Workers in the Sioux Falls Metropolitan Statistical Area had an average (mean) hourly wage of $18.21 in May 2011, about 16 percent below the nationwide average of $21.74, the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics reported today. Regional Commissioner Charlene Peiffer noted that, after testing for statistical significance, 1 of the 22 major occupational groups—farming, fishing, and forestry—had local area wages that were significantly higher than its respective national average. Nineteen groups had significantly lower wages than their respective national averages, including legal; computer and mathematical; and architecture and engineering.

When compared to the nationwide distribution, local employment was more highly concentrated in 8 of the 22 occupational groups, including office and administrative support; healthcare practitioners and technical; and sales and related occupations. Conversely, 10 groups had employment shares significantly below their national representation, including education, training, and library; management; and protective service. (See table A and box note at end of release.)

One occupational group—healthcare practitioners and technical—was chosen to illustrate the diversity of data available for any of the 22 major occupational categories. Sioux Falls had 10,960 jobs in healthcare practitioners and technical, accounting for 8.1 percent of local area employment, significantly higher than the 5.9-percent share nationally. The average hourly wage for this occupational group locally was $30.51, measurably below the national wage of $34.97.

With employment of 5,030, registered nurses was the largest occupation within the healthcare practitioners and technical group, followed by licensed practical and licensed vocational nurses (630) and pharmacy technicians (520). Among the higher paying jobs were general internists; and optometrists, with mean hourly wages of $119.01 and $91.20, respectively. At the lower end of the wage scale were emergency medical technicians and paramedics ($12.57) and pharmacy technicians ($13.81). (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_43620.htm)

Location quotients allow for the exploration of an area’s occupational make-up 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 Sioux Falls Metropolitan Statistical Area, above average concentrations of employment were found in many of the occupations within the healthcare practitioners and technical group. For instance, diagnostic medical sonographers were employed at 2.8 times the national rate in Sioux Falls, and dispensing opticians at 2.5 times the U.S. average. On the other hand, medical and clinical laboratory technicians had a location quotient of 1.1 in Sioux Falls, 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 South Dakota Department of Labor and Regulation. 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.

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 this release. 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 Sioux Falls Metropolitan Statistical Area included 1,773 establishments with a response rate of 90 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 Sioux Falls, S.D. Metropolitan Statistical Area  includes Lincoln, McCook, Minnehaha, and Turner Counties.

Additional information

OES data are available on our regional web page at www.bls.gov/ro5/home.htm. If you have additional questions, contact the Chicago Economic Analysis and Information Unit at (312) 353-1880. 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.

Table 1. Employment and wage data from the Occupational Employment Statistics survey, by occupation, Sioux Falls Metropolitan Statistical Area, May 2011

Occupation (1)	Employment		Mean wages
	Level (2)	Location quotient (3)	Hourly	Annual(4)
Healthcare Practitioners and Technical Occupations	10,960	1.4	$30.51	$63,450
Chiropractors	50	1.7	38.08	79,200
Dentists, General	100	1.1	65.80	136,860
Dietitians and Nutritionists	70	1.2	24.03	49,980
Optometrists	40	1.5	91.20	189,690
Pharmacists	400	1.4	51.03	106,140
Family and General Practitioners	150	1.4	86.53	179,990
Internists, General	80	1.6	119.01	247,540
Surgeons	60	1.4	(6)	(6)
Physicians and Surgeons, All Other	210	0.7	111.85	232,660
Physician Assistants	120	1.4	42.22	87,810
Registered Nurses	5,030	1.8	27.58	57,370
Occupational Therapists	140	1.3	29.92	62,230
Physical Therapists	250	1.3	32.32	67,220
Respiratory Therapists	160	1.4	22.10	45,970
Speech-Language Pathologists	120	0.9	25.41	52,850
Veterinarians	50	0.8	39.21	81,550
Medical and Clinical Laboratory Technologists	390	2.3	24.57	51,110
Medical and Clinical Laboratory Technicians	180	1.1	16.44	34,200
Dental Hygienists	140	0.7	28.24	58,730
Cardiovascular Technologists and Technicians	100	1.8	23.09	48,030
Diagnostic Medical Sonographers	160	2.8	25.19	52,390
Nuclear Medicine Technologists	90	4.1	27.27	56,730
Radiologic Technologists and Technicians	420	1.8	22.25	46,270
Emergency Medical Technicians and Paramedics	130	0.6	12.57	26,150
Pharmacy Technicians	520	1.4	13.81	28,720
Surgical Technologists	230	2.3	18.16	37,770
Veterinary Technologists and Technicians	60	0.7	14.53	30,210
Licensed Practical and Licensed Vocational Nurses	630	0.8	17.28	35,950
Medical Records and Health Information Technicians	400	2.1	16.76	34,850
Opticians, Dispensing	160	2.5	15.48	32,200
Orthotists and Prosthetists	30	4.6	32.97	68,570
Health Technologists and Technicians, All Other	(5)	(5)	26.95	56,060
Occupational Health and Safety Specialists	50	0.8	27.97	58,190
Footnotes: (1) For a complete listing of all detailed occupations in Sioux Falls, SD, see www.bls.gov/oes/current/oes_43620.htm. (2) Estimates for detailed occupations do not sum to the totals because the totals include occupations not shown separately. Estimates do not include self-employed workers. (3) The location quotient is the ratio of the area concentration of occupational employment to the national average concentration. A location quotient greater than one indicates the occupation has a higher share of employment than average, and a location quotient less than one indicates the occupation is less prevalent in the area than average. (4) Annual wages have been calculated by multiplying the hourly mean wage by a ‘year-round, full-time’ hours figure of 2,080 hours; for those occupations where there is not an hourly mean wage published, the annual wage has been directly calculated from the reported survey data. (5) Estimate not released. (6) This wage is equal to or greater than $90.00 per hour or $187,199 per year.