Workers in the Springfield Metropolitan Statistical Area had an average (mean) hourly wage of $18.98 in May 2016, about 20 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 20 of the 22 major occupational groups, including computer and mathematical; architecture and engineering; and management.

When compared to the nationwide distribution, local employment was more highly concentrated in 7 of the 22 occupational groups, including transportation and material moving; healthcare practitioners and technical; and office and administrative support. Conversely, 11 groups had employment shares significantly below their national representation, including business and financial operations; management; and architecture and engineering. (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. Springfield had 15,420 jobs in healthcare practitioners and technical occupations, accounting for 7.7 percent of local area employment, significantly higher than the 5.9-percent share nationally. The average hourly wage for this occupational group locally was $30.51, significantly below the national wage of $38.06.

Some of the larger detailed occupations within the healthcare practitioners and technical group included registered nurses (5,800), licensed practical and licensed vocational nurses (1,210), and pharmacy technicians (950). Among the higher paying jobs were family and general practitioners and pharmacists, general, with mean hourly wages of $111.45 and $61.96, respectively. At the lower end of the wage scale were pharmacy technicians ($12.55) and emergency medical technicians and paramedics ($13.85). (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_44180.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 Springfield, Mo. Metropolitan Statistical Area, above-average concentrations of employment were found in several of the occupations within the healthcare practitioners and technical group. For instance, respiratory therapists were employed at 2.1 times the national rate in Springfield, and medical and clinical laboratory technicians, at 2.0 times the U.S. average. On the other hand, dental hygienists had a location quotient of 1.0 in Springfield, 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 Springfield, Mo. Metropolitan Statistical Area included 2,091 establishments with a response rate of 63 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 Springfield, Mo. Metropolitan Statistical Area  includes Christian, Dallas, Greene, Polk, and Webster 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/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, Springfield, Mo. Metropolitan Statistical Area, May 2016

Occupation (1)	Employment		Mean wages
	Level (2)	Location quotient (3)	Hourly	Annual (4)
Healthcare practitioners and technical occupations	15,420	1.3	$30.51	$63,450
Chiropractors	50	1.0	38.60	80,280
Dentists, general	180	1.2	72.30	150,380
Dietitians and nutritionists	100	1.2	24.30	50,550
Optometrists	90	1.7	55.31	115,040
Pharmacists	660	1.5	61.96	128,880
Family and general practitioners	130	0.7	111.45	231,830
Physicians and surgeons, all other	310	0.7	128.40	267,060
Physician assistants	170	1.1	42.76	88,940
Occupational therapists	260	1.5	40.23	83,680
Physical therapists	400	1.3	42.96	89,350
Recreational therapists	30	1.2	20.44	42,510
Respiratory therapists	380	2.1	23.88	49,670
Speech-language pathologists	220	1.1	32.96	68,560
Veterinarians	120	1.3	39.19	81,510
Registered nurses	5,800	1.4	26.28	54,670
Nurse practitioners	330	1.5	43.34	90,160
Medical and clinical laboratory technologists	270	1.1	26.52	55,160
Medical and clinical laboratory technicians	460	2.0	14.69	30,550
Dental hygienists	290	1.0	35.05	72,910
Cardiovascular technologists and technicians	140	1.9	19.52	40,600
Diagnostic medical sonographers	130	1.3	28.57	59,420
Nuclear medicine technologists	40	1.3	34.55	71,860
Radiologic technologists	340	1.2	21.87	45,490
Magnetic resonance imaging technologists	60	1.1	25.27	52,570
Emergency medical technicians and paramedics	510	1.5	13.85	28,810
Pharmacy technicians	950	1.7	12.55	26,100
Respiratory therapy technicians	40	2.5	24.88	51,750
Surgical technologists	250	1.6	19.19	39,920
Veterinary technologists and technicians	100	0.7	14.09	29,310
Ophthalmic medical technicians	50	0.8	14.51	30,180
Licensed practical and licensed vocational nurses	1,210	1.2	18.19	37,840
Medical records and health information technicians	420	1.5	18.11	37,670
Opticians, dispensing	120	1.1	14.46	30,080
Health technologists and technicians, all other	280	1.6	17.53	36,460
Occupational health and safety specialists	40	0.4	19.47	40,490
Occupational health and safety technicians	40	1.6	26.03	54,150
Athletic trainers	50	1.6	(5)	46,110
Healthcare practitioners and technical workers, all other	30	0.6	52.90	110,040
Footnotes: (1) For a complete listing of all detailed occupations in the Springfield, Mo. Metropolitan Statistical Area see www.bls.gov/oes/current/oes_44180.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) Wages for some occupations that do not generally work year-round, full time, are reported either as hourly wages or annual salaries depending on how they are typically paid.