Workers in the Akron, OH Metropolitan Statistical Area had an average (mean) hourly wage of $23.75 in May 2019, about 8 percent below the nationwide average of $25.72, the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics reported today. Assistant Commissioner for Regional Operations 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: construction and extraction. Sixteen 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, Akron area employment was more highly concentrated in 3 of the 22 occupational groups: production, office and administrative support, and architecture and engineering. Conversely, nine groups had employment shares significantly below their national representation, including construction and extraction, protective service, and management. (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. Akron had 28,090 jobs in production, accounting for 8.5 percent of local area employment, significantly higher than the 6.2-percent share nationally. The average hourly wage for this occupational group locally was $18.81, significantly below the national wage of $19.30.

Some of the larger detailed occupations within the production group included miscellaneous assemblers and fabricators (3,280), first-line supervisors of production and operating workers (2,020), and machinists (1,870). Among the higher-paying jobs in this group were power distributors and dispatchers at $41.97 per hour, and petroleum pump system operators, refinery operators, and gaugers with mean hourly wages of $34.59. At the lower end of the wage scale were laundry and dry-cleaning workers ($10.96) and pressers, textile, garment, and related materials ($11.54). (Detailed data for the production occupations are presented in table 1; for a complete listing of detailed occupations available go to www.bls.gov/oes/current/oes_10420.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 Akron area, above-average concentrations of employment were found in many of the occupations within the production group. For instance, foundry mold and coremakers were employed at 7.2 times the national rate in Akron, and extruding, forming, pressing, and compacting machine setters, operators, and tenders, at 5.3 times the U.S. average. Laundry and dry-cleaning workers had a location quotient of 1.0 in Akron, 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 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 1.1 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 2019 estimates are based on responses from six semiannual panels collected over a 3-year period: May 2019, November 2018, May 2018, November 2017, May 2017, and November 2016. The unweighted sample employment of 83 million across all six semiannual panels represents approximately 57 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 Akron, OH Metropolitan Statistical Area included 2,746 establishments with a response rate of 76 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 2019 OES estimates are the first set of OES estimates to be based in part on survey data collected using the 2018 SOC. These estimates use a hybrid of the 2010 and 2018 SOC systems. More information on the hybrid classification system is available at www.bls.gov/oes/soc_2018.htm.

The May 2019 OES estimates are based on the 2017 North American Industry Classification System (NAICS). More 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 Akron, OH Metropolitan Statistical Area includes Portage and Summit Counties.

For more information

Answers to frequently asked questions about the OES data are available at www.bls.gov/oes/oes_ques.htm. Detailed information about the OES program is available at www.bls.gov/oes/oes_doc.htm.

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 for production occupations, Akron, OH Metropolitan Statistical Area, May 2019

