Workers in the Louisville-Jefferson County Metropolitan Statistical Area had an average (mean) hourly wage of $20.35 in May 2014, about 10 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. Fifteen groups had significantly lower wages than their respective national averages, including computer and mathematical, management, and business and financial operations.

When compared to the nationwide distribution, local employment was more highly concentrated in 4 of the 22 occupational groups, including production and transportation and material moving. Conversely, 15 groups had employment shares significantly below their national representation, including education, training, and library; business and financial operations; and architecture and engineering. (See table A and box note at end of release.)

One occupational group—production—was chosen to illustrate the diversity of data available for any of the 22 major occupational categories. Louisville-Jefferson County had 63,500 jobs in production, accounting for 10.2 percent of local area employment, significantly higher than the 6.6-percent share nationally. The average hourly wage for this occupational group locally was $17.12, compared to the national wage of $17.06.

Some of the largest detailed occupations within the production group included team assemblers (14,830); inspectors, testers, sorters, samplers, and weighers (3,890); and cutting, punching, and press machine setters, operators, and tenders, metal and plastic (3,390). Among the higher paying jobs were power plant operators and first-line supervisors of production and operating workers, with mean hourly wages of $28.98 and $26.37, respectively. At the lower end of the wage scale were pressers, textile, garment, and related materials ($9.57) and laundry and dry-cleaning workers ($9.62). (Detailed occupational data for production are presented in table 1; for a complete listing of detailed occupations available go to www.bls.gov/oes/2014/may/oes_31140.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 Louisville-Jefferson County Metropolitan Statistical Area, above-average concentrations of employment were found in some of the occupations within the production group. For instance, cutting, punching, and press machine setters, operators, and tenders, metal and plastic were employed at 3.9 times the national rate in Louisville, and woodworking machine setters, operators, and tenders, except sawing, at 2.9 times the U.S. average. On the other hand, machinists had a location quotient of 0.9 in Louisville, 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 Kentucky Department for Workforce Investment.

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 Louisville-Jefferson County Metropolitan Statistical Area included 5,066 establishments with a response rate of 76 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 Louisville-Jefferson County, Ky. Metropolitan Statistical Area  includes Bullitt, Henry, Jefferson, Meade, Nelson, Oldham, Shelby, Spencer, and Trimble Counties of Kentucky, and Clark, Floyd, Harrison, and Washington Counties of Indiana.

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, Louisville-Jefferson County Metropolitan Statistical Area, May 2014

