Chart book: Occupational Employment and Wages, May 2007This chart book, Occupational Employment and Wages, 2007, includes graphs, maps, tables, and text describing the U.S. occupational workforce in May 2007. It contains Occupational Employment Statistics (OES) employment and wage data for occupations employed in different industries, States, and metropolitan and nonmetropolitan areas. The material cited below is drawn from this chart book.
Charts, Maps, and TablesOccupational Employment and Wages, 2007 chart book (complete book as PDF) 6 MB Page-by-page breakout:
PrefaceThis chart book, Occupational Employment and Wages, 2007, is a product of the Occupational Employment Statistics (OES) program of the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS). The OES program produces employment and wage estimates for more than 800 occupations by geographic area and industry. For every occupation, the OES program has data on the total U.S. employment and the distribution of wages, including the mean wage and the 10th, 25th, 50th (median), 75th, and 90th percentiles. Occupational data for geographic areas include employment and wages for each of the 50 States, the District of Columbia, Puerto Rico, Guam, and the U.S. Virgin Islands. Local area data are available for 375 Metropolitan Statistical Areas (MSAs), 34 metropolitan divisions within 11 of the largest MSAs, and 175 nonmetropolitan areas. National industry-specific estimates are available by industry sector and for 290 detailed industries. The OES survey is a cooperative effort between BLS and the State workforce agencies. Employment and wage data for more than 800 occupations were collected from a sample of 1.2 million business establishments, employing more than 80 million workers, in 6 semiannual panels between November 2004 and May 2007. Wage data for all establishments were updated to the May 2007 reference period, and employment data were updated to the average of the November 2006 and the May 2007 reference periods. Information on OES sampling and estimation methodology is provided in the survey methods and reliability statement on the enclosed compact disk (CD) and at www.bls.gov/oes/current/methods_statement.pdf. The enclosed CD and OES Web site www.bls.gov/oes/ include electronic copies of all charts in this book. Additional data tables include cross-industry occupational employment and wage data for the Nation, States, metropolitan areas, metropolitan divisions, and nonmetropolitan areas; national occupational employment and wage data by industry; and profiles for all occupations. Data users also can create customized tables using the OES database search tool, or download complete OES data in zipped Excel format from www.bls.gov/oes/oes_dl.htm. Material in this publication is in the public domain and, with appropriate citation, may be reproduced without permission. Questions about OES data can be directed to the information phone line at (202) 691-6569 or sent to OES information. AcknowledgementsThe information provided in this chart book is possible due to the cooperation of more than a million business establishments that provide information on their workers to their State workforce agency and the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS). State workforce agencies within each State collect and verify almost all data provided. BLS selects the sample, produces the estimates, and provides technical procedures and financial support to the States. BLS also collects a small portion of the data from employers. BLS produced this chart book under the general guidance and direction of Dixie Sommers, Assistant Commissioner for Occupational Statistics and Employment Projections, and George D. Stamas, Chief, Division of Occupational Employment Statistics. Laurie Salmon, manager of Publications and Analysis in Occupational Employment Statistics, provided planning and day-to-day direction. Dina Itkin coordinated the production of the chart book. The tables, charts, and maps were prepared by Benjamin Cover, Jeffrey Holt, Dina Itkin, John Jones, Rebecca Keller, Michael Soloy, Zachary Warren, and Audrey Watson. Cover art, typesetting, and layout were furnished by Keith Tapscott, and editorial services were provided by Monica Gabor, Division of Publishing, William Parks II, Chief. Organization of charts and applications of OES dataThis chart book’s presentation of figures is intended to demonstrate a variety of applications of OES data. Figures are organized into four categories: The first with a focus on detailed occupations, the second highlighting labor patterns of specific industries, and the third and fourth focusing on labor markets of States and local areas. Some examples of useful applications of OES data:
OES survey coverage, scope, and concept definitionsThe OES survey covers all full- and part-time wage and salary workers in nonfarm industries. The survey does not include the self-employed, owners and partners in unincorporated firms, workers in private households, or unpaid family workers. An occupation is a set of activities or tasks that employees are paid to perform. Employees who perform essentially the same tasks are in the same occupation, whether or not they are in the same industry. Workers who may be classified in more than one occupation are classified in the occupation that requires the highest level of skill. If there is no measurable difference in skill requirements, workers are included in the occupation in which they spend the most time. All occupations are classified by the 2000 Standard Occupational Classification (SOC) system. An industry is a group of establishments that have similar production processes or provide similar services. For example, all establishments that manufacture automobiles are in the same industry. A given industry, or even a particular establishment in that industry, might have employees in many different occupations. The North American Industry Classification System (NAICS) groups similar establishments into industries. The employment shown is the average employment for the most recent May and November. Employment is defined as the number of workers who can be classified as full- or part-time employees, including workers on paid vacations or other types of paid leave; workers on unpaid short-term absences; salaried officers, executives, and staff members of incorporated firms; employees temporarily assigned to other units; and employees for whom the reporting unit is their permanent duty station, regardless of whether that unit prepares their paycheck. Wages for the OES survey are straight-time, gross pay, exclusive of premium pay. Included are base rate; cost-of-living allowances; guaranteed pay; hazardous-duty pay; incentive pay, including commissions and production bonuses; tips; and on-call pay. Excluded are back pay, jury duty pay, overtime pay, severance pay, shift differentials, non-production bonuses, employer cost for supplementary benefits, and tuition reimbursements. Respondents are asked to report the number of employees paid within specific wage intervals, regardless of part- or full-time status. The responding establishment can reference either the hourly or the annual rate for full-time workers but are instructed to report the hourly rate for part-time workers. Intervals are defined both as hourly rates and the corresponding annual rates, where the annual rate for an occupation is calculated by multiplying the hourly wage rate by a typical work year of 2,080 hours. Geographic areas are defined by the Office of Management and Budget. Guam, Puerto Rico, and the U.S. Virgin Islands are also surveyed; their data are not included in this publication, but are published on the OES Web site. The nationwide response rate for the May 2007 survey was 77.9 percent based on establishments and 73.5 percent based on employment. More information on sampling and estimation methods can be found in the survey methods and reliability statement on the enclosed CD and our Web site at: www.bls.gov/oes/current/methods_statement.pdf.
Last Modified Date: February 19, 2009 |
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