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News Release Information

19-556-CHI
Wednesday, July 17, 2019

Contacts Technical information: Media contact:
  • (312) 353-1138

Occupational Employment and Wages in Rockford — May 2018

Workers in the Rockford Metropolitan Statistical Area had an average (mean) hourly wage of $21.61 in May 2018, about 13 percent below the nationwide average of $24.98, 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 were lower than their respective national averages in 17 of the 22 occupational groups, including management, computer and mathematical, and legal. One occupational group—construction and extraction—had an average wage that was significantly higher than its respective national average.

When compared to the nationwide distribution, local employment was more highly concentrated in 5 of the 22 occupational groups, including production, transportation and material moving, and healthcare practitioners and technical. Conversely, 13 groups had employment shares significantly below their national representation, including business and financial operations, computer and mathematical, and sales and related. (See table A and box note at end of release.)

Table A. Occupational employment and wages by major occupational group, United States and the Rockford Metropolitan Statistical Area, and measures of statistical significance, May 2018
Major occupational groupPercent of total employmentMean hourly wage
United StatesRockfordUnited StatesRockfordPercent difference (1)

Total, all occupations

100.0100.0$24.98$21.61*-13

Management

5.35.7*58.4444.79*-23

Business and financial operations

5.33.2*36.9828.64*-23

Computer and mathematical

3.01.2*44.0133.38*-24

Architecture and engineering

1.81.642.0135.32*-16

Life, physical, and social science

0.80.3*36.6231.96*-13

Community and social service

1.51.723.6921.67*-9

Legal

0.80.4*52.2541.83*-20

Education, training, and library

6.15.5*27.2222.11*-19

Arts, design, entertainment, sports, and media

1.31.0*28.7420.67*-28

Healthcare practitioners and technical

6.06.8*39.4236.77*-7

Healthcare support

2.83.5*15.5715.07*-3

Protective service

2.41.6*23.3623.01-1

Food preparation and serving related

9.28.7*12.3011.28*-8

Building and grounds cleaning and maintenance

3.12.5*14.4313.56*-6

Personal care and service

3.82.3*13.5113.470

Sales and related

10.08.4*20.0917.32*-14

Office and administrative support

15.114.0*18.7516.73*-11

Farming, fishing, and forestry

0.3(2)14.49(2)(2)

Construction and extraction

4.13.0*24.6229.07*18

Installation, maintenance, and repair

3.93.723.5422.33*-5

Production

6.316.1*18.8420.046

Transportation and material moving

7.18.8*18.4115.78*-14

Footnotes:
(1) A positive percent difference measures how much the mean wage in the Rockford Metropolitan Statistical Area is above the national mean wage, while a negative difference reflects a lower wage.
(2) Estimate not released.
* The mean hourly wage or percent share of employment is significantly different from the national average of all areas at the 90-percent confidence level.

One occupational group—healthcare practitioners and technical—was chosen to illustrate the diversity of data available for any of the 22 major occupational categories. Rockford had 10,120 jobs in healthcare practitioners and technical occupations, accounting for 6.8 percent of local area employment, significantly higher than the 6.0-percent share nationally. The average hourly wage for this occupational group locally was $36.77, significantly below the national wage of $39.42.

Some of the larger detailed occupations within the healthcare practitioners and technical group included registered nurses (3,850), licensed practical and licensed vocational nurses (580), and pharmacy technicians (570). Among the higher-paying jobs in this group were physician assistants and nurse practitioners, with mean hourly wages of $58.13 and $50.93, respectively. At the lower end of the wage scale were dietetic technicians ($12.70) and hearing aid specialists ($13.69). (Detailed data for the healthcare practitioners and technical occupations are presented in table 1; for a complete listing of detailed occupations available go to www.bls.gov/oes/current/oes_40420.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 Rockford Metropolitan Statistical Area, above-average concentrations of employment were found in some of the occupations within the healthcare practitioners and technical group. For instance, dietetic technicians were employed at 6.0 times the national rate in Rockford, and family and general practitioners, at 2.5 times the U.S. average. On the other hand, emergency medical technicians and paramedics had a location quotient of 1.1 in Rockford, 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.

Area Changes to the May 2018 Occupational Employment Statistics (OES)

OES continues to publish data for metropolitan and nonmetropolitan areas that cover the full geography of the United States. However, the level of detail available has decreased.

OES no longer publishes data for metropolitan divisions. Data for the 11 large metropolitan areas that contain divisions are now available at the Metropolitan Statistical Area (MSA) or New England City and Town Area (NECTA) level only.

In addition, some smaller nonmetropolitan areas have been combined to form larger nonmetropolitan areas. The May 2018 OES estimates contain data for 134 nonmetropolitan areas, compared with 167 nonmetropolitan areas in the May 2017 estimates.

