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News Release Information

20-472-CHI
Wednesday, May 13, 2020

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

Occupational Employment and Wages in Detroit-Warren-Dearborn — May 2019

Workers in the Detroit-Warren-Dearborn, MI Metropolitan Statistical Area had an average (mean) hourly wage of $26.41 in May 2019, about 3 percent above 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 5 of the 22 major occupational groups, including construction and extraction, production, and management. Eight groups had significantly lower wages than their respective national averages, including legal; life, physical, and social science; and computer and mathematical.

When compared to the nationwide distribution, Detroit area employment was more highly concentrated in 5 of the 22 occupational groups, including production, architecture and engineering, and business and financial operations. Conversely, fourteen groups had employment shares significantly below their national representation, including educational instruction and library, construction and extraction, and office and administrative support. (See table A and box note at end of release.)

Table A. Occupational employment and wages by major occupational group, United States and the Detroit-Warren-Dearborn, MI Metropolitan Statistical Area, and measures of statistical significance, May 2019
Major occupational groupPercent of total employmentMean hourly wage
United StatesDetroitUnited StatesDetroitPercent difference (1)

Total, all occupations

100.0100.0$25.72$26.41*3

Management

5.55.2*58.8860.03*2

Business and financial operations

5.66.1*37.5637.36-1

Computer and mathematical

3.13.5*45.0840.81*-9

Architecture and engineering

1.84.6*42.6943.271

Life, physical, and social science

0.90.5*37.2832.90*-12

Community and social service

1.51.2*24.2723.67-2

Legal

0.80.852.7145.66*-13

Educational instruction and library

6.14.1*27.7528.533

Arts, design, entertainment, sports, and media

1.41.2*29.7928.01*-6

Healthcare practitioners and technical

5.96.3*40.2139.65-1

Healthcare support

4.44.1*14.9114.81-1

Protective service

2.41.8*23.9822.04*-8

Food preparation and serving related

9.28.7*12.8212.42*-3

Building and grounds cleaning and maintenance

3.02.7*15.0314.22*-5

Personal care and service

2.22.215.0314.24*-5

Sales and related

9.89.620.7021.77*5

Office and administrative support

13.312.4*19.7319.800

Farming, fishing, and forestry

0.3(2)15.0716.55*10

Construction and extraction

4.23.2*25.2827.74*10

Installation, maintenance, and repair

3.93.7*24.1024.381

Production

6.210.1*19.3020.75*8

Transportation and material moving

8.58.0*18.2319.447

Footnotes:
(1) A positive percent difference measures how much the mean wage in the Detroit-Warren-Dearborn, MI Metropolitan Statistical Area is above the national mean wage, while a negative difference reflects a lower wage.
(2) Indicates a value of less than 0.05 percent.
* 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—production—was chosen to illustrate the diversity of data available for any of the 22 major occupational categories. Detroit had 200,890 jobs in production, accounting for 10.1 percent of local area employment, significantly higher than the 6.2-percent share nationally. The average hourly wage for this occupational group locally was $20.75, significantly above the national wage of $19.30.

Some of the larger detailed occupations within the production group included miscellaneous assemblers and fabricators (54,630); inspectors, testers, sorters, samplers, and weighers (15,740); and first-line supervisors of production and operating workers (13,450). Among the higher-paying jobs in this group were power distributors and dispatchers and power plant operators, with mean hourly wages of $49.11 and $42.11, respectively. At the lower end of the wage scale were sewers, hand ($11.51) and pressers, textile, garment, and related materials ($11.57). (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_19820.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 Detroit area, above-average concentrations of employment were found in some of the occupations within the production group. For instance, engine and other machine assemblers were employed at 12.3 times the national rate in Detroit, and tool and die makers, at 6.3 times the U.S. average. Chemical equipment operators and tenders had a location quotient of 1.0 in Detroit, 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 Technology, Management & Budget.

