Workers in the Youngstown-Warren-Boardman Metropolitan Statistical Area had an average (mean) hourly wage of $18.77 in May 2015, about 19 percent below the nationwide average of $23.23, according to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics. Assistant Commissioner for Regional Operations Charlene Peiffer noted that, after testing for statistical significance, wages in the local area were lower than their respective national averages in 18 of the 22 major occupational groups including legal; management; and computer and mathematical. 

When compared to the nationwide distribution, local employment was more highly concentrated in 5 of the 22 occupational groups, including production; sales and related; and food preparation and serving related. Conversely, 11 groups had employment shares significantly below their national representation, including business and financial operations; computer and mathematical; and office and administrative support. (See table A and box note at end of release.)

One occupational group—production—was chosen to illustrate the diversity of data available for any of the 22 major occupational categories. Youngstown-Warren-Boardman had 22,810 jobs in production, accounting for 10.4 percent of local area employment, significantly higher than the 6.6-percent share nationally. The average hourly wage for this occupational group locally was $18.31, compared to the national wage of $17.41.

Some of the larger detailed occupations within the production group included team assemblers (4,750); cutting, punching, and press machine setters, operators, and tenders, metal and plastic (1,460); and first-line supervisors of production and operating workers (1,400). Among the higher paying jobs were power distributors and dispatchers; and first-line supervisors of production and operating workers, with mean hourly wages of $31.87 and $27.77, respectively. At the lower end of the wage scale were laundry and dry-cleaning workers ($9.62) and pressers, textile, garment, and related materials ($10.26). (Detailed occupational data for production are presented in table 1; for a complete listing of detailed occupations available go to www.bls.gov/oes/2015/may/oes_49660.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 Youngstown-Warren-Boardman Metropolitan Statistical Area, above-average concentrations of employment were found in many of the occupations within the production group. For instance, rolling machine setters, operators, and tenders, metal and plastic were employed at 9.5 times the national rate in Youngstown, and heat treating equipment setters, operators, and tenders, metal and plastic, at 6.1 times the U.S. average. On the other hand, electrical and electronic equipment assemblers had a location quotient of 1.0 in Youngstown, 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 Ohio Department of Job & Family Services and the Pennsylvania Department of Labor and Industry.

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 program produces employment and wage estimates for over 800 occupations for all industries combined in the nation; the 50 states and the District of Columbia; 432 metropolitan areas and divisions; 167 nonmetropolitan areas; and Guam, Puerto Rico, and the U.S. Virgin Islands. National estimates are also available by industry for NAICS sectors, 3-, 4-, and selected 5- and 6-digit industries, and 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. Forms are mailed to approximately 200,000 sampled establishments in May and November each year. May 2015 estimates are based on responses from six semiannual panels collected over a 3-year period: May 2015, November 2014, May 2014, November 2013, May 2013, and November 2012. The overall national response rate for the six panels is 73.5 percent based on establishments and 69.6 percent based on weighted sampled employment. The unweighted employment of sampled establishments across all six semiannual panels represents approximately 57.9 percent of total national employment. (Response rates are slightly lower for these estimates due to the federal shutdown in October 2013.) The sample in the Youngstown-Warren-Boardman Metropolitan Statistical Area included 2,913 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 May 2015 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 Youngstown-Warren-Boardman, Ohio-Penn. Metropolitan Statistical Area includes Mahoning and Trumbull Counties of Ohio, and Mercer County of Pennsylvania.

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/2015/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: 800-877-8339.

Table 1. Employment and wage data from the Occupational Employment Statistics survey, by occupation, Youngstown-Warren-Boardman Metropolitan Statistical Area, May 2015

