Workers in the Birmingham-Hoover Metropolitan Statistical Area had an average (mean) hourly wage of $21.14 in May 2014, about 7 percent below the nationwide average of $22.71, according to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics. Regional Commissioner Janet S. Rankin noted that, after testing for statistical significance, wages in the local area were higher than their respective national averages in 1 of the 22 major occupational groups. Sixteen groups had significantly lower wages than their respective national averages, including building and grounds cleaning and maintenance; computer and mathematical; and construction and extraction.

When compared to the nationwide distribution, local employment was more highly concentrated in 6 of the 22 occupational groups, including healthcare practitioners and technical; sales and related; and office and administrative support. Conversely, 12 groups had employment shares significantly below their national representation, including food preparation and serving related; education, training, and library; and management. (See table A and box note at end of release.)

One occupational group—healthcare practitioners and technical—was chosen to illustrate the diversity of data available for any of the 22 major occupational categories. Birmingham-Hoover had 38,460 jobs in healthcare practitioners and technical, accounting for 7.8 percent of local area employment, significantly higher than the 5.8-percent share nationally. The average hourly wage for this occupational group locally was $31.65, significantly below the national wage of $36.54.

Some of the largest detailed occupations within the healthcare practitioners and technical group included registered nurses (15,240), licensed practical and licensed vocational nurses (3,570), and pharmacy technicians (2,050). Among the higher paying jobs were family and general practitioners and pharmacists, with mean hourly wages of $86.19 and $53.74, respectively. At the lower end of the wage scale were pharmacy technicians ($12.47) and emergency medical technicians and paramedics ($13.39). (Detailed occupational data for healthcare practitioners and technical are presented in table 1; for a complete listing of detailed occupations available go to www.bls.gov/oes/2014/may/oes_13820.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 Birmingham-Hoover Metropolitan Statistical Area, above-average concentrations of employment were found in some of the occupations within the healthcare practitioners and technical group. For instance, medical and clinical laboratory technologists were employed at 1.7 times the national rate in Birmingham, and registered nurses, at 1.6 times the U.S. average. On the other hand, physical therapists had a location quotient of 1.1 in Birmingham, 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 Alabama Department of Labor.

Technical Note

The Occupational Employment Statistics (OES) survey is a semiannual mail survey measuring occupational employment and wage rates for wage and salary workers in nonfarm establishments in the United States. Guam, Puerto Rico, and the Virgin Islands are also surveyed, but their data are not included in the national estimates. OES estimates are constructed from a sample of about 1.2 million establishments. Forms are mailed to approximately 200,000 sampled establishments in May and November each year. May 2014 estimates are based on responses from six semiannual panels collected over a 3-year period: May 2014, November 2013, May 2013, November 2012, May 2012, and November 2011. The overall national response rate for the six panels is 74.3 percent based on establishments and 70.5 percent based on weighted sampled employment. The unweighted employment of sampled establishments across all six semiannual panels represents approximately 57.1 percent of total national employment. (Response rates are slightly lower for these estimates due to the federal shutdown in October 2013.) The sample in the Birmingham-Hoover Metropolitan Statistical Area included 3,509 establishments with a response rate of 75 percent. For more information about OES concepts and methodology, go to www.bls.gov/news.release/ocwage.tn.htm.

The OES survey provides estimates of employment and hourly and annual wages for wage and salary workers in 22 major occupational groups and 821 detailed occupations for the nation, states, metropolitan statistical areas, metropolitan divisions, and nonmetropolitan areas. In addition, employment and wage estimates for 94 minor groups and 458 broad occupations are available in the national data. OES data by state and metropolitan/nonmetropolitan area are available from www.bls.gov/oes/current/oessrcst.htm and www.bls.gov/oes/current/oessrcma.htm, respectively.

The May 2014 OES estimates are based on the 2010 Standard Occupational Classification (SOC) system and the 2012 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 2012 NAICS is available at www.bls.gov/bls/naics.htm.

