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News Release Information

23-1154-CHI
Tuesday, July 11, 2023

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

Occupational Employment and Wages in Cincinnati — May 2022

Workers in the Cincinnati, OH-KY-IN Metropolitan Statistical Area had an average (mean) hourly wage of $28.23 in May 2022, 5 percent below the nationwide average of $29.76, the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics reported today. Regional Commissioner Jason Palmer noted that, after testing for statistical significance, wages in the local area were lower than their respective national averages in 14 of the 22 major occupational groups, including legal, computer and mathematical, and management. Only one group had significantly higher wages than their respective national averages: transportation and material moving.

When compared to the nationwide distribution, Cincinnati area employment was more highly concentrated in 6 of the 22 occupational groups, including production, transportation and material moving, and food preparation and serving related. Twelve groups had employment shares significantly below their national representation, including healthcare support, construction and extraction, and sales and related. (See table A.)

Table A. Occupational employment and wages by major occupational group, United States and the Cincinnati metropolitan area, and measures of statistical significance, May 2022
Major occupational group Percent of total employment Mean hourly wage
United States Cincinnati United States Cincinnati Percent difference (1)

Total, all occupations

100.0 100.0 $29.76 $28.23* -5

Management

6.7 6.6 63.08 57.63* -9

Business and financial operations

6.5 6.6 41.39 38.65* -7

Computer and mathematical

3.4 3.2* 51.99 44.83* -14

Architecture and engineering

1.7 1.8* 45.52 43.13* -5

Life, physical, and social science

0.9 0.7* 40.21 35.81* -11

Community and social service

1.6 1.4* 26.81 25.19* -6

Legal

0.8 0.6* 59.87 50.69* -15

Educational instruction and library

5.7 5.3* 30.41 30.90 2

Arts, design, entertainment, sports, and media

1.4 1.2* 36.78 35.48 -4

Healthcare practitioners and technical

6.1 6.6* 46.52 43.00* -8

Healthcare support

4.6 3.4* 17.10 17.00 -1

Protective service

2.3 2.1* 25.97 23.75* -9

Food preparation and serving related

8.5 9.0* 15.45 14.15* -8

Building and grounds cleaning and maintenance

2.9 2.6* 17.26 16.29* -6

Personal care and service

1.9 2.0* 17.41 15.88* -9

Sales and related

8.9 8.4* 24.22 24.47 1

Office and administrative support

12.6 12.9 21.90 21.48* -2

Farming, fishing, and forestry

0.3 0.1* 18.21 18.77 3

Construction and extraction

4.1 3.3* 28.08 28.19 0

Installation, maintenance, and repair

3.9 4.0 26.77 26.72 0

Production

5.9 7.7* 21.81 21.51* -1

Transportation and material moving

9.2 10.8* 21.12 21.79* 3

Footnotes:
(1) A positive percent difference measures how much the mean wage in the Cincinnati, OH-KY-IN Metropolitan Statistical Area is above the national mean wage, while a negative difference reflects a lower wage.
* 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. Cincinnati had 81,230 jobs in production, accounting for 7.7 percent of local area employment, significantly higher than the 5.9-percent share nationally. The average hourly wage for this occupational group locally was $21.51, significantly below the national wage of $21.81.

Some of the larger detailed occupations within the production group included miscellaneous assemblers and fabricators (14,400); inspectors, testers, sorters, samplers, and weighers (5,980); and first-line supervisors of production and operating workers (5,800). Mean hourly wages among the higher-paying jobs in this group were power plant operators ($38.18) and model makers, metal and plastic ($35.10). At the lower end of the wage scale were laundry and dry-cleaning workers ($13.52) and pressers, textile, garment, and related materials ($13.60). (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 some of the occupations within the production group. For instance, engine and other machine assemblers were employed at 3.1 times the national rate in Cincinnati, and chemical equipment operators and tenders, at 2.4 times the U.S. average. Coating, painting, and spraying machine setters, operators, and tenders had a location quotient of 1.0 in Cincinnati, indicating that this particular occupation’s local and national employment shares were similar.

These statistics are from the Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics (OEWS) survey, a federal-state cooperative program between BLS and State Workforce Agencies, in this case, the Ohio Department of Job and Family Services, the Kentucky Center for Statistics (KYSTATS), and the Indiana Department of Workforce Development.

Changes to the Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics (OEWS) Data

The May 2022 OEWS estimates use the model-based (MB3) estimation method implemented with the May 2021 estimates release. Additional updates were made to the MB3 wage processing methodology for May 2022. For more information, see the May 2022 Survey Methods and Reliability Statement.

The May 2022 estimates are the first OEWS estimates to be produced using the 2022 NAICS, which replaces the 2017 NAICS used for the May 2017-May 2021 estimates. See North American Industry Classification System (NAICS) at BLS for details.


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. OEWS data are available at www.bls.gov/oes/tables.htm.

The OEWS 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. OEWS estimates are constructed from a sample of about 1.1 million establishments. Each year, two semiannual panels of approximately 179,000 to 187,000 sampled establishments are contacted, one panel in May and the other in November. Responses are obtained by Internet or other electronic means, mail, email, telephone, or personal visit. The May 2022 estimates are based on responses from six semiannual panels collected over a 3-year period: May 2022, November 2021, May 2021, November 2020, May 2020, and November 2019. The unweighted sampled employment of 80 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 65.4 percent based on establishments and 62.5 percent based on weighted sampled employment. The sample in the Cincinnati, OH-KY-IN Metropolitan Statistical Area included 7,212 establishments with a response rate of 59 percent. For more information about OEWS 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.

