News Release Information
12-1366-DAL
Thursday, July 5, 2012
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Occupational Employment and Wages in Santa Fe, May 2011
Workers in the Santa Fe Metropolitan Statistical Area had an average (mean) hourly wage of $20.22 in
May 2011, about 7 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 2
of the 22 major occupational groups: food preparation and serving related; and healthcare support.
Fourteen groups had significantly lower wages than their respective national averages, including
management, architecture and engineering, and business and financial operations.
When compared to the nationwide distribution, local employment was more highly concentrated in 12 of
the 22 occupational groups, including personal care and service, food preparation and serving related,
and business and financial operations. Conversely, nine groups had employment shares significantly
below their national representation, including production, transportation and material moving, and office
and administrative support. (See table A and box note at end of release.)
Major occupational group | Percent of total employment | Mean hourly wage | |||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
United States | Santa Fe | United States | Santa Fe | Percent difference(1) |
|||
Total, all occupations |
100.0% | 100.0% | $21.74 | $20.22 | * | -7 | |
Management |
4.8 | 6.6 | * | 51.64 | 41.22 | * | -20 |
Business and financial operations |
4.8 | 6.7 | * | 33.05 | 24.00 | * | -27 |
Computer and mathematical |
2.7 | 1.8 | * | 37.85 | 31.65 | * | -16 |
Architecture and engineering |
1.8 | 1.3 | * | 37.08 | 27.85 | * | -25 |
Life, physical, and social science |
0.8 | 1.3 | * | 32.44 | 27.40 | * | -16 |
Community and social service |
1.5 | 2.5 | * | 21.07 | 19.69 | * | -7 |
Legal |
0.8 | 1.5 | * | 47.30 | 42.27 | -11 | |
Education, training, and library |
6.6 | 5.5 | * | 24.46 | 21.76 | * | -11 |
Arts, design, entertainment, sports, and media |
1.3 | 2.0 | * | 25.89 | 18.91 | * | -27 |
Healthcare practitioners and technical |
5.9 | 5.4 | * | 34.97 | 37.37 | 7 | |
Healthcare support |
3.1 | 2.2 | * | 13.16 | 14.62 | * | 11 |
Protective service |
2.5 | 2.7 | * | 20.54 | 17.12 | * | -17 |
Food preparation and serving related |
8.7 | 11.3 | * | 10.30 | 12.08 | * | 17 |
Building and grounds cleaning and maintenance |
3.3 | 4.1 | * | 12.29 | 12.17 | -1 | |
Personal care and service |
2.8 | 5.8 | * | 11.84 | 11.68 | -1 | |
Sales and related |
10.6 | 11.7 | * | 18.04 | 16.53 | * | -8 |
Office and administrative support |
16.7 | 15.5 | * | 16.40 | 16.74 | 2 | |
Farming, fishing, and forestry |
0.3 | NA | 11.68 | 11.74 | 1 | ||
Construction and extraction |
3.9 | 4.5 | * | 21.46 | 17.68 | * | -18 |
Installation, maintenance, and repair |
3.9 | 2.7 | * | 20.86 | 18.23 | * | -13 |
Production |
6.5 | 1.7 | * | 16.45 | 15.58 | * | -5 |
Transportation and material moving |
6.7 | 3.0 | * | 15.96 | 14.75 | * | -8 |
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–food preparation and serving related–was chosen to illustrate the diversity of
data available for any of the 22 major occupational categories. Santa Fe had 6,750 jobs in food
preparation and serving related, accounting for 11.3 percent of local area employment, significantly
higher than the 8.7-percent share nationally. The average hourly wage for this occupational group locally
was $12.08, measurably above the national wage of $10.30.
With employment of 1,700, waiters and waitresses was the largest occupation within the food
preparation and serving related group, followed by restaurant cooks (1,010) and combined food
preparation and serving workers, including fast food (690). Among the higher paying jobs were chefs
and head cooks and first-line supervisors of food preparation and serving workers, with mean hourly
wages of $22.77 and $15.25, respectively. At the lower end of the wage scale were dining room and
cafeteria attendants and bartender helpers ($9.74) and dishwashers ($9.92).
(Detailed occupational data for food preparation and serving related are presented in table 1;
for a complete listing of all detailed occupations go to www.bls.gov/oes/current/oes_42140.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 Santa Fe Metropolitan Statistical Area, above average concentrations of
employment were found in many of the occupations within the food preparation and serving related
group. For instance, chefs and head cooks were employed at 3.1 times the national rate in Santa Fe, and
restaurant cooks, at 2.3 times the U.S. average. On the other hand, fast food cooks had a location
quotient of 1.1 in Santa Fe, 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 New Mexico
Department of Workforce Solutions. 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 Santa Fe 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 Santa Fe Metropolitan Statistical
Area included 1,011 establishments with a response rate of 91 percent.
For more information about OES concepts and methodology, go to www.bls.gov/news.release/ocwage.tn.htm.
The May 2011 OES estimates are 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.
Information in this release will be made available to sensory impaired individuals upon request. Voice phone: (202) 691-5200; TDD message referral
phone: 1 (800) 877-8339.
The substate area data published in this release reflect the standards and definitions established by the U.S. Office of Management and Budget. The Santa Fe Metropolitan Statistical Area (MSA) includes Santa Fe County in New Mexico.
Occupation(1) | Employment | Mean wages | ||
---|---|---|---|---|
Level(2) | Location quotient(3) |
Hourly | Annual(4) | |
Food preparation and serving related occupations |
6,750 | 1.3 | $12.08 | $25,120 |
Chefs and head cooks |
130 | 3.1 | 22.77 | 47,360 |
First-line supervisors of food preparation and serving workers |
450 | 1.2 | 15.25 | 31,710 |
Cooks, fast food |
250 | 1.1 | 10.31 | 21,440 |
Cooks, institution and cafeteria |
140 | 0.8 | 11.79 | 24,520 |
Cooks, restaurant |
1,010 | 2.3 | 11.85 | 24,650 |
Cooks, short order |
70 | 0.9 | 11.06 | 23,010 |
Food preparation workers |
300 | 0.8 | 11.44 | 23,790 |
Bartenders |
410 | 1.7 | 12.89 | 26,810 |
Combined food preparation and serving workers, including fast food |
690 | 0.5 | 10.57 | 21,980 |
Counter attendants, cafeteria, food concession, and coffee shop |
220 | 1.1 | 10.75 | 22,370 |
Waiters and waitresses |
1,700 | 1.6 | 12.45 | 25,890 |
Food servers, nonrestaurant |
160 | 1.5 | 16.63 | 34,580 |
Dining room and cafeteria attendants and bartender helpers |
410 | 2.2 | 9.74 | 20,260 |
Dishwashers |
540 | 2.3 | 9.92 | 20,640 |
Hosts and hostesses, restaurant, lounge, and coffee shop |
280 | 1.8 | 11.66 | 24,260 |
Footnotes: |
Last Modified Date: July 5, 2012