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News Release Information

23-1331-ATL
Thursday, June 15, 2023

Contacts Technical information: Media contact:
  • (404) 893-4220

Occupational Employment and Wages in Augusta-Richmond County — May 2022

Workers in the Augusta-Richmond County, GA-SC Metropolitan Statistical Area had an average (mean) hourly wage of $24.97 in May 2022, 16 percent below the nationwide average of $29.76, the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics reported today. Regional Commissioner Victoria G. Lee noted that, after testing for statistical significance, wages in the local area were lower than their respective national averages in 17 of the 22 major occupational groups, including sales and related, management, and office and administrative support. Two groups had significantly higher wages than their respective national averages including production.

When compared to the nationwide distribution, Augusta area employment was more highly concentrated in 9 of the 22 occupational groups, including healthcare practitioners and technical, production, and construction and extraction. Eleven groups had employment shares significantly below their national representation, including business and financial operations, computer and mathematical, and management. (See table A.)

Table A. Occupational employment and wages by major occupational group, United States and the Augusta metropolitan area, and measures of statistical significance, May 2022
Major occupational group Percent of total employment Mean hourly wage ($)
United States Augusta United States Augusta Percent difference (1)

Total, all occupations

100.0 100.0 29.76 24.97* -16

Management

6.7 5.3* 63.08 51.78* -18

Business and financial operations

6.5 4.7* 41.39 35.30* -15

Computer and mathematical

3.4 1.8* 51.99 39.76* -24

Architecture and engineering

1.7 2.4* 45.52 44.81 -2

Life, physical, and social science

0.9 1.0* 40.21 36.22* -10

Community and social service

1.6 1.1* 26.81 25.55 -5

Legal

0.8 0.5* 59.87 41.37* -31

Educational instruction and library

5.7 6.0* 30.41 26.95* -11

Arts, design, entertainment, sports, and media

1.4 0.8* 36.78 37.29 1

Healthcare practitioners and technical

6.1 8.5* 46.52 39.34* -15

Healthcare support

4.6 4.0* 17.10 15.42* -10

Protective service

2.3 3.0* 25.97 19.38* -25

Food preparation and serving related

8.5 9.1* 15.45 12.64* -18

Building and grounds cleaning and maintenance

2.9 2.9 17.26 14.45* -16

Personal care and service

1.9 1.6* 17.41 13.92* -20

Sales and related

8.9 8.9 24.22 17.48* -28

Office and administrative support

12.6 11.6* 21.90 18.68* -15

Farming, fishing, and forestry

0.3 0.2* 18.21 20.51* 13

Construction and extraction

4.1 5.2* 28.08 27.18* -3

Installation, maintenance, and repair

3.9 4.6* 26.77 24.34* -9

Production

5.9 8.0* 21.81 22.10* 1

Transportation and material moving

9.2 8.8* 21.12 18.56* -12

Footnotes:
(1) A positive percent difference measures how much the mean wage in the Augusta-Richmond County, GA-SC Metropolitan Statistical Area is above the national mean wage, while a negative difference reflects a lower wage.
* The mean hourly wage or percent share of employment is significantly different from the national average of all areas at the 90-percent confidence level.

One occupational group—healthcare practitioners and technical—was chosen to illustrate the diversity of data available for any of the 22 major occupational categories. Augusta had 19,180 jobs in healthcare practitioners and technical, accounting for 8.5 percent of local area employment, significantly higher than the 6.1-percent share nationally. The average hourly wage for this occupational group locally was $39.34, significantly below the national wage of $46.52.

Some of the larger detailed occupations within the healthcare practitioners and technical group included registered nurses (7,080) and licensed practical and licensed vocational nurses (1,600). Among the higher-paying jobs in this group were nurse anesthetists and general dentists, with mean hourly wages of $90.13 and $74.72, respectively. At the lower end of the wage scale were emergency medical technicians ($16.23) and veterinary technologists and technicians ($17.05). (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_12260.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 Augusta area, above-average concentrations of employment were found in many of the occupations within the healthcare practitioners and technical group. For instance, physician assistants were employed at 3.7 times the national rate in Augusta, and cardiovascular technologists and technicians, at 2.3 times the U.S. average. Speech-language pathologists had a location quotient of 0.9 in Augusta, indicating that this particular occupation’s local and national employment shares were similar.

These statistics are from the Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics (OEWS) survey, a federal-state cooperative program between BLS and State Workforce Agencies, in this case, the Georgia Department of Labor and the South Carolina Department of Employment and Workforce.

Changes to the Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics (OEWS) Data

The May 2022 OEWS estimates use the model-based (MB3) estimation method implemented with the May 2021 estimates release. Additional updates were made to the MB3 wage processing methodology for May 2022. For more information, see the May 2022 Survey Methods and Reliability Statement.