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 are available at www.bls.gov/oes/oes_ques.htm. Detailed information about the OEWS program is available at www.bls.gov/oes/oes_doc.htm.

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 2022
Occupation (1) Employment Mean wages
Level (2) Location quotient (3) Hourly Annual (4)

Production occupations

81,230 1.3 $21.51 $44,740

First-line supervisors of production and operating workers

5,800 1.2 32.42 67,420

Coil winders, tapers, and finishers

90 1.2 23.87 49,650

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

2,160 1.1 20.13 41,860

Engine and other machine assemblers

1,120 3.1 28.20 58,660

Structural metal fabricators and fitters

180 0.4 22.37 46,530

Miscellaneous assemblers and fabricators

14,400 1.4 18.33 38,120

Bakers

1,320 0.9 15.87 33,020

Butchers and meat cutters

770 0.8 16.73 34,800

Meat, poultry, and fish cutters and trimmers

340 0.4 16.33 33,960

Slaughterers and meat packers

760 1.4 16.27 33,830

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

70 0.5 21.70 45,130

Food batchmakers

1,920 1.6 18.48 38,430

Food cooking machine operators and tenders

280 1.4 18.38 38,240

Food processing workers, all other

410 1.2 16.64 34,620

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

620 1.4 21.83 45,400

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

240 3.1 20.82 43,310

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

350 1.7 23.66 49,210

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

2,230 1.7 20.65 42,940

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

820 1.5 19.30 40,130

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

170 1.2 23.78 49,460

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

170 1.5 24.70 51,370

Machinists

3,830 1.7 25.30 52,620

Metal-refining furnace operators and tenders

360 2.6 25.43 52,900

Model makers, metal and plastic

40 1.6 35.10 73,000

Foundry mold and coremakers

30 0.4 19.61 40,780

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

1,510 1.3 18.74 38,980

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

2,190 2.2 21.70 45,130

Tool and die makers

750 1.7 29.08 60,490

Welders, cutters, solderers, and brazers

3,160 1.1 23.28 48,430

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

230 1.0 22.25 46,290

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

190 1.7 23.49 48,860

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

250 1.1 21.77 45,280

Metal workers and plastic workers, all other

140 0.9 23.36 48,600

Prepress technicians and workers

360 2.0 21.84 45,430

Printing press operators

2,190 2.0 20.06 41,720

Print binding and finishing workers

390 1.4 18.26 37,980

Laundry and dry-cleaning workers

1,470 1.2 13.52 28,120

Pressers, textile, garment, and related materials

230 1.1 13.60 28,280

Sewing machine operators

630 0.8 14.95 31,090

Tailors, dressmakers, and custom sewers

220 1.8 17.54 36,480

Textile cutting machine setters, operators, and tenders

(5) (5) 15.51 32,260

Upholsterers

90 0.5 20.17 41,950

Cabinetmakers and bench carpenters

320 0.5 20.65 42,950

Furniture finishers

110 1.0 18.73 38,970

Sawing machine setters, operators, and tenders, wood

180 0.5 20.76 43,170

Woodworking machine setters, operators, and tenders, except sawing

270 0.6 19.29 40,130

Power distributors and dispatchers

60 1.0 (5) (5)

Power plant operators

230 1.0 38.18 79,420

Stationary engineers and boiler operators

110 0.5 32.49 67,590

Water and wastewater treatment plant and system operators

740 0.9 26.48 55,080

Petroleum pump system operators, refinery operators, and gaugers

50 0.2 29.79 61,960

Plant and system operators, all other

80 0.8 27.69 57,600

Chemical equipment operators and tenders

1,960 2.4 24.53 51,020

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

330 0.9 22.43 46,650

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

100 0.5 21.72 45,180

Grinding and polishing workers, hand

120 1.2 22.09 45,940

Mixing and blending machine setters, operators, and tenders

1,240 1.6 21.77 45,290

Cutters and trimmers, hand

30 0.5 20.19 41,980

Cutting and slicing machine setters, operators, and tenders

540 1.4 19.93 41,460

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

310 0.7 19.54 40,640

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

80 0.8 21.54 44,810

Inspectors, testers, sorters, samplers, and weighers

5,980 1.4 22.30 46,380

Dental laboratory technicians

140 0.6 25.07 52,140

Medical appliance technicians

80 0.7 22.51 46,820

Ophthalmic laboratory technicians

340 2.3 16.70 34,730

Packaging and filling machine operators and tenders

4,690 1.8 19.22 39,970

Painting, coating, and decorating workers

50 0.5 20.98 43,640

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

1,100 1.0 22.61 47,020

Computer numerically controlled tool operators

1,950 1.5 23.46 48,800

Computer numerically controlled tool programmers

300 1.5 32.84 68,300

Adhesive bonding machine operators and tenders

190 2.4 21.53 44,790

Cleaning, washing, and metal pickling equipment operators and tenders

90 0.9 22.01 45,790

Etchers and engravers

60 0.9 21.89 45,530

Molders, shapers, and casters, except metal and plastic

310 1.1 19.43 40,420

Paper goods machine setters, operators, and tenders

1,280 1.9 22.11 45,980

Tire builders

120 0.9 19.15 39,830

Helpers--production workers

1,360 1.0 18.21 37,880

Production workers, all other

2,760 1.5 19.01 39,540

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: Tuesday, July 11, 2023