Workers in the Fort Collins Metropolitan Statistical Area had an average (mean) hourly wage of $22.85 in May 2015, similar to 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 lower than their respective national averages in 7 of the 22 major occupational groups, including arts, design, entertainment, sports, and media; business and financial operations; and management. Five groups had significantly higher wages than their respective national averages, including architecture and engineering; production; and healthcare support.

When compared to the nationwide distribution, local employment was more highly concentrated in 7 of the 22 occupational groups, including food preparation and serving related; construction and extraction; and sales and related. Conversely, eight groups had employment shares significantly below their national representation, including transportation and material moving; production; and management. (See table A and box note at end of release.)

One occupational group—construction and extraction—was chosen to illustrate the diversity of data available for any of the 22 major occupational categories. Fort Collins had 7,620 jobs in construction and extraction, accounting for 5.2 percent of local area employment, significantly higher than the 4.0-percent share nationally. The average hourly wage for this occupational group locally was $21.08, significantly below the national wage of $22.88.

Some of the larger detailed occupations within the construction and extraction group included construction laborers (1,410), plumbers, pipefitters, and steamfitters (780), and electricians (730). Among the higher paying jobs were first-line supervisors of construction trades and extraction workers with mean hourly wages of $32.37. Occupations at the lower end of the wage scale included construction laborers ($14.75). (Detailed occupational data for construction and extraction are presented in table 1; for a complete listing of detailed occupations available go to www.bls.gov/oes/2015/may/oes_22660.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 Fort Collins Metropolitan Statistical Area, above-average concentrations of employment were found in many of the occupations within the construction and extraction group. For instance, drywall and ceiling tile installers were employed at 4.0 times the national rate in Fort Collins, and plumbers, pipefitters, and steamfitters, at 1.9 times the U.S. average. On the other hand, first-line supervisors of construction trades and extraction workers had a location quotient of 1.0 in Fort Collins, 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 Fort Collins Metropolitan Statistical Area included 1,871 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 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 Fort Collins, Colo. Metropolitan Statistical Area includes Larimer County.

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, Fort Collins Metropolitan Statistical Area, May 2015

Occupation (1)	Employment		Mean wages
	Level (2)	Location quotient (3)	Hourly	Annual (4)
Construction and Extraction Occupations	7,620	1.3	$21.08	$43,840
First-Line Supervisors of Construction Trades and Extraction Workers	520	1.0	32.37	67,340
Brickmasons and Blockmasons	160	2.4	22.72	47,260
Carpenters	630	0.9	18.78	39,050
Cement Masons and Concrete Finishers	320	1.8	17.72	36,860
Construction Laborers	1,410	1.5	14.75	30,680
Paving, Surfacing, and Tamping Equipment Operators	130	2.3	21.78	45,290
Operating Engineers and Other Construction Equipment Operators	500	1.3	22.81	47,440
Drywall and Ceiling Tile Installers	370	4.0	20.52	42,670
Electricians	730	1.2	24.09	50,110
Glaziers	40	0.9	20.74	43,130
Painters, Construction and Maintenance	380	1.7	17.01	35,380
Pipelayers	40	0.8	19.79	41,150
Plumbers, Pipefitters, and Steamfitters	780	1.9	24.61	51,180
Roofers	(5)	(5)	17.77	36,970
Sheet Metal Workers	340	2.4	22.03	45,820
Structural Iron and Steel Workers	(5)	(5)	22.92	47,680
Helpers--Brickmasons, Blockmasons, Stonemasons, and Tile and Marble Setters	(5)	(5)	19.47	40,500
Helpers--Carpenters	50	1.3	12.41	25,820
Construction and Building Inspectors	(5)	(5)	33.13	68,920
Highway Maintenance Workers	(5)	(5)	21.04	43,760
Construction and Related Workers, All Other	(5)	(5)	14.04	29,200
Roustabouts, Oil and Gas	80	1.1	20.22	42,060
Footnotes: (1) For a complete listing of all detailed occupations in the Fort Collins, CO, Metropolitan Statistical Area see www.bls.gov/oes/current/oes_22660.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.