Workers in the Wichita Metropolitan Statistical Area had an average (mean) hourly wage of $20.10 in May 2014, about 11 percent below the nationwide average of $22.71, 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 higher than their respective national averages in 2 of the 22 major occupational groups, including production. Seventeen groups had significantly lower wages than their respective national averages, including legal; computer and mathematical; and management.

When compared to the nationwide distribution, local employment was more highly concentrated in 4 of the 22 occupational groups, including production; installation, maintenance, and repair; and architecture and engineering. Conversely, 10 groups had employment shares significantly below their national representation, including transportation and material moving; computer and mathematical; 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. Wichita had 29,390 jobs in production, accounting for 10.1 percent of local area employment, significantly higher than the 6.6-percent share nationally. The average hourly wage for this occupational group locally was $19.60, significantly above the national wage of $17.06.

Some of the largest detailed occupations within the production group included team assemblers (5,110); inspectors, testers, sorters, samplers, and weighers (2,100); and first-line supervisors of production and operating workers (2,010). Among the higher paying jobs were metal and plastic computer numerically controlled machine tool programmers and first-line supervisors of production and operating workers, with mean hourly wages of $30.03 and $29.45, respectively. At the lower end of the wage scale were laundry and dry-cleaning workers ($9.09) and pressers, textile, garment, and related materials ($9.73). (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 some of the occupations within the production group. For instance, metal and plastic layout workers were employed at 33.7 times the national rate in Wichita, and structural metal fabricators and fitters, at 8.2 times the U.S. average. On the other hand, production worker helpers had a location quotient of 1.1 in Wichita, 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 Kansas Department of Labor.

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. May 2014 estimates are based on responses from six semiannual panels collected over a 3-year period: May 2014, November 2013, May 2013, November 2012, May 2012, and November 2011. The overall national response rate for the six panels is 74.3 percent based on establishments and 70.5 percent based on weighted sampled employment. The unweighted employment of sampled establishments across all six semiannual panels represents approximately 57.1 percent of total national employment. (Response rates are slightly lower for these estimates due to the federal shutdown in October 2013.) The sample in the Wichita Metropolitan Statistical Area included 2,604 establishments with a response rate of 75 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 2014 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. 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/2014/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: 800-877-8339.

Table 1. Employment and wage data from the Occupational Employment Statistics survey, by occupation, Wichita Metropolitan Statistical Area, May 2014