The May 2022 estimates are the first OEWS estimates to be produced using the 2022 NAICS, which replaces the 2017 NAICS used for the May 2017-May 2021 estimates. See North American Industry Classification System (NAICS) at BLS for details.


Technical Note

The Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics (OEWS) survey is a semiannual survey measuring occupational employment and wage rates for wage and salary workers in nonfarm establishments in the United States. The OEWS 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. OEWS data are available at www.bls.gov/oes/tables.htm.

The OEWS 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. OEWS estimates are constructed from a sample of about 1.1 million establishments. Each year, two semiannual panels of approximately 179,000 to 187,000 sampled establishments are contacted, one panel in May and the other in November. Responses are obtained by Internet or other electronic means, mail, email, telephone, or personal visit. The May 2022 estimates are based on responses from six semiannual panels collected over a 3-year period: May 2022, November 2021, May 2021, November 2020, May 2020, and November 2019. The unweighted sampled employment of 80 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 65.4 percent based on establishments and 62.5 percent based on weighted sampled employment. The sample in the Augusta-Richmond County, GA-SC Metropolitan Statistical Area included 2,501 establishments with a response rate of 69 percent. For more information about OEWS 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.

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 Augusta-Richmond County, GA-SC Metropolitan Statistical Area includes Burke County, GA; Columbia County, GA; Lincoln County, GA; McDuffie County, GA; Richmond County, GA; Aiken County, SC; and Edgefield County, SC.

For more information

Answers to frequently asked questions about the OEWS data are available at www.bls.gov/oes/oes_ques.htm. Detailed information about the OEWS program is available at www.bls.gov/oes/oes_doc.htm.

Information in this release will be made available to individuals with sensory impairments upon request. Voice phone: (202) 691-5200; Telecommunications Relay Service: 7-1-1.

Table 1. Employment and wage data for healthcare practitioners and technical occupations, Augusta metropolitan area, May 2022
Occupation (1) Employment Mean wages ($)
Level (2) Location quotient (3) Hourly Annual (4)

Healthcare practitioners and technical occupations

19,180 1.4 39.34 81,820

Chiropractors

50 0.8 36.43 75,760

Dentists, general

190 1.0 74.72 155,410

Dietitians and nutritionists

110 1.1 30.69 63,840

Optometrists

60 1.0 60.49 125,830

Pharmacists

620 1.2 57.28 119,140

Physician assistants

790 3.7 41.36 86,020

Occupational therapists

250 1.2 42.28 87,940

Physical therapists

390 1.1 44.76 93,090

Recreational therapists

60 2.6 21.07 43,830

Respiratory therapists

300 1.5 35.41 73,650

Speech-language pathologists

230 0.9 38.83 80,760

Therapists, all other

80 3.2 29.79 61,970

Veterinarians

100 0.9 49.22 102,370

Registered nurses

7,080 1.5 37.39 77,760

Nurse anesthetists

160 2.2 90.13 187,480

Nurse practitioners

440 1.1 53.68 111,660

Audiologists

40 1.7 31.99 66,550

Anesthesiologists

60 1.1 (5) (5)

Family medicine physicians

40 0.3 108.73 226,160

Physicians, all other

660 1.4 122.42 254,630

Dental hygienists

370 1.1 36.25 75,400

Healthcare diagnosing or treating practitioners, all other

80 1.8 54.97 114,340

Clinical laboratory technologists and technicians

720 1.4 25.28 52,570

Cardiovascular technologists and technicians

200 2.3 27.24 56,660

Diagnostic medical sonographers

180 1.5 32.44 67,470

Nuclear medicine technologists

40 1.7 35.21 73,230

Radiologic technologists and technicians

530 1.6 28.09 58,420

Magnetic resonance imaging technologists

70 1.3 32.93 68,500

Emergency medical technicians

460 1.8 16.23 33,760

Paramedics

220 1.5 21.09 43,870

Pharmacy technicians

870 1.2 17.44 36,270

Surgical technologists

220 1.3 24.93 51,840

Veterinary technologists and technicians

140 0.8 17.05 35,470

Ophthalmic medical technicians

120 1.2 17.56 36,520

Licensed practical and licensed vocational nurses

1,600 1.7 23.84 49,580

Medical records specialists

340 1.2 21.65 45,030

Opticians, dispensing

120 1.1 19.96 41,520

Health technologists and technicians, all other

260 1.1 23.23 48,310

Health information technologists and medical registrars

70 1.3 21.89 45,520

Athletic trainers

40 0.8 (6) 55,620

Surgical assistants

90 3.2 22.51 46,820

Healthcare practitioners and technical workers, all other

(5) (5) 27.90 58,030

Footnotes:
(1) For a complete listing of all detailed occupations in the Augusta-Richmond County, GA-SC Metropolitan Statistical Area, see www.bls.gov/oes/current/oes_12260.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.
(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.

 

Last Modified Date: Thursday, June 15, 2023