News Release Information
12-1278-BOS
Wednesday, June 20, 2012
Contacts
Technical information:
- (617) 565-2327
- BLSInfoBoston@bls.gov
- www.bls.gov/ro1
Media contact:
- (617) 565-2326
- Consedine.Tim@bls.gov
Occupational Employment and Wages in
Bangor, May 2011
Workers in the Bangor Metropolitan Statistical Area had an average (mean) hourly wage of $18.71 in May 2011, 14 percent below the nationwide average of $21.74, according to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics. Regional Commissioner Deborah A. Brown noted that, after testing for statistical significance, wages in the local area were significantly higher than their respective national averages in only 1 of the 22 major occupational groups – farming, fishing, and forestry. Sixteen groups had significantly lower wages than their respective national averages, including legal; arts, design, entertainment, sports, and media; and computer and mathematical.
When compared to the nationwide distribution, local employment was more highly concentrated in 4 of the 22 occupational groups, including healthcare support and education, training, and library. Conversely, five groups had employment shares significantly below their national representation, including production and business and financial operations. (See table A and box note at end of release.)
One occupational group—education, training, and library—was chosen to illustrate the diversity of data available for any of the 22 major occupational categories. Bangor had 5,270 jobs in education, training, and library, accounting for 8.5 percent of local area employment, significantly higher than the 6.6-percent share nationally. The average hourly wage for this occupational group locally was $22.53, measurably below the national wage of $24.46.
With employment of 730, teacher assistants was the largest occupation within the education, training, and library group, followed by elementary school teachers, except special education (660) and secondary school teachers, except special and career/technical education (480). Among the higher paying jobs were secondary school teachers, except special and career technical education, and middle school teachers, except special and career technical education, with mean annual wages of $52,290 and $52,120, respectively. At the lower end of the wage scale were library technicians ($28,240) and teacher assistants ($29,380). (Detailed occupational data for education, training, and library are presented in table 1; for a complete listing of detailed occupations available go to http://www.bls.gov/oes/current/oes_70750.htm.)
Location quotients allow us to explore the occupational make-up of a metropolitan area by comparing the composition of jobs in an area relative to the national average. (See table 1.) For example, a location quotient of 2.0 indicates that an occupation accounts for twice the share of employment in the area than it does nationally. In the Bangor Metropolitan Statistical Area, above average concentrations of employment were found in many of the occupations within the education, training, and library group. For instance, postsecondary vocational education teachers were employed at 2.8 times the national rate in Bangor. On the other hand, secondary school teachers, except special and career/technical education had a location quotient of 1.0 in Bangor, indicating that this particular occupation’s local and national employment shares were similar.
Major occupational group | Percent of total employment | Mean hourly wage | |||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
United States | Bangor | United States | Bangor | Percent difference(1) |
|||
Total, all occupations |
100.0% | 100.0% | $21.74 | $18.71 | * | -14 | |
Management |
4.8 | 5.0 | 51.64 | 37.07 | * | -28 | |
Business and financial operations |
4.8 | 2.5 | * | 33.05 | 25.85 | * | -22 |
Computer and mathematical |
2.7 | 1.0 | * | 37.85 | 26.77 | * | -29 |
Architecture and engineering |
1.8 | 1.0 | * | 37.08 | 27.26 | * | -26 |
Life, physical, and social science |
0.8 | 0.9 | 32.44 | 26.08 | * | -20 | |
Community and social service |
1.5 | 3.0 | * | 21.07 | 18.04 | * | -14 |
Legal |
0.8 | 0.5 | * | 47.30 | 29.67 | * | -37 |
Education, training, and library |
6.6 | 8.5 | * | 24.46 | 22.53 | * | -8 |
Arts, design, entertainment, sports, and media |
1.3 | 1.2 | 25.89 | 15.16 | * | -41 | |
Healthcare practitioners and technical |
5.9 | 8.0 | 34.97 | 35.21 | 1 | ||
Healthcare support |
3.1 | 3.9 | * | 13.16 | 12.86 | * | -2 |
Protective service |
2.5 | 2.3 | 20.54 | 15.41 | * | -25 | |
Food preparation and serving related |
8.7 | 8.7 | 10.30 | 10.04 | -3 | ||
Building and grounds cleaning and maintenance |
3.3 | 3.9 | * | 12.29 | 11.19 | * | -9 |
Personal care and service |
2.8 | 2.9 | 11.84 | 11.36 | -4 | ||
Sales and related |
10.6 | 11.2 | 18.04 | 14.49 | * | -20 | |
Office and administrative support |
16.7 | 16.7 | 16.40 | 14.96 | * | -9 | |
Farming, fishing, and forestry |
0.3 | 0.4 | * | 11.68 | 15.24 | * | 30 |
Construction and extraction |
3.9 | 4.0 | 21.46 | 18.97 | * | -12 | |
Installation, maintenance, and repair |
3.9 | 4.0 | * | 20.86 | 19.26 | * | -8 |
Production |
6.5 | 4.2 | * | 16.45 | 16.44 | 0 | |
Transportation and material moving |
6.7 | 6.4 | 15.96 | 15.05 | * | -6 | |
Footnotes: [2] Indicates a value of less than 0.05 percent. |
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* The percent share of employment or mean hourly wage for this area is significantly different from the national average of all areas at the 90-percent confidence level. |
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 Maine Department of Labor. The OES survey provides estimates of employment and hourly and annual wages for wage and salary workers in 22 major occupational groups and nearly 800 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 Bangor Metropolitan Statistical 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.
