Workers in the Springfield, IL Metropolitan Statistical Area had an average (mean) hourly wage of $25.90 in May 2020, compared to the nationwide average of $27.07, the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics reported today. Regional Commissioner Jason Palmer noted that, after testing for statistical significance, wages in the local area were higher than their respective national averages in 2 of the 22 major occupational groups: protective service and also construction and extraction. Eleven groups had significantly lower wages than their respective national averages, including legal, management, and educational instruction and library.

When compared to the nationwide distribution, Springfield area employment was more highly concentrated in 3 of the 22 occupational groups: healthcare practitioners and technical, business and financial operations, and office and administrative support. Nine groups had employment shares significantly below their national representation, including production, transportation and material moving, and sales and related. (See table A.)

One occupational group—healthcare practitioners and technical—was chosen to illustrate the diversity of data available for any of the 22 major occupational categories. Springfield had 9,580 jobs in healthcare practitioners and technical, accounting for 9.7 percent of local area employment, significantly higher than the 6.2-percent share nationally. The average hourly wage for this occupational group locally was $40.45, compared to the national wage of $41.30.

Some of the larger detailed occupations within the healthcare practitioners and technical group included registered nurses (3,700), licensed practical and licensed vocational nurses (770), and clinical laboratory technologists and technicians (470). Among the higher-paying jobs in this group were pharmacists and physician assistants with mean hourly wages of $59.99 and $41.12, respectively. At the lower end of the wage scale were emergency medical technicians and paramedics ($15.10) and pharmacy technicians ($15.99). (Detailed data for the healthcare practitioners and technical occupations are presented in table 1; for a complete listing of detailed occupations available go to www.bls.gov/oes/current/oes_44100.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 Springfield area, above-average concentrations of employment were found in many of the occupations within the healthcare practitioners and technical group. For instance, nurse anesthetists were employed at 5.7 times the national rate in Springfield, and psychiatric technicians, at 3.0 times the U.S. average. Pharmacists had a location quotient of 0.9 in Springfield, indicating that this particular occupation’s local and national employment shares were similar.

These statistics are from the Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics (OEWS) survey, a federal-state cooperative program between BLS and State Workforce Agencies, in this case, the Illinois Department of Employment Security.

Technical Note

The Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics (OEWS) survey is a semiannual survey measuring occupational employment and wage rates for wage and salary workers in nonfarm establishments in the United States. The OEWS data available from BLS include cross-industry occupational employment and wage estimates for the nation; over 580 areas, including states and the District of Columbia, metropolitan statistical areas (MSAs), nonmetropolitan areas, and territories; national industry-specific estimates at the NAICS sector, 3-digit, most 4-digit, and selected 5- and 6-digit industry levels, and national estimates by ownership across all industries and for schools and hospitals. OEWS data are available at www.bls.gov/oes/tables.htm.

The OEWS survey is a cooperative effort between BLS and the State Workforce Agencies (SWAs). BLS funds the survey and provides the procedures and technical support, while the State Workforce Agencies collect most of the data. OEWS estimates are constructed from a sample of about 1.1 million establishments. Each year, two semiannual panels of approximately 180,000 to 185,000 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 2020 estimates are based on responses from six semiannual panels collected over a 3-year period: May 2020, November 2019, May 2019, November 2018, May 2018, and November 2017. The unweighted sample employment of 83 million across all six semiannual panels represents approximately 56 percent of total national employment. The overall national response rate for the six panels, based on the 50 states and the District of Columbia, is 69 percent based on establishments and 66 percent based on weighted sampled employment. The sample in the Springfield, IL Metropolitan Statistical Area included 1,198 establishments with a response rate of 64 percent. For more information about OEWS concepts and methodology, go to www.bls.gov/oes/current/oes_tec.htm.

A value that is statistically different from another does not necessarily mean that the difference has economic or practical significance. Statistical significance is concerned with the ability to make confident statements about a universe based on a sample. It is entirely possible that a large difference between two values is not significantly different statistically, while a small difference is, since both the size and heterogeneity of the sample affect the relative error of the data being tested.

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 Springfield, IL Metropolitan Statistical Area includes Menard and Sangamon Counties.

For more information

Answers to frequently asked questions about the OEWS data are available at www.bls.gov/oes/oes_ques.htm. Detailed information about the OEWS program is available at www.bls.gov/oes/oes_doc.htm.

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

Table 1. Employment and wage data for healthcare practitioners and technical occupations, Springfield metropolitan area, May 2020

Occupation (1)	Employment		Mean wages
	Level (2)	Location quotient (3)	Hourly	Annual (4)
Healthcare practitioners and technical occupations	9,580	1.6	$40.45	$84,130
Chiropractors	30	1.4	23.10	48,040
Dentists, general	(5)	(5)	86.11	179,100
Dietitians and nutritionists	60	1.2	25.92	53,900
Pharmacists	190	0.9	59.99	124,770
Physician assistants	170	1.9	41.12	85,520
Occupational therapists	90	1.0	37.79	78,610
Physical therapists	110	0.7	44.92	93,430
Respiratory therapists	160	1.7	27.49	57,190
Speech-language pathologists	120	1.1	35.10	73,000
Veterinarians	60	1.2	39.34	81,830
Registered nurses	3,700	1.8	34.64	72,050
Nurse anesthetists	170	5.7	113.39	235,860
Nurse practitioners	330	2.2	55.34	115,110
Anesthesiologists	70	3.5	(7)	(7)
Physicians, all other; and ophthalmologists, except pediatric	320	1.2	131.59	273,700
Surgeons, except ophthalmologists	40	1.5	137.30	285,590
Dental hygienists	120	0.8	32.79	68,200
Acupuncturists and healthcare diagnosing or treating practitioners, all other	40	1.5	34.89	72,580
Clinical laboratory technologists and technicians	470	2.1	23.70	49,290
Cardiovascular technologists and technicians	70	1.7	20.04	41,690
Diagnostic medical sonographers	80	1.6	37.34	77,670
Radiologic technologists and technicians	260	1.8	26.34	54,780
Magnetic resonance imaging technologists	80	2.8	34.45	71,650
Emergency medical technicians and paramedics	300	1.7	15.10	31,420
Pharmacy technicians	350	1.2	15.99	33,260
Psychiatric technicians	180	3.0	19.84	41,270
Surgical technologists	130	1.7	22.17	46,120
Veterinary technologists and technicians	(5)	(5)	17.90	37,230
Ophthalmic medical technicians	40	1.0	(5)	(5)
Licensed practical and licensed vocational nurses	770	1.6	21.99	45,740
Opticians, dispensing	40	0.9	18.55	38,580
Medical dosimetrists, medical records specialists, and health technologists and technicians, all other	350	1.5	23.08	48,010
Athletic trainers	30	1.8	(6)	56,070
Health information technologists, medical registrars, surgical assistants, and healthcare practitioners and technical workers, all other	130	2.4	27.21	56,590
Footnotes: (1) For a complete listing of all detailed occupations in the Springfield, IL Metropolitan Statistical Area, see www.bls.gov/oes/current/oes_44100.htm. (2) Estimates for detailed occupations may not sum to the totals due to rounding, and because the totals may include occupations that are 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) Wages for some occupations that do not generally work year-round, full time, are reported either as hourly wages or annual salaries depending on how they are typically paid. (7) This wage is equal to or greater than $80.00 per hour or $166,400 per year.