News Release Information
12-1341-PHI
Friday, June 29, 2012
Contacts
Technical information:
- (215) 597-3282
- BLSInfoPhiladelphia@bls.gov
- www.bls.gov/ro3
Media contact:
- (215) 861-5600
- BLSMediaPhiladelphia@bls.gov
Occupational Employment and Wages in Richmond – May 2011
Workers in the Richmond Metropolitan Statistical Area had an average (mean) hourly wage of $21.77 in May 2011, nearly identical to the nationwide average of $21.74, according to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics. Sheila Watkins, the Bureau’s regional commissioner, noted that, after testing for statistical significance, wages in the local area were significantly lower than their respective national averages in 11 of the 22 major occupational groups, including construction and extraction and healthcare practitioners and technical. Three other groups had wages that were measurably higher than their respective national averages, including sales and related. (See table A and box note at end of release.)
Major occupational group | Percent of total employment | Mean hourly wage | |||
---|---|---|---|---|---|
United States | Richmond | United States | Richmond | Percent difference(1) | |
Total, all occupations |
100.0 | 100.0 |
$21.74 | $21.77 |
0 |
Management |
4.8 | 4.5* |
51.64 | 52.58 |
2 |
Business and financial operations |
4.8 | 6.8* |
33.05 | 31.96* |
-3 |
Computer and mathematical |
2.7 | 3.1* |
37.85 | 37.16 |
-2 |
Architecture and engineering |
1.8 | 1.6* |
37.08 | 34.94* |
-6 |
Life, physical, and social science |
0.8 | 0.7* |
32.44 | 29.20* |
-10 |
Community and social service |
1.5 | 1.9* |
21.07 | 19.73* |
-6 |
Legal |
0.8 | 0.9* |
47.30 | 42.38 |
-10 |
Education, training, and library |
6.6 | 6.2* |
24.46 | 23.89 |
-2 |
Arts, design, entertainment, sports, and media |
1.3 | 1.2* |
25.89 | 23.74* |
-8 |
Healthcare practitioners and technical |
5.9 | 6.2* |
34.97 | 33.22* |
-5 |
Healthcare support |
3.1 | 2.6* |
13.16 | 12.87 |
-2 |
Protective service |
2.5 | 3.1* |
20.54 | 18.93* |
-8 |
Food preparation and serving related |
8.7 | 7.8* |
10.30 | 10.18 |
-1 |
Building and grounds cleaning and maintenance |
3.3 | 3.1* |
12.29 | 11.08* |
-10 |
Personal care and service |
2.8 | 2.9 |
11.84 | 11.33* |
-4 |
Sales and related |
10.6 | 10.9 |
18.04 | 19.03* |
5 |
Office and administrative support |
16.7 | 17.1* |
16.40 | 16.51 |
1 |
Farming, fishing, and forestry |
0.3 | 0.1* |
11.68 | 15.71* |
35 |
Construction and extraction |
3.9 | 4.3* |
21.46 | 18.70* |
-13 |
Installation, maintenance, and repair |
3.9 | 4.1* |
20.86 | 21.33* |
2 |
Production |
6.5 | 4.4* |
16.45 | 17.25* |
5 |
Transportation and material moving |
6.7 | 6.4 |
15.96 | 15.18* |
-5 |
* 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. |
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Footnotes: |
When compared to the nationwide distribution, Richmond employment was more highly concentrated in 9 of the 22 occupational groups including business and financial operations, protective service, and healthcare practitioners and technical. Conversely, 10 groups had employment shares significantly below their national representation; these groups included production, food preparation and serving, and management.
One occupational group—business and financial operations—was chosen to illustrate the diversity of data available for any of the 22 major occupational categories. Richmond had 40,040 jobs in business and financial operations, accounting for 6.8 percent of local area employment, significantly above the 4.8-percent share nationally. The average hourly wage for this occupational group locally was $31.96, which was significantly below the national average of $33.05.