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 Birmingham-Hoover, Ala. Metropolitan Statistical Area  includes Bibb, Blount, Chilton, Jefferson, Shelby, St. Clair, and Walker Counties.

Additional information

OES data are available on our regional web page at www.bls.gov/regions/southeast. 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/2014/may/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, Birmingham-Hoover Metropolitan Statistical Area, May 2014

Occupation (1)	Employment		Mean wages
	Level (2)	Location quotient (3)	Hourly	Annual (4)
Healthcare Practitioners and Technical Occupations	38,460	1.3	$31.65	$65,830
Chiropractors	50	0.5	27.91	58,050
Dentists, General	270	0.8	73.62	153,120
Orthodontists	(5)	(5)	79.48	165,320
Dietitians and Nutritionists	420	1.9	21.66	45,050
Optometrists	100	0.8	44.06	91,650
Pharmacists	1,630	1.5	53.74	111,790
Family and General Practitioners	150	0.3	86.19	179,280
Pediatricians, General	200	1.8	91.23	189,750
Psychiatrists	(5)	(5)	127.78	265,770
Surgeons	(5)	(5)	82.13	170,820
Physicians and Surgeons, All Other	1,180	1.0	113.33	235,720
Physician Assistants	140	0.4	41.76	86,860
Occupational Therapists	510	1.3	39.96	83,110
Physical Therapists	820	1.1	41.03	85,340
Radiation Therapists	70	1.2	36.84	76,630
Recreational Therapists	50	0.7	19.88	41,360
Respiratory Therapists	720	1.7	22.80	47,410
Speech-Language Pathologists	380	0.8	34.73	72,240
Veterinarians	240	1.1	37.10	77,160
Registered Nurses	15,240	1.6	28.16	58,580
Nurse Anesthetists	400	3.0	73.59	153,060
Nurse Practitioners	470	1.1	45.53	94,700
Audiologists	70	1.6	29.01	60,340
Medical and Clinical Laboratory Technologists	1,020	1.7	26.75	55,640
Medical and Clinical Laboratory Technicians	780	1.3	17.97	37,380
Dental Hygienists	510	0.7	22.08	45,920
Cardiovascular Technologists and Technicians	300	1.6	23.30	48,470
Diagnostic Medical Sonographers	260	1.2	28.46	59,200
Nuclear Medicine Technologists	120	1.6	31.33	65,160
Radiologic Technologists	940	1.3	23.67	49,230
Magnetic Resonance Imaging Technologists	190	1.6	28.31	58,890
Emergency Medical Technicians and Paramedics	730	0.9	13.39	27,850
Dietetic Technicians	30	0.3	19.53	40,630
Pharmacy Technicians	2,050	1.5	12.47	25,940
Psychiatric Technicians	410	1.7	13.72	28,540
Respiratory Therapy Technicians	(5)	(5)	19.63	40,830
Surgical Technologists	560	1.6	16.29	33,880
Veterinary Technologists and Technicians	190	0.6	15.71	32,690
Ophthalmic Medical Technicians	(5)	(5)	17.03	35,420
Licensed Practical and Licensed Vocational Nurses	3,570	1.4	18.13	37,700
Medical Records and Health Information Technicians	800	1.2	16.20	33,690
Opticians, Dispensing	280	1.1	14.70	30,570
Orthotists and Prosthetists	(5)	(5)	39.36	81,860
Health Technologists and Technicians, All Other	250	0.7	22.38	46,550
Occupational Health and Safety Specialists	200	0.8	35.92	74,700
Athletic Trainers	(5)	(5)	(5)	38,930
Healthcare Practitioners and Technical Workers, All Other	290	2.0	17.91	37,250
Footnotes: (1) For a complete listing of all detailed occupations in Birmingham-Hoover, AL, see www.bls.gov/oes/current/oes_13820.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. (5) Estimate not released.