Workers in the Allentown-Bethlehem-Easton Metropolitan Statistical Area had an average (mean) hourly wage of $22.40 in May 2016, 6 percent below the nationwide average of $23.86, according to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics. Sheila Watkins, the Bureau’s regional commissioner, noted that, after testing for statistical significance, wages in the local area were significantly lower than their respective national averages in 9 of the 22 major occupational groups, including arts, design, entertainment, sports, and media; computer and mathematical; and business and financial operations. One group—production occupations—had an average wage that was measurably higher than its respective national average.

When compared to the nationwide distribution, local employment shares were significantly higher in 7 of the 22 occupational groups including transportation and material moving; healthcare practitioners and technical; and production. Conversely, 11 groups had employment shares significantly below their national representation; these groups included business and financial operations; management; and computer and mathematical. (See table A and box note at end of release.)

Table A. Occupational employment and wages by major occupational group, United States and the Allentown-Bethlehem-Easton Metropolitan Statistical Area, and measures of statistical significance, May 2016

Major occupational group	Percent of total employment			Mean hourly wage
	United States	Allentown		United States	Allentown		Percent difference (1)
Total, all occupations	100.0	100.0		$23.86	$22.40	*	-6
Management	5.1	3.6	*	56.74	56.76		0
Business and financial operations	5.2	3.7	*	36.09	33.56	*	-7
Computer and mathematical	3.0	1.9	*	42.25	38.79	*	-8
Architecture and engineering	1.8	1.8		40.53	40.01		-1
Life, physical, and social science	0.8	0.5	*	35.06	36.29		4
Community and social service	1.4	1.6	*	22.69	21.13	*	-7
Legal	0.8	0.4	*	50.95	46.24		-9
Education, training, and library	6.2	6.0		26.21	27.80		6
Arts, design, entertainment, sports, and media	1.4	0.9	*	28.07	21.23	*	-24
Healthcare practitioners and technical	5.9	7.5	*	38.06	39.66		4
Healthcare support	2.9	3.5	*	14.65	14.75		1
Protective service	2.4	1.9	*	22.03	20.13		-9
Food preparation and serving related	9.2	8.7	*	11.47	10.93	*	-5
Building and grounds cleaning and maintenance	3.2	3.1		13.47	13.58		1
Personal care and service	3.2	4.1	*	12.74	12.17	*	-4
Sales and related	10.4	9.6	*	19.50	18.65	*	-4
Office and administrative support	15.7	16.3	*	17.91	17.16	*	-4
Farming, fishing, and forestry	0.3	0.1	*	13.37	14.58		9
Construction and extraction	4.0	3.2	*	23.51	23.93		2
Installation, maintenance, and repair	3.9	3.9		22.45	22.01		-2
Production	6.5	7.5	*	17.88	18.64	*	4
Transportation and material moving	6.9	10.0	*	17.34	16.61	*	-4
Footnotes: (1) A positive percent difference measures how much the mean wage in the Allentown-Bethlehem-Easton Metropolitan Statistical Area is above the national mean wage, while a negative difference reflects a lower wage. * The percent share of employment or mean hourly wage for this area is significantly different from the national average of all areas at the 90-percent confidence level.

One occupational group—transportation and material moving—was chosen to illustrate the diversity of data available for any of the 22 major occupational categories. Allentown had 35,410 jobs in transportation and material moving, accounting for 10.0 percent of local area employment, significantly larger than the 6.9-percent share nationally. The average hourly wage for this occupational group locally was $16.61, significantly lower than the national wage of $17.34.

With employment of 13,870, hand laborers and freight, stock, and material movers was the largest occupation within the transportation and material moving group, followed by heavy and tractor-trailer truck drivers with 6,120 jobs. Among the higher-paying jobs were first-line supervisors of transportation and material-moving machine and vehicle operators ($32.09) and first-line supervisors of hand helpers, laborers, and material movers ($25.80). At the lower end of the wage scale were automotive and watercraft service attendants ($10.36) and parking lot attendants ($10.65). (Detailed occupational data for transportation and material moving are presented in table 1; for a complete listing of detailed occupations available go to www.bls.gov/oes/current/oes_10900.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 as it does nationally. In the Allentown area, above-average concentrations of employment were found in several of the occupations within the transportation and material moving group. For instance, conveyor operators and tenders were employed at 2.6 times the national rate in Allentown, and industrial truck and tractor operators at 2.7 times the U.S. average. On the other hand, light truck or delivery service drivers had a location quotient of 1.0 in Allentown, 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 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. The May 2016 estimates are based on responses from six semiannual panels collected over a 3-year period: May 2016, November 2015, May 2015, November 2014, May 2014, and November 2013. The overall national response rate for the six panels, based on the 50 states and the District of Columbia, is 73 percent based on establishments and 69 percent based on weighted sampled employment. The unweighted employment of sampled establishments across all six semiannual panels represents approximately 58 percent of total national employment. The sample in the Allentown-Bethlehem-Easton, Pa.-N.J. Metropolitan Statistical Area included 3,562 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 2016 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 Allentown-Bethlehem-Easton, Pa.-N.J. Metropolitan Statistical Area includes Carbon, Lehigh and Northampton Counties in Pennsylvania and Warren County in New Jersey.

Additional information

OES data are available on our regional web page at www.bls.gov/regions/mid-atlantic. 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/current/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, Allentown-Bethlehem-Easton Metropolitan Statistical Area, May 2016

Occupation (1)	Employment (2)		Mean wage
	Level	Location quotient (3)	Hourly	Annual (4)
Transportation and material moving occupations	35,410	1.4	$16.61	$34,540
First-line supervisors of helpers, laborers, and material movers, hand	680	1.5	25.80	53,660
First-line supervisors of transportation and material-moving machine and vehicle operators	580	1.1	32.09	66,740
Commercial pilots	(5)	(5)	(6)	79,430
Bus drivers, transit and intercity	350	0.8	15.87	33,010
Bus drivers, school or special client	1,670	1.3	16.61	34,560
Driver/sales workers	1,300	1.2	11.64	24,200
Heavy and tractor-trailer truck drivers	6,120	1.4	21.99	45,730
Light truck or delivery services drivers	2,060	1.0	17.04	35,450
Taxi drivers and chauffeurs	450	0.9	13.01	27,070
Parking lot attendants	340	0.9	10.65	22,140
Automotive and watercraft service attendants	320	1.2	10.36	21,540
Conveyor operators and tenders	180	2.6	15.52	32,290
Crane and tower operators	40	0.3	24.09	50,110
Excavating and loading machine and dragline operators	60	0.5	21.49	44,710
Industrial truck and tractor operators	3,700	2.7	16.78	34,890
Cleaners of vehicles and equipment	890	1.0	11.59	24,100
Laborers and freight, stock, and material movers, hand	13,870	2.1	14.46	30,080
Machine feeders and offbearers	250	1.1	14.58	30,330
Packers and packagers, hand	2,090	1.2	13.26	27,580
Refuse and recyclable material collectors	220	0.7	15.14	31,490
Footnotes: (1) For a complete listing of all detailed occupations in the Allentown-Bethlehem-Easton Metropolitan Statistical Area, see www.bls.gov/oes/current/oes_10900.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. (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.