Workers in the Durham-Chapel Hill Metropolitan Statistical Area had an average (mean) hourly wage of $28.82 in May 2018, about 15 percent above the nationwide average of $24.98, 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 4 of the 22 major occupational groups, including education, training, and library, and management. Seven groups had significantly lower wages than their respective national averages, including construction and extraction; transportation and material moving; and healthcare practitioners and technical.

When compared to the nationwide distribution, local employment was more highly concentrated in 7 of the 22 occupational groups, including healthcare practitioners and technical; computer and mathematical; and education, training, and library. Conversely, 11 groups had employment shares significantly below their national representation, including transportation and material moving; sales and related; 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. Durham-Chapel Hill had 30,990 jobs in healthcare practitioners and technical, accounting for 10.0 percent of local area employment, significantly higher than the 6.0-percent share nationally. The average hourly wage for this occupational group locally was $35.07, significantly below the national wage of $39.42.

Some of the larger detailed occupations within the healthcare practitioners and technical group included registered nurses (12,090); clinical laboratory technologists and technicians (2,440); and pharmacy technicians (1,170). Among the higher-paying jobs in this group were pharmacists and nurse practitioners, with mean hourly wages of $57.48 and $49.49, respectively. At the lower end of the wage scale were dietetic technicians ($14.02) and pharmacy technicians ($15.63). (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_20500.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 Durham-Chapel Hill Metropolitan Statistical Area, above-average concentrations of employment were found in many of the occupations within the healthcare practitioners and technical group. For instance, clinical laboratory technologists and technicians were employed at 3.6 times the national rate in Durham, and physician assistants, at 3.0 times the U.S. average. On the other hand, surgical technologists had a location quotient of 1.0 in Durham, 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 North Carolina Department of Commerce.

Technical Note

The Occupational Employment Statistics (OES) survey is a semiannual 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 580 areas, including states and the District of Columbia, metropolitan statistical areas (MSAs), nonmetropolitan areas, and territories; national industry-specific estimates at the NAICS sector, 3-digit, most 4-digit, 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.

The OES survey is a cooperative effort between BLS and the State Workforce Agencies (SWAs). BLS funds the survey and provides the procedures and technical support, while the State Workforce Agencies collect most of the data. OES estimates are constructed from a sample of about 1.2 million establishments. Each year, two semiannual panels of approximately 180,000 to 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 2018 estimates are based on responses from six semiannual panels collected over a 3-year period: May 2018, November 2017, May 2017, November 2016, May 2016, and November 2015. The unweighted sample employment of 83 million across all six semiannual panels represents approximately 58 percent of total national employment. The overall national response rate for the six panels, based on the 50 states and the District of Columbia, is 71 percent based on establishments and 68 percent based on weighted sampled employment. The sample in the Durham-Chapel Hill Metropolitan Statistical Area included 2,290 establishments with a response rate of 77 percent. For more information about OES concepts and methodology, go to www.bls.gov/oes/current/oes_tec.htm.

A value that is statistically different from another does not necessarily mean that the difference has economic or practical significance. Statistical significance is concerned with the ability to make confident statements about a universe based on a sample. It is entirely possible that a large difference between two values is not significantly different statistically, while a small difference is, since both the size and heterogeneity of the sample affect the relative error of the data being tested.

The May 2018 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 Durham-Chapel Hill, NC Metropolitan Statistical Area includes Chatham, Durham, Orange, and Person 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, Durham-Chapel Hill Metropolitan Statistical Area, May 2018

Occupation (1)	Employment		Mean wages
	Level (2)	Location quotient (3)	Hourly	Annual (4)
Healthcare practitioners and technical occupations	30,990	1.7	$35.07	$72,950
Dentists, general	180	0.8	112.23	233,440
Dietitians and nutritionists	250	1.8	27.04	56,230
Optometrists	30	0.4	79.25	164,840
Pharmacists	920	1.4	57.48	119,550
Family and general practitioners	80	0.4	64.36	133,870
Pediatricians, general	(5)	(5)	70.32	146,250
Psychiatrists	40	0.8	62.55	130,110
Physicians and surgeons, all other	3,090	3.7	49.80	103,570
Physician assistants	730	3.0	47.79	99,410
Occupational therapists	320	1.2	37.70	78,420
Physical therapists	660	1.4	38.06	79,160
Recreational therapists	30	0.8	25.57	53,190
Respiratory therapists	390	1.4	28.62	59,520
Speech-language pathologists	270	0.9	43.84	91,200
Veterinarians	240	1.6	52.31	108,800
Registered nurses	12,090	1.9	32.23	67,030
Nurse practitioners	850	2.2	49.49	102,930
Audiologists	30	1.1	32.54	67,690
Health diagnosing and treating practitioners, all other	320	4.1	49.19	102,320
Clinical laboratory technologists and technicians	2,440	3.6	26.12	54,330
Dental hygienists	320	0.7	33.89	70,490
Cardiovascular technologists and technicians	110	0.9	25.31	52,650
Diagnostic medical sonographers	200	1.3	34.42	71,590
Radiologic technologists	770	1.8	30.58	63,610
Magnetic resonance imaging technologists	140	1.7	32.40	67,380
Emergency medical technicians and paramedics	460	0.8	18.73	38,960
Dietetic technicians	140	1.9	14.02	29,150
Pharmacy technicians	1,170	1.3	15.63	32,500
Psychiatric technicians	180	1.2	16.53	34,380
Surgical technologists	240	1.0	22.63	47,060
Veterinary technologists and technicians	210	0.9	17.95	37,350
Ophthalmic medical technicians	240	2.2	22.90	47,630
Licensed practical and licensed vocational nurses	950	0.6	22.86	47,540
Medical records and health information technicians	540	1.2	23.11	48,060
Opticians, dispensing	80	0.5	21.06	43,800
Orthotists and prosthetists	(5)	(5)	38.22	79,490
Health technologists and technicians, all other	820	3.1	20.00	41,590
Occupational health and safety specialists	230	1.2	42.68	88,780
Occupational health and safety technicians	70	2.0	30.31	63,040
Athletic trainers	100	1.7	(6)	51,180
Genetic counselors	40	7.7	34.45	71,660
Footnotes: (1) For a complete listing of all detailed occupations in the Durham-Chapel Hill, NC Metropolitan Statistical Area, see www.bls.gov/oes/current/oes_20500.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.