For release: Tuesday, October 12, 2010 PLS - 4713
Technical Information: (215) 597-3282 • BLSInfoPhiladelphia@bls.gov • www.bls.gov/ro3
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HIGHLIGHTS OF READING NATIONAL COMPENSATION Survey – January 2010 (PDF)

Workers in the Reading metropolitan area earned an average of $25.94 per hour in January 2010, according to new survey results from the National Compensation Survey (NCS), the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics reported today. Sheila Watkins, the Bureau’s regional commissioner, noted that wage data were reported for workers in a wide range of occupational groups, including average hourly earnings of $28.03 for business and financial operations occupations and $15.41 for office and administrative support occupations. Another occupational group, transportation and material moving occupations, had a mean hourly wage of $14.89. The NCS data available for the Reading area include earnings for 19 major occupational groups with additional detail for selected occupations within those groups. (See table 1.)

Claims adjusters, examiners, and investigators, part of the business and financial operations group, earned $30.76 per hour. Executive secretaries and administrative assistants, an occupation within the office and administrative support group, earned $20.50 per hour and customer service representatives, $16.06 per hour. Truck drivers, heavy and tractor-trailer, part of the transportation and material moving group, earned $17.93 per hour and laborers and freight, stock, and material movers, hand, averaged $15.36.

Broad coverage of selected occupational characteristics is available from NCS for the local area. Full-time workers averaged $28.10 per hour while their part-time counterparts earned $9.56. Workers in establishments with 100-499 workers averaged $21.12 per hour, and those in establishments with 500 or more employees earned $22.95.

The occupational wage data available from NCS may be used by businesses for establishing pay plans, making decisions concerning plant relocation, and in collective bargaining negotiations.  Individuals may use such data to help choose potential careers. NCS results also include the work level and respective earnings for occupations determined by a point factor leveling process. The four occupational leveling factors are:  knowledge, job controls and complexity, contacts, and physical environment. Details on the NCS are available at www.bls.gov/ncs/. 

The NCS data reported here covered 167 establishments with one or more workers in private industry and State and local governments. Agricultural establishments, private households, the self-employed, and the Federal Government were excluded from the survey. This sample of establishments represented 156,200 workers in the Reading, PA Metropolitan Statistical Area which consists of Berks County, PA.   

Survey Availability

Complete survey results are contained in the Reading, PA National Compensation Survey January 2010 which is available on the Internet in both text and PDF formats at www.bls.gov/ncs/ocs/compub.htm. 

For personal assistance or further information on the National Compensation Survey data, as well as other Bureau data, contact the Mid-Atlantic Information Office by calling (215) 597-3282 from 8:30 a.m. to 12:00 p.m. and 1:00 p.m. to 3:30 p.m. ET. 

Table 1. Civilian workers: Mean hourly earnings(1) for full-time and part-time workers(2), Reading, PA, January 2010
Occupation(3) Total Full-time workers Part-time workers
Mean Relative error(4) (percent) Mean Relative error(4) (percent) Mean Relative error(4) (percent)

