News Release Information
12-1749-KAN
Thursday, August 23, 2012
Contacts
Technical information:
- (816) 285-7000
- BLSInfoKansasCity@bls.gov
- www.bls.gov/ro7
Media contact:
- (816) 285-7000
Occupational Employment and Wages in St. Louis, May 2011
Workers in the St. Louis Metropolitan Statistical Area had an average (mean) hourly wage of $21.26 in May 2011, about 2 percent below the nationwide average of $21.74, according to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics. Regional Commissioner Stanley W. Suchman noted that, after testing for statistical significance, wages in the local area were significantly higher than their respective national averages in 3 of the 22 major occupational groups. Thirteen groups had significantly lower wages than their respective national averages, including arts, design, entertainment, sports, and media; healthcare practitioners and technical; and legal.
When compared to the nationwide distribution, local employment was more highly concentrated in 5 of the 22 occupational groups, including healthcare practitioners and technical, food preparation and serving related, and computer and mathematical. Conversely, nine groups had employment shares significantly below their national representation, including education, training, and library; production; and transportation and material moving. (See table A and box note at end of release.)
Major occupational group | Percent of total employment | Mean hourly wage | |||
---|---|---|---|---|---|
United States | St. Louis | United States | St. Louis | Percent difference(1) | |
Total, all occupations |
100.00% | 100.00% | $21.74 | $21.26 | -2 |
Management |
4.8 | 4.9 | 51.64 | 47.85* | -7 |
Business and financial operations |
4.8 | 5.1* | 33.05 | 31.78* | -4 |
Computer and mathematical |
2.7 | 3.5* | 37.85 | 35.88* | -5 |
Architecture and engineering |
1.8 | 1.7* | 37.08 | 35.80 | -3 |
Life, physical, and social science |
0.8 | 0.6* | 32.44 | 29.09* | -10 |
Community and social service |
1.5 | 1.3* | 21.07 | 19.91* | -6 |
Legal |
0.8 | 0.7* | 47.30 | 42.43* | -10 |
Education, training, and library |
6.6 | 5.8* | 24.46 | 22.97* | -6 |
Arts, design, entertainment, sports, and media |
1.3 | 1.3 | 25.89 | 21.73* | -16 |
Healthcare practitioners and technical |
5.9 | 6.8* | 34.97 | 31.11* | -11 |
Healthcare support |
3.1 | 3.1 | 13.16 | 12.41* | -6 |
Protective service |
2.5 | 2.3* | 20.54 | 18.92* | -8 |
Food preparation and serving related |
8.7 | 9.6* | 10.30 | 9.81* | -5 |
Building and grounds cleaning and maintenance |
3.3 | 3.3 | 12.29 | 11.99 | -2 |
Personal care and service |
2.8 | 3.0 | 11.84 | 10.90* | -8 |
Sales and related |
10.6 | 10.5 | 18.04 | 17.77 | -1 |
Office and administrative support |
16.7 | 16.3 | 16.40 | 16.25 | -1 |
Farming, fishing, and forestry |
0.3 | 0.1* | 11.68 | 12.98* | 11 |
Construction and extraction |
3.9 | 4.2* | 21.46 | 26.90* | 25 |
Installation, maintenance, and repair |
3.9 | 3.7 | 20.86 | 21.07 | 1 |
Production |
6.5 | 6.0* | 16.45 | 17.71* | 8 |
Transportation and material moving |
6.7 | 6.3* | 15.96 | 15.89 | 0 |
Footnotes: |
|||||
* 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. |
One occupational group—healthcare practitioners and technical—was chosen to illustrate the diversity of data available for any of the 22 major occupational categories. St. Louis had 86,620 jobs in healthcare practitioners and technical, accounting for 6.8 percent of local area employment, significantly higher than the 5.9-percent share nationally. The average hourly wage for this occupational group locally was $31.11, measurably below the national wage of $34.97.
With employment of 36,190, registered nurses was the largest occupation within the healthcare practitioners and technical group, followed by licensed practical and licensed vocational nurses (7,890) and pharmacy technicians (4,040). Among the higher paying jobs were general internists and family and general practitioners, with mean hourly wages of $105.16 and $93.44, respectively. At the lower end of the wage scale were psychiatric technicians ($11.87) and dispensing opticians ($13.59). (Detailed occupational data for healthcare practitioners and technical are presented in table 1; for a complete listing of detailed occupations available go to www.bls.gov/oes/current/oes_41180.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 St. Louis Metropolitan Statistical Area, above average concentrations of employment were found in some of the occupations within the healthcare practitioners and technical group. For instance, psychiatric technicians were employed at 2.3 times the national rate in St. Louis. On the other hand, pharmacists had a location quotient of 1.0 in St. Louis, indicating that this particular occupation’s local and national employment shares were similar.
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 Missouri Department of Economic Development. 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 St. Louis 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 St. Louis Metropolitan Statistical Area included 8,206 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.
Area definitions. The substate area data published in this release reflect the standards and definitions established by the U.S. Office of Management and Budget.
