Workers in the Dayton Metropolitan Statistical Area had an average (mean) hourly wage of $21.71 in May 2014, about 4 percent below the nationwide average of $22.71, 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 higher than their respective national averages in 1 of the 22 major occupational groups. Twelve groups had significantly lower wages than their respective national averages, including management; computer and mathematical; and arts, design, entertainment, sports, and media.

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 architecture and engineering. 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 27,690 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 $34.87, compared to the national wage of $36.54.

Some of the largest detailed occupations within the healthcare practitioners and technical group included registered nurses (10,210), licensed practical and licensed vocational nurses (2,870), and pharmacy technicians (1,290). Among the higher paying jobs were internists, general; and family and general practitioners, with mean hourly wages of $101.36 and $93.41, respectively. At the lower end of the wage scale were emergency medical technicians and paramedics ($13.03) and veterinary technologists and technicians ($13.33). (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/2014/may/oes_19380.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 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 2.5 times the national rate in Dayton, and family and general practitioners, at 1.8 times the U.S. average. On the other hand, surgical technologists 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. 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.) The sample in the Dayton Metropolitan Statistical Area included 3,128 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 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.

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/2014/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: 800-877-8339.

Table 1. Employment and wage data from the Occupational Employment Statistics survey, by occupation, Dayton Metropolitan Statistical Area, May 2014

Occupation (1)	Employment		Mean wages
	Level (2)	Location quotient (3)	Hourly	Annual (4)
Healthcare Practitioners and Technical Occupations	27,690	1.3	$34.87	$72,520
Chiropractors	100	1.2	46.35	96,410
Dentists, General	220	0.8	72.95	151,730
Dietitians and Nutritionists	150	0.9	26.31	54,720
Optometrists	70	0.8	57.70	120,010
Pharmacists	790	1.0	56.10	116,690
Anesthesiologists	150	1.8	(7)	(7)
Family and General Practitioners	620	1.8	93.41	194,280
Internists, General	140	1.0	101.36	210,840
Obstetricians and Gynecologists	190	3.2	(5)	(5)
Pediatricians, General	130	1.6	67.51	140,420
Surgeons	110	1.0	(7)	(7)
Physicians and Surgeons, All Other	1,270	1.5	87.44	181,870
Physician Assistants	290	1.2	53.32	110,910
Podiatrists	70	2.8	48.52	100,920
Occupational Therapists	330	1.1	41.95	87,260
Physical Therapists	540	1.0	41.95	87,250
Radiation Therapists	50	1.1	33.17	68,990
Recreational Therapists	(5)	(5)	19.65	40,870
Respiratory Therapists	410	1.3	25.55	53,150
Speech-Language Pathologists	420	1.2	41.27	85,850
Therapists, All Other	50	1.7	36.32	75,540
Veterinarians	110	0.7	40.95	85,170
Registered Nurses	10,210	1.4	29.22	60,770
Nurse Anesthetists	250	2.5	68.51	142,500
Nurse Practitioners	380	1.1	41.21	85,720
Audiologists	(5)	(5)	28.38	59,020
Health Diagnosing and Treating Practitioners, All Other	50	0.5	30.82	64,110
Medical and Clinical Laboratory Technologists	570	1.3	27.88	57,990
Medical and Clinical Laboratory Technicians	480	1.1	18.39	38,250
Dental Hygienists	460	0.9	32.79	68,210
Cardiovascular Technologists and Technicians	80	0.6	24.43	50,820
Diagnostic Medical Sonographers	250	1.5	30.41	63,240
Nuclear Medicine Technologists	80	1.4	32.27	67,110
Radiologic Technologists	740	1.4	25.57	53,180
Magnetic Resonance Imaging Technologists	150	1.6	26.91	55,970
Emergency Medical Technicians and Paramedics	490	0.8	13.03	27,100
Dietetic Technicians	50	0.6	17.22	35,810
Pharmacy Technicians	1,290	1.3	13.91	28,920
Psychiatric Technicians	160	0.9	16.43	34,170
Surgical Technologists	270	1.0	20.06	41,720
Veterinary Technologists and Technicians	420	1.7	13.33	27,730
Ophthalmic Medical Technicians	(5)	(5)	17.51	36,410
Licensed Practical and Licensed Vocational Nurses	2,870	1.5	19.85	41,290
Medical Records and Health Information Technicians	670	1.3	16.04	33,370
Opticians, Dispensing	330	1.6	16.08	33,450
Orthotists and Prosthetists	50	2.2	24.43	50,820
Health Technologists and Technicians, All Other	320	1.2	21.77	45,280
Occupational Health and Safety Specialists	190	1.1	34.69	72,150
Occupational Health and Safety Technicians	40	1.0	23.90	49,710
Athletic Trainers	80	1.3	(5)	44,770
Healthcare Practitioners and Technical Workers, All Other	140	1.2	25.21	52,440
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. (7) This wage is equal to or greater than $80.00 per hour or $166,400 per year.