, drier, and kettle operators and tenders	40	17.86	37,140	20.02
Inspectors, testers, sorters, samplers, and weighers	1,480	18.70	38,890	17.91
Jewelers and precious stone and metal workers	(3)	22.01	45,770	22.14
Dental laboratory technicians	160	15.32	31,870	13.59
Ophthalmic laboratory technicians	140	12.39	25,770	11.67
Packaging and filling machine operators and tenders	760	15.03	31,260	14.88
Coating, painting, and spraying machine setters, operators, and tenders	170	14.33	29,800	14.37
Painters, transportation equipment	(3)	20.72	43,090	18.79
Photographic processing machine operators	200	10.05	20,910	10.03
Helpers--production workers	1,200	12.59	26,190	12.49
Production workers, all other	1,910	16.53	34,390	15.60
Footnotes: (1) Estimates for detailed occupations do not sum to the totals because the totals include occupations not shown separately. Estimates do not include self-employed workers. (2) Annual wages have been calculated by multiplying the hourly mean wage by a 'year-round, full-time' hours figure of 2,080 hours; for those ccupations where there is not an hourly mean wage published, the annual wage has been directly calculated from the reported survey data. (3) Estimate not released.

Last Modified Date: June 10, 2009

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Occupation	Employment (1)	Mean wages		Median hourly wages
Occupation	Employment (1)	Hourly	Annual (2)	Median hourly wages
Production occupations	27,750	$18.38	$38,240	17.05
First-line supervisors/managers of production and operating workers	2,240	28.38	59,020	24.95
Structural metal fabricators and fitters	800	19.01	39,550	18.95
Team assemblers	800	13.59	28,260	13.02
Assemblers and fabricators, all other	510	17.54	36,480	17.98
Bakers	470	10.31	21,450	10.03
Butchers and meat cutters	620	11.46	23,840	11.21
Meat, poultry, and fish cutters and trimmers	490	8.00	16,630	7.45
Food and tobacco roasting, baking, and drying machine operators and tenders	70	12.63	26,260	13.11
Food batchmakers	220	10.41	21,660	9.56
Food cooking machine operators and tenders	80	11.26	23,430	11.02
Extruding and drawing machine setters, operators, and tenders, metal and plastic	60	14.93	31,050	16.17
Cutting, punching, and press machine setters, operators, and tenders, metal and plastic	170	15.51	32,260	15.79
Grinding, lapping, polishing, & buffing machine tool setters, operators, & tenders, metal & plastic	(3)	11.48	23,880	11.15
Lathe and turning machine tool setters, operators, and tenders, metal and plastic	60	14.72	30,630	13.97
Machinists	1,430	20.73	43,120	19.61
Molding, coremaking, & casting machine setters, operators, and tenders, metal and plastic	270	11.63	24,200	10.09
Welders, cutters, solderers, and brazers	3,760	19.18	39,900	18.63
Welding, soldering, and brazing machine setters, operators, and tenders	60	17.56	36,510	17.32
Metal workers and plastic workers, all other	80	12.62	26,250	11.80
Bindery workers	(3)	10.04	20,870	8.03
Job printers	(3)	13.68	28,450	11.79
Prepress technicians and workers	140	13.07	27,190	13.26
Printing machine operators	520	14.30	29,750	13.22
Laundry and dry-cleaning workers	1,190	9.28	19,310	8.97
Pressers, textile, garment, and related materials	240	10.90	22,670	10.93
Sewing machine operators	180	9.44	19,640	9.50
Tailors, dressmakers, and custom sewers	130	12.00	24,960	11.51
Upholsterers	(3)	13.83	28,770	12.88
Textile, apparel, and furnishings workers, all other	(3)	19.51	40,590	19.41
Cabinetmakers and bench carpenters	120	15.15	31,510	14.50
Furniture finishers	(3)	12.41	25,810	12.33
Stationary engineers and boiler operators	150	18.73	38,960	18.38
Water and liquid waste treatment plant and system operators	360	16.43	34,170	16.05
Chemical plant and system operators	700	29.39	61,120	29.17
Petroleum pump system operators, refinery operators, and gaugers	1,990	28.54	59,360	28.53
Plant and system operators, all other	270	21.28	44,250	19.99
Chemical equipment operators and tenders	320	26.65	55,440	27.66
Crushing, grinding, and polishing machine setters, operators, and tenders	210	16.34	34,000	15.03
Mixing and blending machine setters, operators, and tenders	120	20.04	41,680	20.36
Cutting and slicing machine setters, operators, and tenders	40	12.92	26,880	11.70
Furnace, kiln, oven, drier, and kettle operators and tenders	40	17.86	37,140	20.02
Inspectors, testers, sorters, samplers, and weighers	1,480	18.70	38,890	17.91
Jewelers and precious stone and metal workers	(3)	22.01	45,770	22.14
Dental laboratory technicians	160	15.32	31,870	13.59
Ophthalmic laboratory technicians	140	12.39	25,770	11.67
Packaging and filling machine operators and tenders	760	15.03	31,260	14.88
Coating, painting, and spraying machine setters, operators, and tenders	170	14.33	29,800	14.37
Painters, transportation equipment	(3)	20.72	43,090	18.79
Photographic processing machine operators	200	10.05	20,910	10.03
Helpers--production workers	1,200	12.59	26,190	12.49
Production workers, all other	1,910	16.53	34,390	15.60
Footnotes: (1) Estimates for detailed occupations do not sum to the totals because the totals include occupations not shown separately. Estimates do not include self-employed workers. (2) Annual wages have been calculated by multiplying the hourly mean wage by a 'year-round, full-time' hours figure of 2,080 hours; for those ccupations where there is not an hourly mean wage published, the annual wage has been directly calculated from the reported survey data. (3) Estimate not released.