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14-768-CHI
Wednesday, May 21, 2014
Workers in the Lake County-Kenosha County Metropolitan Division had an average (mean) hourly wage of $23.25 in May 2013, about 4 percent above 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, wages in the local area were significantly higher than their respective national averages in 10 of the 22 major occupational groups, including construction and extraction; life, physical, and social science; and community and social service. Four groups had significantly lower wages 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, local employment was more highly concentrated in 4 of the 22 occupational groups, including production; management; and education, training, and library. Conversely, 10 groups had employment shares significantly below their national representation, including construction and extraction; healthcare practitioners and technical; and food preparation and serving related. (See table A and box note at end of release.)
Major occupational group | Percent of total employment | Mean hourly wage | |||
---|---|---|---|---|---|
United States | Lake County | United States | Lake County | Percent difference (1) | |
Total, all occupations |
100.0% | 100.0% | $22.33 | $23.25* | 4 |
Management |
4.9 | 6.6* | 53.15 | 53.39 | 0 |
Business and financial operations |
5.0 | 5.1 | 34.14 | 33.84 | -1 |
Computer and mathematical |
2.8 | 3.2 | 39.43 | 37.15* | -6 |
Architecture and engineering |
1.8 | 1.6 | 38.51 | 35.90* | -7 |
Life, physical, and social science |
0.9 | 0.9 | 33.37 | 37.40* | 12 |
Community and social services |
1.4 | 1.1* | 21.50 | 24.61* | 14 |
Legal |
0.8 | 0.4* | 47.89 | 58.68 | 23 |
Education, training, and library |
6.3 | 7.4* | 24.76 | 24.87 | 0 |
Arts, design, entertainment, sports, and media |
1.3 | 0.9* | 26.72 | 24.04* | -10 |
Healthcare practitioner and technical |
5.8 | 4.7* | 35.93 | 38.95* | 8 |
Healthcare support |
3.0 | 2.5* | 13.61 | 14.35* | 5 |
Protective service |
2.5 | 1.6* | 20.92 | 21.59 | 3 |
Food preparation and serving related |
9.0 | 8.1* | 10.38 | 10.56 | 2 |
Building and grounds cleaning and maintenance |
3.2 | 4.1* | 12.51 | 13.14* | 5 |
Personal care and service |
3.0 | 3.3 | 11.88 | 12.40* | 4 |
Sales and related |
10.6 | 10.8 | 18.37 | 19.98* | 9 |
Office and administrative support |
16.2 | 17.5 | 16.78 | 17.45* | 4 |
Farming, fishing, and forestry |
0.3 | 0.1* | 11.70 | 12.66 | 8 |
Construction and extraction |
3.8 | 2.4* | 21.94 | 26.39* | 20 |
Installation, maintenance, and repair |
3.9 | 3.2* | 21.35 | 23.53* | 10 |
Production |
6.6 | 8.5* | 16.79 | 17.57 | 5 |
Transportation and material moving |
6.8 | 6.0 | 16.28 | 14.91* | -8 |
Footnotes: |
One occupational group—production—was chosen to illustrate the diversity of data available for any of the 22 major occupational categories. Lake County-Kenosha County had 32,190 jobs in production, accounting for 8.5 percent of local area employment, significantly higher than the 6.6-percent share nationally. The average hourly wage for this occupational group locally was $17.57, compared to the national wage of $16.79.
With employment of 4,660, team assemblers was the largest occupation within the production group, followed by machinists (2,410) and first-line supervisors of production and operating workers (2,270). Among the higher paying jobs were stationary engineers and boiler operators and power plant operators, with mean hourly wages of $34.94 and $33.77, respectively. At the lower end of the wage scale were food cooking machine operators and tenders ($9.57) and laundry and dry-cleaning workers ($9.70). (Detailed occupational data for production are presented in table 1; for a complete listing of detailed occupations available go to www.bls.gov/oes/2013/may/oes_29404.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 Lake County-Kenosha County Metropolitan Division, above average concentrations of employment were found in some of the occupations within the production group. For instance, grinding, lapping, polishing, and buffing machine tool setters, operators, and tenders of metal and plastic were employed at 3.5 times the national rate in Lake County, and computer numerically controlled machine tool programmers of metal and plastic, at 3.1 times the U.S. average. On the other hand, electrical and electronic equipment assemblers had a location quotient of 1.0 in Lake County, 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 Illinois Department of Employment Security and the Wisconsin Department of Workforce Development.
