Workers in the Warren-Troy-Farmington Hills Metropolitan Division had an average (mean) hourly wage of $23.68 in May 2015, comparable to the nationwide average of $23.23, according to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics. Assistant Commissioner for Regional Operations Charlene Peiffer noted that, after testing for statistical significance, wages in the local area lower than their respective national averages in 7 of the 22 major occupational groups including legal; life, physical, and social science; and computer and mathematical. Three groups had significantly higher wages than their respective national averages, including construction and extraction; sales and related; and production.

When compared to the nationwide distribution, local employment was more highly concentrated in 6 of the 22 occupational groups, including production; architecture and engineering; and sales and related. Conversely, 10 groups had employment shares significantly below their national representation, including transportation and material moving; education, training, and library; and construction and extraction. (See table A and box note at end of release.)

One occupational group—production—was chosen to illustrate the diversity of data available for any of the 22 major occupational categories. Warren-Troy-Farmington Hills had 118,400 jobs in production, accounting for 10.1 percent of local area employment, significantly higher than the 6.6-percent share nationally. The average hourly wage for this occupational group locally was $17.87, significantly above the national wage of $17.41.

Some of the larger detailed occupations within the production group included team assemblers (22,830); machinists (10,400); and inspectors, testers, sorters, samplers, and weighers (9,180). Among the higher paying jobs were power plant operators ($36.36) and stationary engineers and boiler operators ($31.16). At the lower end of the wage scale were pressers, textile, garment, and related materials ($10.09) and adhesive bonding machine operators and tenders ($10.29). (Detailed occupational data for production are presented in table 1; for a complete listing of detailed occupations available go to www.bls.gov/oes/2015/may/oes_47664.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 Warren-Troy-Farmington Hills Metropolitan Division, above-average concentrations of employment were found in some of the occupations within the production group. For instance, tool and die makers were employed at 7.2 times the national rate in Warren, and forging machine setters, operators, and tenders, metal and plastic, at 7.0 times the U.S. average. On the other hand, electrical and electronic equipment assemblers had a location quotient of 1.0 in Warren, 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 Michigan Department of Labor & Economic Growth.

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. The OES program produces employment and wage estimates for over 800 occupations for all industries combined in the nation; the 50 states and the District of Columbia; 432 metropolitan areas and divisions; 167 nonmetropolitan areas; and Guam, Puerto Rico, and the U.S. Virgin Islands. National estimates are also available by industry for NAICS sectors, 3-, 4-, and selected 5- and 6-digit industries, and by ownership across all industries and for schools and hospitals. OES data are available at www.bls.gov/oes/tables.htm.

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 2015 estimates are based on responses from six semiannual panels collected over a 3-year period: May 2015, November 2014, May 2014, November 2013, May 2013, and November 2012. The overall national response rate for the six panels is 73.5 percent based on establishments and 69.6 percent based on weighted sampled employment. The unweighted employment of sampled establishments across all six semiannual panels represents approximately 57.9 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 Warren-Troy-Farmington Hills Metropolitan Division included 5,894 establishments with a response rate of 74 percent. For more information about OES concepts and methodology, go to www.bls.gov/news.release/ocwage.tn.htm.

The May 2015 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.

The Warren-Troy-Farmington Hills, Mich. Metropolitan Division includes Lapeer, Livingston, Macomb, Oakland, and St. Clair 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/2015/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, Warren-Troy-Farmington Hills Metropolitan Division, May 2015

