Workers in the U.S. Virgin Islands had an average (mean) hourly wage of $24.34 in May 2023, compared to the United States average of $31.48, the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics reported today. Regional Commissioner William J. Sibley noted that higher paying major occupational groups included legal ($49.93), management ($45.59), and healthcare practitioners and technical ($39.11). Lower paying occupations included building and grounds cleaning and maintenance ($15.55), personal care and service ($16.27), and sales and related ($17.14). (See table A.)

Office and administrative support occupations accounted for 13.4 percent of Virgin Islands employment, followed by food preparation and serving related (12.9 percent) and sales and related (9.8 percent) occupations. Major occupational groups on the lower end of local employment included architecture and engineering (0.4 percent); arts, design, entertainment, sports, and media (0.5 percent); and life, physical, and social science (0.9 percent).

One occupational group—food preparation and serving related—was chosen to illustrate the diversity of data available for any of the 22 major occupational categories. The U.S. Virgin Islands had 4,350 jobs in food preparation and serving related, accounting for 12.9 percent of local area employment, compared to the 8.7-percent share nationally. The average hourly wage for this occupational group locally was $17.84, compared to the national wage of $16.58.

Some of the larger detailed occupations within the food preparation and serving related group included waiters and waitresses (960), fast food and counter workers (670), and cooks, restaurant (530). Among the higher-paying jobs in this group were bartenders and waiters and waitresses, with mean hourly wages of $24.24 and $22.00, respectively. (See chart 1.) At the lower end of the wage scale were fast food and counter workers ($11.50) and dishwashers ($13.12). (Detailed data for food preparation and serving related occupations are presented in table 1; for a complete listing of detailed occupations available go to www.bls.gov/oes/current/oes_vi.htm.)

  

View Chart Data

Chart 1. Hourly mean wages for higher paying food preparation and serving related occupations in the U.S. Virgin Islands, May 2023

All occupations	24.34
Food preparation and serving related occupations	17.84
Bartenders	24.24
Waiters and waitresses	22.00
First-line supervisors of food preparation and serving workers	21.18
Chefs and head cooks	20.80
Food preparation and serving related workers, all other	17.59
Source: U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics.

Location quotients allow us to explore the occupational make-up of an area by comparing the composition of jobs in the area relative to the United States 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 Virgin Islands, above-average concentrations of employment existed among the occupations within the food preparation and serving related group. For instance, bartenders were employed at 3.3 times the United States rate in Virgin Islands, and waiters and waitresses, at 1.9 times the U.S. average. Fast food and counter workers had a location quotient of 0.8 in Virgin Islands, indicating that this particular occupation’s local and United States employment shares were similar.

The statistics in this release are from the Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics (OEWS) survey, a cooperative effort between BLS and the State Workforce Agencies (SWAs). BLS funds the survey and provides the procedures and technical support. State Workforce Agencies collect most of the data: in this case, the U.S. Virgin Islands Department of Labor.

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. Full OEWS data tables are available online.

Additional information about the OEWS estimates and methodology are available in the national Technical Notes. The overall national response rate for the six panels, based on the 50 states and the District of Columbia, is 65.8 percent based on establishments and 64.3 percent based on weighted sampled employment. The sample in the U.S. Virgin Islands included 677 establishments with a response rate of 90 percent.

For more information

Answers to frequently asked questions about the OEWS data, as well as general program documentation, are available on the OEWS website.

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.