OES wage and employment data for the 22 major occupational groups in the Lake County Metropolitan Division were compared to their respective national averages based on statistical significance testing. Only those occupations with wages or employment shares above or below the national wage or share after testing for significance at the 90-percent confidence level meet the criteria.
Note: 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 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 Lake County-Kenosha County Metropolitan Division included 3,703 establishments with a response rate of 69 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 Lake County-Kenosha County, Ill.-Wis. Metropolitan Division includes Lake County of Illinois and Kenosha County of Wisconsin.
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.
Occupation (1) | Employment | Mean wages | ||
---|---|---|---|---|
Level (2) | Location quotient (3) | Hourly | Annual(4) | |
Production Occupations |
32,190 | 1.3 | $17.57 | $36,550 |
First-Line Supervisors of Production and Operating Workers |
2,270 | 1.4 | 27.89 | 58,000 |
Electrical and Electronic Equipment Assemblers |
590 | 1.0 | 12.90 | 26,840 |
Electromechanical Equipment Assemblers |
(5) | (5) | 14.58 | 30,340 |
Engine and Other Machine Assemblers |
80 | 0.7 | 17.03 | 35,420 |
Structural Metal Fabricators and Fitters |
120 | 0.5 | 17.74 | 36,890 |
Team Assemblers |
4,660 | 1.5 | 13.69 | 28,460 |
Assemblers and Fabricators, All Other |
760 | 1.1 | 12.30 | 25,580 |
Bakers |
450 | 1.0 | 11.80 | 24,550 |
Butchers and Meat Cutters |
390 | 1.0 | 13.89 | 28,890 |
Slaughterers and Meat Packers |
50 | 0.2 | 12.51 | 26,020 |
Food Batchmakers |
600 | 1.9 | 12.56 | 26,130 |
Food Cooking Machine Operators and Tenders |
120 | 1.2 | 9.57 | 19,910 |
Computer-Controlled Machine Tool Operators, Metal and Plastic |
(5) | (5) | 18.58 | 38,640 |
Computer Numerically Controlled Machine Tool Programmers, Metal and Plastic |
210 | 3.1 | 20.72 | 43,100 |
Extruding and Drawing Machine Setters, Operators, and Tenders, Metal and Plastic |
80 | 0.4 | 15.65 | 32,540 |
Rolling Machine Setters, Operators, and Tenders, Metal and Plastic |
80 | 0.8 | 18.08 | 37,600 |
Cutting, Punching, and Press Machine Setters, Operators, and Tenders, Metal and Plastic |
1,020 | 1.9 | 15.06 | 31,320 |
Drilling and Boring Machine Tool Setters, Operators, and Tenders, Metal and Plastic |
(5) | (5) | 17.46 | 36,320 |
Grinding, Lapping, Polishing, and Buffing Machine Tool Setters, Operators, and Tenders, Metal and Plastic |
710 | 3.5 | 15.98 | 33,240 |
Lathe and Turning Machine Tool Setters, Operators, and Tenders, Metal and Plastic |
300 | 2.6 | 18.56 | 38,600 |
Milling and Planing Machine Setters, Operators, and Tenders, Metal and Plastic |
(5) | (5) | 15.24 | 31,700 |
Machinists |
2,410 | 2.2 | 19.05 | 39,630 |
Model Makers, Metal and Plastic |
(5) | (5) | 22.08 | 45,930 |
Molding, Coremaking, and Casting Machine Setters, Operators, and Tenders, Metal and Plastic |
570 | 1.6 | 15.94 | 33,160 |
