Workers in the Springfield, MO Metropolitan Statistical Area had an average (mean) hourly wage of $21.90 in May 2021, 22 percent below the nationwide average of $28.01, the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics reported today. Regional Commissioner Michael Hirniak noted that, after testing for statistical significance, wages in the local area were lower than their respective national averages in all of the 22 major occupational groups, including arts, design, entertainment, sports, and media; computer and mathematical; and management.

When compared to the nationwide distribution, Springfield area employment was more highly concentrated in 8 of the 22 occupational groups, including healthcare practitioners and technical, office and administrative support, and transportation and material moving. Twelve groups had employment shares significantly below their national representation, including business and financial operations, management, and computer and mathematical. (See table A.)

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 16,650 jobs in healthcare practitioners and technical, accounting for 8.1 percent of local area employment, significantly higher than the 6.2-percent share nationally. The average hourly wage for this occupational group locally was $33.55, significantly below the national wage of $43.80.

Some of the larger detailed occupations within the healthcare practitioners and technical group included registered nurses (5,980), licensed practical and licensed vocational nurses (1,130), and pharmacy technicians (840). Among the higher-paying jobs in this group were family medicine physicians and pharmacists, with mean hourly wages of $121.50 and $58.09, respectively. At the lower end of the wage scale were pharmacy technicians ($15.73) and licensed practical and licensed vocational nurses ($20.63). (Detailed data for the healthcare practitioners and technical occupations are presented in table 1; for a complete listing of detailed occupations available go to www.bls.gov/oes/current/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 area, above-average concentrations of employment were found in some of the occupations within the healthcare practitioners and technical group. For instance, nurse anesthetists were employed at 6.0 times the national rate in Springfield, and medical records specialists, at 2.1 times the U.S. average. 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 and Wage Statistics (OEWS) 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 and Wage Statistics (OEWS) survey is a semiannual survey measuring occupational employment and wage rates for wage and salary workers in nonfarm establishments in the United States. The OEWS data available from BLS include cross-industry occupational employment and wage estimates for the nation; over 580 areas, including states and the District of Columbia, metropolitan statistical areas (MSAs), nonmetropolitan areas, and territories; national industry-specific estimates at the NAICS sector, 3-digit, most 4-digit, and selected 5- and 6-digit industry levels, and national estimates by ownership across all industries and for schools and hospitals. OEWS data are available at www.bls.gov/oes/tables.htm.

The OEWS survey is a cooperative effort between BLS and the State Workforce Agencies (SWAs). BLS funds the survey and provides the procedures and technical support, while the State Workforce Agencies collect most of the data. OEWS estimates are constructed from a sample of about 1.1 million establishments. Each year, two semiannual panels of approximately 179,000 to 187,000 sampled establishments are contacted, one panel in May and the other in November. Responses are obtained by Internet or other electronic means, mail, email, telephone, or personal visit. The May 2021 estimates are based on responses from six semiannual panels collected over a 3-year period: May 2021, November 2020, May 2020, November 2019, May 2019, and November 2018. The unweighted sampled employment of 82 million across all six semiannual panels represents approximately 62 percent of total national employment. The overall national response rate for the six panels, based on the 50 states and the District of Columbia, is 67.2 percent based on establishments and 64.5 percent based on weighted sampled employment. The sample in the Springfield, MO Metropolitan Statistical Area included 1,951 establishments with a response rate of 49 percent. For more information about OEWS concepts and methodology, go to www.bls.gov/oes/current/oes_tec.htm.

A value that is statistically different from another does not necessarily mean that the difference has economic or practical significance. Statistical significance is concerned with the ability to make confident statements about a universe based on a sample. It is entirely possible that a large difference between two values is not significantly different statistically, while a small difference is, since both the size and heterogeneity of the sample affect the relative error of the data being tested.

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 County, Dallas County, Greene County, Polk County, and Webster County.

For more information

Answers to frequently asked questions about the OEWS data are available at www.bls.gov/oes/oes_ques.htm. Detailed information about the OEWS program is available at www.bls.gov/oes/oes_doc.htm.

Information in this release will be made available to individuals with sensory impairments upon request. Voice phone: (202) 691-5200; Telecommunications Relay Service: 7-1-1.

Table 1. Employment and wage data for healthcare practitioners and technical occupations, Springfield metropolitan area, May 2021

Occupation (1)	Employment		Mean wages
	Level (2)	Location quotient (3)	Hourly	Annual (4)
Healthcare practitioners and technical occupations	16,650	1.3	$33.55	$69,780
Chiropractors	60	1.2	35.85	74,580
Dentists, general	180	1.2	70.21	146,030
Dietitians and nutritionists	110	1.1	25.03	52,050
Optometrists	70	1.2	54.17	112,670
Pharmacists	620	1.4	58.09	120,820
Physician assistants	160	0.8	50.32	104,670
Occupational therapists	150	0.8	34.63	72,020
Physical therapists	310	0.9	38.50	80,080
Speech-language pathologists	150	0.7	33.21	69,070
Veterinarians	120	1.1	38.86	80,820
Registered nurses	5,980	1.3	29.59	61,550
Nurse anesthetists	390	6.0	(5)	(5)
Nurse practitioners	410	1.2	47.99	99,820
Anesthesiologists	50	1.0	142.77	296,960
Family medicine physicians	220	1.5	121.50	252,720
Physicians, pathologists	(5)	(5)	133.19	277,040
Psychiatrists	50	1.4	146.69	305,110
Radiologists	(5)	(5)	119.86	249,320
Physicians, all other	70	0.2	129.06	268,440
Dental hygienists	310	1.0	35.15	73,120
Clinical laboratory technologists and technicians	670	1.4	21.91	45,580
Diagnostic medical sonographers	110	1.0	32.12	66,800
Radiologic technologists and technicians	430	1.4	25.28	52,580
Magnetic resonance imaging technologists	70	1.3	30.71	63,870
Pharmacy technicians	840	1.3	15.73	32,720
Ophthalmic medical technicians	80	0.8	14.73	30,640
Licensed practical and licensed vocational nurses	1,130	1.2	20.63	42,910
Medical records specialists	550	2.1	20.81	43,290
Opticians, dispensing	130	1.2	16.60	34,530
Health technologists and technicians, all other	360	1.8	16.94	35,240
Health information technologists and medical registrars	60	1.1	18.48	38,440
Athletic trainers	40	1.0	(6)	50,140
(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 may not sum to the totals due to rounding, and because the totals may include occupations that are 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. (6) 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.