Workers in the Indianapolis-Carmel Metropolitan Statistical Area had an average (mean) hourly wage of $21.51 in May 2013, about 4 percent below the nationwide average of $22.33, according to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics. Regional Commissioner Charlene Peiffer noted that, after testing for statistical significance, wages in the local area were significantly higher than their respective national averages in 3 of the 22 major occupational groups. Thirteen groups had significantly lower wages than their respective national averages, including legal; management; and arts, design, entertainment, sports, and media.

When compared to the nationwide distribution, local employment was more highly concentrated in 3 of the 22 occupational groups: transportation and material moving; healthcare practitioners and technical; and management. Conversely, eight groups had employment shares significantly below their national representation, including education, training, and library; office and administrative support; and personal care and 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. Indianapolis-Carmel had 64,600 jobs in healthcare practitioners and technical, accounting for 7.1 percent of local area employment, significantly higher than the 5.8-percent share nationally. The average hourly wage for this occupational group locally was $34.83, compared to the national wage of $35.93.

With employment of 21,540, registered nurses was the largest occupation within the healthcare practitioners and technical group, followed by licensed practical and licensed vocational nurses (5,750) and pharmacy technicians (3,000). Among the higher paying jobs were psychiatrists along with general internists, with mean hourly wages of $119.58 and $111.80, respectively. At the lower end of the wage scale were dietetic technicians ($13.79) and pharmacy technicians ($14.33) 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/2013/may/oes_26900.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 Indianapolis-Carmel Metropolitan Statistical Area, above average concentrations of employment were found in some of the occupations within the healthcare practitioners and technical group. For instance, respiratory therapists were employed at 1.7 times the national rate in Indianapolis, and nurse practitioners, at 1.5 times the U.S. average. On the other hand, veterinary technologists and technicians had a location quotient of 1.0 in Indianapolis, 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 Indiana Department of Workforce Development.

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 sampled establishments in May and November each year for a 3-year period. May 2013 estimates are based on responses from six semiannual panels collected in May 2013, November 2012, May 2012, November 2011, May 2011, and November 2010. The overall national response rate for the six panels is 75.3 percent based on establishments and 71.6 percent based on employment. The sample in the Indianapolis-Carmel Metropolitan Statistical Area included 5,055 establishments with a response rate of 75 percent. For more information about OES concepts and methodology, go to www.bls.gov/news.release/ocwage.tn.htm.

The OES survey provides estimates of employment and hourly and annual wages for wage and salary workers in 22 major occupational groups and 821 detailed occupations for the nation, states, metropolitan statistical areas, metropolitan divisions, and nonmetropolitan areas. In addition, employment and wage estimates for 94 minor groups and 458 broad occupations are available in the national data. OES data by state and metropolitan/nonmetropolitan area are available from www.bls.gov/oes/current/oessrcst.htm and www.bls.gov/oes/current/oessrcma.htm, respectively.

The May 2013 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.

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 Indianapolis-Carmel, Ind. Metropolitan Statistical Area includes Boone, Brown, Hamilton, Hancock, Hendricks, Johnson, Marion, Morgan, Putnam, and Shelby Counties.

Additional information

OES data are available on our regional web page at www.bls.gov/regions/midwest. 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/2013/may/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: 1-800-877-8339.

Table 1. Employment and wage data from the Occupational Employment Statistics survey, by occupation, Indianapolis-Carmel Metropolitan Statistical Area, May 2013

Occupation (1)	Employment		Mean wages
	Level (2)	Location quotient (3)	Hourly	Annual(4)
Healthcare Practitioners and Technical Occupations	64,600	1.2	$34.83	$72,440
Chiropractors	200	1.0	48.67	101,230
Dentists, General	620	0.9	64.38	133,920
Dietitians and Nutritionists	400	1.0	25.27	52,560
Optometrists	280	1.3	52.93	110,090
Pharmacists	2,270	1.2	53.23	110,710
Anesthesiologists	(5)	(5)	99.51	206,980
Family and General Practitioners	560	0.7	84.08	174,880
Internists, General	200	0.6	111.80	232,540
Obstetricians and Gynecologists	140	0.9	109.80	228,370
Pediatricians, General	140	0.7	99.60	207,160
Psychiatrists	70	0.4	119.58	248,730
Surgeons	260	0.9	(6)	(6)
Physicians and Surgeons, All Other	3,380	1.6	102.23	212,640
Physician Assistants	390	0.6	41.76	86,870
Podiatrists	80	1.3	78.08	162,400
Occupational Therapists	1,100	1.5	37.92	78,880
Physical Therapists	1,810	1.4	39.04	81,210
Radiation Therapists	120	1.0	35.22	73,260
Recreational Therapists	70	0.5	20.17	41,950
Respiratory Therapists	1,370	1.7	25.41	52,850
Speech-Language Pathologists	950	1.1	37.16	77,290
Exercise Physiologists	90	2.2	22.95	47,730
Therapists, All Other	250	3.2	24.83	51,640
Veterinarians	340	0.8	46.83	97,410
Registered Nurses	21,540	1.2	29.90	62,200
Nurse Anesthetists	(5)	(5)	92.51	192,430
Nurse Midwives	330	8.7	39.29	81,720
Nurse Practitioners	1,200	1.5	43.61	90,710
Audiologists	140	1.7	32.99	68,620
Health Diagnosing and Treating Practitioners, All Other	130	0.6	32.76	68,140
Medical and Clinical Laboratory Technologists	1,580	1.4	27.89	58,000
Medical and Clinical Laboratory Technicians	1,400	1.3	17.77	36,970
Dental Hygienists	1,540	1.2	31.99	66,540
Cardiovascular Technologists and Technicians	540	1.5	27.02	56,210
Diagnostic Medical Sonographers	290	0.7	32.44	67,480
Nuclear Medicine Technologists	150	1.1	33.00	68,640
Radiologic Technologists	1,300	1.0	27.19	56,560
Magnetic Resonance Imaging Technologists	270	1.2	31.58	65,680
Emergency Medical Technicians and Paramedics	1,660	1.0	15.56	32,370
Dietetic Technicians	90	0.5	13.79	28,690
Pharmacy Technicians	3,000	1.2	14.33	29,800
Psychiatric Technicians	320	0.7	14.54	30,250
Respiratory Therapy Technicians	60	0.7	21.66	45,050
Surgical Technologists	860	1.3	20.20	42,010
Veterinary Technologists and Technicians	600	1.0	14.91	31,010
Ophthalmic Medical Technicians	280	1.2	18.11	37,670
Licensed Practical and Licensed Vocational Nurses	5,750	1.2	20.27	42,170
Medical Records and Health Information Technicians	1,530	1.2	17.43	36,250
Opticians, Dispensing	620	1.3	15.15	31,510
Orthotists and Prosthetists	(5)	(5)	65.80	136,870
Health Technologists and Technicians, All Other	870	1.4	24.02	49,960
Occupational Health and Safety Specialists	550	1.3	27.92	58,070
Occupational Health and Safety Technicians	120	1.3	24.93	51,860
Athletic Trainers	350	2.3	(5)	42,360
Genetic Counselors	(5)	(5)	32.69	67,990
Healthcare Practitioners and Technical Workers, All Other	1,660	5.4	29.18	60,690
Footnotes: (1) For a complete listing of all detailed occupations in Indianapolis-Carmel, IN, see www.bls.gov/oes/current/oes_26900.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 $80.00 per hour or $166,400 per year.