Occupation (1)	Employment		Mean wages
	Level (2)	Location quotient (3)	Hourly	Annual (4)
Production Occupations	63,500	1.5	$17.12	$35,600
First-Line Supervisors of Production and Operating Workers	3,340	1.2	26.37	54,840
Coil Winders, Tapers, and Finishers	50	0.7	13.69	28,480
Electrical and Electronic Equipment Assemblers	370	0.4	13.65	28,380
Electromechanical Equipment Assemblers	350	1.6	17.08	35,520
Engine and Other Machine Assemblers	(5)	(5)	14.80	30,790
Structural Metal Fabricators and Fitters	370	1.0	20.62	42,890
Team Assemblers	14,830	2.9	17.72	36,860
Assemblers and Fabricators, All Other	3,060	2.8	12.08	25,130
Bakers	280	0.4	12.11	25,190
Butchers and Meat Cutters	350	0.6	15.58	32,410
Meat, Poultry, and Fish Cutters and Trimmers	460	0.7	12.27	25,530
Food and Tobacco Roasting, Baking, and Drying Machine Operators and Tenders	40	0.5	13.79	28,680
Food Batchmakers	750	1.4	13.09	27,240
Food Cooking Machine Operators and Tenders	360	2.1	16.24	33,790
Food Processing Workers, All Other	(5)	(5)	11.21	23,310
Computer-Controlled Machine Tool Operators, Metal and Plastic	570	0.8	17.23	35,840
Computer Numerically Controlled Machine Tool Programmers, Metal and Plastic	30	0.3	19.92	41,430
Extruding and Drawing Machine Setters, Operators, and Tenders, Metal and Plastic	420	1.3	15.37	31,970
Forging Machine Setters, Operators, and Tenders, Metal and Plastic	140	1.5	22.95	47,730
Rolling Machine Setters, Operators, and Tenders, Metal and Plastic	590	3.8	16.80	34,930
Cutting, Punching, and Press Machine Setters, Operators, and Tenders, Metal and Plastic	3,390	3.9	21.15	43,990
Drilling and Boring Machine Tool Setters, Operators, and Tenders, Metal and Plastic	100	1.3	15.46	32,160
Grinding, Lapping, Polishing, and Buffing Machine Tool Setters, Operators, and Tenders, Metal and Plastic	300	0.9	16.65	34,640
Lathe and Turning Machine Tool Setters, Operators, and Tenders, Metal and Plastic	140	0.7	17.26	35,900
Machinists	1,660	0.9	21.54	44,800
Metal-Refining Furnace Operators and Tenders	40	0.4	17.08	35,530
Molding, Coremaking, and Casting Machine Setters, Operators, and Tenders, Metal and Plastic	560	1.0	14.61	30,380
Multiple Machine Tool Setters, Operators, and Tenders, Metal and Plastic	1,080	2.4	15.44	32,110
Tool and Die Makers	870	2.5	25.57	53,180
Welders, Cutters, Solderers, and Brazers	2,460	1.4	19.02	39,570
Welding, Soldering, and Brazing Machine Setters, Operators, and Tenders	410	1.6	14.01	29,140
Heat Treating Equipment Setters, Operators, and Tenders, Metal and Plastic	50	0.5	16.62	34,570
Plating and Coating Machine Setters, Operators, and Tenders, Metal and Plastic	160	1.0	14.09	29,310
Tool Grinders, Filers, and Sharpeners	120	2.5	12.98	26,990
Metal Workers and Plastic Workers, All Other	80	0.8	14.90	30,990
Prepress Technicians and Workers	170	1.0	16.86	35,070
Printing Press Operators	1,350	1.8	18.07	37,590
Print Binding and Finishing Workers	230	1.0	15.93	33,130
Laundry and Dry-Cleaning Workers	580	0.6	9.62	20,010
Pressers, Textile, Garment, and Related Materials	350	1.5	9.57	19,900
Sewing Machine Operators	570	0.9	13.24	27,530
Tailors, Dressmakers, and Custom Sewers	90	1.0	13.76	28,620
Extruding and Forming Machine Setters, Operators, and Tenders, Synthetic and Glass Fibers	(5)	(5)	17.10	35,570
Upholsterers	80	0.6	13.90	28,920
Textile, Apparel, and Furnishings Workers, All Other	60	0.8	13.07	27,190
Cabinetmakers and Bench Carpenters	700	1.7	15.69	32,640
Furniture Finishers	90	1.3	13.48	28,040
Sawing Machine Setters, Operators, and Tenders, Wood	220	1.0	11.56	24,040
Woodworking Machine Setters, Operators, and Tenders, Except Sawing	940	2.9	14.66	30,490
Power Distributors and Dispatchers	110	2.2	44.56	92,680
Power Plant Operators	140	0.8	28.98	60,270
Stationary Engineers and Boiler Operators	130	0.8	19.68	40,930
Water and Wastewater Treatment Plant and System Operators	250	0.5	18.04	37,520
Petroleum Pump System Operators, Refinery Operators, and Gaugers	110	0.6	35.83	74,520
Plant and System Operators, All Other	80	1.5	24.89	51,780
Chemical Equipment Operators and Tenders	240	0.8	26.68	55,490
Separating, Filtering, Clarifying, Precipitating, and Still Machine Setters, Operators, and Tenders	290	1.5	21.60	44,920
Crushing, Grinding, and Polishing Machine Setters, Operators, and Tenders	170	1.2	15.38	31,990
Grinding and Polishing Workers, Hand	(5)	(5)	12.53	26,070
Mixing and Blending Machine Setters, Operators, and Tenders	570	1.0	17.92	37,280
Cutters and Trimmers, Hand	(5)	(5)	12.54	26,070
Cutting and Slicing Machine Setters, Operators, and Tenders	480	1.7	16.36	34,040
Extruding, Forming, Pressing, and Compacting Machine Setters, Operators, and Tenders	590	1.9	12.12	25,210
Inspectors, Testers, Sorters, Samplers, and Weighers	3,890	1.7	18.13	37,710
Jewelers and Precious Stone and Metal Workers	(5)	(5)	17.45	36,290
Dental Laboratory Technicians	220	1.3	17.90	37,240
Ophthalmic Laboratory Technicians	230	1.8	14.19	29,510
Packaging and Filling Machine Operators and Tenders	3,360	1.9	13.89	28,890
Coating, Painting, and Spraying Machine Setters, Operators, and Tenders	510	1.2	15.76	32,790
Painters, Transportation Equipment	150	0.7	26.36	54,830
Painting, Coating, and Decorating Workers	150	2.0	13.06	27,160
Photographic Process Workers and Processing Machine Operators	60	0.4	14.65	30,480
Adhesive Bonding Machine Operators and Tenders	110	1.3	15.83	32,920
Cleaning, Washing, and Metal Pickling Equipment Operators and Tenders	40	0.5	12.31	25,610
Etchers and Engravers	(5)	(5)	14.75	30,680
Molders, Shapers, and Casters, Except Metal and Plastic	140	0.9	10.34	21,510
Paper Goods Machine Setters, Operators, and Tenders	570	1.4	16.84	35,030
Helpers--Production Workers	2,510	1.3	13.04	27,130
Production Workers, All Other	3,400	3.4	12.80	26,630
Footnotes: (1) For a complete listing of all detailed occupations in Louisville-Jefferson County, KY-IN, see www.bls.gov/oes/current/oes_31140.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.