All workers

 $25.94 26.1 $28.10 26.8 $9.56 9.9

Management occupations

 44.83 16.1 45.06 16.4 – –

Business and financial operations occupations

 28.03 6.6 28.03 6.6 – –

Claims adjusters, appraisers, examiners, and investigators

 30.76 3.9 30.76 3.9 – –

Claims adjusters, examiners, and investigators

 30.76 3.9 30.76 3.9 – –

Computer and mathematical science occupations

 34.27 9.5 34.27 9.5 – –

Architecture and engineering occupations

 36.23 8.6 36.23 8.6 – –

Community and social services occupations

 22.93 23.9 22.93 23.9 – –

Education, training, and library occupations

 35.88 6.6 36.69 7.0 – –

Postsecondary teachers

 41.81 2.7 41.83 2.8 – –

Primary, secondary, and special education school teachers

 38.70 6.7 38.69 6.8 – –

Elementary and middle school teachers

 38.97 7.1 38.96 7.3 – –

Elementary school teachers, except special education

 39.45 4.8 39.46 5.0 – –

Arts, design, entertainment, sports, and media occupations

 23.82 6.0 – – – –

Healthcare practitioner and technical occupations

 – – – – 19.40 2.5

Registered nurses

 34.13 27.3 37.79 25.9 – –

Healthcare support occupations

 12.69 3.2 12.70 3.2 – –

Nursing, psychiatric, and home health aides

 12.62 3.0 12.62 3.0 – –

Protective service occupations

 20.72 11.1 21.39 12.7 – –

Food preparation and serving related occupations

 7.76 11.9 9.71 7.0 6.65 15.0

Food service, tipped

 4.76 24.2 – – 4.14 17.2

Fast food and counter workers

 10.73 12.0 – – – –

Combined food preparation and serving workers, including fast food

 10.73 12.0 – – – –

Building and grounds cleaning and maintenance occupations

 12.09 7.8 13.10 3.8 8.16 9.6

Building cleaning workers

 10.74 8.0 12.32 5.3 – –

Janitors and cleaners, except maids and housekeeping cleaners

 11.77 5.5 12.55 6.1 – –

Personal care and service occupations

 10.10 8.2 – – 10.86 9.8

Sales and related occupations

 16.14 15.9 20.51 13.6 8.75 3.8

Retail sales workers

 11.48 15.2 14.16 15.6 8.72 4.2

Cashiers, all workers

 9.10 3.5 – – 9.28 4.7

Cashiers

 9.10 3.5 – – 9.28 4.7

Retail salespersons

 – – 16.03 22.2 – –

Office and administrative support occupations

 15.41 3.4 15.69 3.4 12.20 10.7

Financial clerks

 15.93 4.9 16.08 4.9 – –

Bookkeeping, accounting, and auditing clerks

 15.78 7.2 15.98 7.1 – –

Customer service representatives

 16.06 2.4 16.16 2.8 – –

Receptionists and information clerks

 12.08 5.9 – – – –

Shipping, receiving, and traffic clerks

 12.72 3.7 12.78 4.3 – –

Secretaries and administrative assistants

 18.77 6.0 19.25 6.3 – –

Executive secretaries and administrative assistants

 20.50 4.1 20.50 4.1 – –

Secretaries, except legal, medical, and executive

 18.78 11.8 18.78 11.9 – –

Office clerks, general

 15.32 6.1 15.32 6.2 – –

Construction and extraction occupations

 17.29 2.0 17.30 2.0 – –

Installation, maintenance, and repair occupations

 18.02 6.9 18.88 6.5 – –

Industrial machinery installation, repair, and maintenance workers

 18.54 9.9 20.68 4.0 – –

Maintenance and repair workers, general

 16.81 11.1 – – – –

Maintenance workers, machinery

 20.22 11.3 – – – –

Production occupations

 16.25 7.7 16.44 7.7 – –

Miscellaneous assemblers and fabricators

 15.01 3.0 15.01 3.0 – –

Printers

 21.72 12.1 21.72 12.1 – –

Printing machine operators

 21.72 12.1 21.72 12.1 – –

Miscellaneous production workers

 11.62 0.6 11.62 0.6 – –

Transportation and material moving occupations

 14.89 4.5 15.55 3.6 7.77 15.7

Driver/sales workers and truck drivers

 14.56 11.0 16.64 4.4 – –

Truck drivers, heavy and tractor-trailer

 17.93 3.4 17.93 3.4 – –

Laborers and material movers, hand

 15.36 2.5 15.60 2.3 – –

Laborers and freight, stock, and material movers, hand

 15.36 4.4 15.59 4.8 – –

Footnotes:
(1) Earnings are the straight-time hourly wages or salaries paid to employees. They include incentive pay, cost-of-living adjustments, and hazard pay. Excluded are premium pay for overtime, vacations, holidays, nonproduction bonuses, and tips. The mean is computed by totaling the pay of all workers and dividing by the number of workers, weighted by hours.
(2) Employees are classified as working either a full-time or a part-time schedule based on the definition used by each establishment. Therefore, a worker with a 35-hour-per-week schedule might be considered a full-time employee in one establishment, but classified as part-time in another firm, where a 40-hour week is the minimum full-time schedule.
(3) Workers are classified by occupation using the 2000 Standard Occupational Classification (SOC) system.
(4) The relative standard error (RSE) is the standard error expressed as a percent of the estimate. It can be used to calculate a "confidence interval" around a sample estimate.

SOURCE: Bureau of Labor Statistics, National Compensation Survey.
NOTE: Dashes indicate that no data were reported or that data did not meet publication criteria. Overall occupational groups may include data for categories not shown separately.

 

Last Modified Date: October 12, 2010