Workers in the Dayton Metropolitan Statistical Area had an average (mean) hourly wage of $21.40 in May 2013, compared to the nationwide average of $22.33, according to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics. Regional Commissioner Charlene Peiffer noted that, after testing for statistical significance, no wages in the local area were significantly higher than their respective national averages in 22 major occupational groups. Thirteen groups had significantly lower wages than their respective national averages, including management; arts, design, entertainment, sports, and media; and computer and mathematical.

When compared to the nationwide distribution, local employment was more highly concentrated in 7 of the 22 occupational groups, including healthcare practitioners and technical; production; and healthcare support. Conversely, nine groups had employment shares significantly below their national representation, including construction and extraction; personal care and service; and sales and related. (See table A and box note at end of release.)

One occupational group—healthcare practitioners and technical—was chosen to illustrate the diversity of data available for any of the 22 major occupational categories. Dayton had 27,670 jobs in healthcare practitioners and technical, accounting for 7.5 percent of local area employment, significantly higher than the 5.8-percent share nationally. The average hourly wage for this occupational group locally was $33.65, measurably below the national wage of $35.93.

With employment of 10,170, registered nurses was the largest occupation within the healthcare practitioners and technical group, followed by licensed practical and licensed vocational nurses (3,220) and pharmacy technicians (1,260). Among the higher paying jobs were psychiatrists and family and general practitioners, with mean hourly wages of $112.74 and $85.32, respectively. At the lower end of the wage scale were emergency medical technicians and paramedics ($12.29) and veterinary technologists and technicians ($12.78). (Detailed occupational data for healthcare practitioners and technical are presented in table 1; for a complete listing of detailed occupations available go to www.bls.gov/oes/2013/may/oes_19380.htm).

Location quotients allow for the exploration of an area’s occupational make-up 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 Dayton Metropolitan Statistical Area, above average concentrations of employment were found in some of the occupations within the healthcare practitioners and technical group. For instance, nurse anesthetists were employed at 2.6 times the national rate in Dayton, and, dispensing opticians at 1.9 times the U.S. average. On the other hand, pharmacists had a location quotient of 1.0 in Dayton, 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 Ohio Department of Job & Family Services.

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. Guam, Puerto Rico, and the Virgin Islands are also surveyed, but their data are not included in the national estimates. 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 for a 3-year period. May 2013 estimates are based on responses from six semiannual panels collected in May 2013, November 2012, May 2012, November 2011, May 2011, and November 2010. The overall national response rate for the six panels is 75.3 percent based on establishments and 71.6 percent based on employment. The sample in the Dayton Metropolitan Statistical Area included 3,118 establishments with a response rate of 75 percent. For more information about OES concepts and methodology, go to www.bls.gov/news.release/ocwage.tn.htm.

The OES survey provides estimates of employment and hourly and annual wages for wage and salary workers in 22 major occupational groups and 821 detailed occupations for the nation, states, metropolitan statistical areas, metropolitan divisions, and nonmetropolitan areas. In addition, employment and wage estimates for 94 minor groups and 458 broad occupations are available in the national data. OES data by state and metropolitan/nonmetropolitan area are available from www.bls.gov/oes/current/oessrcst.htm and www.bls.gov/oes/current/oessrcma.htm, respectively.

The May 2013 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.

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 Dayton, Ohio Metropolitan Statistical Area includes Greene, Miami, Montgomery, and Preble Counties.

Additional information

OES data are available on our regional web page at www.bls.gov/regions/midwest. 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/2013/may/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: 1-800-877-8339.

Table 1. Employment and wage data from the Occupational Employment Statistics survey, by occupation, Dayton Metropolitan Statistical Area, May 2013

Occupation (1)	Employment		Mean wages
	Level (2)	Location quotient (3)	Hourly	Annual(4)
Healthcare Practitioners and Technical Occupations	27,670	1.3	$33.65	$69,990
Chiropractors	80	1.0	50.89	105,850
Dentists, General	220	0.8	75.11	156,230
Dietitians and Nutritionists	150	0.9	25.27	52,560
Optometrists	60	0.7	57.95	120,540
Pharmacists	810	1.0	53.04	110,320
Anesthesiologists	(5)	(5)	(6)	(6)
Family and General Practitioners	600	1.8	85.32	177,460
Internists, General	210	1.7	75.70	157,450
Pediatricians, General	150	1.8	65.01	135,230
Psychiatrists	40	0.6	112.74	234,500
Surgeons	110	1.0	(6)	(6)
Physicians and Surgeons, All Other	1,130	1.3	80.33	167,080
Physician Assistants	230	0.9	44.87	93,330
Podiatrists	30	1.4	44.78	93,140
Occupational Therapists	370	1.2	41.69	86,710
Physical Therapists	520	1.0	41.61	86,540
Radiation Therapists	80	1.8	31.85	66,250
Recreational Therapists	40	0.8	19.66	40,900
Respiratory Therapists	440	1.3	25.38	52,780
Speech-Language Pathologists	410	1.2	41.18	85,660
Therapists, All Other	(5)	(5)	32.10	66,770
Veterinarians	(5)	(5)	39.13	81,390
Registered Nurses	10,170	1.4	29.10	60,530
Nurse Anesthetists	260	2.6	74.38	154,720
Nurse Practitioners	390	1.2	39.46	82,070
Health Diagnosing and Treating Practitioners, All Other	50	0.5	30.80	64,070
Medical and Clinical Laboratory Technologists	550	1.2	27.76	57,730
Medical and Clinical Laboratory Technicians	450	1.0	19.40	40,350
Dental Hygienists	420	0.8	32.57	67,740
Cardiovascular Technologists and Technicians	110	0.8	24.19	50,320
Diagnostic Medical Sonographers	260	1.6	30.54	63,520
Nuclear Medicine Technologists	60	1.1	31.34	65,180
Radiologic Technologists	760	1.4	25.24	52,490
Magnetic Resonance Imaging Technologists	140	1.6	26.46	55,050
Emergency Medical Technicians and Paramedics	580	0.9	12.29	25,550
Dietetic Technicians	50	0.7	17.26	35,890
Pharmacy Technicians	1,260	1.3	13.82	28,740
Psychiatric Technicians	130	0.7	15.47	32,180
Surgical Technologists	250	0.9	20.43	42,500
Veterinary Technologists and Technicians	390	1.6	12.78	26,580
Licensed Practical and Licensed Vocational Nurses	3,220	1.6	19.77	41,130
Medical Records and Health Information Technicians	650	1.3	16.28	33,860
Opticians, Dispensing	360	1.9	16.07	33,430
Health Technologists and Technicians, All Other	330	1.3	19.69	40,950
Occupational Health and Safety Specialists	170	1.0	34.62	72,020
Occupational Health and Safety Technicians	30	0.9	24.52	51,010
Athletic Trainers	80	1.2	(5)	42,720
Healthcare Practitioners and Technical Workers, All Other	110	0.9	22.85	47,530
Footnotes: (1) For a complete listing of all detailed occupations in Dayton, OH, see www.bls.gov/oes/current/oes_19380.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) Estimate not released. (6) This wage is equal to or greater than $80.00 per hour or $166,400 per year.