Workers in the Utica-Rome, NY Metropolitan Statistical Area had an average (mean) hourly wage of $22.87 in May 2019, about 11 percent below the nationwide average of $25.72, the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics reported today. 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 2 of the 22 major occupational groups, including food preparation and serving related. Thirteen groups had significantly lower wages than their respective national averages, including computer and mathematical, business and financial operations, and management.

When compared to the nationwide distribution, Utica area employment was more highly concentrated in 5 of the 22 occupational groups, including healthcare support, educational instruction and library, and protective service. Conversely, ten groups had employment shares significantly below their national representation, including management, transportation and material moving, and computer and mathematical. (See table A and box note at end of release.)

One occupational group—educational instruction and library—was chosen to illustrate the diversity of data available for any of the 22 major occupational categories. Utica had 9,740 jobs in educational instruction and library, accounting for 7.6 percent of local area employment, significantly higher than the 6.1-percent share nationally. The average annual wage for this occupational group locally was $61,850, compared to the national wage of $57,710.

Some of the larger detailed occupations within the educational instruction and library group included teaching assistants, except postsecondary (1,930), elementary school teachers, except special education (1,310), and secondary school teachers, except special and career/technical education (1,120). Among the higher-paying jobs in this group were postsecondary business and history teachers, with mean annual wages of $108,850 and $103,970, respectively. At the lower end of the wage scale were teaching assistants, except postsecondary ($27,560) and library technicians ($32,070). (Detailed data for the educational instruction and library occupations are presented in table 1; for a complete listing of detailed occupations available go to www.bls.gov/oes/current/oes_46540.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 Utica area, above-average concentrations of employment were found in many of the occupations within the educational instruction and library group. For instance, nursing instructors and teachers, postsecondary were employed at 4.7 times the national rate in Utica, and career/technical education teachers, secondary school, at 2.6 times the U.S. average. Elementary school teachers, except special education had a location quotient of 1.1 in Utica, 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 1.1 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 2019 estimates are based on responses from six semiannual panels collected over a 3-year period: May 2019, November 2018, May 2018, November 2017, May 2017, and November 2016. The unweighted sample employment of 83 million across all six semiannual panels represents approximately 57 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 Utica-Rome, NY Metropolitan Statistical Area included 1,479 establishments with a response rate of 71 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 2019 OES estimates are the first set of OES estimates to be based in part on survey data collected using the 2018 SOC. These estimates use a hybrid of the 2010 and 2018 SOC systems. More information on the hybrid classification system is available at www.bls.gov/oes/soc_2018.htm.

The May 2019 OES estimates are based on the 2017 North American Industry Classification System (NAICS). More 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 Utica-Rome, NY Metropolitan Statistical Area includes Herkimer and Oneida Counties.

For more information

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

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 for educational instruction and library occupations, Utica-Rome, NY Metropolitan Statistical Area, May 2019

Occupation (1)	Employment		Mean wages
	Level (2)	Location quotient (3)	Hourly	Annual (4)
Educational instruction and library occupations	9,740	1.3	$29.74	$61,850
Business teachers, postsecondary	70	0.9	(6)	108,850
Computer science teachers, postsecondary	90	3.4	(6)	74,840
Mathematical science teachers, postsecondary	80	1.7	(6)	97,340
Engineering teachers, postsecondary	80	2.5	(6)	97,040
Biological science teachers, postsecondary	60	1.3	(6)	85,860
Psychology teachers, postsecondary	50	1.4	(6)	91,940
Social sciences teachers, postsecondary, all other	100	6.8	(6)	108,690
Health specialties teachers, postsecondary	(5)	(5)	(6)	99,150
Nursing instructors and teachers, postsecondary	240	4.7	(6)	50,740
Education teachers, postsecondary	50	0.8	(6)	86,250
Criminal justice and law enforcement teachers, postsecondary	60	4.7	(6)	82,630
Art, drama, and music teachers, postsecondary	210	2.6	(6)	95,580
English language and literature teachers, postsecondary	80	1.4	(6)	99,730
Foreign language and literature teachers, postsecondary	40	1.7	(6)	86,190
History teachers, postsecondary	40	1.9	(6)	103,970
Recreation and fitness studies teachers, postsecondary	60	4.2	(6)	89,420
Career/technical education teachers, postsecondary	30	0.3	27.68	57,570
Postsecondary teachers, all other	90	0.5	(6)	108,900
Preschool teachers, except special education	150	0.4	16.51	34,340
Kindergarten teachers, except special education	120	1.1	(6)	70,880
Elementary school teachers, except special education	1,310	1.1	(6)	71,540
Middle school teachers, except special and career/technical education	760	1.4	(6)	75,950
Career/technical education teachers, middle school	(5)	(5)	(6)	90,480
Secondary school teachers, except special and career/technical education	1,120	1.2	(6)	68,320
Career/technical education teachers, secondary school	170	2.6	(6)	61,750
Special education teachers, preschool	(5)	(5)	(6)	74,640
Special education teachers, kindergarten and elementary school	190	1.1	(6)	67,780
Special education teachers, middle school	180	2.4	(6)	79,760
Special education teachers, secondary school	260	2.1	(6)	64,290
Adult basic education, adult secondary education, and english as a second language instructors	30	0.7	25.62	53,280
Self-enrichment teachers	(5)	(5)	22.30	46,380
Substitute teachers, short-term	450	0.9	15.79	32,850
Tutors and teachers and instructors, all other	(5)	(5)	(6)	45,900
Librarians and media collections specialists	170	1.4	28.95	60,220
Library technicians	80	1.0	15.42	32,070
Instructional coordinators	210	1.4	31.18	64,850
Teaching assistants, except postsecondary	1,930	1.6	(6)	27,560
Footnotes: (1) For a complete listing of all detailed occupations in the Utica-Rome, NY Metropolitan Statistical Area, see www.bls.gov/oes/current/oes_46540.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.