Workers in the Trenton, NJ Metropolitan Statistical Area had an average (mean) hourly wage of $37.49 in May 2023, 19 percent above the nationwide average of $31.48, the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics reported today. Regional Commissioner Alexandra Hall Bovee noted that, after testing for statistical significance, wages in the local area were higher than their respective national averages in 17 of the 22 major occupational groups, including management, construction and extraction, and sales and related.

When compared to the nationwide distribution, Trenton area employment was more highly concentrated in 11 of the 22 occupational groups, including business and financial operations, management, and educational instruction and library. Eleven groups had employment shares significantly below their national representation, including food preparation and serving related, production, and sales and related. (See table A.)

One occupational group—business and financial operations—was chosen to illustrate the diversity of data available for any of the 22 major occupational categories. Trenton had 24,350 jobs in business and financial operations, accounting for 10.2 percent of local area employment, significantly higher than the 6.6-percent share nationally. The average hourly wage for this occupational group locally was $45.58, significantly above the national wage of $43.55.

  

View Chart Data

                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                         

Chart 1. Hourly mean wages for higher paying business and financial operations occupations in the Trenton metropolitan area, May 2023

Occupation	Wage
All occupations	$37.49
Business and financial operations occupations	45.58
Personal financial advisors	74.30
Project management specialists	56.64
Financial and investment analysts	51.72
Financial risk specialists	50.82
Labor relations specialists	50.55

Some of the larger detailed occupations within the business and financial operations group included accountants and auditors (2,870), management analysts (2,300), and compliance officers (1,570). Among the higher-paying jobs in this group were personal financial advisors and project management specialists, with mean hourly wages of $74.30 and $56.64, respectively. (See chart 1.) At the lower end of the wage scale were compensation, benefits, and job analysis specialists ($37.29) and meeting, convention, and event planners ($37.78). (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_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 area, above-average concentrations of employment were found in many of the occupations within the business and financial operations group. For instance, compliance officers were employed at 2.6 times the national rate in Trenton, and personal financial advisors, at 2.1 times the U.S. average. Buyers and purchasing agents had a location quotient of 1.0 in Trenton, 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 New Jersey Department of Labor and Workforce Development.

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 Trenton, NJ Metropolitan Statistical Area included 2,034 establishments with a response rate of 69 percent.

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.

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, NJ Metropolitan Statistical Area includes Mercer County.

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.