Workers in the Denver-Aurora-Lakewood Metropolitan Statistical Area had an average (mean) hourly wage of $26.18 in May 2015, about 13 percent above the nationwide average of $23.23, according to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics. Assistant Commissioner for Regional Operations Stanley W. Suchman noted that, after testing for statistical significance, wages in the local area were significantly higher than their respective national averages in 12 of the 22 major occupational groups, including management; architecture and engineering; and sales and related.

When compared to the nationwide distribution, local employment was more highly concentrated in 8 of the 22 occupational groups, including business and financial operations; computer and mathematical; and architecture and engineering. Conversely, 11 groups had employment shares significantly below their national representation, including production; education, training, and library; and transportation and material moving. (See table A and box note at end of release.)

One occupational group—business and financial operations—was chosen to illustrate the diversity of data available for any of the 22 major occupational categories. Denver-Aurora-Lakewood had 111,080 jobs in business and financial operations, accounting for 8.1 percent of local area employment, significantly higher than the 5.1-percent share nationally. The average hourly wage for this occupational group locally was $37.54, significantly above the national wage of $35.48.

Some of the larger detailed occupations within the business and financial operations group included accountants and auditors (23,250), market research analysts and marketing specialists (8,170), and human resources specialists (6,790). Among the higher paying jobs were personal financial advisors and financial analysts, with mean hourly wages of $59.91 and $51.65, respectively. At the lower end of the wage scale were meeting, convention, and event planners ($20.68) and wholesale and retail buyers, except farm products ($26.29). (Detailed occupational data for business and financial operations are presented in table 1; for a complete listing of detailed occupations available go to www.bls.gov/oes/2015/may/oes_19740.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 Denver-Aurora-Lakewood Metropolitan Statistical Area, above-average concentrations of employment were found in some of the occupations within the business and financial operations group. For instance, accountants and auditors were employed at 1.9 times the national rate in Denver, and financial examiners, at 1.7 times the U.S. average. On the other hand, management analysts had a location quotient of 1.0 in Denver, 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 Colorado Department of Labor & Employment.

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. The OES program produces employment and wage estimates for over 800 occupations for all industries combined in the nation; the 50 states and the District of Columbia; 432 metropolitan areas and divisions; 167 nonmetropolitan areas; and Guam, Puerto Rico, and the U.S. Virgin Islands. National estimates are also available by industry for NAICS sectors, 3-, 4-, and selected 5- and 6-digit industries, and by ownership across all industries and for schools and hospitals. OES data are available at www.bls.gov/oes/tables.htm.

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 2015 estimates are based on responses from six semiannual panels collected over a 3-year period: May 2015, November 2014, May 2014, November 2013, May 2013, and November 2012. The overall national response rate for the six panels is 73.5 percent based on establishments and 69.6 percent based on weighted sampled employment. The unweighted employment of sampled establishments across all six semiannual panels represents approximately 57.9 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 Denver-Aurora-Lakewood Metropolitan Statistical Area included 6,677 establishments with a response rate of 71 percent. For more information about OES concepts and methodology, go to www.bls.gov/news.release/ocwage.tn.htm.

The May 2015 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.

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 Denver-Aurora-Lakewood, Colo. Metropolitan Statistical Area includes Adams, Arapahoe, Broomfield, Clear Creek, Denver, Douglas, Elbert, Gilpin, Jefferson, and Park 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/2015/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, Denver-Aurora-Lakewood Metropolitan Statistical Area, May 2015

Occupation (1)	Employment		Mean wages
	Level (2)	Location quotient (3)	Hourly	Annual (4)
Business and Financial Operations Occupations	111,080	1.6	$37.54	$78,090
Agents and Business Managers of Artists, Performers, and Athletes	50	0.4	(5)	(5)
Buyers and Purchasing Agents, Farm Products	80	0.7	29.54	61,450
Wholesale and Retail Buyers, Except Farm Products	940	0.9	26.29	54,680
Purchasing Agents, Except Wholesale, Retail, and Farm Products	3,720	1.3	33.73	70,160
Claims Adjusters, Examiners, and Investigators	2,950	1.1	32.78	68,190
Insurance Appraisers, Auto Damage	80	0.6	34.04	70,810
Compliance Officers	3,050	1.2	34.79	72,360
Cost Estimators	2,650	1.2	33.26	69,170
Human Resources Specialists	6,790	1.4	32.79	68,200
Labor Relations Specialists	350	0.5	(5)	(5)
Logisticians	1,690	1.3	38.35	79,780
Management Analysts	5,800	1.0	44.11	91,750
Meeting, Convention, and Event Planners	1,670	1.9	20.68	43,010
Fundraisers	710	1.1	29.19	60,720
Compensation, Benefits, and Job Analysis Specialists	840	1.1	34.27	71,270
Training and Development Specialists	3,650	1.4	33.38	69,420
Market Research Analysts and Marketing Specialists	8,170	1.6	39.75	82,690
Business Operations Specialists, All Other	26,930	2.9	39.07	81,260
Accountants and Auditors	23,250	1.9	36.90	76,750
Appraisers and Assessors of Real Estate	1,000	1.7	29.83	62,050
Budget Analysts	670	1.2	38.17	79,400
Credit Analysts	1,090	1.5	39.98	83,150
Financial Analysts	3,190	1.2	51.65	107,430
Personal Financial Advisors	2,260	1.2	59.91	124,610
Insurance Underwriters	990	1.1	36.57	76,070
Financial Examiners	760	1.7	38.15	79,360
Credit Counselors	140	0.5	37.61	78,220
Loan Officers	3,810	1.3	33.06	68,770
Tax Examiners and Collectors, and Revenue Agents	580	1.0	30.14	62,690
Tax Preparers	570	0.8	(5)	(5)
Financial Specialists, All Other	2,630	2.1	32.93	68,500
Footnotes: (1) For a complete listing of all detailed occupations in the Denver-Aurora-Lakewood, CO Metropolitan Statistical Area, see www.bls.gov/oes/current/oes_19740.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.