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News Release Information

14-1871-KAN
Tuesday, September 30, 2014

Contacts Technical information: Media contact:
  • (816) 285-7000

Occupational Employment and Wages in Wichita, May 2013

Workers in the Wichita Metropolitan Statistical Area had an average (mean) hourly wage of $19.92 in May 2013, about 11 percent below the nationwide average of $22.33, according to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics. Regional Commissioner Stanley W. Suchman noted that, after testing for statistical significance, wages in the local area were significantly higher than their respective national averages in 2 of the 22 major occupational groups, including production. Eighteen groups had significantly lower wages than their respective national averages, including legal; arts, design, entertainment, sports, and media; and management.

When compared to the nationwide distribution, local employment was more highly concentrated in 5 of the 22 occupational groups, including production; architecture and engineering; and installation, maintenance, and repair. Conversely, nine groups had employment shares significantly below their national representation, including transportation and material moving, business and financial operations, and management. (See table A and box note at end of release.)

Table A. Occupational employment and wages by major occupational group, United States and the Wichita Metropolitan Statistical Area, and measures of statistical significance, May 2013
Major occupational groupPercent of total employmentMean hourly wage
United StatesWichitaUnited StatesWichitaPercent difference (1)

Total, all occupations

100.0%100.0%$22.33$19.92*-11

Management

4.94.2*53.1546.86*-12

Business and financial operations

5.04.2*34.1430.90*-9

Computer and mathematical

2.82.1*39.4333.90*-14

Architecture and engineering

1.82.9*38.5138.550

Life, physical, and social science

0.90.4*33.3728.55*-14

Community and social services

1.41.3*21.5018.27*-15

Legal

0.80.5*47.8935.72*-25

Education, training, and library

6.36.024.7619.48*-21

Arts, design, entertainment, sports, and media

1.31.226.7219.38*-27

Healthcare practitioner and technical

5.85.735.9331.08*-13

Healthcare support

3.03.113.6112.49*-8

Protective service

2.52.1*20.9218.17*-13

Food preparation and serving related

9.08.910.389.37*-10

Building and grounds cleaning and maintenance

3.22.912.5111.02*-12

Personal care and service

3.03.5*11.8811.07*-7

Sales and related

10.610.318.3716.32*-11

Office and administrative support

16.215.916.7815.44*-8

Farming, fishing, and forestry

0.30.1*11.7014.50*24

Construction and extraction

3.84.5*21.9417.71*-19

Installation, maintenance, and repair

3.94.6*21.3521.913

Production

6.69.7*16.7919.89*18

Transportation and material moving

6.85.9*16.2815.48*-5

Footnotes:
(1) A positive percent difference measures how much the mean wage in Wichita is above the national mean wage, while a negative difference reflects a lower wage.
* The percent share of employment or mean hourly wage for this area 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. Wichita had 27,490 jobs in production, accounting for 9.7 percent of local area employment, significantly higher than the 6.6-percent share nationally. The average hourly wage for this occupational group locally was $19.89, measurably above the national wage of $16.79.

With employment of 2,170, machinists was one of the largest occupations within the production group, as were first-line supervisors of production and operating workers (2,150). Among the higher paying jobs were petroleum pump system operators, refinery operators, and gaugers ($32.05) and first-line supervisors of production and operating workers ($30.12). Occupations at the lower end of the wage scale included adhesive bonding machine operators and tenders ($11.49) and production worker helpers ($11.69). (Detailed occupational data for production are presented in table 1; for a complete listing of detailed occupations available go to www.bls.gov/oes/current/oes_48620.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 Wichita Metropolitan Statistical Area, above average concentrations of employment were found in many of the occupations within the production group. For instance, machinists were employed at 2.6 times the national rate in Wichita, and inspectors, testers, sorters, samplers, and weighers at 1.9 times the U.S. average.

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 Kansas Department of Labor.

