Workers in the Albany-Schenectady-Troy Metropolitan Statistical Area had an average (mean) hourly wage of $26.16 in May 2018, about 5 percent above the nationwide average of $24.98, according to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics. Chief Regional Economist Martin Kohli noted that, after testing for statistical significance, wages in the local area were higher than their respective national averages in 10 of the 22 major occupational groups, including protective service; construction and extraction; and production. Six groups had significantly lower wages than their respective national averages, including computer and mathematical; legal; and life, physical, and social science.

When compared to the nationwide distribution, local employment was more highly concentrated in 10 of the 22 occupational groups, including education, training, and library; office and administrative support; and life, physical, and social science. Conversely, eight groups had employment shares significantly below their national representation, including production; transportation and material moving; and food preparation and serving related. (See table A and box note at end of release.)

One occupational group—business and financial operations—was chosen to illustrate the diversity of data available for any of the 22 major occupational categories. Albany-Schenectady-Troy had 27,380 jobs in business and financial operations, accounting for 6.1 percent of local area employment, significantly higher than the 5.3-percent share nationally. The average hourly wage for this occupational group locally was $34.74, significantly below the national wage of $36.98.

Some of the larger detailed occupations within the business and financial operations group included accountants and auditors (4,370), management analysts (2,700), and human resources specialists (2,080). Among the higher-paying jobs in this group were personal financial advisors and labor relations specialists, with mean hourly wages of $55.51 and $39.73, respectively. At the lower end of the wage scale were credit counselors ($25.32) and compensation, benefits, and job analysis specialists ($28.93). (Detailed data for the business and financial operations occupations are presented in table 1; for a complete listing of detailed occupations available go to www.bls.gov/oes/current/oes_10580.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 Albany-Schenectady-Troy Metropolitan Statistical Area, above-average concentrations of employment were found in some of the occupations within the business and financial operations group. For instance, tax examiners and collectors, and revenue agents were employed at 9.0 times the national rate in Albany, and labor relations specialists, at 3.1 times the U.S. average. On the other hand, buyers and purchasing agents had a location quotient of 0.9 in Albany, 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 New York State Department of Labor.

Technical Note

The Occupational Employment Statistics (OES) survey is a semiannual 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 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. OES data are available at www.bls.gov/oes/tables.htm.

The OES 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. OES estimates are constructed from a sample of about 1.2 million establishments. Each year, two semiannual panels of approximately 180,000 to 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 2018 estimates are based on responses from six semiannual panels collected over a 3-year period: May 2018, November 2017, May 2017, November 2016, May 2016, and November 2015. The unweighted sample employment of 83 million across all six semiannual panels represents approximately 58 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 71 percent based on establishments and 68 percent based on weighted sampled employment. The sample in the Albany-Schenectady-Troy Metropolitan Statistical Area included 3,245 establishments with a response rate of 69 percent. For more information about OES 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.

The May 2018 OES estimates are based on the 2010 Standard Occupational Classification (SOC) system and the 2017 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 2017 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 Albany-Schenectady-Troy, N.Y. Metropolitan Statistical Area includes Albany, Rensselaer, Saratoga, Schenectady, and Schoharie Counties.

Additional information

OES data are available on our regional web page at www.bls.gov/regions/northeast. 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, Albany-Schenectady-Troy Metropolitan Statistical Area, May 2018

Occupation (1)	Employment		Mean wages
	Level (2)	Location quotient (3)	Hourly	Annual (4)
Business and financial operations occupations	27,380	1.1	$34.74	$72,260
Buyers and purchasing agents	1,150	0.9	30.32	63,070
Claims adjusters, examiners, and investigators	1,660	1.8	33.75	70,210
Compliance officers	1,230	1.3	32.95	68,530
Cost estimators	580	0.9	33.47	69,620
Human resources specialists	2,080	1.1	32.06	66,680
Labor relations specialists	750	3.1	39.73	82,640
Logisticians	160	0.3	35.17	73,150
Management analysts	2,700	1.3	39.50	82,160
Meeting, convention, and event planners	470	1.4	29.16	60,640
Fundraisers	320	1.4	29.79	61,960
Compensation, benefits, and job analysis specialists	810	3.1	28.93	60,180
Training and development specialists	1,360	1.5	30.72	63,900
Market research analysts and marketing specialists	1,620	0.8	31.74	66,010
Business operations specialists, all other	2,510	0.8	37.22	77,410
Accountants and auditors	4,370	1.1	36.48	75,870
Appraisers and assessors of real estate	210	1.2	31.78	66,090
Budget analysts	540	3.3	33.76	70,210
Credit analysts	160	0.7	36.86	76,660
Financial analysts	1,100	1.2	36.36	75,620
Personal financial advisors	580	0.9	55.51	115,460
Insurance underwriters	530	1.8	37.66	78,320
Financial examiners	170	0.9	30.98	64,440
Credit counselors	120	1.1	25.32	52,660
Loan officers	540	0.6	34.88	72,560
Tax examiners and collectors, and revenue agents	1,530	9.0	29.16	60,660
Financial specialists, all other	110	0.3	33.19	69,030
Footnotes: (1) For a complete listing of all detailed occupations in the Albany-Schenectady-Troy, NY Metropolitan Statistical Area, see www.bls.gov/oes/current/oes_10580.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.