Changes to the Occupational Employment Statistics (OES) Data

With the May 2019 estimates, the OES program has begun implementing the 2018 Standard Occupational Classification (SOC) system. Each set of OES estimates is calculated from six panels of survey data collected over three years. Because the May 2019 estimates are based on a combination of survey data collected using the 2010 SOC and survey data collected using the 2018 SOC, these estimates use a hybrid of the two classification systems that contains some combinations of occupations that are not found in either the 2010 or 2018 SOC. These combinations may include occupations from more than one 2018 SOC minor group or broad occupation. Therefore, OES will not publish data for some 2018 SOC minor groups and broad occupations in the May 2019 estimates. The May 2021 estimates, to be published in Spring 2022, will be the first OES estimates based entirely on survey data collected using the 2018 SOC.

In addition, the OES program has replaced some 2018 SOC detailed occupations with SOC broad occupations or OES-specific aggregations. These include home health aides and personal care aides, for which OES will publish only the 2018 SOC broad occupation 31-1120 Home Health and Personal Care Aides.

For more information on the occupational classification system used in the May 2019 OES estimates, please see www.bls.gov/oes/soc_2018.htm and www.bls.gov/oes/oes_ques.htm#qf10.

The May 2019 OES estimates use the metropolitan area definitions delineated in Office of Management and Budget (OMB) Bulletin 17-01, which add a new Metropolitan Statistical Area (MSA) for Twin Falls, Idaho. For more information on the area definitions used in the May 2019 estimates, please see www.bls.gov/oes/current/msa_def.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 1.1 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 Detroit-Warren-Dearborn, MI Metropolitan Statistical Area included 7,968 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 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 Detroit-Warren-Dearborn, MI Metropolitan Statistical Area includes Lapeer, Livingston, Macomb, Oakland, St. Clair, and Wayne 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, Detroit-Warren-Dearborn, MI Metropolitan Statistical Area, May 2019
Occupation (1)EmploymentMean wages
Level (2)Location quotient (3)HourlyAnnual (4)

Production occupations

200,8901.6$20.75$43,160

First-line supervisors of production and operating workers

13,4501.634.1070,930

Coil winders, tapers, and finishers

(5)(5)18.8839,280

Electrical, electronic, and electromechanical assemblers, except coil winders, tapers, and finishers

3,7201.016.5534,420

Engine and other machine assemblers

7,60012.325.3152,640

Structural metal fabricators and fitters

9801.019.7641,100

Fiberglass laminators and fabricators

1400.516.0933,470

Miscellaneous assemblers and fabricators

54,6303.020.0041,600

Bakers

2,4001.013.8328,770

Butchers and meat cutters

1,8701.015.8733,020

Meat, poultry, and fish cutters and trimmers

4900.214.2429,620

Slaughterers and meat packers

3200.314.5130,180

Food and tobacco roasting, baking, and drying machine operators and tenders

400.216.3634,020

Food batchmakers

1,4100.714.6930,540

Food cooking machine operators and tenders

900.214.6530,470

Food processing workers, all other

2200.414.4530,050

Extruding and drawing machine setters, operators, and tenders, metal and plastic

9500.915.1631,540

Forging machine setters, operators, and tenders, metal and plastic

6603.020.6542,960

Rolling machine setters, operators, and tenders, metal and plastic

6201.422.1946,160

Cutting, punching, and press machine setters, operators, and tenders, metal and plastic

10,5004.021.4544,620

Drilling and boring machine tool setters, operators, and tenders, metal and plastic

3102.120.0341,670

Grinding, lapping, polishing, and buffing machine tool setters, operators, and tenders, metal and plastic

(5)(5)20.0941,780

Lathe and turning machine tool setters, operators, and tenders, metal and plastic

1,1303.019.9241,420

Milling and planing machine setters, operators, and tenders, metal and plastic

(5)(5)24.5851,120

Machinists

11,4002.221.8445,430

Model makers, metal and plastic

70012.130.8864,220

Patternmakers, metal and plastic

1403.524.8851,760

Foundry mold and coremakers

3101.318.4338,330

Molding, coremaking, and casting machine setters, operators, and tenders, metal and plastic

