Workers in the Trenton Metropolitan Statistical Area had an average (mean) hourly wage of $29.30 in May 2015, about 26 percent above the nationwide average of $23.23, according to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics. Chief Regional Economist Martin Kohli noted that, after testing for statistical significance, wages in the local area were higher than their respective national averages in 19 of the 22 major occupational groups, including management; protective service; and life, physical, and social science. No group had an hourly wage significantly lower than its respective national average.

When compared to the nationwide distribution, local employment was more highly concentrated in 9 of the 22 occupational groups, including business and financial operations; computer and mathematical; and education, training, and library. Conversely, eight groups had employment shares significantly below their national representation, including production; food preparation and serving related; and sales and related. (See table A and box note at end of release.)

One occupational group—management—was chosen to illustrate the diversity of data available for any of the 22 major occupational categories. Trenton had 13,170 jobs in management, accounting for 5.9 percent of local area employment, significantly higher than the 5.0-percent share nationally. The average hourly wage for this occupational group locally was $66.45, significantly above the national wage of $55.30.

Some of the larger detailed occupations within the management group included general and operations managers (2,740), financial managers (1,510), and computer and information systems managers (970). Among the higher-paying jobs were architectural and engineering managers and sales managers, with mean hourly wages of $81.74 and $80.86, respectively. At the lower end of the wage scale were education administrators, preschool and childcare center/program ($30.56) and property, real estate, and community association managers ($32.60). (Detailed occupational data for management are presented in table 1; for a complete listing of detailed occupations available go to www.bls.gov/oes/2015/may/oes_45940.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 Trenton Metropolitan Statistical Area, above-average concentrations of employment were found in many of the occupations within the management group. For instance, natural sciences managers were employed at 4.7 times the national rate in Trenton, and social and community service managers, at 1.9 times the U.S. average. On the other hand, medical and health services managers had a location quotient of 1.0 in Trenton, 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 Jersey Department of Labor and 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. 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 Trenton Metropolitan Statistical Area included 2,110 establishments with a response rate of 77 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 Trenton, N.J. Metropolitan Statistical Area  consists of Mercer County.

Additional information

OES data are available on our regional web page at www.bls.gov/regions/northeast. 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, Trenton Metropolitan Statistical Area, May 2015

Occupation (1)	Employment		Mean wages
	Level (2)	Location quotient (3)	Hourly	Annual (4)
Management Occupations	13,170	1.2	$66.45	$138,220
Chief Executives	100	0.3	76.64	159,400
General and Operations Managers	2,740	0.8	78.08	162,410
Legislators	110	1.2	(5)	(5)
Advertising and Promotions Managers	40	0.9	78.24	162,740
Marketing Managers	550	1.8	72.75	151,330
Sales Managers	440	0.8	80.86	168,180
Public Relations and Fundraising Managers	200	2.1	52.05	108,270
Administrative Services Managers	780	1.8	53.34	110,950
Computer and Information Systems Managers	970	1.8	67.99	141,420
Financial Managers	1,510	1.8	76.23	158,560
Industrial Production Managers	170	0.6	53.68	111,650
Purchasing Managers	70	0.6	60.50	125,840
Transportation, Storage, and Distribution Managers	170	1.0	58.48	121,630
Human Resources Managers	290	1.5	60.34	125,510
Training and Development Managers	40	0.8	57.16	118,900
Construction Managers	300	0.8	60.74	126,340
Education Administrators, Preschool and Childcare Center/Program	110	1.4	30.56	63,570
Education Administrators, Elementary and Secondary School	460	1.2	(5)	128,680
Education Administrators, Postsecondary	340	1.5	63.83	132,770
Education Administrators, All Other	90	1.9	44.62	92,800
Architectural and Engineering Managers	290	1.0	81.74	170,030
Food Service Managers	130	0.4	32.92	68,480
Medical and Health Services Managers	500	1.0	58.54	121,760
Natural Sciences Managers	400	4.7	74.85	155,690
Property, Real Estate, and Community Association Managers	210	0.7	32.60	67,810
Social and Community Service Managers	360	1.9	41.95	87,250
Managers, All Other	1,710	2.8	62.44	129,870
Footnotes: (1) For a complete listing of all detailed occupations in the Trenton, NJ, Metropolitan Statistical Area, see www.bls.gov/oes/current/oes_45940.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.