Note

OES wage and employment data for the 22 major occupational groups in the Wichita Metropolitan Statistical Area were compared to their respective national averages based on statistical significance testing. Only those occupations with wages or employment shares above or below the national wage or share after testing for significance at the 90-percent confidence level meet the criteria.

Note:  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.


Technical Note

The Occupational Employment Statistics (OES) survey is a semiannual mail survey measuring occupational employment and wage rates for wage and salary workers in nonfarm establishments in the United States. Guam, Puerto Rico, and the Virgin Islands are also surveyed, but their data are not included in the national estimates. OES estimates are constructed from a sample of about 1.2 million establishments. Forms are mailed to approximately 200,000 sampled establishments in May and November each year for a 3-year period. May 2013 estimates are based on responses from six semiannual panels collected in May 2013, November 2012, May 2012, November 2011, May 2011, and November 2010. The overall national response rate for the six panels is 75.3 percent based on establishments and 71.6 percent based on employment. The sample in the Wichita Metropolitan Statistical Area included 2,608 establishments with a response rate of 76 percent. For more information about OES concepts and methodology, go to www.bls.gov/news.release/ocwage.tn.htm.

The OES survey provides estimates of employment and hourly and annual wages for wage and salary workers in 22 major occupational groups and 821 detailed occupations for the nation, states, metropolitan statistical areas, metropolitan divisions, and nonmetropolitan areas. In addition, employment and wage estimates for 94 minor groups and 458 broad occupations are available in the national data. OES data by state and metropolitan/nonmetropolitan area are available from www.bls.gov/oes/current/oessrcst.htm and www.bls.gov/oes/current/oessrcma.htm, respectively.

The May 2013 OES estimates are based on the 2010 Standard Occupational Classification (SOC) system and the 2012 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 2012 NAICS is available at www.bls.gov/bls/naics.htm.

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 Wichita, Kans. Metropolitan Statistical Area includes Butler, Harvey, Sedgwick, and Sumner Counties.

Additional information

OES data are available on our regional web page at www.bls.gov/regions/mountain-plains/home.htm. 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/2013/may/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: 1-800-877-8339.

 

Table 1. Employment and wage data from the Occupational Employment Statistics survey, by occupation, Wichita Metropolitan Statistical Area, May 2013
Occupation (1)EmploymentMean wages
Level (2)Location quotient (3)HourlyAnnual(4)

Production Occupations

27,4901.5$19.89$41,370

First-Line Supervisors of Production and Operating Workers

2,1501.730.1262,650

Aircraft Structure, Surfaces, Rigging, and Systems Assemblers

1,98021.623.8149,530

Electrical and Electronic Equipment Assemblers

6901.617.9637,360

Electromechanical Equipment Assemblers

(5)(5)16.4434,190

Fiberglass Laminators and Fabricators

400.920.8243,310

Team Assemblers

3,9701.8(5)(5)

Assemblers and Fabricators, All Other

3100.614.5630,280

Bakers

3000.813.7528,600

Butchers and Meat Cutters

1800.616.2333,750

Meat, Poultry, and Fish Cutters and Trimmers

600.212.6826,380

Food Batchmakers

900.413.6528,400

Food Processing Workers, All Other

1401.514.0229,160

Computer-Controlled Machine Tool Operators, Metal and Plastic

8402.817.2835,940

Computer Numerically Controlled Machine Tool Programmers, Metal and Plastic

3005.828.1458,530

Extruding and Drawing Machine Setters, Operators, and Tenders, Metal and Plastic

(5)(5)14.6930,550

Forging Machine Setters, Operators, and Tenders, Metal and Plastic

801.715.6032,450

Rolling Machine Setters, Operators, and Tenders, Metal and Plastic

300.519.3640,270

Cutting, Punching, and Press Machine Setters, Operators, and Tenders, Metal and Plastic