9,1003.914.6030,360

Multiple machine tool setters, operators, and tenders, metal and plastic

4,0302.019.5940,750

Tool and die makers

5,9806.327.3256,820

Welders, cutters, solderers, and brazers

4,8900.920.8943,450

Welding, soldering, and brazing machine setters, operators, and tenders

1,3202.821.2344,150

Heat treating equipment setters, operators, and tenders, metal and plastic

8603.317.9037,240

Plating machine setters, operators, and tenders, metal and plastic

1,4802.617.4036,190

Tool grinders, filers, and sharpeners

500.528.9460,200

Metal workers and plastic workers, all other

3201.017.6836,770

Prepress technicians and workers

2200.521.9845,720

Printing press operators

2,4201.018.4338,330

Print binding and finishing workers

6501.117.2235,810

Laundry and dry-cleaning workers

2,8801.012.4225,830

Pressers, textile, garment, and related materials

2700.511.5724,070

Sewing machine operators

1,1700.714.0129,140

Shoe and leather workers and repairers

1100.914.6430,450

Sewers, hand

(5)(5)11.5123,930

Tailors, dressmakers, and custom sewers

(5)(5)18.8939,280

Textile cutting machine setters, operators, and tenders

3001.716.3233,950

Extruding and forming machine setters, operators, and tenders, synthetic and glass fibers

4601.917.5436,490

Upholsterers

(5)(5)13.1327,300

Textile, apparel, and furnishings workers, all other

700.313.8728,850

Cabinetmakers and bench carpenters

5100.422.6647,140

Furniture finishers

(5)(5)17.8937,210

Sawing machine setters, operators, and tenders, wood

900.118.3138,090

Woodworking machine setters, operators, and tenders, except sawing

4200.415.9233,100

Power distributors and dispatchers

1300.949.11102,150

Power plant operators

8101.842.1187,580

Stationary engineers and boiler operators

2500.631.0964,670

Water and wastewater treatment plant and system operators

1,0200.623.7649,420

Gas plant operators

3101.636.7076,340

Chemical equipment operators and tenders

1,1801.026.2554,600

Separating, filtering, clarifying, precipitating, and still machine setters, operators, and tenders

4200.618.6938,870

Crushing, grinding, and polishing machine setters, operators, and tenders

1400.319.5140,580

Grinding and polishing workers, hand

2100.514.9431,070

Mixing and blending machine setters, operators, and tenders

1,5100.918.6338,750

Cutters and trimmers, hand

1501.115.6432,540

Cutting and slicing machine setters, operators, and tenders

3100.417.1735,710

Extruding, forming, pressing, and compacting machine setters, operators, and tenders

9100.916.4134,120

Furnace, kiln, oven, drier, and kettle operators and tenders

(5)(5)23.3048,460

Inspectors, testers, sorters, samplers, and weighers

15,7402.018.3638,200

Jewelers and precious stone and metal workers

3801.225.4853,000

Dental laboratory technicians

9102.022.6147,020

Medical appliance technicians

4702.524.8151,590

Ophthalmic laboratory technicians

5101.317.4736,330

Packaging and filling machine operators and tenders

3,3900.615.4932,210

Painting, coating, and decorating workers

300.2(5)(5)

Coating, painting, and spraying machine setters, operators, and tenders

2,4601.317.9737,370

Photographic process workers and processing machine operators

(5)(5)14.7330,650

Computer numerically controlled tool operators

3,4701.720.4542,530

Computer numerically controlled tool programmers

1,1503.326.5255,160

Adhesive bonding machine operators and tenders

(5)(5)18.7539,010

Cleaning, washing, and metal pickling equipment operators and tenders

2301.015.5032,240

Molders, shapers, and casters, except metal and plastic

7301.218.1437,730

Paper goods machine setters, operators, and tenders

8100.617.4536,290

Helpers--production workers

3,0000.714.6930,560

Production workers, all other

2,3700.815.6832,600

Footnotes:
(1) For a complete listing of all detailed occupations in the Detroit-Warren-Dearborn, MI Metropolitan Statistical Area, see www.bls.gov/oes/current/oes_19820.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.

 

Last Modified Date: Wednesday, May 13, 2020