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News Release Information

24-895-CHI
Friday, August 02, 2024

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

Occupational Employment and Wages in Cincinnati — May 2023

Workers in the Cincinnati, OH-KY-IN Metropolitan Statistical Area had an average (mean) hourly wage of $29.69 in May 2023, compared to the nationwide average of $31.48, the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics reported today. Regional Commissioner Jason Palmer noted that higher paying major occupational groups included management ($59.64), legal ($55.79), and computer and mathematical ($47.71). Lower paying occupations included food preparation and serving related ($15.35), personal care and service ($17.35), and building and grounds cleaning and maintenance ($17.53). (See table A.)

Occupational groups with the highest employment in the Cincinnati area included office and administrative support (12.4 percent), transportation and material moving (10.6 percent), and food preparation and serving related (9.6 percent). Major occupational groups on the lower end of local employment included legal (0.6 percent); life, physical, and social science (0.7 percent); and arts, design, entertainment, sports, and media (1.3 percent). (See table A.)

Table A. Occupational employment and wages by major occupational group, United States and the Cincinnati metropolitan area, May 2023
Major occupational groupPercent of total employmentMean hourly wage ($)
United StatesCincinnatiUnited StatesCincinnati

Total, all occupations

100.0100.031.4829.69

Management

6.96.866.2359.64

Business and financial operations

6.66.543.5539.96

Computer and mathematical

3.42.954.3947.71

Architecture and engineering

1.71.947.6446.06

Life, physical, and social science

0.90.742.2437.75

Community and social service

1.61.428.3626.70

Legal

0.80.664.3455.79

Educational instruction and library

5.85.431.9232.09

Arts, design, entertainment, sports, and media

1.41.336.3132.48

Healthcare practitioners and technical

6.16.849.0747.08

Healthcare support

4.73.418.3718.30

Protective service

2.32.127.7425.13

Food preparation and serving related

8.79.616.5815.35

Building and grounds cleaning and maintenance

2.92.718.4317.53

Personal care and service

2.02.118.4817.35

Sales and related

8.88.425.6224.85

Office and administrative support

12.212.423.0522.50

Farming, fishing, and forestry

0.30.119.2219.27

Construction and extraction

4.13.429.5729.43

Installation, maintenance, and repair

3.94.028.1328.21

Production

5.87.222.9022.68

Transportation and material moving

9.110.622.4522.70

One occupational group—production—was chosen to illustrate the diversity of data available for any of the 22 major occupational categories. Cincinnati had 77,510 jobs in production, accounting for 7.2 percent of local area employment, compared to the 5.8-percent share nationally. The average hourly wage for this occupational group locally was $22.68, compared to the national wage of $22.90.

Some of the larger detailed occupations within the production group included miscellaneous assemblers and fabricators (13,450); inspectors, testers, sorters, samplers, and weighers (5,970); and first-line supervisors of production and operating workers (5,410). Mean hourly wages among the higher-paying jobs in this group were power plant operators ($41.03); first-line supervisors of production and operating workers ($33.98); and petroleum pump system operators, refinery operators, and gaugers ($33.46). At the lower end of the wage scale were laundry and dry-cleaning workers ($14.38) and pressers, textile, garment, and related materials ($14.57). (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_17140.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 Cincinnati area, above-average concentrations of employment were found in many of the occupations within the production group. For instance, engine and other machine assemblers were employed at 3.6 times the national rate in Cincinnati, and computer numerically controlled tool operators, at 2.1 times the U.S. average. Bakers had a location quotient of 1.0 in Cincinnati, indicating that this particular occupation’s local and national employment shares were similar.

The statistics in this release are from the Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics (OEWS) survey, a cooperative effort between BLS and the State Workforce Agencies (SWAs). BLS funds the survey and provides the procedures and technical support. State Workforce Agencies collect most of the data: in this case, the Ohio Department of Job & Family Services, the Kentucky Center for Statistics (KYSTATS), and the Indiana Department of Workforce Development.


Technical Note

The Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics (OEWS) survey is a semiannual survey measuring occupational employment and wage rates for wage and salary workers in nonfarm establishments in the United States. The OEWS 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. Full OEWS data tables are available online.

Additional information about the OEWS estimates and methodology are available in the national Technical Notes. The overall national response rate for the six panels, based on the 50 states and the District of Columbia, is 65.8 percent based on establishments and 64.3 percent based on weighted sampled employment. The sample in the Cincinnati, OH-KY-IN Metropolitan Statistical Area included 7,298 establishments with a response rate of 60 percent.

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 Cincinnati, OH-KY-IN Metropolitan Statistical Area includes Dearborn County, IN; Ohio County, IN; Union County, IN; Boone County, KY; Bracken County, KY; Campbell County, KY; Gallatin County, KY; Grant County, KY; Kenton County, KY; Pendleton County, KY; Brown County, OH; Butler County, OH; Clermont County, OH; Hamilton County, OH; and Warren County, OH.