Multiple Machine Tool Setters, Operators, and Tenders, Metal and Plastic |
410 | 1.5 | 16.50 | 34,310 |
Tool and Die Makers |
280 | 1.2 | 23.29 | 48,440 |
Welders, Cutters, Solderers, and Brazers |
700 | 0.7 | 18.70 | 38,900 |
Welding, Soldering, and Brazing Machine Setters, Operators, and Tenders |
130 | 0.9 | 16.98 | 35,310 |
Heat Treating Equipment Setters, Operators, and Tenders, Metal and Plastic |
70 | 1.2 | 16.45 | 34,220 |
Plating and Coating Machine Setters, Operators, and Tenders, Metal and Plastic |
80 | 0.8 | (5) | (5) |
Prepress Technicians and Workers |
90 | 0.8 | 19.28 | 40,100 |
Printing Press Operators |
590 | 1.2 | 17.35 | 36,100 |
Print Binding and Finishing Workers |
170 | 1.2 | 22.40 | 46,590 |
Laundry and Dry-Cleaning Workers |
490 | 0.9 | 9.70 | 20,170 |
Pressers, Textile, Garment, and Related Materials |
(5) | (5) | 9.84 | 20,470 |
Sewing Machine Operators |
110 | 0.3 | 15.47 | 32,170 |
Tailors, Dressmakers, and Custom Sewers |
80 | 1.3 | 12.34 | 25,670 |
Textile, Apparel, and Furnishings Workers, All Other |
(5) | (5) | 12.62 | 26,250 |
Cabinetmakers and Bench Carpenters |
130 | 0.6 | 22.16 | 46,100 |
Woodworking Machine Setters, Operators, and Tenders, Except Sawing |
(5) | (5) | 17.80 | 37,020 |
Power Plant Operators |
100 | 0.9 | 33.77 | 70,230 |
Stationary Engineers and Boiler Operators |
160 | 1.6 | 34.94 | 72,680 |
Water and Wastewater Treatment Plant and System Operators |
230 | 0.7 | 27.80 | 57,830 |
Crushing, Grinding, and Polishing Machine Setters, Operators, and Tenders |
130 | 1.4 | 11.12 | 23,140 |
Grinding and Polishing Workers, Hand |
100 | 1.2 | 15.97 | 33,220 |
Mixing and Blending Machine Setters, Operators, and Tenders |
(5) | (5) | 17.33 | 36,050 |
Cutters and Trimmers, Hand |
(5) | (5) | 17.96 | 37,360 |
Cutting and Slicing Machine Setters, Operators, and Tenders |
(5) | (5) | 16.85 | 35,050 |
Extruding, Forming, Pressing, and Compacting Machine Setters, Operators, and Tenders |
210 | 1.0 | 14.16 | 29,450 |
Inspectors, Testers, Sorters, Samplers, and Weighers |
1,960 | 1.5 | 17.35 | 36,080 |
Jewelers and Precious Stone and Metal Workers |
40 | 0.6 | 18.70 | 38,900 |
Dental Laboratory Technicians |
60 | 0.6 | 18.29 | 38,040 |
Medical Appliance Technicians |
60 | 1.5 | 24.41 | 50,770 |
Ophthalmic Laboratory Technicians |
(5) | (5) | 14.28 | 29,690 |
Packaging and Filling Machine Operators and Tenders |
1,720 | 1.6 | 13.15 | 27,360 |
Coating, Painting, and Spraying Machine Setters, Operators, and Tenders |
180 | 0.7 | 14.13 | 29,390 |
Painters, Transportation Equipment |
120 | 0.9 | 26.30 | 54,700 |
Painting, Coating, and Decorating Workers |
100 | 2.2 | 17.04 | 35,450 |
Photographic Process Workers and Processing Machine Operators |
50 | 0.5 | 14.76 | 30,700 |
Molders, Shapers, and Casters, Except Metal and Plastic |
50 | 0.6 | 15.99 | 33,270 |
Paper Goods Machine Setters, Operators, and Tenders |
350 | 1.3 | 15.09 | 31,380 |
Helpers--Production Workers |
930 | 0.8 | 12.03 | 25,020 |
Production Workers, All Other |
(5) | (5) | 13.86 | 28,840 |
Footnotes: |
Last Modified Date: Wednesday, May 21, 2014