Workers in the Erie, PA Metropolitan Statistical Area had an average (mean) hourly wage of $20.52 in May 2019, 20 percent below the nationwide average of $25.72, according to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics. Sheila Watkins, the Bureau’s regional commissioner, noted that after testing for statistical significance, 18 of the 22 major occupational groups had average wages in the local area that were significantly lower than their respective national averages, including arts, design, entertainment, sports, and media; architecture and engineering; and computer and mathematical.

When compared to the nationwide distribution, Erie area employment was more highly concentrated in 5 of the 22 occupational groups, including production and healthcare support. Twelve groups had employment shares significantly below their national representation, including 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 Erie, PA Metropolitan Statistical Area, and measures of statistical significance, May 2019

Major occupational group	Percent of total employment			Mean hourly wage
	United States	Erie		United States	Erie		Percent difference (1)
Total, all occupations	100	100		$25.72	$20.52	*	-20
Management	5.5	3.8	*	58.88	49.13	*	-17
Business and financial operations	5.6	3.4	*	37.56	30.35	*	-19
Computer and mathematical	3.1	1.4	*	45.08	34.30	*	-24
Architecture and engineering	1.8	1.4	*	42.69	31.41	*	-26
Life, physical, and social science	0.9	0.3	*	37.28	30.72	*	-18
Community and social service	1.5	2.0	*	24.27	19.90	*	-18
Legal	0.8	0.3	*	52.71	46.86		-11
Education, training, and library	6.1	6.0		27.75	25.10	*	-10
Arts, design, entertainment, sports, and media	1.4	0.9	*	29.79	21.62	*	-27
Healthcare practitioners and technical	5.9	7.5	*	40.21	35.53		-12
Healthcare support	4.4	7.2	*	14.91	13.84	*	-7
Protective service	2.4	1.8	*	23.98	25.34		6
Food preparation and serving related	9.2	10.2	*	12.82	11.36	*	-11
Building and grounds cleaning and maintenance	3.0	3.2		15.03	12.48	*	-17
Personal care and service	2.2	2.9		15.03	12.21	*	-19
Sales and related	9.8	9.6		20.70	15.99	*	-23
Office and administrative support	13.3	12.8		19.73	17.43	*	-12
Farming, fishing, and forestry	0.3	0.0	*	15.07	19.13	*	27
Construction and extraction	4.2	3.2	*	25.28	23.01	*	-9
Installation, maintenance, and repair	3.9	3.5	*	24.10	20.82	*	-14
Production	6.2	11.4	*	19.30	17.30	*	-10
Transportation and material moving	8.5	7.1	*	18.23	15.86	*	-13
Footnotes: (1) A positive percent difference measures how much the mean wage in the Erie, PA Metropolitan Statistical Area is above the national mean wage, while a negative difference reflects a lower wage. * The mean hourly wage or percent share of employment is significantly different from the national average of all areas at the 90-percent confidence level.

One occupational group—production—was chosen to illustrate the diversity of data available for any of the 22 major occupational categories. Erie had 14,040 jobs in production occupations, accounting for 11.4 percent of local area employment, significantly higher than the 6.2-percent share nationally. The average hourly wage for this occupational group locally was $17.30, significantly lower than the national wage of $19.30.

Miscellaneous assemblers and fabricators (1,800) and first-line supervisors of production and operating workers (1,010) were some of the larger occupations within the production group. Among the higher-paying jobs in this group were first-line supervisors of production and operating workers ($26.40) and tool and die makers ($23.39). At the lower end of the wage scale were helpers—production workers ($12.31) and laundry and dry-cleaning workers ($10.99). (Detailed data for transportation and material moving occupations are presented in table 1; for a complete listing of detailed occupations available go to www.bls.gov/oes/current/oes_21500.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 Erie area, above-average concentrations of employment were found in several of the occupations within the production group. For instance, machinists were employed at 1.9 times the national rate in Erie, and computer numerically controlled tool operators at 6.7 times the national rate. On the other hand, helpers—production workers had a location quotient of 1.0 in Erie, 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 Maryland Department of Labor, Licensing, and Regulation.

Technical Note

The Occupational Employment Statistics (OES) survey is a semiannual survey measuring occupational employment and wage rates for wage and salary workers in nonfarm establishments in the United States. The OES 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. OES data are available at www.bls.gov/oes/tables.htm.

The OES 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. OES estimates are constructed from a sample of about 1.1 million establishments. Each year, two semiannual panels of approximately 180,000 to 200,000 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 2019 estimates are based on responses from six semiannual panels collected over a 3-year period: May 2019, November 2018, May 2018, November 2017, May 2017, and November 2016. The unweighted sampled employment of 83 million across all six semiannual panels represents approximately 57 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 71 percent based on establishments and 68 percent based on weighted sampled employment. The sample in the Erie Metropolitan Statistical Area included 1,530 establishments with a response rate of 69 percent. For more information about OES 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 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.

