Workers in the Gulfport-Biloxi Metropolitan Statistical Area had an average (mean) hourly wage of $17.52 in May 2011, about 19 percent below the nationwide average of $21.74, according to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics. Regional Commissioner Janet S. Rankin noted that, after testing for statistical significance, wages in the local area were significantly lower than their respective national averages in 19 of the 22 major occupational groups, including management; sales and related; and education, training and library services.

When compared to the nationwide distribution, local employment was more highly concentrated in 6 of the 22 occupational groups, including food preparation and serving related, construction and extraction, and building and grounds cleaning and maintenance. Conversely, 10 groups had employment shares significantly below their national representation, including business and financial operations, production, and office and administrative support. (See table A and box note at end of release.)

One occupational group—construction and extraction—was chosen to illustrate the diversity of data available for any of the 22 major occupational categories. Gulfport-Biloxi had 5,700 jobs in construction and extraction, accounting for 5.6 percent of local area employment, significantly higher than the 3.9-percent share nationally. The average hourly wage for this occupational group locally was $16.83, measurably below the national wage of $21.46.

With employment of 980, construction laborers was the largest occupation within the construction and extraction group, followed by electricians (740) and carpenters (590). Among the higher paying jobs were first-line supervisors of construction trades and extraction workers and electricians, with mean hourly wages of $24.99 and $20.41, respectively. At the lower end of the wage scale were highway maintenance workers ($11.87) and construction laborers ($12.27). (Detailed occupational data for construction and extraction are presented in table 1; for a complete listing of detailed occupations available go to www.bls.gov/oes/2011/may/oes_25060.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 Gulfport-Biloxi Metropolitan Statistical Area, above average concentrations of employment were found in many of the occupations within the construction and extraction group. For instance, painters, construction and maintenance were employed at 3.3 times the national rate in Gulfport, and electricians, at 1.8 times the U.S. average. On the other hand, operating engineers and other construction equipment operators had a location quotient of 1.0 in Gulfport, 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 Mississippi Department of Employment Security. 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 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 Gulfport-Biloxi Metropolitan Statistical Area included 1,278 establishments with a response rate of 88 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.

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.

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 Gulfport-Biloxi, Miss. Metropolitan Statistical Area includes Hancock, Harrison, and Stone Counties.

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

Occupation (1)	Employment		Mean wages
	Level (2)	Location quotient (3)	Hourly	Annual (4)
Construction and Extraction Occupations	5,700	1.5	$16.83	$35,000
First-Line Supervisors of Construction Trades and Extraction Workers	570	1.6	24.99	51,980
Brickmasons and Blockmasons	30	0.7	20.43	42,500
Carpenters	590	1.3	15.92	33,110
Cement Masons and Concrete Finishers	90	0.9	15.00	31,190
Construction Laborers	980	1.6	12.27	25,520
Paving, Surfacing, and Tamping Equipment Operators	90	2.1	13.69	28,460
Operating Engineers and Other Construction Equipment Operators	280	1.0	15.13	31,480
Drywall and Ceiling Tile Installers	40	0.6	(5)	(5)
Electricians	740	1.8	20.41	42,450
Painters, Construction and Maintenance	490	3.3	16.02	33,320
Pipelayers	100	2.9	15.93	33,130
Plumbers, Pipefitters, and Steamfitters	400	1.5	17.73	36,880
Roofers	80	1.1	15.74	32,730
Sheet Metal Workers	100	1.0	18.97	39,460
Structural Iron and Steel Workers	50	1.2	18.70	38,890
Helpers--Brickmasons, Blockmasons, Stonemasons, and Tile and Marble Setters	40	1.9	14.69	30,540
Helpers--Carpenters	60	2.0	12.55	26,110
Helpers--Electricians	120	2.2	12.60	26,200
Helpers--Painters, Paperhangers, Plasterers, and Stucco Masons	40	4.1	11.18	23,250
Helpers--Pipelayers, Plumbers, Pipefitters, and Steamfitters	160	4.0	13.59	28,260
Construction and Building Inspectors	130	1.8	21.76	45,260
Highway Maintenance Workers	160	1.4	11.87	24,690
Footnotes: (1) For a complete listing of all detailed occupations in Gulfport-Biloxi, MS, see www.bls.gov/oes/2011/may/oes_25060.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

Last Modified Date: August 30, 2012