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News Release Information

23-1410-PHI
Friday, July 14, 2023

Contacts Technical information: Media contact:

Occupational Employment and Wages in Charleston — May 2022

Workers in the Charleston, WV Metropolitan Statistical Area had an average (mean) hourly wage of $24.35 in May 2022, 18 percent below the nationwide average of $29.76, 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 lower than their respective national averages in 20 of the 22 major occupational groups, including computer and mathematical; management; and arts, design, entertainment, sports, and media.

When compared to the nationwide distribution, Charleston area employment was more highly concentrated in 9 of the 22 occupational groups, including healthcare practitioners and technical, protective service, and office and administrative support. Eleven groups had employment shares significantly below their national representation, including production, transportation and material moving, and business and financial operations. (See table A.)

Table A. Occupational employment and wages by major occupational group, United States and the Charleston metropolitan area, and measures of statistical significance, May 2022
Major occupational group Percent of total employment Mean hourly wage ($)
United States Charleston United States Charleston Percent difference (1)

Total, all occupations

100.0 100.0 29.76 24.35* -18

Management

6.7 6.4 63.08 47.63* -24

Business and financial operations

6.5 5.1* 41.39 31.89* -23

Computer and mathematical

3.4 2.2* 51.99 32.34* -38

Architecture and engineering

1.7 1.7 45.52 39.22* -14

Life, physical, and social science

0.9 1.2* 40.21 31.01* -23

Community and social service

1.6 2.1* 26.81 20.91* -22

Legal

0.8 1.6* 59.87 50.35* -16

Educational instruction and library

5.7 5.0* 30.41 22.69* -25

Arts, design, entertainment, sports, and media

1.4 0.9* 36.78 23.28* -37

Healthcare practitioners and technical

6.1 9.5* 46.52 40.20* -14

Healthcare support

4.6 5.8* 17.10 14.12* -17

Protective service

2.3 4.7* 25.97 14.96* -42

Food preparation and serving related

8.5 7.4* 15.45 12.35* -20

Building and grounds cleaning and maintenance

2.9 2.7* 17.26 13.99* -19

Personal care and service

1.9 1.5* 17.41 14.11* -19

Sales and related

8.9 8.3* 24.22 17.66* -27

Office and administrative support

12.6 14.5* 21.90 18.79* -14

Farming, fishing, and forestry

0.3 0.1* 18.21 17.94 -1

Construction and extraction

4.1 4.7* 28.08 26.36* -6

Installation, maintenance, and repair

3.9 4.7* 26.77 24.10* -10

Production

5.9 3.0* 21.81 21.29 -2

Transportation and material moving

9.2 7.0* 21.12 18.44* -13

Footnotes:
(1) A positive percent difference measures how much the mean wage in the Charleston, WV 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—healthcare practitioners and technical—was chosen to illustrate the diversity of data available for any of the 22 major occupational categories. Charleston had 9,510 jobs in healthcare practitioners and technical, accounting for 9.5 percent of local area employment, significantly higher than the 6.1-percent share nationally. The average hourly wage for this occupational group locally was $40.20, significantly below the national wage of $46.52.

Some of the larger detailed occupations within the healthcare practitioners and technical group included registered nurses (3,690), licensed practical and licensed vocational nurses (770), and pharmacy technicians (520). Among the higher-paying jobs in this group were nurse midwives and dentists, general, with mean hourly wages of $86.96 and $70.27, respectively (See chart 1). At the lower end of the wage scale were psychiatric technicians ($12.63) and dietetic technicians ($13.87). (Detailed data for the healthcare practitioners and technical occupations are presented in table 1; for a complete listing of detailed occupations available go to www.bls.gov/oes/current/oes_16620.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 Charleston area, above-average concentrations of employment were found in many of the occupations within the healthcare practitioners and technical group. For instance, diagnostic medical sonographers were employed at 2.4 times the national rate in Charleston, and registered, at 1.8 times the U.S. average. Physical therapists had a location quotient of 0.9 in Charleston, indicating that this particular occupation’s local and national employment shares were similar.

