Workers in the Richmond, VA Metropolitan Statistical Area had an average (mean) hourly wage of $25.30 in May 2019, about 2 percent below the nationwide average of $25.72, the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics reported today. Sheila Watkins, the Bureau’s regional commissioner, noted that, after testing for statistical significance, wages in the local area were higher than their respective national averages in 3 of the 22 major occupational groups, including management and installation, maintenance, and repair. Ten groups had significantly lower wages than their respective national averages, including life, physical, and social science; arts, design, entertainment, sports, and media; and construction and extraction.

When compared to the nationwide distribution, Richmond area employment was more highly concentrated in 8 of the 22 occupational groups, including business and financial operations, office and administrative support, and computer and mathematical. Conversely, seven groups had employment shares significantly below their national representation, including production, management, and food preparation and serving related. (See table A and box note at end of release.)

One occupational group—business and financial operations—was chosen to illustrate the diversity of data available for any of the 22 major occupational categories. Richmond had 49,890 jobs in business and financial operations, accounting for 7.6 percent of local area employment, significantly higher than the 5.6-percent share nationally. The average hourly wage for this occupational group locally was $37.49, compared to the national wage of $37.56.

Some of the larger detailed occupations within the business and financial operations group included accountants and auditors (7,940), management analysts (6,280), and market research analysts and marketing specialists (3,810). Among the higher-paying jobs in this group were personal financial advisors and financial examiners, with mean hourly wages of $61.93 and $45.75, respectively. At the lower end of the wage scale were tax preparers ($16.71) and credit counselors ($24.30). (Detailed data for the business and financial operations occupations are presented in table 1; for a complete listing of detailed occupations available go to www.bls.gov/oes/current/oes_40060.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 Richmond area, above-average concentrations of employment were found in many of the occupations within the business and financial operations group. For instance, management analysts were employed at 2.0 times the national rate in Richmond, and tax examiners and collectors, and revenue agents, at 2.5 times the U.S. average. Claims adjusters, examiners, and investigators had a location quotient of 1.0 in Richmond, 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 Virginia Employment Commission.

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 sample 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 Richmond, VA Metropolitan Statistical Area included 3,873 establishments with a response rate of 61 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 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.

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 Richmond, VA Metropolitan Statistical Area includes Amelia, Caroline, Charles City, Chesterfield, Colonial Heights city, Cumberland, Dinwiddie, Goochland, Hanover, Henrico, Hopewell city, King William, King and Queen, Louisa, New Kent, Petersburg city, Powhatan, Prince George, Richmond city, and Sussex Counties.

For more information

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