More information on these area changes is available at www.bls.gov/oes/areas_2018.htm.

Implementing the 2018 Standard Occupational Classification (SOC) System

The OES program plans to begin implementing the 2018 Standard Occupational Classification (SOC) system with the May 2019 estimates, to be released by early April of 2020. Because each set of OES estimates is produced by combining three years of survey data, estimates for May 2019 and May 2020 will be based on a combination of survey data collected under the 2010 SOC and data collected under the 2018 SOC, and will use a hybrid of the two classification systems. The May 2021 OES estimates, to be released by early April of 2022, will be the first set of estimates based fully on the 2018 SOC. For more information, please see www.bls.gov/oes/soc_2018.htm.


Technical Note

The Occupational Employment Statistics (OES) survey is a semiannual survey measuring occupational employment and wage rates for wage and salary workers in nonfarm establishments in the United States. The OES data available from BLS include cross-industry occupational employment and wage estimates for the nation; over 580 areas, including states and the District of Columbia, metropolitan statistical areas (MSAs), nonmetropolitan areas, and territories; national industry-specific estimates at the NAICS sector, 3-digit, most 4-digit, and selected 5- and 6-digit industry levels, and national estimates by ownership across all industries and for schools and hospitals. OES data are available at www.bls.gov/oes/tables.htm.

The OES survey is a cooperative effort between BLS and the State Workforce Agencies (SWAs). BLS funds the survey and provides the procedures and technical support, while the State Workforce Agencies collect most of the data. OES estimates are constructed from a sample of about 1.2 million establishments. Each year, two semiannual panels of approximately 180,000 to 200,000 sampled establishments are contacted, one panel in May and the other in November. Responses are obtained by mail, Internet or other electronic means, email, telephone, or personal visit. The May 2018 estimates are based on responses from six semiannual panels collected over a 3-year period: May 2018, November 2017, May 2017, November 2016, May 2016, and November 2015. The unweighted sample employment of 83 million across all six semiannual panels represents approximately 58 percent of total national employment. The overall national response rate for the six panels, based on the 50 states and the District of Columbia, is 71 percent based on establishments and 68 percent based on weighted sampled employment. The sample in the Rockford Metropolitan Statistical Area included 1,617 establishments with a response rate of 72 percent. For more information about OES concepts and methodology, go to www.bls.gov/oes/current/oes_tec.htm.

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 May 2018 OES estimates are based on the 2010 Standard Occupational Classification (SOC) system and the 2017 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 2017 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 Rockford, IL Metropolitan Statistical Area includes Boone and Winnebago 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/current/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, Rockford Metropolitan Statistical Area, May 2018
Occupation (1)EmploymentMean wages
Level (2)Location quotient (3)HourlyAnnual (4)

Healthcare practitioners and technical occupations

10,1201.1$36.77$76,480

Chiropractors

1103.247.7499,300

Dentists, general

1501.3102.86213,950

Dietitians and nutritionists

701.126.3154,730

Pharmacists

2900.960.02124,840

Family and general practitioners

2902.5135.32281,470

Physician assistants

1101.058.13120,920

Occupational therapists

1100.835.2473,300

Physical therapists

2801.241.6486,610

Respiratory therapists

1301.028.2458,740

Speech-language pathologists

1901.336.8576,640

Veterinarians

600.859.65124,060

Registered nurses

3,8501.331.0364,540

Nurse practitioners

2501.350.93105,940

Clinical laboratory technologists and technicians

2500.8(5)(5)

Dental hygienists

2901.337.5078,010

Cardiovascular technologists and technicians

(5)(5)24.3850,710

Diagnostic medical sonographers

1001.337.0877,130

Radiologic technologists

3801.826.7055,540

Magnetic resonance imaging technologists

401.135.0172,820

Emergency medical technicians and paramedics

2801.115.0431,280

Dietetic technicians

2106.012.7026,420

Pharmacy technicians

5701.314.0929,300

Surgical technologists

1301.121.4044,500

Veterinary technologists and technicians

800.714.3729,890

Ophthalmic medical technicians

701.216.4034,120

Licensed practical and licensed vocational nurses

5800.823.4448,750

Medical records and health information technicians

2501.219.4040,360

Opticians, dispensing

901.217.3636,120

Hearing aid specialists

(5)(5)13.6928,480

Health technologists and technicians, all other

2101.621.8845,510

Occupational health and safety specialists

300.335.8474,550

Footnotes:
(1) For a complete listing of all detailed occupations in the Rockford, IL Metropolitan Statistical Area, see www.bls.gov/oes/current/oes_40420.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.

 

Last Modified Date: Wednesday, July 17, 2019