Workers in the Cape Coral-Fort Myers, FL Metropolitan Statistical Area had an average (mean) hourly wage of $21.78 in May 2019, about 15 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, 3 of the 22 major occupational groups had average wages in the local area that were significantly higher than their respective national averages including, healthcare support, and personal care and service. Thirteen groups had significantly lower wages than their respective national averages, including management, architecture and engineering, and computer and mathematical.

When compared to the nationwide distribution, Cape Coral area employment was more highly concentrated in 6 of the 22 occupational groups, including construction and extraction, food preparation and serving related, and sales and related. Eleven groups had employment shares significantly below their national representation, including production, computer and mathematical, and transportation and material moving. (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. Cape Coral had 22,740 jobs in construction and extraction occupations, accounting for 8.4 percent of local area employment, significantly higher than the 4.2-percent share nationally. The local average hourly wage for this occupational group was $19.66, significantly lower than the national wage of $25.28.

Some of the larger detailed occupations within the construction and extraction group included construction laborers (4,120), carpenters (2,960), and first-line supervisors of construction trades and extraction workers (2,530). Among the higher-paying jobs in this group were construction and building inspectors, and first-line supervisors of construction trades and extraction workers, with mean hourly wages of $30.10 and $29.00, respectively. At the lower end of the wage scale were carpenters' helpers ($12.77) and helpers of brickmasons, blockmasons, stonemasons, and tile and marble setters ($14.18). (Detailed data for the construction and extraction occupations are presented in table 1; for a complete listing of detailed occupations available go to www.bls.gov/oes/current/oes_15980.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 Cape Coral area, above-average concentrations of employment were found in many of the occupations within the construction and extraction group. For instance, roofers were employed at 9.6 times the national rate in Cape Coral, and drywall and ceiling tile installers, at 4.8 times the U.S. average. Electricians had a location quotient of 1.0 in Cape Coral, 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 Florida Department of Economic Opportunity.

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 sample 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 Cape Coral-Fort Myers, FL Metropolitan Statistical Area included 2,490 establishments with a response rate of 69 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 Cape Coral-Fort Myers, FL Metropolitan Statistical Area includes Lee County.

For more information

Answers to frequently asked questions about the OES data are available at www.bls.gov/oes/oes_ques.htm. Detailed information about the OES program is available 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 construction and extraction occupations, Cape Coral-Fort Myers, FL Metropolitan Statistical Area, May 2019

Occupation (1)	Employment		Mean wages
	Level (2)	Location quotient (3)	Hourly	Annual (4)
Construction and extraction occupations	22,740	2.0	$19.66	$40,890
First-line supervisors of construction trades and extraction workers	2,530	2.2	29.00	60,320
Brickmasons and blockmasons	410	3.6	19.20	39,940
Carpenters	2,960	2.2	18.84	39,190
Tile and stone setters	140	1.9	18.13	37,720
Cement masons and concrete finishers	960	2.7	21.24	44,180
Construction laborers	4,120	2.2	16.46	34,230
Operating engineers and other construction equipment operators	760	1.0	19.53	40,610
Drywall and ceiling tile installers	900	4.8	18.39	38,250
Electricians	1,320	1.0	21.10	43,880
Glaziers	420	4.3	17.81	37,040
Painters, construction and maintenance	1,090	2.5	16.88	35,110
Pipelayers	170	2.5	19.65	40,870
Plumbers, pipefitters, and steamfitters	1,100	1.4	22.49	46,780
Plasterers and stucco masons	160	3.1	19.46	40,490
Roofers	2,290	9.6	17.19	35,760
Sheet metal workers	530	2.2	19.27	40,080
Structural iron and steel workers	(5)	(5)	21.57	44,860
Helpers--brickmasons, blockmasons, stonemasons, and tile and marble setters	330	7.6	14.18	29,500
Helpers--carpenters	(5)	(5)	12.77	26,560
Helpers--electricians	400	2.7	16.19	33,680
Helpers--pipelayers, plumbers, pipefitters, and steamfitters	230	2.1	14.58	30,330
Helpers, construction trades, all other	190	3.5	14.94	31,080
Construction and building inspectors	260	1.3	30.10	62,600
Fence erectors	40	0.9	19.38	40,300
Highway maintenance workers	(5)	(5)	15.78	32,830
Septic tank servicers and sewer pipe cleaners	(5)	(5)	23.68	49,250
Miscellaneous construction and related workers	220	3.7	15.74	32,730
Earth drillers, except oil and gas; and explosives workers, ordnance handling experts, and blasters	60	1.3	22.39	46,570
Footnotes: (1) For a complete listing of all detailed occupations in the Cape Coral-Fort Myers, FL Metropolitan Statistical Area, see www.bls.gov/oes/current/oes_15980.htm. (2) Estimates for detailed occupations may not sum to the totals due to rounding, and because the totals may include occupations that are 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.