With employment of 6,720, accountants and auditors was the largest occupation within the business and financial operations group, followed by management analysts (5,220). Among the higher-paying jobs were management analysts with a mean hourly wages of $41.45 and financial analysts and logisticians, each with a wage of $37.65. At the lower end of the wage scale were tax examiners and collectors, and revenue agents ($22.90) and insurance underwriters ($25.87). (Detailed occupational data for the business and financial operations group are presented in table 1; for a complete listing of detailed occupations available go to www.bls.gov/oes/current/oes_40060.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 as it does nationally. In Richmond, above-average concentrations of employment were found in many of the occupations within the business and financial operations group. For instance, management analysts and logisticians were employed at more than twice the national rate in Richmond, and financial examiners at four times the U.S. average. On the other hand, personal financial advisors had a location quotient of 0.9 in Richmond, 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 Virginia Employment Commission. The OES survey provides estimates of employment and hourly and annual wages for wage and salary workers in 22 major occupational groups and about 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 Richmond 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 are also 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 Richmond Metropolitan Statistical Area included 4,123 establishments with a response rate of 77 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.
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 Richmond, Va. Metropolitan Statistical Area (MSA) includes Amelia, Caroline, Charles City, Chesterfield, Colonial Heights city, Cumberland, Dinwiddie, Goochland, Hanover, Henrico, Hopewell city, King William, King and Queen, Louisa, New Kent, Petersburg city, Powhatan, Prince George, Richmond city, and Sussex Counties.
Additional information
OES data are available on our regional web page at www.bls.gov/ro3/. If you have additional questions, you can contact the Mid-Atlantic Information Office at (215) 597-3282 from 8:30 a.m. to 12:00 p.m. and 1:00 p.m. to 3:30 p.m. ET. 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(2) | Mean wage | |||
---|---|---|---|---|---|
Level | Location quotient(3) | Hourly | Annual(4) | ||
Business and financial operations occupations |
40,040 | 1.4 | $31.96 | $66,470 | |
Wholesale and retail buyers, except farm products |
470 | 1.0 | 31.37 | 65,240 | |
Purchasing agents, except wholesale, retail, and farm products |
2,280 | 1.8 | 30.45 | 63,340 | |
Claims adjusters, examiners, and investigators |
1,580 | 1.3 | 28.36 | 58,980 | |
Insurance appraisers, auto damage |
(5) | (5) | 26.32 | 54,750 | |
Compliance officers |
1,140 | 1.2 | 28.46 | 59,190 | |
Cost estimators |
1,180 | 1.4 | 28.60 | 59,500 | |
Human resources, training, and labor relations specialists, all other* |
2,830 | 1.4 | 30.54 | 63,520 | |
Logisticians |
1,190 | 2.3 | 37.65 | 78,310 | |
Management analysts |
5,220 | 2.1 | 41.45 | 86,210 | |
Meeting, convention, and event planners* |
460 | 1.6 | 20.37 | 42,370 | |
Compensation, benefits, and job analysis specialists |
460 | 1.1 | 30.18 | 62,780 | |
Training and development specialists |
1,470 | 1.6 | 26.89 | 55,930 | |
Market research analysts and marketing specialists* |
2,050 | 1.4 | 29.99 | 62,390 | |
Business operations specialists, all other* |
4,980 | 1.1 | 30.07 | 62,550 | |
Accountants and auditors |
6,720 | 1.4 | 32.22 | 67,020 | |
Appraisers and assessors of real estate |
300 | 1.1 | 29.68 | 61,730 | |
Budget analysts |
290 | 1.1 | 31.90 | 66,350 | |
Credit analysts |
510 | 1.9 | 26.18 | 54,460 | |
Financial analysts |
1,650 | 1.6 | 37.65 | 78,310 | |
Personal financial advisors |
660 | 0.9 | 37.02 | 77,000 | |
Insurance underwriters |
770 | 1.8 | 25.87 | 53,810 | |
Financial examiners |
510 | 4.0 | 33.38 | 69,420 | |
Credit counselors |
150 | 1.1 | 19.38 | 40,300 | |
Loan officers |
1,510 | 1.2 | 29.77 | 61,910 | |
Tax examiners and collectors, and revenue agents |
670 | 2.1 | 22.90 | 47,630 | |
Tax preparers |
190 | 0.7 | 21.64 | 45,020 | |
Financial specialists, all other |
740 | 1.1 | 29.89 | 62,180 | |
* This occupation has the same title, but not necessarily the same content, as the 2010 SOC occupation. |
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Footnotes: |
Last Modified Date: June 29, 2012