Workers in the Columbia Metropolitan Statistical Area had an average (mean) hourly wage of $21.44 in May 2016, about 10 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 significantly lower than their respective national averages in 17 of the 22 major occupational groups, including computer and mathematical; management; and legal.

When compared to the nationwide distribution, local employment was more highly concentrated in 6 of the 22 occupational groups, including healthcare practitioners and technical; food preparation and serving related; and education, training, and library. Conversely, seven groups had employment shares significantly below their national representation, including production; transportation and material moving; and protective service. (See table A and box note at end of release.)

One occupational group—healthcare practitioners and technical—was chosen to illustrate the diversity of data available for any of the 22 major occupational categories. Columbia had 8,320 jobs in healthcare practitioners and technical occupations, accounting for 9.1 percent of local area employment, significantly higher than the 5.9-percent share nationally. The average hourly wage for this occupational group locally was $36.96, compared to the national wage of $38.06.

Some of the larger detailed occupations within the healthcare practitioners and technical group included registered nurses (3,270), licensed practical and licensed vocational nurses (480), and family and general practitioners (450). Among the higher paying jobs were family and general practitioners and pharmacists, with mean hourly wages of $109.18 and $59.28, respectively. At the lower end of the wage scale were dispensing opticians ($11.83) and pharmacy technicians ($14.39). (Detailed occupational data for healthcare practitioners and technical are presented in table 1; for a complete listing of detailed occupations available go to www.bls.gov/oes/2016/may/oes_17860.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 Columbia Metropolitan Statistical Area, above-average concentrations of employment were found in several of the occupations within the healthcare practitioners and technical group. For instance, family and general practitioners were employed at 5.6 times the national rate in Columbia, and medical and clinical laboratory technicians, at 4.0 times the U.S. average. On the other hand, licensed practical and licensed vocational nurses had a location quotient of 1.1 in Columbia, 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 Missouri Department of Economic Development.

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 Columbia, Mo. Metropolitan Statistical Area included 1,165 establishments with a response rate of 61 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 Columbia, Mo. Metropolitan Statistical Area includes Boone 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, Columbia, Mo. Metropolitan Statistical Area, May 2016

Occupation (1)	Employment		Mean wages
	Level (2)	Location quotient (3)	Hourly	Annual (4)
Healthcare practitioners and technical occupations	8,320	1.5	$36.96	$76,890
Dentists, general	(5)	(5)	115.77	240,810
Dietitians and nutritionists	80	2.0	24.89	51,780
Optometrists	40	1.6	56.62	117,760
Pharmacists	210	1.1	59.28	123,300
Family and general practitioners	450	5.6	109.18	227,090
Surgeons	(5)	(5)	133.85	278,400
Physicians and surgeons, all other	340	1.5	92.71	192,840
Physician assistants	90	1.4	40.03	83,260
Occupational therapists	80	1.1	35.23	73,280
Physical therapists	150	1.1	36.24	75,390
Respiratory therapists	140	1.7	26.11	54,300
Speech-language pathologists	110	1.3	40.63	84,510
Veterinarians	70	1.6	33.28	69,230
Registered nurses	3,270	1.8	28.60	59,490
Nurse anesthetists	110	4.4	70.41	146,460
Nurse practitioners	160	1.7	44.53	92,620
Medical and clinical laboratory technicians	420	4.0	16.59	34,500
Dental hygienists	120	0.9	37.08	77,130
Diagnostic medical sonographers	50	1.1	32.63	67,870
Radiologic technologists	180	1.4	24.60	51,170
Magnetic resonance imaging technologists	80	3.5	30.96	64,410
Emergency medical technicians and paramedics	100	0.6	15.98	33,240
Pharmacy technicians	280	1.1	14.39	29,940
Veterinary technologists and technicians	140	2.2	15.13	31,470
Licensed practical and licensed vocational nurses	480	1.1	18.45	38,380
Medical records and health information technicians	200	1.5	20.73	43,110
Opticians, dispensing	100	2.1	11.83	24,600
Health technologists and technicians, all other	50	0.7	24.83	51,640
Occupational health and safety specialists	40	0.8	30.84	64,140
Athletic trainers	30	2.0	(5)	46,060
Healthcare practitioners and technical workers, all other	50	2.2	26.91	55,960
Footnotes: (1) For a complete listing of all detailed occupations in the Columbia, Mo. Metropolitan Statistical Area, see www.bls.gov/oes/current/oes_17860.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.