For more information

Answers to frequently asked questions about the OEWS data, as well as general program documentation, are available on the OEWS website.

Information in this release will be made available to individuals with sensory impairments upon request. Voice phone: (202) 691-5200; Telecommunications Relay Service: 7-1-1.

Table 1. Employment and wage data for production occupations, Cincinnati metropolitan area, May 2023
Occupation (1)EmploymentMean wages ($)
Level (2)Location quotient (3)HourlyAnnual (4)

Production occupations

77,5101.222.6847,170

First-line supervisors of production and operating workers

5,4101.133.9870,680

Coil winders, tapers, and finishers

801.024.2650,460

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

1,8000.921.4444,580

Engine and other machine assemblers

1,2203.629.8162,000

Structural metal fabricators and fitters

1900.522.7147,230

Fiberglass laminators and fabricators

500.321.5244,760

Miscellaneous assemblers and fabricators

13,4501.319.4840,520

Bakers

1,5601.016.3634,030

Butchers and meat cutters

7900.818.0237,490

Meat, poultry, and fish cutters and trimmers

4200.417.9837,410

Slaughterers and meat packers

1400.318.4138,290

Food batchmakers

1,9301.619.4940,530

Food cooking machine operators and tenders

4302.020.3242,260

Food processing workers, all other

3800.817.6436,700

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

6901.522.1946,140

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

4302.425.3652,740

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

1,8101.421.4244,560

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

1403.422.7447,300

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

7101.321.0043,680

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

1701.223.7849,470

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

1401.426.5255,160

Machinists

2,7101.327.4657,120

Metal-refining furnace operators and tenders

5403.726.6955,510

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

1,0600.921.1343,960

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

2,4902.722.1746,110

Tool and die makers

7301.830.6263,700

Welders, cutters, solderers, and brazers

3,2101.124.3450,630

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

3601.522.9247,660

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

1601.525.3652,740

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

1800.822.3146,400

Tool grinders, filers, and sharpeners

300.729.1160,560

Metal workers and plastic workers, all other

2401.722.4846,760

Prepress technicians and workers

3302.021.7445,220

Printing press operators

1,9401.821.5244,760

Print binding and finishing workers

5001.818.4538,380

Laundry and dry-cleaning workers

1,4501.114.3829,900

Pressers, textile, garment, and related materials

2901.414.5730,310

Sewing machine operators

7500.916.5134,340

Tailors, dressmakers, and custom sewers

900.918.6138,700

Textile cutting machine setters, operators, and tenders

(5)(5)16.5134,330

Upholsterers

1100.621.0443,770

Textile, apparel, and furnishings workers, all other

800.720.8743,420

Cabinetmakers and bench carpenters

3100.522.1145,980

Furniture finishers

800.718.2137,870

Woodworking machine setters, operators, and tenders, except sawing

2000.519.8941,370

Power distributors and dispatchers

1101.7(5)(5)

Power plant operators

1700.841.0385,340

Stationary engineers and boiler operators

800.332.9468,520

Water and wastewater treatment plant and system operators

8801.027.3856,940

Petroleum pump system operators, refinery operators, and gaugers

700.333.4669,600

Plant and system operators, all other

800.728.4059,070

Chemical equipment operators and tenders

1,7502.126.2254,550

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

2900.823.4748,810

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

2801.519.5640,690

Grinding and polishing workers, hand

1201.320.3642,340

Mixing and blending machine setters, operators, and tenders

1,0701.422.5746,940

Cutting and slicing machine setters, operators, and tenders

6601.821.4944,710

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

2400.621.1644,010

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

1201.121.1243,920

Inspectors, testers, sorters, samplers, and weighers

5,9701.422.8047,420

Jewelers and precious stone and metal workers

3402.022.9947,810

Dental laboratory technicians

1200.524.5251,010

Medical appliance technicians

600.625.1752,360

Ophthalmic laboratory technicians

2301.718.6238,720

Packaging and filling machine operators and tenders

4,3501.619.7941,170

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

1,0200.923.7549,390

Computer numerically controlled tool operators

2,7902.125.1052,220

Computer numerically controlled tool programmers

3001.532.9568,540

Adhesive bonding machine operators and tenders

1902.123.3448,540

Cleaning, washing, and metal pickling equipment operators and tenders

1701.619.1139,760

Etchers and engravers

400.721.1243,940

Molders, shapers, and casters, except metal and plastic

3601.320.1541,910

Paper goods machine setters, operators, and tenders

1,3101.923.3148,470

Tire builders

1300.920.2442,100

Helpers--production workers

1,1700.919.9041,400

Production workers, all other

2,1101.219.7441,050

Footnotes:
(1) For a complete listing of all detailed occupations in the Cincinnati, OH-KY-IN Metropolitan Statistical Area, see www.bls.gov/oes/current/oes_17140.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: Friday, August 02, 2024