Workers in the Ponce, PR Metropolitan Statistical Area had an average (mean) hourly wage of $14.24 in May 2023, compared to the nationwide 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 management ($36.16), legal ($32.51), and architecture and engineering ($27.97). Lower paying occupations included building and grounds cleaning and maintenance ($9.81), food preparation and serving related ($10.66), and personal care and service ($11.33). (See table A.)

Occupational groups with the highest employment in the Ponce area included office and administrative support (14.0 percent), sales and related (13.3 percent), and production (10.7 percent). Major occupational groups on the lower end of local employment included legal (0.2 percent); computer and mathematical (0.6 percent); and arts, design, entertainment, sports, and media (0.6 percent).

One occupational group—production—was chosen to illustrate the diversity of data available for any of the 22 major occupational categories. Ponce had 7,000 jobs in production, accounting for 10.7 percent of local area employment, compared to the 5.8-percent share nationally. The average hourly wage for this occupational group locally was $12.03, compared to the national wage of $22.90.

  

View Chart Data

Chart 1. Hourly mean wages for higher paying production occupations in the Ponce metropolitan area, May 2023

Occupation	Wage
All occupations	$14.24
Production occupations	12.03
First-line supervisors of production and operating workers	20.34
Machinists	14.15
Inspectors, testers, sorters, samplers, and weighers	14.14
Welders, cutters, solderers, and brazers	13.07
Production workers, all other	12.21

Some of the larger detailed occupations within the production group included miscellaneous assemblers and fabricators (2,320), sewing machine operators (990), and first-line supervisors of production and operating workers (560). Among the higher-paying jobs in this group were first-line supervisors of production and operating workers, with a mean hourly wage of $20.34, followed by machinists ($14.15) and inspectors, testers, sorters, samplers, and weighers ($14.14). (See chart 1.) At the lower end of the wage scale were sewing machine operators ($8.94) and laundry and dry-cleaning workers ($8.95). (Detailed data for the production occupations are presented in table 1; for a complete listing of detailed occupations available go to www.bls.gov/oes/current/oes_38660.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 Ponce area, above-average concentrations of employment were found in many of the occupations within the production group. For instance, sewing machine operators were employed at 19.8 times the national rate in Ponce, and miscellaneous assemblers and fabricators, at 3.6 times the U.S. average. Cabinetmakers and bench carpenters had a location quotient of 0.9 in Ponce, indicating that this particular occupation’s local and national 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 Puerto Rico Department of Labor and Human Resources.

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 Ponce, PR Metropolitan Statistical Area included 809 establishments with a response rate of 71 percent.

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 Ponce, PR Metropolitan Statistical Area includes Guánica, Guayanilla Municipio, Juana Díaz Municipio, Peñuelas Municipio, Ponce Municipio, Villalba Municipio, and Yauco Municipio.

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.