Occupation (1)	Employment		Mean wages
	Level (2)	Location quotient (3)	Hourly	Annual (4)
Production Occupations	118,400	1.5	$17.87	$37,160
First-Line Supervisors of Production and Operating Workers	6,650	1.3	30.37	63,180
Coil Winders, Tapers, and Finishers	100	0.8	18.35	38,170
Electrical and Electronic Equipment Assemblers	1,870	1.0	14.12	29,370
Electromechanical Equipment Assemblers	160	0.4	17.25	35,880
Engine and Other Machine Assemblers	870	2.6	23.81	49,510
Structural Metal Fabricators and Fitters	880	1.3	19.94	41,470
Fiberglass Laminators and Fabricators	60	0.3	15.56	32,370
Team Assemblers	22,830	2.4	16.50	34,320
Assemblers and Fabricators, All Other	1,760	0.9	12.29	25,560
Bakers	1,320	0.9	13.45	27,980
Butchers and Meat Cutters	1,010	0.9	14.09	29,310
Meat, Poultry, and Fish Cutters and Trimmers	540	0.4	11.38	23,680
Slaughterers and Meat Packers	110	0.2	12.06	25,080
Food and Tobacco Roasting, Baking, and Drying Machine Operators and Tenders	30	0.2	13.74	28,580
Food Batchmakers	550	0.5	12.86	26,740
Food Processing Workers, All Other	40	0.1	11.81	24,560
Computer-Controlled Machine Tool Operators, Metal and Plastic	2,690	2.2	20.34	42,310
Computer Numerically Controlled Machine Tool Programmers, Metal and Plastic	640	3.0	24.42	50,790
Extruding and Drawing Machine Setters, Operators, and Tenders, Metal and Plastic	880	1.4	17.21	35,800
Forging Machine Setters, Operators, and Tenders, Metal and Plastic	1,170	7.0	13.64	28,370
Rolling Machine Setters, Operators, and Tenders, Metal and Plastic	(5)	(5)	19.54	40,640
Cutting, Punching, and Press Machine Setters, Operators, and Tenders, Metal and Plastic	4,850	2.9	17.71	36,840
Drilling and Boring Machine Tool Setters, Operators, and Tenders, Metal and Plastic	220	1.8	22.37	46,530
Grinding, Lapping, Polishing, and Buffing Machine Tool Setters, Operators, and Tenders, Metal and Plastic	1,330	2.1	15.21	31,640
Lathe and Turning Machine Tool Setters, Operators, and Tenders, Metal and Plastic	870	2.6	14.68	30,530
Milling and Planing Machine Setters, Operators, and Tenders, Metal and Plastic	300	1.8	15.24	31,710
Machinists	10,400	3.1	19.92	41,430
Metal-Refining Furnace Operators and Tenders	180	1.0	12.80	26,620
Model Makers, Metal and Plastic	(5)	(5)	30.07	62,540
Patternmakers, Metal and Plastic	(5)	(5)	20.55	42,740
Foundry Mold and Coremakers	(5)	(5)	15.38	31,990
Molding, Coremaking, and Casting Machine Setters, Operators, and Tenders, Metal and Plastic	4,050	3.5	13.74	28,590
Multiple Machine Tool Setters, Operators, and Tenders, Metal and Plastic	1,620	1.8	18.43	38,320
Tool and Die Makers	4,540	7.2	24.46	50,890
Welders, Cutters, Solderers, and Brazers	2,870	0.9	19.62	40,810
Welding, Soldering, and Brazing Machine Setters, Operators, and Tenders	900	2.0	16.57	34,460
Heat Treating Equipment Setters, Operators, and Tenders, Metal and Plastic	560	3.2	18.96	39,450
Layout Workers, Metal and Plastic	70	0.7	22.98	47,790
Plating and Coating Machine Setters, Operators, and Tenders, Metal and Plastic	650	2.1	15.04	31,270
Tool Grinders, Filers, and Sharpeners	290	3.4	19.84	41,270
Metal Workers and Plastic Workers, All Other	200	1.1	17.73	36,880
Prepress Technicians and Workers	360	1.2	16.62	34,560
Printing Press Operators	1,210	0.8	16.87	35,080
