Workers in the Jackson Metropolitan Statistical Area had an average (mean) hourly wage of $20.56 in May 2017, about 16 percent below the nationwide average of $24.34, according to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics. Regional Commissioner Janet S. Rankin noted that, after testing for statistical significance, 20 groups had significantly lower wages than their respective national averages, including management; construction and extraction; and computer and mathematical.

When compared to the nationwide distribution, local employment was more highly concentrated in 4 of the 22 occupational groups, including healthcare practitioners and technical and management. Conversely, 10 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 22,120 jobs in healthcare practitioners and technical occupations, accounting for 8.4 percent of local area employment, significantly higher than the 6.0-percent share nationally. The average hourly wage for this occupational group locally was $31.87, significantly below the national wage of $38.83.

Some of the larger detailed occupations within the healthcare practitioners and technical group included registered nurses (8,810), licensed practical and licensed vocational nurses (2,230), and clinical laboratory technologists and technicians (900). Among the higher paying jobs in this group were pharmacists and nurse practitioners, with mean hourly wages of $58.91 and $50.42, respectively. At the lower end of the wage scale were dietetic technicians ($11.26) and pharmacy technicians ($14.49). (Detailed data for healthcare practitioners and technical occupations 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 some of the occupations within the healthcare practitioners and technical group. For instance, surgical technologists were employed at 2.7 times the national rate in Jackson, and nurse practitioners, at 2.4 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 2017 estimates are based on responses from six semiannual panels collected over a 3-year period: May 2017, November 2016, May 2016, November 2015, May 2015, and November 2014. The overall national response rate for the six panels, based on the 50 states and the District of Columbia, is 72 percent based on establishments and 68 percent based on weighted sampled employment. The unweighted sample employment of 82 million across all six semiannual panels represents approximately 58 percent of total national employment. The sample in the Jackson Metropolitan Statistical Area included 2,276 establishments with a response rate of 67 percent. For more information about OES concepts and methodology, go to www.bls.gov/oes/current/oes_tec.htm.

The May 2017 OES estimates are based on the 2010 Standard Occupational Classification (SOC) system and the 2017 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 2017 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 Metropolitan Statistical Area includes Copiah, Hinds, Madison, Rankin, Simpson, and Yazoo Counties in Mississippi.

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 2017

Occupation (1)	Employment		Mean wages
	Level (2)	Location quotient (3)	Hourly	Annual (4)
Healthcare practitioners and technical occupations	22,120	1.4	$31.87	$66,280
Chiropractors	40	0.6	56.32	117,150
Dentists, general	180	0.9	88.91	184,940
Dietitians and nutritionists	140	1.2	25.61	53,270
Optometrists	(5)	(5)	64.50	134,150
Pharmacists	670	1.2	58.91	122,530
Family and general practitioners	300	1.3	88.85	184,810
Pediatricians, general	50	0.9	130.82	272,110
Surgeons	80	1.2	125.04	260,090
Physicians and surgeons, all other	860	1.3	(5)	(5)
Physician assistants	50	0.3	33.37	69,400
Occupational therapists	360	1.6	35.88	74,630
Physical therapists	600	1.4	39.29	81,710
Radiation therapists	40	1.2	42.02	87,400
Recreational therapists	80	2.4	17.13	35,620
Respiratory therapists	430	1.8	24.78	51,540
Speech-language pathologists	330	1.3	30.58	63,610
Veterinarians	90	0.7	36.85	76,650
Registered nurses	8,810	1.7	29.97	62,330
Nurse anesthetists	80	1.1	75.98	158,040
Nurse practitioners	740	2.4	50.42	104,880
Audiologists	50	2.4	37.97	78,980
Health diagnosing and treating practitioners, all other	60	0.8	31.90	66,340
Clinical laboratory technologists and technicians	900	1.5	24.78	51,530
Dental hygienists	380	1.0	28.23	58,730
Cardiovascular technologists and technicians	120	1.2	17.51	36,420
Diagnostic medical sonographers	160	1.2	31.45	65,420
Nuclear medicine technologists	50	1.5	33.26	69,180
Radiologic technologists	530	1.4	24.97	51,940
Magnetic resonance imaging technologists	190	2.8	26.82	55,780
Emergency medical technicians and paramedics	430	0.9	16.36	34,030
Dietetic technicians	(5)	(5)	11.26	23,420
Pharmacy technicians	750	1.0	14.49	30,130
Surgical technologists	530	2.7	19.65	40,860
Veterinary technologists and technicians	(5)	(5)	14.95	31,100
Ophthalmic medical technicians	70	0.8	16.95	35,270
Licensed practical and licensed vocational nurses	2,230	1.7	18.40	38,280
Medical records and health information technicians	600	1.6	17.66	36,730
Opticians, dispensing	70	0.5	15.52	32,280
Health technologists and technicians, all other	260	1.1	19.05	39,630
Occupational health and safety specialists	130	0.9	39.28	81,700
Athletic trainers	50	1.1	(6)	51,980
Healthcare practitioners and technical workers, all other	(5)	(5)	19.60	40,760
Footnotes: (1) For a complete listing of all detailed occupations in the Jackson 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 either as hourly wages or annual salaries depending on how they are typically paid.