The May 2019 OES estimates are the first set of OES estimates to be based in part on survey data collected using the 2018 SOC. These estimates use a hybrid of the 2010 and 2018 SOC systems. More information on the hybrid classification system is available at www.bls.gov/oes/soc_2018.htm.

The May 2019 OES estimates are based on the 2017 North American Industry Classification System (NAICS). More information about the 2017 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 Erie, PA Metropolitan Statistical Area includes Erie County in Pennsylvania.

Additional information

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 at www.bls.gov/oes/oes_doc.htm.

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, Erie, PA Metropolitan Statistical Area, May 2019

Occupation (1)	Employment (2)		Mean wage
	Level	Location quotient (3)	Hourly	Annual (4)
Production occupations	14,040	1.8	$17.30	$35,980
First-line supervisors of production and operating workers	1,010	1.9	26.40	54,910
Electrical, electronic, and electromechanical assemblers, except coil winders, tapers, and finishers	340	1.4	14.22	29,580
Structural metal fabricators and fitters	70	1.2	17.44	36,270
Miscellaneous assemblers and fabricators	1,800	1.6	14.97	31,150
Bakers	240	1.5	14.18	29,490
Butchers and meat cutters	110	0.9	16.85	35,050
Food batchmakers	360	2.7	15.34	31,910
Extruding and drawing machine setters, operators, and tenders, metal and plastic	(5)	(5)	16.62	34,580
Cutting, punching, and press machine setters, operators, and tenders, metal and plastic	350	2.1	14.31	29,750
Drilling and boring machine tool setters, operators, and tenders, metal and plastic	30	3.6	16.50	34,320
Grinding, lapping, polishing, and buffing machine tool setters, operators, and tenders, metal and plastic	370	5.8	16.26	33,820
Lathe and turning machine tool setters, operators, and tenders, metal and plastic	50	2.1	17.26	35,900
Machinists	610	1.9	19.67	40,920
Pourers and casters, metal	60	9.1	17.17	35,710
Molding, coremaking, and casting machine setters, operators, and tenders, metal and plastic	1,070	7.4	13.63	28,340
Multiple machine tool setters, operators, and tenders, metal and plastic	620	5.0	14.35	29,840
Tool and die makers	250	4.2	23.39	48,660
Welders, cutters, solderers, and brazers	(5)	(5)	18.54	38,570
Welding, soldering, and brazing machine setters, operators, and tenders	40	1.5	14.79	30,760
Plating machine setters, operators, and tenders, metal and plastic	180	5.1	15.39	32,020
Printing press operators	110	0.8	12.94	26,910
Laundry and dry-cleaning workers	240	1.4	10.99	22,860
Cabinetmakers and bench carpenters	40	0.5	19.04	39,600
Sawing machine setters, operators, and tenders, wood	30	0.7	15.25	31,710
Woodworking machine setters, operators, and tenders, except sawing	30	0.5	15.73	32,720
Power plant operators	40	1.3	(5)	(5)
Water and wastewater treatment plant and system operators	90	0.9	22.93	47,700
Chemical equipment operators and tenders	120	1.6	22.50	46,810
Separating, filtering, clarifying, precipitating, and still machine setters, operators, and tenders	40	1.0	15.63	32,500
Grinding and polishing workers, hand	50	2.2	12.30	25,580
Mixing and blending machine setters, operators, and tenders	160	1.6	20.95	43,580
Cutting and slicing machine setters, operators, and tenders	60	1.2	14.13	29,380
Extruding, forming, pressing, and compacting machine setters, operators, and tenders	90	1.6	19.00	39,510
Inspectors, testers, sorters, samplers, and weighers	750	1.6	16.21	33,730
Packaging and filling machine operators and tenders	420	1.3	15.74	32,730
Coating, painting, and spraying machine setters, operators, and tenders	440	3.6	22.73	47,270
Computer numerically controlled tool operators	850	6.7	17.39	36,170
Computer numerically controlled tool programmers	50	2.1	25.17	52,360
Adhesive bonding machine operators and tenders	40	3.3	13.25	27,570
Cleaning, washing, and metal pickling equipment operators and tenders	40	2.6	16.72	34,790
Molders, shapers, and casters, except metal and plastic	50	1.2	13.35	27,760
Helpers--production workers	250	1.0	12.31	25,600
Production workers, all other	60	0.3	13.86	28,820
Footnotes: (1) For a complete listing of all detailed occupations in the Erie, PA Metropolitan Statistical Area, see www.bls.gov/oes/current/oes_21500.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.