Workers in the Casper Metropolitan Statistical Area had an average (mean) hourly wage of $22.64 in May 2016, about five percent below the nationwide average of $23.86, 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 computer and mathematical; arts, design, entertainment, sports, and media; and life, physical, and social science. Four groups had significantly higher wages than their respective national averages, including production; transportation and material moving; and installation, maintenance, and repair.

When compared to the nationwide distribution, local employment was more highly concentrated in 4 of the 22 occupational groups, including construction and extraction; installation, maintenance, and repair; and sales and related. Conversely, nine groups had employment shares significantly below their national representation, including business and financial operations; computer and mathematical; and office and administrative support. (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. Casper had 3,950 jobs in construction and extraction occupations, accounting for 9.7 percent of local area employment, significantly higher than the 4.0-percent share nationally. The average hourly wage for this occupational group locally was $23.02, compared to the national wage of $23.51.

Some of the larger detailed occupations within the construction and extraction group included electricians (490), first-line supervisors of construction trades and extraction workers (410), and carpenters (370). Among the higher paying jobs were first-line supervisors of construction trades and extraction workers and oil and gas rotary drill operators with mean hourly wages of $36.59 and $28.75, respectively. At the lower end of the wage scale were construction laborers ($15.71) and cement masons and concrete finishers ($18.39). (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/2016/may/oes_16220.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 Casper Metropolitan Statistical Area, above-average concentrations of employment were found in several of the occupations within the construction and extraction group. For instance, oil, gas, and mining service unit operators were employed at 26.8 times the national rate in Casper, and oil and gas rotary drill operators at 21.8 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 Wyoming Department of Workforce Services.

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 data available from BLS include cross-industry occupational employment and wage estimates for the nation; over 650 areas, including states and the District of Columbia, metropolitan statistical areas (MSAs), metropolitan divisions, nonmetropolitan areas, and territories; national industry-specific estimates at the NAICS sector, 3-, 4-, and selected 5- and 6-digit industry levels, and national estimates 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. Each year, two semiannual panels of approximately 200,000 sampled establishments are contacted, one panel in May and the other in November. Responses are obtained by mail, Internet or other electronic means, email, telephone, or personal visit. The May 2016 estimates are based on responses from six semiannual panels collected over a 3-year period: May 2016, November 2015, May 2015, November 2014, May 2014, and November 2013. The overall national response rate for the six panels, based on the 50 states and the District of Columbia, is 73 percent based on establishments and 69 percent based on weighted sampled employment. The unweighted employment of sampled establishments across all six semiannual panels represents approximately 58 percent of total national employment. The sample in the Casper Metropolitan Statistical Area included 948 establishments with a response rate of 90 percent. For more information about OES concepts and methodology, go to www.bls.gov/oes/current/oes_tec.htm.

The May 2016 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 Casper, Wyo. Metropolitan Statistical Area includes Natrona 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/current/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, Casper Metropolitan Statistical Area, May 2016

Occupation (1)	Employment		Mean wages
	Level (2)	Location quotient (3)	Hourly	Annual (4)
Construction and extraction occupations	3,950	2.4	$23.02	$47,880
First-line supervisors of construction trades and extraction workers	410	2.6	36.59	76,110
Carpenters	370	1.9	20.76	43,170
Cement masons and concrete finishers	100	2.0	18.39	38,250
Construction laborers	300	1.2	15.71	32,680
Operating engineers and other construction equipment operators	260	2.6	21.93	45,610
Electricians	490	2.8	27.37	56,930
Glaziers	30	2.3	19.78	41,140
Insulation workers, mechanical	200	25.9	18.53	38,540
Painters, construction and maintenance	90	1.4	18.30	38,060
Plumbers, pipefitters, and steamfitters	260	2.2	23.48	48,830
Roofers	60	1.7	16.94	35,240
Helpers--pipelayers, plumbers, pipefitters, and steamfitters	40	2.4	13.42	27,910
Construction and building inspectors	40	1.5	19.83	41,250
Derrick operators, oil and gas	50	13.9	28.37	59,000
Rotary drill operators, oil and gas	110	21.8	28.75	59,800
Service unit operators, oil, gas, and mining	330	26.8	23.49	48,860
Roustabouts, oil and gas	220	15.1	22.52	46,840
Footnotes: (1) For a complete listing of all detailed occupations in the Casper Metropolitan Statistical Area see www.bls.gov/oes/current/oes_16220.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.