NOTE: 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.
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 the national estimates. 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 2011 survey was 77.3 percent based on establishments and 73.3 percent based on employment. May 2011 estimates are based on responses from six semiannual panels collected over a 3-year period: May 2011, November 2010, May 2010, November 2009, May 2009, and November 2008. The sample in the Bangor Metropolitan Statistical Area included 1,145 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.
The May 2011 OES estimates mark the first set of estimates based in part on data collected using the 2010 Standard Occupational Classification (SOC) system. Nearly all the occupations in this release are 2010 SOC occupations; however, some are not. The May 2012 OES data will reflect the full set of detailed occupations in the 2010 SOC. For a list of all occupations, including 2010 SOC occupations, and how data collected on two structures were combined, see the OES Frequently Asked Questions online at www.bls.gov/oes/oes_ques.htm#Ques41.
The substate area data published in this release reflect the standards and definitions established by the U.S. Office of Management and Budget.
The Bangor, Maine New England City and Town Area (NECTA) includes Alton town, Amherst town, Argyle unorganized, Aurora town, Bangor city, Bradford town, Bradley town, Brewer city, Carmel town, Charleston town, Clifton town, Corinth town, Dedham town, Dixmont town, Eddington town, Edinburg town, Enfield town, Etna town, Exeter town, Frankfort town, Garland town, Glenburn town, Grand Falls Plantation, Greenbush town, Greenfield town, Hampden town, Hermon town, Holden town, Howland town, Hudson town, Kenduskeag town, Lagrange town, Levant town, Lowell town, Maxfield town, Milford town, Newburgh town, Newport town, Old Town city, Orono town, Orrington town, Passadumkeag town, Penobscot Indian Island Reservation, Plymouth town, Stetson town, Summit unorganized, Veazie town, and Winterport town.
Additional information
OES data are available on our regional web page at www.bls.gov/ro1. If you have additional questions, contact the New England Information Office at 617-565-2327. Information in this release will be made available to sensory impaired individuals upon request – Voice phone: 617-565-2072; TDD message referral phone: 1-800-877-8339.
Occupation(1) | Employment | Mean wages | ||
---|---|---|---|---|
Level(2) | Location quotient(3) |
Hourly | Annual(4) | |
Education, training, and library occupations |
5,270 | 1.3 | $22.53 | $46,860 |
Mathematical science teachers, postsecondary |
40 | 1.5 | [5] | 74,190 |
Education teachers, postsecondary |
110 | 3.6 | [5] | [5] |
English language and literature teachers, postsecondary |
60 | 1.8 | [5] | [5] |
Vocational education teachers, postsecondary |
170 | 2.8 | 21.00 | 43,690 |
Preschool teachers, except special education |
120 | 0.7 | 15.77 | 32,800 |
Kindergarten teachers, except special education |
80 | 1.0 | [5] | 44,960 |
Elementary school teachers, except special education |
660 | 1.0 | [5] | 49,590 |
Middle school teachers, except special and career/technical education |
310 | 1.0 | [5] | 52,120 |
Secondary school teachers, except special and career/technical education |
480 | 1.0 | [5] | 52,290 |
Special education teachers, preschool, kindergarten, and elementary school |
140 | 1.3 | [5] | 47,020 |
Special education teachers, middle school |
60 | 1.3 | [5] | 51,900 |
Special education teachers, secondary school |
80 | 1.2 | [5] | 52,870 |
Self-enrichment education teachers |
120 | 1.5 | 15.59 | 32,420 |
Teachers and instructors, all other |
240 | 0.6 | [5] | 25,180 |
Librarians |
70 | 1.0 | 21.85 | 45,450 |
Library technicians |
80 | 1.6 | 13.57 | 28,240 |
Teacher assistants |
730 | 1.3 | [5] | 29,380 |
Footnotes: |
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Last Modified Date: June 22, 2012