Occupation (1)	Employment		Mean wages
	Level (2)	Location quotient (3)	Hourly	Annual (4)
Production Occupations	22,810	1.6	$18.31	$38,080
First-Line Supervisors of Production and Operating Workers	1,400	1.5	27.77	57,760
Coil Winders, Tapers, and Finishers	(5)	(5)	13.48	28,030
Electrical and Electronic Equipment Assemblers	350	1.0	14.89	30,960
Electromechanical Equipment Assemblers	170	2.4	17.05	35,460
Engine and Other Machine Assemblers	80	1.3	17.36	36,100
Structural Metal Fabricators and Fitters	300	2.4	21.65	45,020
Team Assemblers	4,750	2.7	(5)	(5)
Assemblers and Fabricators, All Other	820	2.3	13.18	27,410
Bakers	540	1.9	11.03	22,940
Butchers and Meat Cutters	250	1.1	15.06	31,330
Food Batchmakers	90	0.5	14.52	30,190
Computer-Controlled Machine Tool Operators, Metal and Plastic	320	1.4	17.45	36,300
Computer Numerically Controlled Machine Tool Programmers, Metal and Plastic	40	1.0	20.77	43,210
Extruding and Drawing Machine Setters, Operators, and Tenders, Metal and Plastic	430	3.8	16.73	34,800
Forging Machine Setters, Operators, and Tenders, Metal and Plastic	(5)	(5)	17.83	37,090
Rolling Machine Setters, Operators, and Tenders, Metal and Plastic	480	9.5	19.87	41,320
Cutting, Punching, and Press Machine Setters, Operators, and Tenders, Metal and Plastic	1,460	4.7	15.88	33,020
Drilling and Boring Machine Tool Setters, Operators, and Tenders, Metal and Plastic	80	3.4	19.20	39,930
Grinding, Lapping, Polishing, and Buffing Machine Tool Setters, Operators, and Tenders, Metal and Plastic	280	2.4	17.52	36,440
Lathe and Turning Machine Tool Setters, Operators, and Tenders, Metal and Plastic	190	2.9	16.48	34,290
Milling and Planing Machine Setters, Operators, and Tenders, Metal and Plastic	90	2.9	19.51	40,580
Machinists	1,030	1.6	18.79	39,090
Metal-Refining Furnace Operators and Tenders	130	4.1	19.32	40,180
Pourers and Casters, Metal	90	5.6	15.66	32,570
Foundry Mold and Coremakers	80	3.7	17.73	36,880
Molding, Coremaking, and Casting Machine Setters, Operators, and Tenders, Metal and Plastic	250	1.2	17.63	36,670
Multiple Machine Tool Setters, Operators, and Tenders, Metal and Plastic	430	2.6	16.86	35,080
Tool and Die Makers	450	3.8	23.60	49,080
Welders, Cutters, Solderers, and Brazers	880	1.4	16.58	34,480
Welding, Soldering, and Brazing Machine Setters, Operators, and Tenders	(5)	(5)	16.09	33,470
Heat Treating Equipment Setters, Operators, and Tenders, Metal and Plastic	200	6.1	19.67	40,910
Plating and Coating Machine Setters, Operators, and Tenders, Metal and Plastic	170	3.0	15.69	32,630
Tool Grinders, Filers, and Sharpeners	30	2.1	14.82	30,830
Metal Workers and Plastic Workers, All Other	80	2.4	18.29	38,040
Prepress Technicians and Workers	70	1.3	17.53	36,460
Printing Press Operators	170	0.7	15.88	33,020
Laundry and Dry-Cleaning Workers	(5)	(5)	9.62	20,010
Pressers, Textile, Garment, and Related Materials	60	0.8	10.26	21,350
Sewing Machine Operators	260	1.2	11.79	24,520
Upholsterers	(5)	(5)	14.66	30,500
Cabinetmakers and Bench Carpenters	150	1.0	18.13	37,710
Furniture Finishers	40	1.5	15.69	32,640
Sawing Machine Setters, Operators, and Tenders, Wood	110	1.4	11.52	23,970
Woodworking Machine Setters, Operators, and Tenders, Except Sawing	140	1.2	12.28	25,550
Power Distributors and Dispatchers	40	2.1	31.87	66,280
Stationary Engineers and Boiler Operators	70	1.3	22.57	46,950
Water and Wastewater Treatment Plant and System Operators	350	1.9	22.47	46,730
Separating, Filtering, Clarifying, Precipitating, and Still Machine Setters, Operators, and Tenders	40	0.5	16.39	34,090
Crushing, Grinding, and Polishing Machine Setters, Operators, and Tenders	80	1.7	14.32	29,780
Grinding and Polishing Workers, Hand	130	3.0	14.15	29,430
Mixing and Blending Machine Setters, Operators, and Tenders	90	0.4	18.78	39,070
Cutting and Slicing Machine Setters, Operators, and Tenders	30	0.3	15.49	32,230
Extruding, Forming, Pressing, and Compacting Machine Setters, Operators, and Tenders	160	1.4	14.72	30,620
Furnace, Kiln, Oven, Drier, and Kettle Operators and Tenders	60	1.8	16.52	34,360
Inspectors, Testers, Sorters, Samplers, and Weighers	1,030	1.3	19.05	39,620
Jewelers and Precious Stone and Metal Workers	30	0.8	17.32	36,030
Ophthalmic Laboratory Technicians	(5)	(5)	12.54	26,090
Packaging and Filling Machine Operators and Tenders	840	1.4	15.80	32,860
Coating, Painting, and Spraying Machine Setters, Operators, and Tenders	190	1.3	14.51	30,180
Painters, Transportation Equipment	60	0.7	20.50	42,630
Painting, Coating, and Decorating Workers	(5)	(5)	11.97	24,900
Cleaning, Washing, and Metal Pickling Equipment Operators and Tenders	30	1.2	17.17	35,720
Molders, Shapers, and Casters, Except Metal and Plastic	70	1.2	14.84	30,870
Helpers--Production Workers	730	1.0	12.85	26,730
Production Workers, All Other	420	1.1	13.33	27,740
Footnotes: (1) For a complete listing of all detailed occupations in the Youngstown-Warren-Boardman Metropolitan Statistical Area, see www.bls.gov/oes/current/oes_49660.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) Estimates not released.