3801.015.9033,070

Grinding, Lapping, Polishing, and Buffing Machine Tool Setters, Operators, and Tenders, Metal and Plastic

3602.312.8026,620

Lathe and Turning Machine Tool Setters, Operators, and Tenders, Metal and Plastic

1101.321.4944,700

Milling and Planing Machine Setters, Operators, and Tenders, Metal and Plastic

1002.018.4938,450

Machinists

2,1702.620.7343,120

Model Makers, Metal and Plastic

503.423.2448,330

Patternmakers, Metal and Plastic

405.027.6557,510

Molding, Coremaking, and Casting Machine Setters, Operators, and Tenders, Metal and Plastic

1600.613.6528,390

Multiple Machine Tool Setters, Operators, and Tenders, Metal and Plastic

1600.814.8430,860

Tool and Die Makers

5603.3(5)(5)

Welders, Cutters, Solderers, and Brazers

1,1001.518.5338,540

Welding, Soldering, and Brazing Machine Setters, Operators, and Tenders

1701.620.8543,380

Heat Treating Equipment Setters, Operators, and Tenders, Metal and Plastic

601.419.6940,960

Plating and Coating Machine Setters, Operators, and Tenders, Metal and Plastic

(5)(5)15.6632,580

Prepress Technicians and Workers

700.817.2835,950

Printing Press Operators

4501.315.1531,520

Print Binding and Finishing Workers

2502.312.2125,400

Laundry and Dry-Cleaning Workers

2200.59.1419,000

Pressers, Textile, Garment, and Related Materials

1000.99.3619,470

Sewing Machine Operators

4101.310.3921,600

Upholsterers

801.319.1539,830

Cabinetmakers and Bench Carpenters

1400.816.2133,710

Sawing Machine Setters, Operators, and Tenders, Wood

(5)(5)12.8126,650

Woodworking Machine Setters, Operators, and Tenders, Except Sawing

1100.813.7428,580

Water and Wastewater Treatment Plant and System Operators

1500.717.6336,680

Petroleum Pump System Operators, Refinery Operators, and Gaugers

2903.332.0566,670

Separating, Filtering, Clarifying, Precipitating, and Still Machine Setters, Operators, and Tenders

800.917.5536,500

Crushing, Grinding, and Polishing Machine Setters, Operators, and Tenders

701.113.7028,490

Grinding and Polishing Workers, Hand

3004.512.9927,020

Mixing and Blending Machine Setters, Operators, and Tenders

1500.617.5236,450

Cutters and Trimmers, Hand

702.314.7630,700

Cutting and Slicing Machine Setters, Operators, and Tenders

1801.418.0537,550

Extruding, Forming, Pressing, and Compacting Machine Setters, Operators, and Tenders

400.312.9326,890

Furnace, Kiln, Oven, Drier, and Kettle Operators and Tenders

801.916.5934,510

Inspectors, Testers, Sorters, Samplers, and Weighers

1,9601.923.7249,340

Jewelers and Precious Stone and Metal Workers

(5)(5)18.0337,490

Dental Laboratory Technicians

801.117.4136,210

Packaging and Filling Machine Operators and Tenders

5100.613.9228,950

Coating, Painting, and Spraying Machine Setters, Operators, and Tenders

3702.014.5530,260

Painters, Transportation Equipment

2602.621.6344,990

Photographic Process Workers and Processing Machine Operators

400.613.5928,260

Adhesive Bonding Machine Operators and Tenders

1102.711.4923,900

Cleaning, Washing, and Metal Pickling Equipment Operators and Tenders

401.014.7430,660

Molders, Shapers, and Casters, Except Metal and Plastic

(5)(5)16.9035,140

Helpers--Production Workers

7700.911.6924,310

Production Workers, All Other

2300.517.1235,600

Footnotes:
(1) For a complete listing of all detailed occupations in Wichita, KS, see www.bls.gov/oes/current/oes_48620.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: Tuesday, September 30, 2014