Workers in the Mobile Metropolitan Statistical Area had an average (mean) hourly wage of $20.22 in May 2015, about 13 percent below the nationwide average of $23.23, 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 significantly lower than their respective national averages in 18 of the 22 major occupational groups, including computer and mathematical; legal; and arts, design, entertainment, sports, and media. One occupational group—production—had an average wage that was measurably higher than its respective national average. 

When compared to the nationwide distribution, local employment was more highly concentrated in 7 of the 22 occupational groups, including construction and extraction; sales and related; and installation, maintenance, and repair. Conversely, 13 groups had employment shares significantly below their national representation, including business and financial operations; computer and mathematical; and management. (See table A and box note at end of release.)

One occupational group—construction and extraction—was chosen to illustrate the diversity of data available for any of the 22 major occupational categories. Mobile had 9,890 jobs in construction and extraction, accounting for 5.8 percent of local area employment, significantly higher than the 4.0-percent share nationally. The average hourly wage for this occupational group locally was $19.33, significantly below the national wage of $22.88.

Some of the larger detailed occupations within the construction and extraction group included first-line supervisors of construction trades and extraction workers (1,480), electricians (1,480), and construction laborers (970). Among the higher paying jobs were boilermakers and first-line supervisors of construction trades and extraction workers, with mean hourly wages of $28.93 and $28.57, respectively. At the lower end of the wage scale were highway maintenance workers ($12.26) and construction laborers ($13.52). (Detailed occupational data for construction and extraction are presented in table 1; for a complete listing of detailed occupations available go to www.bls.gov/oes/current/oes_33660.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 Mobile Metropolitan Statistical Area, above-average concentrations of employment were found in many of the occupations within the construction and extraction group. For instance, pipelayers, were employed at 4.9 times the national rate in Mobile, and structural iron and steel workers, at 4.4 times the U.S. average. On the other hand, carpenters had a location quotient of 1.1 in Mobile, 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. The OES program produces employment and wage estimates for over 800 occupations for all industries combined in the nation; the 50 states and the District of Columbia; 432 metropolitan areas and divisions; 167 nonmetropolitan areas; and Guam, Puerto Rico, and the U.S. Virgin Islands. National estimates are also available by industry for NAICS sectors, 3-, 4-, and selected 5- and 6-digit industries, and by ownership across all industries and for schools and hospitals. OES data are available at www.bls.gov/oes/tables.htm.

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 2015 estimates are based on responses from six semiannual panels collected over a 3-year period: May 2015, November 2014, May 2014, November 2013, May 2013, and November 2012. The overall national response rate for the six panels is 73.5 percent based on establishments and 69.6 percent based on weighted sampled employment. The unweighted employment of sampled establishments across all six semiannual panels represents approximately 57.9 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 Mobile Metropolitan Statistical Area included 1,930 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 May 2015 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.

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 Mobile, Ala. Metropolitan Statistical Area includes Mobile County.

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/current/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, Mobile Metropolitan Statistical Area, May 2015

Occupation (1)	Employment		Mean wages
	Level (2)	Location quotient (3)	Hourly	Annual (4)
Construction and Extraction Occupations	9,890	1.5	$19.33	$40,200
First-Line Supervisors of Construction Trades and Extraction Workers	1,480	2.3	28.57	59,430
Boilermakers	60	2.8	28.93	60,180
Brickmasons and Blockmasons	90	1.2	18.79	39,090
Carpenters	830	1.1	17.94	37,310
Tile and Marble Setters	(5)	(5)	18.08	37,600
Cement Masons and Concrete Finishers	190	0.9	16.43	34,180
Construction Laborers	970	0.9	13.52	28,110
Paving, Surfacing, and Tamping Equipment Operators	120	1.8	14.72	30,620
Operating Engineers and Other Construction Equipment Operators	660	1.5	17.00	35,350
Drywall and Ceiling Tile Installers	50	0.5	14.89	30,970
Electricians	1,480	2.0	21.47	44,650
Insulation Workers, Mechanical	90	2.4	15.58	32,410
Painters, Construction and Maintenance	410	1.6	16.19	33,670
Pipelayers	240	4.9	18.71	38,910
Plumbers, Pipefitters, and Steamfitters	920	1.9	20.58	42,800
Roofers	80	0.6	16.30	33,900
Sheet Metal Workers	90	0.6	18.39	38,250
Structural Iron and Steel Workers	350	4.4	18.54	38,570
Helpers--Brickmasons, Blockmasons, Stonemasons, and Tile and Marble Setters	60	2.2	13.82	28,750
Helpers--Carpenters	90	1.9	10.56	21,970
Helpers--Electricians	230	2.6	13.54	28,170
Helpers--Painters, Paperhangers, Plasterers, and Stucco Masons	40	3.2	11.62	24,160
Helpers--Pipelayers, Plumbers, Pipefitters, and Steamfitters	270	4.0	11.80	24,540
Helpers--Roofers	50	4.0	11.37	23,640
Helpers, Construction Trades, All Other	70	2.9	11.99	24,940
Construction and Building Inspectors	120	1.0	23.41	48,700
Hazardous Materials Removal Workers	(5)	(5)	14.28	29,690
Highway Maintenance Workers	280	1.6	12.26	25,490
Construction and Related Workers, All Other	120	3.0	16.04	33,370
Footnotes: (1) For a complete listing of all detailed occupations in Mobile, AL, see www.bls.gov/oes/current/oes_33660.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.