Workers in the Lake Charles, LA Metropolitan Statistical Area had an average (mean) hourly wage of $26.01 in May 2023, compared to the nationwide average of $31.48, the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics reported today. Assistant Commissioner for Regional Operations Michael Hirniak noted that higher paying major occupational groups included management ($54.58), architecture and engineering ($48.76), and computer and mathematical ($43.76). Lower paying occupations included food preparation and serving related ($13.04), healthcare support ($14.19), and building and grounds cleaning and maintenance ($14.31). (See table A.)

Occupational groups with the highest employment in the Lake Charles area included office and administrative support (11.1 percent), food preparation and serving related (9.9 percent), and sales and related (9.1 percent). Major occupational groups on the lower end of local employment included legal (0.5 percent); computer and mathematical (0.5 percent); and arts, design, entertainment, sports, and media (0.7 percent).

One occupational group—construction and extraction—was chosen to illustrate the diversity of data available for any of the 22 major occupational categories. Lake Charles had 7,980 jobs in construction and extraction, accounting for 8.8 percent of local area employment, compared to the 4.1-percent share nationally. The average hourly wage for this occupational group locally was $25.51, compared to the national wage of $29.57.

Some of the larger detailed occupations within the construction and extraction group included construction laborers (2,210), carpenters (1,080), and first-line supervisors of construction trades and extraction workers (920). Among the higher-paying jobs in this group were first-line supervisors of construction trades and extraction workers and boilermakers, with mean hourly wages of $33.82 and $33.12, respectively. At the lower end of the wage scale were carpenters helpers ($16.41) and drywall and ceiling tile installers ($17.51). (Detailed data for the construction and extraction occupations are presented in table 1; for a complete listing of detailed occupations available go to www.bls.gov/oes/current/oes_29340.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 Lake Charles area, above-average concentrations of employment were found in many of the occupations within the construction and extraction group. For instance, helpers--pipelayers, plumbers, pipefitters, and steamfitters were employed at 4.3 times the national rate in Lake Charles, and electricians helpers, at 4.2 times the U.S. average. Sheet metal workers had a location quotient of 1.0 in Lake Charles, indicating that this particular occupation’s local and national employment shares were similar.

The statistics in this release are from the Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics (OEWS) survey, a cooperative effort between BLS and the State Workforce Agencies (SWAs). BLS funds the survey and provides the procedures and technical support. State Workforce Agencies collect most of the data: in this case, the Louisiana Workforce Commission.

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. Full OEWS data tables are available online.

Additional information about the OEWS estimates and methodology are available in the national Technical Notes. The overall national response rate for the six panels, based on the 50 states and the District of Columbia, is 65.8 percent based on establishments and 64.3 percent based on weighted sampled employment. The sample in the Lake Charles, LA Metropolitan Statistical Area included 1,276 establishments with a response rate of 61 percent.

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 Lake Charles, LA Metropolitan Statistical Area includes Calcasieu Parish and Cameron Parish.

For more information

Answers to frequently asked questions about the OEWS data, as well as general program documentation, are available on the OEWS website.

Information in this release will be made available to individuals with sensory impairments upon request. Voice phone: (202) 691-5200; Telecommunications Relay Service: 7-1-1.

Table 1. Employment and wage data for construction and extraction occupations, Lake Charles metropolitan area, May 2023

Occupation (1)	Employment		Mean wages ($)
	Level (2)	Location quotient (3)	Hourly	Annual (4)
Construction and extraction occupations	7,980	2.1	25.51	53,060
First-line supervisors of construction trades and extraction workers	920	2.0	33.82	70,350
Boilermakers	60	9.7	33.12	68,890
Carpenters	1,080	2.6	24.01	49,940
Cement masons and concrete finishers	50	0.4	22.36	46,510
Construction laborers	2,210	3.6	22.92	47,680
Operating engineers and other construction equipment operators	490	1.8	25.06	52,130
Drywall and ceiling tile installers	40	0.8	17.51	36,420
Electricians	670	1.6	30.13	62,670
Glaziers	80	2.5	22.49	46,780
Insulation workers, floor, ceiling, and wall	(5)	(5)	25.39	52,800
Painters, construction and maintenance	390	3.0	20.62	42,890
Plumbers, pipefitters, and steamfitters	430	1.7	30.38	63,190
Sheet metal workers	70	1.0	31.89	66,340
Helpers--carpenters	40	3.3	16.41	34,130
Helpers--electricians	170	4.2	18.53	38,540
Helpers--pipelayers, plumbers, pipefitters, and steamfitters	120	4.3	17.84	37,100
Helpers, construction trades, all other	100	6.2	23.45	48,780
Construction and building inspectors	60	0.8	30.93	64,330
Hazardous materials removal workers	110	3.5	17.82	37,060
Septic tank servicers and sewer pipe cleaners	30	1.9	18.16	37,770
Miscellaneous construction and related workers	60	3.5	29.10	60,520
Roustabouts, oil and gas	80	3.0	18.55	38,590
(1) For a complete listing of all detailed occupations in the Lake Charles, LA Metropolitan Statistical Area, see www.bls.gov/oes/current/oes_29340.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.