Workers in the Albuquerque Metropolitan Statistical Area had an average (mean) hourly wage of $22.31 in May 2017, about 8 percent below the nationwide average of $24.34, according to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics. Assistant Commissioner for Regional Operations Stanley W. Suchman noted that, after testing for statistical significance, wages in the local area were higher than their respective national averages in 1 of the 22 major occupational groups: architecture and engineering. Fifteen groups had significantly lower wages than their respective national averages, including legal; management; and computer and mathematical.

When compared to the nationwide distribution, local employment was more highly concentrated in 11 of the 22 occupational groups, including architecture and engineering; personal care and service; and office and administrative support. Conversely, seven groups had employment shares significantly below their national representation, including production; transportation and material moving; and computer and mathematical. (See table A and box note at end of release.)

One occupational group—architecture and engineering—was chosen to illustrate the diversity of data available for any of the 22 major occupational categories. Albuquerque had 12,090 jobs in architecture and engineering, accounting for 3.2 percent of local area employment, significantly higher than the 1.8-percent share nationally. The average hourly wage for this occupational group locally was $45.83, significantly above the national wage of $41.44.

Some of the larger detailed occupations within the architecture and engineering group included electrical engineers (1,630), mechanical engineers (960), and civil engineers (810). Among the higher paying jobs were electronics engineers, except computer and aerospace engineers, with mean hourly wages of $58.53 and $57.69, respectively. At the lower end of the wage scale were landscape architects ($18.96) and civil engineering technicians ($20.97). (Detailed occupational data for architecture and engineering are presented in table 1; for a complete listing of detailed occupations available go to www.bls.gov/oes/current/oes_10740.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 Albuquerque Metropolitan Statistical Area, above-average concentrations of employment were found in many of the occupations within the architecture and engineering group. For instance, electrical engineers were employed at 3.3 times the national rate in Albuquerque, and aerospace engineers, at 2.3 times the U.S. average. On the other hand, architects, except landscape and naval had a location quotient of 1.0 in Albuquerque, 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.

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. The OES data available from BLS include cross-industry occupational employment and wage estimates for the nation; over 650 areas, including states and the District of Columbia, metropolitan statistical areas (MSAs), metropolitan divisions, nonmetropolitan areas, and territories; national industry-specific estimates at the NAICS sector, 3-, 4-, and selected 5- and 6-digit industry levels, and national estimates by ownership across all industries and for schools and hospitals. OES data are available at www.bls.gov/oes/tables.htm.

OES estimates are constructed from a sample of about 1.2 million establishments. Each year, two semiannual panels of approximately 200,000 sampled establishments are contacted, one panel in May and the other in November. Responses are obtained by mail, Internet or other electronic means, email, telephone, or personal visit. The May 2017 estimates are based on responses from six semiannual panels collected over a 3-year period: May 2017, November 2016, May 2016, November 2015, May 2015, and November 2014. The overall national response rate for the six panels, based on the 50 states and the District of Columbia, is 72 percent based on establishments and 68 percent based on weighted sampled employment. The unweighted sample employment of 82 million across all six semiannual panels represents approximately 58 percent of total national employment. The sample in the Albuquerque Metropolitan Statistical Area included 2,939 establishments with a response rate of 74 percent. For more information about OES concepts and methodology, go to www.bls.gov/oes/current/oes_tec.htm.

The May 2017 OES estimates are based on the 2010 Standard Occupational Classification (SOC) system and the 2012 North American Industry Classification System (NAICS). Information about the 2010 SOC is available on the BLS website at www.bls.gov/soc and information about the 2012 NAICS is available at www.bls.gov/bls/naics.htm.

Metropolitan 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 Albuquerque Metropolitan Statistical Area includes Bernalillo, Sandoval, Torrance, and Valencia Counties in New Mexico.

Additional information

OES data are available on our regional web page at www.bls.gov/regions/southwest. Answers to frequently asked questions about the OES data are available at www.bls.gov/oes/oes_ques.htm. Detailed technical information about the OES survey is available in our Survey Methods and Reliability Statement on the BLS website at www.bls.gov/oes/current/methods_statement.pdf.

Information in this release will be made available to sensory impaired individuals upon request. Voice phone: (202) 691-5200; Federal Relay Service: (800) 877-8339.

Table 1. Employment and wage data from the Occupational Employment Statistics survey, by occupation, Albuquerque Metropolitan Statistical Area, May 2017

Occupation (1)	Employment		Mean wages
	Level (2)	Location quotient (3)	Hourly	Annual (4)
Architecture and engineering occupations	12,090	1.8	$45.83	$95,330
Architects, except landscape and naval	280	1.0	36.15	75,190
Landscape architects	(5)	(5)	18.96	39,440
Cartographers and photogrammetrists	30	1.0	34.24	71,220
Surveyors	90	0.8	31.31	65,120
Aerospace engineers	410	2.3	57.69	120,000
Chemical engineers	60	0.7	56.35	117,210
Civil engineers	810	1.0	43.42	90,310
Electrical engineers	1,630	3.3	48.92	101,750
Electronics engineers, except computer	630	1.7	58.53	121,740
Environmental engineers	210	1.5	48.59	101,060
Health and safety engineers, except mining safety engineers and inspectors	50	0.7	43.12	89,680
Industrial engineers	(5)	(5)	43.47	90,410
Mechanical engineers	960	1.2	55.31	115,040
Nuclear engineers	210	4.6	(5)	(5)
Engineers, all other	1,080	3.1	50.81	105,690
Architectural and civil drafters	410	1.6	24.73	51,440
Electrical and electronics drafters	180	2.6	37.41	77,810
Mechanical drafters	90	0.6	28.64	59,580
Aerospace engineering and operations technicians	50	1.7	27.63	57,470
Civil engineering technicians	290	1.5	20.97	43,610
Electrical and electronics engineering technicians	740	2.2	27.52	57,240
Environmental engineering technicians	60	1.2	21.72	45,180
Industrial engineering technicians	(5)	(5)	29.89	62,170
Mechanical engineering technicians	60	0.5	34.68	72,140
Engineering technicians, except drafters, all other	870	4.3	34.75	72,270
Surveying and mapping technicians	180	1.3	21.96	45,680
Footnotes: (1) For a complete listing of all detailed occupations in the Albuquerque Metropolitan Statistical Area see www.bls.gov/oes/current/oes_10740.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.