Workers in the Durham-Chapel Hill, NC Metropolitan Statistical Area had an average (mean) hourly wage of $29.43 in May 2019, about 14 percent above 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, 5 of the 22 major occupational groups had average wages in the local area that were significantly higher than their respective national averages, including educational instruction and library, sales and related, and management. Six 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, Durham area employment was more highly concentrated in 6 of the 22 occupational groups, including healthcare practitioners and technical; computer and mathematical; and life, physical, and social science. Fourteen groups had employment shares significantly below their national representation, including transportation and material moving, production, and construction and extraction. (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 had 31,800 jobs in healthcare practitioners and technical occupations, accounting for 10.1 percent of local area employment, significantly higher than the 5.9-percent share nationally. The local average hourly wage for this occupational group was $35.82, 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 (12,470), clinical laboratory technologists and technicians (2,360), and pharmacy technicians (1,120). Among the higher paying jobs were pharmacists and nurse practitioners, with mean hourly wages of $52.88 and $50.96, respectively. At the lower end of the wage scale were dietetic technicians ($14.33) and pharmacy technicians ($16.03). (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_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 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 3.4 times the national rate in Durham, and physician assistants, at 2.9 times the U.S. average. Dental hygienists 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 1.1 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 Durham-Chapel Hill, NC Metropolitan Statistical Area included 2,268 establishments with a response rate of 75 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 Durham-Chapel Hill, NC Metropolitan Statistical Area includes Chatham, Durham, Orange, and Person Counties.

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 healthcare practitioners and technical occupations, Durham-Chapel Hill, NC Metropolitan Statistical Area, May 2019 

Occupation (1)	Employment		Mean wages
	Level (2)	Location quotient (3)	Hourly	Annual (4)
Healthcare practitioners and technical occupations	31,800	1.7	$35.82	$74,510
Dentists, general	250	1.1	107.67	223,960
Dietitians and nutritionists	290	2.0	30.11	62,640
Pharmacists	1,070	1.6	52.88	110,000
Physician assistants	750	2.9	49.04	102,000
Occupational therapists	410	1.4	33.46	69,600
Physical therapists	640	1.3	37.39	77,770
Recreational therapists	40	1.0	24.84	51,680
Respiratory therapists	410	1.5	29.54	61,440
Speech-language pathologists	380	1.2	38.86	80,830
Veterinarians	230	1.5	60.99	126,870
Registered nurses	12,470	2.0	32.95	68,540
Nurse practitioners	830	1.9	50.96	105,990
Audiologists	40	1.5	33.75	70,200
Family medicine physicians	40	0.2	67.47	140,330
Psychiatrists	60	1.1	66.13	137,540
Physicians, all other; and ophthalmologists, except pediatric	3,210	3.8	50.89	105,850
Dental hygienists	450	1.0	34.69	72,160
Acupuncturists and healthcare diagnosing or treating practitioners, all other	340	4.3	49.58	103,120
Clinical laboratory technologists and technicians	2,360	3.4	26.78	55,710
Cardiovascular technologists and technicians	110	0.9	25.76	53,590
Diagnostic medical sonographers	240	1.5	34.56	71,880
Nuclear medicine technologists	60	1.6	34.51	71,780
Radiologic technologists and technicians	800	1.8	31.20	64,890
Magnetic resonance imaging technologists	160	2.0	32.94	68,510
Emergency medical technicians and paramedics	380	0.7	27.66	57,540
Dietetic technicians	140	2.3	14.33	29,810
Pharmacy technicians	1,120	1.3	16.03	33,340
Psychiatric technicians	180	1.1	17.16	35,690
Surgical technologists	270	1.2	22.92	47,660
Veterinary technologists and technicians	250	1.1	19.30	40,140
Ophthalmic medical technicians	240	1.9	23.02	47,890
Licensed practical and licensed vocational nurses	1,020	0.7	23.57	49,030
Opticians, dispensing	70	0.4	23.74	49,370
Medical dosimetrists, medical records specialists, and health technologists and technicians, all other	1,380	2.0	22.09	45,950
Athletic trainers	100	1.6	(5)	52,030
Health information technologists, medical registrars, surgical assistants, and healthcare practitioners and technical workers, all other	250	2.2	25.86	53,790
Footnotes: (1) For a complete listing of all detailed occupations in the Durham-Chapel Hill, NC 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) 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.