Occupation (1)	Employment		Mean wages
	Level (2)	Location quotient (3)	Hourly	Annual (4)
Production occupations	28,090	1.4	$18.81	$39,130
First-line supervisors of production and operating workers	2,020	1.4	31.50	65,520
Coil winders, tapers, and finishers	80	2.7	19.19	39,920
Electrical, electronic, and electromechanical assemblers, except coil winders, tapers, and finishers	620	1.0	15.63	32,510
Engine and other machine assemblers	330	3.2	24.21	50,350
Structural metal fabricators and fitters	270	1.6	20.23	42,080
Miscellaneous assemblers and fabricators	3,280	1.1	16.07	33,420
Bakers	510	1.2	13.08	27,210
Butchers and meat cutters	180	0.6	15.50	32,240
Meat, poultry, and fish cutters and trimmers	70	0.2	15.75	32,770
Food batchmakers	320	0.9	13.21	27,470
Food processing workers, all other	(5)	(5)	14.19	29,510
Extruding and drawing machine setters, operators, and tenders, metal and plastic	750	4.4	18.27	38,010
Forging machine setters, operators, and tenders, metal and plastic	(5)	(5)	19.31	40,170
Rolling machine setters, operators, and tenders, metal and plastic	50	0.6	21.37	44,450
Cutting, punching, and press machine setters, operators, and tenders, metal and plastic	1,110	2.5	17.02	35,400
Drilling and boring machine tool setters, operators, and tenders, metal and plastic	(5)	(5)	20.39	42,410
Grinding, lapping, polishing, and buffing machine tool setters, operators, and tenders, metal and plastic	530	3.1	15.95	33,190
Lathe and turning machine tool setters, operators, and tenders, metal and plastic	80	1.2	23.38	48,640
Machinists	1,870	2.2	18.05	37,540
Metal-refining furnace operators and tenders	80	2.0	16.40	34,120
Patternmakers, metal and plastic	70	10.2	17.27	35,930
Foundry mold and coremakers	290	7.2	16.78	34,910
Molding, coremaking, and casting machine setters, operators, and tenders, metal and plastic	1,490	3.9	15.41	32,060
Multiple machine tool setters, operators, and tenders, metal and plastic	480	1.5	16.96	35,270
Tool and die makers	170	1.1	24.61	51,190
Welders, cutters, solderers, and brazers	720	0.8	21.64	45,000
Welding, soldering, and brazing machine setters, operators, and tenders	150	2.0	21.61	44,940
Heat treating equipment setters, operators, and tenders, metal and plastic	(5)	(5)	17.70	36,820
Plating machine setters, operators, and tenders, metal and plastic	180	2.0	15.27	31,770
Metal workers and plastic workers, all other	(5)	(5)	18.91	39,340
Prepress technicians and workers	100	1.4	21.42	44,550
Printing press operators	660	1.7	17.68	36,770
Print binding and finishing workers	230	2.3	16.86	35,070
Laundry and dry-cleaning workers	470	1.0	10.96	22,810
Pressers, textile, garment, and related materials	60	0.7	11.54	24,010
Sewing machine operators	250	0.8	13.48	28,030
Extruding and forming machine setters, operators, and tenders, synthetic and glass fibers	40	0.9	15.99	33,260
Cabinetmakers and bench carpenters	140	0.6	18.09	37,620
Power distributors and dispatchers	180	7.6	41.97	87,300
Stationary engineers and boiler operators	70	1.0	25.71	53,470
Chemical plant and system operators	(5)	(5)	27.10	56,370
Petroleum pump system operators, refinery operators, and gaugers	(5)	(5)	34.59	71,950
Chemical equipment operators and tenders	(5)	(5)	19.05	39,620
Separating, filtering, clarifying, precipitating, and still machine setters, operators, and tenders	90	0.8	(5)	(5)
Grinding and polishing workers, hand	180	2.7	15.64	32,540
Mixing and blending machine setters, operators, and tenders	730	2.6	16.87	35,080
Cutting and slicing machine setters, operators, and tenders	(5)	(5)	11.96	24,870
Extruding, forming, pressing, and compacting machine setters, operators, and tenders	860	5.3	17.03	35,410
Furnace, kiln, oven, drier, and kettle operators and tenders	(5)	(5)	14.03	29,190
Inspectors, testers, sorters, samplers, and weighers	1,820	1.4	20.02	41,640
Jewelers and precious stone and metal workers	(5)	(5)	24.55	51,060
Dental laboratory technicians	240	3.1	19.40	40,340
Medical appliance technicians	50	1.6	16.34	33,990
Packaging and filling machine operators and tenders	(5)	(5)	19.73	41,040
Coating, painting, and spraying machine setters, operators, and tenders	320	1.0	19.74	41,050
Computer numerically controlled tool operators	660	2.0	20.72	43,100
Computer numerically controlled tool programmers	140	2.5	25.07	52,140
Etchers and engravers	(5)	(5)	15.33	31,890
Molders, shapers, and casters, except metal and plastic	130	1.3	17.86	37,160
Paper goods machine setters, operators, and tenders	320	1.4	19.00	39,520
Helpers--production workers	510	0.8	15.76	32,780
Production workers, all other	760	1.5	16.14	33,560
Footnotes: (1) For a complete listing of all detailed occupations in the Akron, OH Metropolitan Statistical Area, see www.bls.gov/oes/current/oes_10420.htm. (2) Estimates for detailed occupations may not sum to the totals due to rounding, and because the totals may include occupations that are 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.