Occupation (1)	Employment		Mean wages
	Level (2)	Location quotient (3)	Hourly	Annual (4)
Production Occupations	29,390	1.5	$19.60	$40,770
First-Line Supervisors of Production and Operating Workers	2,010	1.6	29.45	61,250
Aircraft Structure, Surfaces, Rigging, and Systems Assemblers	(5)	(5)	24.39	50,730
Electrical and Electronic Equipment Assemblers	480	1.1	17.18	35,720
Electromechanical Equipment Assemblers	50	0.5	18.77	39,030
Structural Metal Fabricators and Fitters	1,380	8.2	22.17	46,110
Team Assemblers	5,110	2.1	18.60	38,680
Assemblers and Fabricators, All Other	(5)	(5)	15.72	32,690
Bakers	300	0.8	13.13	27,300
Butchers and Meat Cutters	110	0.4	16.39	34,090
Meat, Poultry, and Fish Cutters and Trimmers	70	0.2	12.39	25,760
Slaughterers and Meat Packers	(5)	(5)	13.35	27,780
Food Batchmakers	160	0.6	13.91	28,930
Food Processing Workers, All Other	80	0.9	(5)	(5)
Computer-Controlled Machine Tool Operators, Metal and Plastic	700	2.2	17.17	35,700
Computer Numerically Controlled Machine Tool Programmers, Metal and Plastic	320	5.9	30.03	62,450
Extruding and Drawing Machine Setters, Operators, and Tenders, Metal and Plastic	300	1.9	15.48	32,190
Forging Machine Setters, Operators, and Tenders, Metal and Plastic	90	1.9	16.57	34,470
Rolling Machine Setters, Operators, and Tenders, Metal and Plastic	30	0.5	18.98	39,480
Cutting, Punching, and Press Machine Setters, Operators, and Tenders, Metal and Plastic	530	1.3	15.65	32,540
Drilling and Boring Machine Tool Setters, Operators, and Tenders, Metal and Plastic	30	0.9	18.08	37,600
Grinding, Lapping, Polishing, and Buffing Machine Tool Setters, Operators, and Tenders, Metal and Plastic	340	2.3	12.83	26,690
Lathe and Turning Machine Tool Setters, Operators, and Tenders, Metal and Plastic	100	1.1	19.80	41,180
Milling and Planing Machine Setters, Operators, and Tenders, Metal and Plastic	120	2.6	22.96	47,750
Machinists	2,000	2.4	21.19	44,080
Molding, Coremaking, and Casting Machine Setters, Operators, and Tenders, Metal and Plastic	160	0.6	13.83	28,760
Multiple Machine Tool Setters, Operators, and Tenders, Metal and Plastic	(5)	(5)	13.64	28,380
Tool and Die Makers	690	4.2	25.28	52,590
Welders, Cutters, Solderers, and Brazers	1,120	1.4	16.86	35,080
Welding, Soldering, and Brazing Machine Setters, Operators, and Tenders	140	1.2	16.56	34,430
Heat Treating Equipment Setters, Operators, and Tenders, Metal and Plastic	60	1.3	16.67	34,670
Layout Workers, Metal and Plastic	950	33.7	28.89	60,090
Plating and Coating Machine Setters, Operators, and Tenders, Metal and Plastic	(5)	(5)	18.10	37,650
Prepress Technicians and Workers	90	1.2	19.02	39,550
Printing Press Operators	480	1.3	15.20	31,610
Print Binding and Finishing Workers	210	1.9	12.44	25,880
Laundry and Dry-Cleaning Workers	250	0.6	9.09	18,910
Pressers, Textile, Garment, and Related Materials	110	1.0	9.73	20,250
Sewing Machine Operators	370	1.2	11.33	23,570
Upholsterers	90	1.4	17.47	36,340
Cabinetmakers and Bench Carpenters	120	0.6	15.41	32,060
Sawing Machine Setters, Operators, and Tenders, Wood	(5)	(5)	13.02	27,080
Woodworking Machine Setters, Operators, and Tenders, Except Sawing	160	1.1	14.31	29,770
Power Plant Operators	50	0.6	18.18	37,800
Water and Wastewater Treatment Plant and System Operators	170	0.7	16.74	34,820
Separating, Filtering, Clarifying, Precipitating, and Still Machine Setters, Operators, and Tenders	(5)	(5)	18.11	37,660
Crushing, Grinding, and Polishing Machine Setters, Operators, and Tenders	40	0.6	15.98	33,230
Grinding and Polishing Workers, Hand	310	4.9	13.73	28,560
Mixing and Blending Machine Setters, Operators, and Tenders	220	0.9	17.04	35,430
Cutters and Trimmers, Hand	40	1.1	13.03	27,100
Cutting and Slicing Machine Setters, Operators, and Tenders	140	1.1	17.04	35,450
Extruding, Forming, Pressing, and Compacting Machine Setters, Operators, and Tenders	30	0.2	16.64	34,600
Inspectors, Testers, Sorters, Samplers, and Weighers	2,100	2.0	23.92	49,750
Jewelers and Precious Stone and Metal Workers	(5)	(5)	23.34	48,540
Dental Laboratory Technicians	70	0.9	20.31	42,240
Packaging and Filling Machine Operators and Tenders	520	0.6	13.47	28,010
Coating, Painting, and Spraying Machine Setters, Operators, and Tenders	400	2.1	14.89	30,970
Painters, Transportation Equipment	200	1.8	22.25	46,270
Photographic Process Workers and Processing Machine Operators	40	0.6	12.89	26,820
Adhesive Bonding Machine Operators and Tenders	50	1.3	11.79	24,520
Molders, Shapers, and Casters, Except Metal and Plastic	(5)	(5)	16.39	34,090
Paper Goods Machine Setters, Operators, and Tenders	110	0.6	15.77	32,800
Helpers--Production Workers	960	1.1	10.84	22,540
Production Workers, All Other	330	0.7	12.67	26,350
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.