Workers in the Jackson Metropolitan Statistical Area had an average (mean) hourly wage of $20.10 in May 2016, about 16 percent below the nationwide average of $23.86, 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 lower than their respective national averages in 20 of the 22 major occupational groups, including management; life, physical, and social science; and computer and mathematical.

When compared to the nationwide distribution, local employment was more highly concentrated in 7 of the 22 occupational groups, including healthcare practitioners and technical; management; and protective service. Conversely, eight groups had employment shares significantly below their national representation, including computer and mathematical; construction and extraction; and business and financial operations. (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 21,690 jobs in healthcare practitioners and technical, accounting for 8.3 percent of local area employment, significantly higher than the 5.9-percent share nationally. The average hourly wage for this occupational group locally was $31.50, significantly below the national wage of $38.06.

Some of the larger detailed occupations within the healthcare practitioners and technical group included registered nurses (8,510), licensed practical and licensed vocational nurses (2,220), and pharmacy technicians (770). Among the higher paying jobs were general pediatricians and family and general practitioners, with mean hourly wages of $126.31 and $100.54, respectively. At the lower end of the wage scale were dietetic technicians ($11.13) and veterinary technologists and technicians ($14.53). (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/current/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 2.3 times the national rate in Jackson, and medical and clinical laboratory technologists, at 1.8 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. The OES data available from BLS include cross-industry occupational employment and wage estimates for the nation; over 650 areas, including states and the District of Columbia, metropolitan statistical areas (MSAs), metropolitan divisions, nonmetropolitan areas, and territories; national industry-specific estimates at the NAICS sector, 3-, 4-, 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.

OES estimates are constructed from a sample of about 1.2 million establishments. Each year, two semiannual panels of approximately 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 2016 estimates are based on responses from six semiannual panels collected over a 3-year period: May 2016, November 2015, May 2015, November 2014, May 2014, and November 2013. The overall national response rate for the six panels, based on the 50 states and the District of Columbia, is 73 percent based on establishments and 69 percent based on weighted sampled employment. The unweighted employment of sampled establishments across all six semiannual panels represents approximately 58 percent of total national employment. The sample in the Jackson Metropolitan Statistical Area included 2,307 establishments with a response rate of 65 percent. For more information about OES concepts and methodology, go to www.bls.gov/news.release/ocwage.tn.htm.

The May 2016 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 Jackson, Miss. Metropolitan Statistical Area includes Copiah, Hinds, Madison, Rankin, Simpson and Yazoo 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/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, Jackson Metropolitan Statistical Area, May 2016

Occupation (1)	Employment		Mean wages
	Level (2)	Location quotient (3)	Hourly	Annual (4)
Healthcare practitioners and technical occupations	21,690	1.4	$31.50	$65,510
Chiropractors	30	0.5	(5)	(5)
Dentists, general	250	1.3	75.89	157,850
Dietitians and nutritionists	150	1.3	24.99	51,970
Optometrists	30	0.5	42.54	88,480
Pharmacists	740	1.3	57.50	119,610
Family and general practitioners	170	0.7	100.54	209,120
Pediatricians, general	(5)	(5)	126.31	262,720
Psychiatrists	30	0.7	109.83	228,440
Surgeons	80	1.1	119.94	249,470
Physicians and surgeons, all other	880	1.4	(5)	(5)
Physician assistants	40	0.2	31.00	64,490
Occupational therapists	360	1.7	36.83	76,610
Physical therapists	590	1.5	41.07	85,420
Radiation therapists	40	1.3	41.22	85,730
Recreational therapists	110	3.3	17.61	36,620
Respiratory therapists	480	2.0	25.15	52,310
Speech-language pathologists	330	1.3	33.48	69,640
Veterinarians	100	0.8	35.26	73,340
Registered nurses	8,510	1.6	30.14	62,690
Nurse practitioners	630	2.3	46.76	97,260
Audiologists	30	1.5	40.85	84,960
Medical and clinical laboratory technologists	560	1.8	29.51	61,370
Medical and clinical laboratory technicians	350	1.2	17.88	37,190
Dental hygienists	320	0.8	27.84	57,900
Cardiovascular technologists and technicians	140	1.4	17.86	37,150
Diagnostic medical sonographers	150	1.2	30.72	63,890
Nuclear medicine technologists	50	1.5	32.89	68,400
Radiologic technologists	540	1.5	23.62	49,130
Magnetic resonance imaging technologists	200	2.9	27.47	57,130
Emergency medical technicians and paramedics	450	1.0	15.54	32,320
Dietetic technicians	(5)	(5)	11.13	23,150
Pharmacy technicians	770	1.0	14.71	30,600
Psychiatric technicians	60	0.6	13.49	28,060
Surgical technologists	480	2.4	19.30	40,150
Veterinary technologists and technicians	(5)	(5)	14.53	30,220
Ophthalmic medical technicians	140	1.7	17.55	36,500
Licensed practical and licensed vocational nurses	2,220	1.7	18.14	37,730
Medical records and health information technicians	530	1.4	17.53	36,460
Opticians, dispensing	60	0.4	15.38	32,000
Orthotists and prosthetists	40	3.0	35.25	73,330
Health technologists and technicians, all other	150	0.7	16.87	35,100
Occupational health and safety specialists	130	0.9	40.00	83,190
Athletic trainers	50	1.2	(6)	48,730
Healthcare practitioners and technical workers, all other	70	1.0	19.65	40,860
Footnotes: (1) For a complete listing of all detailed occupations in the Jackson, MS Metropolitan Statistical Area, 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) Wages for some occupations that do not generally work year-round, full time, are reported as hourly wages or annual salaries depending on how they are typically paid.