Workers in the Birmingham-Hoover, AL Metropolitan Statistical Area had an average (mean) hourly wage of $23.41 in May 2019, about 9 percent below the nationwide average of $25.72, the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics reported today. Regional Commissioner Janet S. Rankin noted that, after testing for statistical significance, 20 of the 22 major occupational groups had average wages in the local area that were significantly lower than their respective national averages, including legal; life, physical, and social science; and computer and mathematical.

When compared to the nationwide distribution, Birmingham area employment was more highly concentrated in 8 of the 22 occupational groups, including healthcare practitioners and technical, sales and related, and office and administrative support. Thirteen groups had employment shares significantly below their national representation, including educational instruction and library, healthcare support, and transportation and material moving. (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. Birmingham had 41,200 jobs in healthcare practitioners and technical occupations, accounting for 8.0 percent of local area employment, significantly higher than the 5.9-percent share nationally. The local average hourly wage for this occupational group was $33.19, significantly lower than the national wage of $40.21.

Some of the larger detailed occupations within the healthcare practitioners and technical group included registered nurses (16,760), licensed practical and licensed vocational nurses (2,930), and pharmacy technicians (2,010). Among the higher paying jobs were pharmacists and nurse practitioners, with mean hourly wages of $61.87 and $49.77, respectively. At the lower end of the wage scale were psychiatric technicians ($13.31) and pharmacy technicians ($14.87). (Detailed data for the 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_13820.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 Birmingham area, above-average concentrations of employment were found in some of the occupations within the healthcare practitioners and technical group. For instance, nuclear medicine technologists were employed at 2.6 times the national rate in Birmingham, and radiation therapists, at 2.1 times the U.S. average. Physical therapists had a location quotient of 1.1 in Birmingham, 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 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 1.1 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 2019 estimates are based on responses from six semiannual panels collected over a 3-year period: May 2019, November 2018, May 2018, November 2017, May 2017, and November 2016. The unweighted sampled employment of 83 million across all six semiannual panels represents approximately 57 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 Birmingham-Hoover, AL Metropolitan Statistical Area included 3,362 establishments with a response rate of 74 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 2019 OES estimates are the first set of OES estimates to be based in part on survey data collected using the 2018 SOC. These estimates use a hybrid of the 2010 and 2018 SOC systems. More information on the hybrid classification system is available at www.bls.gov/oes/soc_2018.htm.

The May 2019 OES estimates are based on the 2017 North American Industry Classification System (NAICS). More 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 Birmingham-Hoover, AL Metropolitan Statistical Area includes Bibb, Blount, Chilton, Jefferson, Shelby, St. Clair, and Walker Counties.

Additional information

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/oes_doc.htm.

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 for healthcare practitioners and technical occupations, Birmingham-Hoover, Al  Metropolitan Statistical Area, May 2019

Occupation (1)	Employment		Mean wages
	Level (2)	Location quotient (3)	Hourly	Annual (4)
Healthcare practitioners and technical occupations	41,200	1.4	$33.19	$69,040
Chiropractors	50	0.4	36.50	75,920
Dentists, general	250	0.6	81.34	169,180
Dietitians and nutritionists	230	1.0	26.46	55,030
Optometrists	110	0.8	61.98	128,920
Pharmacists	1,410	1.3	61.87	128,690
Physician assistants	370	0.9	39.14	81,420
Occupational therapists	400	0.9	43.01	89,470
Physical therapists	900	1.1	45.13	93,860
Radiation therapists	130	2.1	36.71	76,350
Recreational therapists	40	0.6	22.59	46,990
Respiratory therapists	710	1.5	25.91	53,880
Speech-language pathologists	430	0.8	35.96	74,800
Veterinarians	280	1.1	52.75	109,720
Registered nurses	16,760	1.6	30.20	62,810
Nurse anesthetists	180	1.1	82.29	171,170
Nurse practitioners	1,070	1.5	49.77	103,520
Audiologists	60	1.2	33.97	70,650
Family medicine physicians	250	0.7	123.57	257,020
Pediatricians, general	160	1.5	69.92	145,440
Psychiatrists	(5)	(5)	73.82	153,550
Physicians, all other; and ophthalmologists, except pediatric	1,970	1.4	68.63	142,760
Surgeons, except ophthalmologists	270	2.1	127.38	264,940
Dental hygienists	1,270	1.6	22.98	47,800
Clinical laboratory technologists and technicians	1,770	1.5	24.33	50,610
Cardiovascular technologists and technicians	260	1.3	26.82	55,790
Diagnostic medical sonographers	350	1.4	29.87	62,120
Nuclear medicine technologists	170	2.6	31.03	64,550
Radiologic technologists and technicians	1,090	1.5	23.79	49,490
Magnetic resonance imaging technologists	250	1.9	30.42	63,260
Emergency medical technicians and paramedics	700	0.8	15.48	32,200
Pharmacy technicians	2,010	1.4	14.87	30,930
Psychiatric technicians	600	2.2	13.31	27,690
Surgical technologists	540	1.4	19.18	39,890
Veterinary technologists and technicians	230	0.6	17.51	36,430
Ophthalmic medical technicians	320	1.6	17.04	35,440
Licensed practical and licensed vocational nurses	2,930	1.2	20.33	42,290
Opticians, dispensing	(5)	(5)	16.86	35,060
Medical dosimetrists, medical records specialists, and health technologists and technicians, all other	1,410	1.2	20.79	43,240
Athletic trainers	120	1.2	(6)	38,610
Health information technologists, medical registrars, surgical assistants, and healthcare practitioners and technical workers, all other	(5)	(5)	19.03	39,580
Footnotes: (1) For a complete listing of all detailed occupations in the Birmingham-Hoover, AL Metropolitan Statistical Area, see www.bls.gov/oes/current/oes_13820.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.