These statistics are from the Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics (OEWS) survey, a federal-state cooperative program between BLS and State Workforce Agencies, in this case, the Workforce West Virginia.

Changes to the Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics (OEWS) Data

The May 2022 OEWS estimates use the model-based (MB3) estimation method implemented with the May 2021 estimates release. Additional updates were made to the MB3 wage processing methodology for May 2022. For more information, see the May 2022 Survey Methods and Reliability Statement.

The May 2022 estimates are the first OEWS estimates to be produced using the 2022 NAICS, which replaces the 2017 NAICS used for the May 2017-May 2021 estimates. See North American Industry Classification System (NAICS) at BLS for details.


Technical Note

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. OEWS data are available at www.bls.gov/oes/tables.htm.

The OEWS 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. OEWS estimates are constructed from a sample of about 1.1 million establishments. Each year, two semiannual panels of approximately 179,000 to 187,000 sampled establishments are contacted, one panel in May and the other in November. Responses are obtained by Internet or other electronic means, mail, email, telephone, or personal visit. The May 2022 estimates are based on responses from six semiannual panels collected over a 3-year period: May 2022, November 2021, May 2021, November 2020, May 2020, and November 2019. The unweighted sampled employment of 80 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 65.4 percent based on establishments and 62.5 percent based on weighted sampled employment. The sample in the Charleston, WV Metropolitan Statistical Area included 1,335 establishments with a response rate of 59 percent. For more information about OEWS 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.

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 Charleston, WV Metropolitan Statistical Area includes Boone County, Clay County, and Kanawha County.

For more information

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

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.

Table 1. Employment and wage data for healthcare practitioners and technical occupations, Charleston metropolitan area, May 2022
Occupation (1) Employment Mean wages ($)
Level (2) Location quotient (3) Hourly Annual (4)

Healthcare practitioners and technical occupations

9,510 1.6 40.20 83,610

Dentists, general

80 1.0 70.27 146,150

Dietitians and nutritionists

90 1.8 33.09 68,830

Pharmacists

370 1.7 55.08 114,570

Physician assistants

90 0.9 55.76 115,980

Occupational therapists

70 0.7 32.97 68,590

Physical therapists

140 0.9 46.55 96,820

Respiratory therapists

170 1.9 27.08 56,320

Speech-language pathologists

60 0.5 37.24 77,450

Veterinarians

50 1.0 55.65 115,740

Registered nurses

3,690 1.8 34.11 70,960

Nurse midwives

(5) (5) 86.96 180,890

Nurse practitioners

290 1.7 47.89 99,600

Physicians, all other

250 1.2 133.73 278,160

Surgeons, all other

100 6.0 179.31 372,970

Dental hygienists

230 1.6 30.16 62,730

Clinical laboratory technologists and technicians

250 1.1 28.11 58,460

Diagnostic medical sonographers

130 2.4 31.52 65,560

Radiologic technologists and technicians

280 1.9 31.85 66,240

Emergency medical technicians

200 1.8 14.70 30,580

Paramedics

150 2.4 20.68 43,020

Dietetic technicians

(5) (5) 13.87 28,840

Pharmacy technicians

520 1.7 16.70 34,730

Psychiatric technicians

70 1.0 12.63 26,280

Veterinary technologists and technicians

70 0.9 16.18 33,640

Ophthalmic medical technicians

40 0.8 14.86 30,900

Licensed practical and licensed vocational nurses

770 1.8 21.77 45,290

Medical records specialists

110 0.9 18.89 39,280

Opticians, dispensing

50 1.0 19.55 40,670

Health technologists and technicians, all other

60 0.6 25.81 53,690

Athletic trainers

30 1.7 (6) 37,840

Footnotes:
(1) For a complete listing of all detailed occupations in the Charleston, WV Metropolitan Statistical Area, see www.bls.gov/oes/current/oes_16620.htm.
(2) Estimates for detailed occupations may not sum to the totals due to rounding, and because the totals may include occupations that are 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.
(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.

 

Last Modified Date: Friday, July 14, 2023