Print Binding and Finishing Workers	380	0.9	15.99	33,260
Laundry and Dry-Cleaning Workers	1,260	0.7	11.15	23,180
Pressers, Textile, Garment, and Related Materials	240	0.6	10.09	20,990
Sewing Machine Operators	840	0.7	14.76	30,690
Tailors, Dressmakers, and Custom Sewers	(5)	(5)	12.55	26,090
Textile Cutting Machine Setters, Operators, and Tenders	140	1.1	12.88	26,780
Textile Winding, Twisting, and Drawing Out Machine Setters, Operators, and Tenders	(5)	(5)	16.46	34,230
Upholsterers	30	0.1	16.97	35,310
Textile, Apparel, and Furnishings Workers, All Other	(5)	(5)	17.39	36,170
Cabinetmakers and Bench Carpenters	460	0.6	17.38	36,160
Furniture Finishers	50	0.4	18.39	38,250
Sawing Machine Setters, Operators, and Tenders, Wood	(5)	(5)	16.13	33,540
Woodworking Machine Setters, Operators, and Tenders, Except Sawing	340	0.5	13.08	27,200
Power Plant Operators	210	0.7	36.36	75,640
Stationary Engineers and Boiler Operators	190	0.6	31.16	64,820
Water and Wastewater Treatment Plant and System Operators	390	0.4	23.99	49,890
Gas Plant Operators	180	1.3	30.63	63,710
Petroleum Pump System Operators, Refinery Operators, and Gaugers	(5)	(5)	25.66	53,380
Chemical Equipment Operators and Tenders	390	0.7	18.58	38,640
Separating, Filtering, Clarifying, Precipitating, and Still Machine Setters, Operators, and Tenders	240	0.6	20.35	42,320
Crushing, Grinding, and Polishing Machine Setters, Operators, and Tenders	70	0.3	17.39	36,180
Grinding and Polishing Workers, Hand	220	0.9	15.90	33,070
Mixing and Blending Machine Setters, Operators, and Tenders	1,570	1.4	17.98	37,400
Cutting and Slicing Machine Setters, Operators, and Tenders	450	0.8	14.97	31,130
Extruding, Forming, Pressing, and Compacting Machine Setters, Operators, and Tenders	530	0.9	13.76	28,630
Furnace, Kiln, Oven, Drier, and Kettle Operators and Tenders	50	0.3	13.85	28,810
Inspectors, Testers, Sorters, Samplers, and Weighers	9,180	2.1	16.82	34,990
Jewelers and Precious Stone and Metal Workers	350	1.6	16.29	33,880
Dental Laboratory Technicians	600	1.9	21.56	44,850
Medical Appliance Technicians	60	0.5	25.00	52,000
Ophthalmic Laboratory Technicians	450	1.9	16.94	35,230
Packaging and Filling Machine Operators and Tenders	2,510	0.8	14.76	30,710
Coating, Painting, and Spraying Machine Setters, Operators, and Tenders	1,260	1.7	11.94	24,830
Painters, Transportation Equipment	430	1.0	29.05	60,420
Painting, Coating, and Decorating Workers	(5)	(5)	15.25	31,720
Photographic Process Workers and Processing Machine Operators	130	0.7	(5)	(5)
Adhesive Bonding Machine Operators and Tenders	(5)	(5)	10.29	21,410
Cleaning, Washing, and Metal Pickling Equipment Operators and Tenders	90	0.6	15.12	31,460
Etchers and Engravers	(5)	(5)	16.65	34,640
Molders, Shapers, and Casters, Except Metal and Plastic	810	2.5	14.66	30,490
Paper Goods Machine Setters, Operators, and Tenders	330	0.4	19.81	41,190
Helpers--Production Workers	7,310	2.0	13.75	28,590
Production Workers, All Other	3,260	1.6	16.54	34,410
Footnotes: (1) For a complete listing of all detailed occupations in the Warren-Troy-Farmington Hills Metropolitan Division, see www.bls.gov/oes/tables.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) Estimates not released.