The St. Louis, Mo. Metropolitan Statistical Area includes Franklin, Jefferson, Lincoln, St. Charles, St. Louis, St. Louis city, Warren, and Washington Counties of Missouri and Bond, Calhoun, Clinton, Jersey, Macoupin, Madison, Monroe, and St. Clair Counties of Illinois.
Additional information
OES data are available on our regional web page at www.bls.gov/ro7/home.htm. If you have additional questions, contact the Mountain-Plains Economic Analysis and Information Unit at (816) 285-7000. 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.
Occupation(1) | Employment | Mean Wages | ||
---|---|---|---|---|
Level(2) | Location quotient(3) | Hourly | Annual(4) | |
Healthcare practitioners and technical occupations |
86,620 | 1.2 | $31.11 | $64,700 |
Chiropractors |
310 | 1.1 | 42.38 | 88,150 |
Dentists, general |
890 | 1.0 | 72.20 | 150,170 |
Orthodontists |
(5) | (5) | (6) | (6) |
Dietitians and nutritionists |
460 | 0.8 | 23.39 | 48,650 |
Optometrists |
350 | 1.3 | 48.51 | 100,890 |
Pharmacists |
2,730 | 1.0 | 51.40 | 106,910 |
Anesthesiologists |
380 | 1.1 | 117.17 | 243,720 |
Family and general practitioners |
1,150 | 1.1 | 93.44 | 194,360 |
Internists, general |
500 | 1.1 | 105.16 | 218,730 |
Obstetricians and gynecologists |
170 | 0.8 | 77.90 | 162,030 |
Pediatricians, general |
230 | 0.8 | 85.65 | 178,160 |
Psychiatrists |
160 | 0.7 | 68.12 | 141,690 |
Surgeons |
290 | 0.7 | (6) | (6) |
Physicians and surgeons, all other |
3,310 | 1.1 | 71.14 | 147,980 |
Physician assistants |
500 | 0.6 | 32.83 | 68,290 |
Podiatrists |
100 | 1.1 | 63.76 | 132,620 |
Registered nurses* |
36,190 | 1.3 | 29.02 | 60,370 |
Occupational therapists |
1,230 | 1.2 | 32.52 | 67,630 |
Physical therapists |
1,950 | 1.1 | 33.86 | 70,420 |
Radiation therapists |
150 | 0.8 | 34.67 | 72,110 |
Recreational therapists |
190 | 1.0 | 19.74 | 41,060 |
Respiratory therapists |
1,250 | 1.1 | 24.58 | 51,130 |
Speech-language pathologists |
1,340 | 1.2 | 35.48 | 73,800 |
Therapists, all other* |
(5) | (5) | 25.93 | 53,920 |
Veterinarians |
550 | 1.0 | 33.94 | 70,600 |
Audiologists |
260 | 2.1 | 27.01 | 56,190 |
Health diagnosing and treating practitioners, all other |
100 | 0.3 | 27.95 | 58,130 |
Medical and clinical laboratory technologists |
1,700 | 1.0 | 26.87 | 55,900 |
Medical and clinical laboratory technicians |
1,490 | 1.0 | 16.58 | 34,480 |
Dental hygienists |
1,630 | 0.9 | 34.07 | 70,870 |
Cardiovascular technologists and technicians |
420 | 0.8 | 19.91 | 41,410 |
Diagnostic medical sonographers |
560 | 1.0 | 29.80 | 61,990 |
Nuclear medicine technologists |
200 | 0.9 | 31.86 | 66,270 |
Radiologic technologists and technicians* |
2,430 | 1.1 | 23.93 | 49,770 |
Emergency medical technicians and paramedics |
3,100 | 1.4 | 17.25 | 35,870 |
Dietetic technicians |
240 | 1.1 | 24.62 | 51,220 |
Pharmacy technicians |
4,040 | 1.2 | 13.89 | 28,890 |
Psychiatric technicians |
1,560 | 2.3 | 11.87 | 24,690 |
Respiratory therapy technicians |
230 | 1.7 | 22.87 | 47,560 |
Surgical technologists |
770 | 0.8 | 19.87 | 41,320 |
Veterinary technologists and technicians |
650 | 0.8 | 14.44 | 30,040 |
Licensed practical and licensed vocational nurses |
7,890 | 1.1 | 19.19 | 39,910 |
Medical records and health information technicians |
1,670 | 0.9 | 16.82 | 34,980 |
Opticians, dispensing |
590 | 1.0 | 13.59 | 28,260 |
Orthotists and prosthetists |
60 | 0.9 | 33.69 | 70,070 |
Health technologists and technicians, all other* |
1,000 | 1.0 | 18.88 | 39,280 |
Occupational health and safety specialists |
450 | 0.8 | 32.63 | 67,880 |
Occupational health and safety technicians |
80 | 0.7 | 24.29 | 50,530 |
Athletic trainers |
190 | 1.1 | (5) | 38,600 |
Healthcare practitioners and technical workers, all other* |
710 | 1.3 | 21.90 | 45,560 |
Footnotes: |
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* Occupation titles followed by an asterisk (*) have similar titles, but not necessarily the same content as 2010 SOC occupations. |
Last Modified Date: August 23, 2012