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15-1674-CHI
Thursday, September 17, 2015
Among the 12 metropolitan areas in Illinois, 10 had annual wages that were significantly below the national average for registered nurses. Eight areas had below-average wages for nurse practitioners and six had below-average wages for nursing assistants. Four areas had below-average wages for licensed practical and licensed vocational nurses, the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics reported today. Regional Commissioner Charlene Peiffer noted that only two areas had above-average wages for any of the selected occupations- Chicago-Joliet-Naperville had two of the four and Bloomington-Normal had one. Nationwide, the average (mean) wage for registered nurses was $69,790, for licensed practical and licensed vocational nurses, $43,420, for nurse practitioners, $97,990 and for nursing assistants, $26,250. (See table A. For comprehensive definitions of metropolitan areas in Illinois, please see Technical Note.).
Area | Registered Nurses | Licensed Practical and Licensed Vocational Nurses | Nurse Practitioners | Nursing Assistants |
---|---|---|---|---|
United States | $69,790 | $43,420 | $97,990 | $26,250 |
Illinois | 68,030* | 44,870* | 85,410* | 25,260* |
Bloomington-Normal | 58,200* | 45,640* | (1) | 24,090* |
Cape Girardeau-Jackson | 51,990* | 35,820* | 94,800 | 21,370* |
Champaign-Urbana | 57,460* | 42,530 | 88,130* | 26,490 |
Chicago-Joliet-Naperville | 72,470* | 47,660* | 90,700* | 25,620* |
Chicago-Joliet-Naperville | 73,540* | 48,680* | 92,130* | 25,670 |
Lake County-Kenosha County | 68,520 | 47,690* | 75,610* | 27,140 |
Danville | 62,050* | 45,420 | (1) | 29,450 |
Davenport-Moline-Rock Island | 54,710* | 37,780* | 91,840* | 24,440* |
Decatur | 53,550* | 42,400 | (1) | 25,390 |
Kankakee-Bradley | 71,530 | 42,270 | 86,670* | 29,330 |
Peoria | 56,210* | 43,640 | 77,470* | 23,940* |
Rockford | 59,610* | 45,320 | 82,190* | 25,990 |
Springfield | 62,480* | 38,860* | 59,610* | 25,820 |
St. Louis | 59,130* | 40,780* | 86,880* | 23,840* |
Footnotes: | ||||
Note: An asterisk indicates that the mean annual wage for this area is significantly different from the national average of all areas at the 90-percent confidence level. |
The Chicago-Joliet-Naperville area had a combined employment of 138,270 in the four selected nursing occupations, the largest among the 12 metropolitan areas located entirely or partially in the state. Over 84 percent (116,810) of those jobs were located in one of the area’s three divisions, Chicago-Joliet-Naperville. Another division, Lake County-Kenosha County, had 9,970 jobs in the selected nursing occupations. With the exception of St. Louis (60,920), combined employment for the four nursing occupations was less than 9,000 in the remaining metropolitan areas for which data were available in Illinois. (See table B. The Chicago-Joliet-Naperville area’s other division, Gary, contains no counties in Illinois, and the data have not been presented in this release.)
Area | Registered Nurses | Licensed Practical and Licensed Vocational Nurses | Nurse Practitioners | Nursing Assistants |
---|---|---|---|---|
United States | 2,687,310 | 695,610 | 122,050 | 1,427,740 |
Illinois | 111,600 | 20,850 | 3,600 | 61,320 |
Bloomington-Normal | 1,380 | 220 | (1) | 640 |
Cape Girardeau-Jackson | 1,940 | 300 | 140 | 890 |
Champaign-Urbana | 2,390 | 410 | 150 | 990 |
Chicago-Joliet-Naperville | 81,780 | 13,410 | 2,520 | 40,560 |
Chicago-Joliet-Naperville | 69,750 | 10,810 | 1,960 | 34,290 |
Lake County-Kenosha County | 5,700 | 940 | 210 | 3,120 |
Danville | 550 | 180 | (1) | 390 |
Davenport-Moline-Rock Island | 3,220 | 750 | 120 | 2,360 |
Decatur | 1,400 | 260 | (1) | 900 |
Kankakee-Bradley | 1,340 | 340 | (1) | 660 |
Peoria | 4,790 | 670 | 130 | 2,480 |
Rockford | 3,830 | 750 | 170 | 1,880 |
Springfield | 2,950 | 840 | 170 | 1,380 |
St. Louis | 34,400 | 5,920 | 1,800 | 18,800 |
Footnotes: |
Registered nurses in the Chicago-Joliet-Naperville metropolitan area earned $72,470 per year, significantly above the U.S. average of $69,790. Wages were significantly below the national average for this occupation in 10 of the 12 metropolitan areas in Illinois, with wages ranging from $62,480 in Springfield to $51,990 in Cape Girardeau-Jackson. One area, Kankakee-Bradley, had wages that were not measurably different from the national average.
Wages for licensed practical and licensed vocational nurses in metropolitan areas in IllinoisTwo metropolitan areas had mean annual wages for licensed practical and licensed vocational nurses that were significantly higher than the U.S. average of $43,420: Chicago-Joliet-Naperville ($47,660) and Bloomington-Normal ($45,640). Four metropolitan areas had wages significantly below the national average for licensed practical and licensed vocational nurses: St. Louis ($40,780), Springfield ($38,860), Davenport-Moline-Rock Island ($37,780), and Cape Girardeau-Jackson ($35,820). Licensed practical and licensed vocational nurses in the remaining areas earned wages that were not measurably different from the national average for this occupation.
Wages for nurse practitioners in metropolitan areas in IllinoisEight metropolitan areas had average wages for nurse practitioners that were significantly lower than the $97,990 national average. Annual wages in these areas ranged from $91,840 in Davenport-Moline-Rock Island to $59,610 in Springfield. One area, Cape Girardeau-Jackson, had wages that were not measurably different from the U.S. average.
Wages for nursing assistants in metropolitan areas in IllinoisSix metropolitan areas had average wages for nursing assistants that were significantly lower than the $26,250 national average. Wages in these areas ranged from $25,620 in Chicago-Joliet-Naperville to $21,370 in Cape Girardeau-Jackson. Nursing assistants in the remaining six areas in Illinois earned wages that were not measurably different from the U.S. average.
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, the Iowa Department of Workforce Development, the Missouri Department of Employment Security, and the Wisconsin Department of Workforce Development.
OES wage data for registered nurses, licensed practical and licensed vocational nurses, nurse practitioners, and nursing assistants in the state and metropolitan areas were compared to their respective national averages based on statistical significance testing. Only those occupations with wages above or below the national wage after testing for significance at the 90-percent confidence level meet the criteria.
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. May 2014 estimates are based on responses from six semiannual panels collected over a 3-year period: May 2014, November 2013, May 2013, November 2012, May 2012, and November 2011. The overall national response rate for the six panels is 74.3 percent based on establishments and 70.5 percent based on weighted sampled employment. The unweighted employment of sampled establishments across all six semiannual panels represents approximately 57.1 percent of total national employment. (Response rates are slightly lower for these estimates due to the federal shutdown in October 2013.) 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 2014 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.
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.
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Last Modified Date: Thursday, September 17, 2015