Workers in the Sioux Falls Metropolitan Statistical Area had an average (mean) hourly wage of $18.85 in May 2013, about 16 percent below 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 1 of the 22 major occupational groups: farming, fishing, and forestry. Twenty groups had significantly lower wages than their respective national averages, including legal; computer and mathematical; and arts, design, entertainment, sports, and media.

When compared to the nationwide distribution, local employment was more highly concentrated in 6 of the 22 occupational groups, including healthcare practitioners and technical; office and administrative support; and sales and related. Conversely, 10 groups had employment shares significantly below their national representation, including education, training, and library; management; and protective service. (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. Sioux Falls had 12,380 jobs in healthcare practitioners and technical, accounting for 8.8 percent of local area employment, significantly higher than the 5.8-percent share nationally. The average hourly wage for this occupational group locally was $31.29, measurably below the national wage of $35.93.

With employment of 5,550, registered nurses was the largest occupation within the healthcare practitioners and technical group, followed by licensed practical and licensed vocational nurses (710) and pharmacy technicians (610). Among the higher paying jobs were family and general practitioners and optometrists, with mean hourly wages of $102.91 and $97.51, respectively. At the lower end of the wage scale were pharmacy technicians ($13.97) and emergency medical technicians and paramedics ($15.28). (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_43620.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 Sioux Falls Metropolitan Statistical Area, above average concentrations of employment were found in many of the occupations within the healthcare practitioners and technical group. For instance, opticians, dispensing were employed at 2.7 times the national rate in Sioux Falls, and surgical technologists, at 2.2 times the U.S. average. On the other hand, dental hygienists had a location quotient of 1.0 in Sioux Falls, 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 South Dakota Department of Labor and Regulation.

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 Sioux Falls Metropolitan Statistical Area included 1,878 establishments with a response rate of 88 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 Sioux Falls, S.D. Metropolitan Statistical Area includes Lincoln, McCook, Minnehaha, and Turner 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, Sioux Falls Metropolitan Statistical Area, May 2013

Occupation (1)	Employment		Mean wages
	Level (2)	Location quotient (3)	Hourly	Annual(4)
Healthcare Practitioners and Technical Occupations	12,380	1.5	$31.29	$65,090
Chiropractors	40	1.4	30.84	64,150
Dentists, General	110	1.1	87.04	181,040
Dietitians and Nutritionists	60	1.0	25.08	52,160
Optometrists	(5)	(5)	97.51	202,830
Pharmacists	500	1.6	51.72	107,580
Family and General Practitioners	110	0.9	102.91	214,060
Internists, General	100	2.0	(6)	(6)
Surgeons	140	3.1	(6)	(6)
Physicians and Surgeons, All Other	190	0.6	116.38	242,060
Physician Assistants	160	1.7	45.12	93,850
Occupational Therapists	170	1.5	31.09	64,660
Physical Therapists	240	1.1	31.95	66,450
Respiratory Therapists	160	1.3	22.02	45,810
Speech-Language Pathologists	130	1.0	25.60	53,240
Veterinarians	(5)	(5)	34.24	71,210
Registered Nurses	5,550	2.0	25.78	53,630
Nurse Anesthetists	140	3.7	80.37	167,180
Nurse Practitioners	240	2.0	41.51	86,340
Medical and Clinical Laboratory Technologists	370	2.1	25.82	53,700
Medical and Clinical Laboratory Technicians	210	1.2	15.95	33,180
Dental Hygienists	200	1.0	30.82	64,110
Cardiovascular Technologists and Technicians	100	1.8	24.22	50,380
Diagnostic Medical Sonographers	160	2.6	26.21	54,520
Nuclear Medicine Technologists	100	4.8	25.69	53,440
Radiologic Technologists	370	1.8	22.21	46,200
Magnetic Resonance Imaging Technologists	30	1.0	24.25	50,440
Emergency Medical Technicians and Paramedics	140	0.5	15.28	31,790
Pharmacy Technicians	610	1.6	13.97	29,050
Surgical Technologists	230	2.2	18.26	37,980
Veterinary Technologists and Technicians	130	1.4	16.34	33,990
Licensed Practical and Licensed Vocational Nurses	710	0.9	16.79	34,920
Medical Records and Health Information Technicians	370	1.9	17.91	37,240
Opticians, Dispensing	190	2.7	15.34	31,900
Health Technologists and Technicians, All Other	60	0.7	22.98	47,790
Occupational Health and Safety Specialists	50	0.8	27.99	58,220
Footnotes: (1) For a complete listing of all detailed occupations in Sioux Falls, SD, see www.bls.gov/oes/current/oes_43620.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.