Workers in the Jackson Metropolitan Statistical Area had an average (mean) hourly wage of $19.36 in May 2014, about 15 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, no wages in the local area were higher than their respective national averages in 22 major occupational groups. Nineteen groups had significantly lower wages than their respective national averages, including construction and extraction, management, and computer and mathematical.

When compared to the nationwide distribution, local employment was more highly concentrated in 6 of the 22 occupational groups, including healthcare practitioners and technical; healthcare support; and installation, maintenance, and repair. Conversely, 11 groups had employment shares significantly below their national representation, including business and financial operations, computer and mathematical, and production. (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. Jackson had 20,150 jobs in healthcare practitioners and technical, accounting for 8.0 percent of local area employment, significantly higher than the 5.8-percent share nationally. The average hourly wage for this occupational group locally was $31.66, significantly below the national wage of $36.54.

Some of the largest detailed occupations within the healthcare practitioners and technical group included registered nurses (8,070), licensed practical and licensed vocational nurses (2,020), and pharmacy technicians (710). Among the higher paying jobs were pharmacists and nurse practitioners, with mean hourly wages of $58.97 and $46.58, respectively. At the lower end of the wage scale were pharmacy technicians ($13.57) and licensed practical and licensed vocational nurses ($17.71). (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_27140.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 Jackson Metropolitan Statistical Area, above-average concentrations of employment were found in many of the occupations within the healthcare practitioners and technical group. For instance, nurse practitioners were employed at 2.7 times the national rate in Jackson, and respiratory therapists, at 2.2 times the U.S. average. On the other hand, pharmacy technicians had a location quotient of 1.0 in Jackson, 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 Mississippi Department of Employment Security.

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 Jackson Metropolitan Statistical Area included 2,280 establishments with a response rate of 69 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 Jackson, Miss. Metropolitan Statistical Area  includes Copiah, Hinds, Madison, Rankin, and Simpson 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, Jackson Metropolitan Statistical Area, May 2014

Occupation (1)	Employment		Mean wages
	Level (2)	Location quotient (3)	Hourly	Annual (4)
Healthcare Practitioners and Technical Occupations	20,150	1.4	$31.66	$65,850
Dentists, General	200	1.1	77.98	162,210
Dietitians and Nutritionists	150	1.4	23.48	48,830
Optometrists	30	0.6	(5)	(5)
Pharmacists	670	1.2	58.97	122,670
Family and General Practitioners	300	1.3	96.60	200,940
Internists, General	(5)	(5)	(6)	(6)
Obstetricians and Gynecologists	100	2.5	113.77	236,640
Pediatricians, General	(5)	(5)	116.41	242,120
Surgeons	40	0.6	(6)	(6)
Physicians and Surgeons, All Other	830	1.4	49.91	103,810
Physician Assistants	50	0.3	20.43	42,500
Occupational Therapists	270	1.3	37.34	77,660
Physical Therapists	420	1.1	41.89	87,140
Radiation Therapists	60	2.0	38.68	80,450
Recreational Therapists	110	3.3	16.95	35,250
Respiratory Therapists	480	2.2	25.17	52,360
Speech-Language Pathologists	350	1.5	31.21	64,920
Veterinarians	100	0.9	33.87	70,450
Registered Nurses	8,070	1.6	30.41	63,250
Nurse Practitioners	600	2.7	46.58	96,880
Health Diagnosing and Treating Practitioners, All Other	60	1.0	29.34	61,030
Medical and Clinical Laboratory Technologists	510	1.7	26.44	54,990
Medical and Clinical Laboratory Technicians	440	1.5	18.81	39,130
Dental Hygienists	160	0.4	27.41	57,020
Cardiovascular Technologists and Technicians	110	1.2	17.76	36,950
Diagnostic Medical Sonographers	170	1.5	26.38	54,870
Nuclear Medicine Technologists	60	1.6	33.65	70,000
Radiologic Technologists	440	1.2	23.42	48,710
Magnetic Resonance Imaging Technologists	120	2.0	27.32	56,820
Emergency Medical Technicians and Paramedics	260	0.6	14.39	29,920
Dietetic Technicians	50	1.0	10.62	22,090
Pharmacy Technicians	710	1.0	13.57	28,210
Psychiatric Technicians	110	0.9	14.47	30,100
Surgical Technologists	390	2.1	18.41	38,300
Veterinary Technologists and Technicians	(5)	(5)	14.22	29,580
Ophthalmic Medical Technicians	140	2.0	16.64	34,610
Licensed Practical and Licensed Vocational Nurses	2,020	1.6	17.71	36,830
Medical Records and Health Information Technicians	600	1.8	16.19	33,680
Opticians, Dispensing	60	0.4	13.59	28,270
Orthotists and Prosthetists	70	4.8	40.82	84,910
Occupational Health and Safety Specialists	110	0.9	35.30	73,430
Athletic Trainers	70	1.7	(5)	43,040
Healthcare Practitioners and Technical Workers, All Other	(5)	(5)	18.50	38,490
Footnotes: (1) For a complete listing of all detailed occupations in Jackson, MS, see www.bls.gov/oes/current/oes_27140.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. (6) This wage is equal to or greater than $80.00 per hour or $166,400 per year.