Department of Labor Logo United States Department of Labor
Dot gov

The .gov means it's official.
Federal government websites often end in .gov or .mil. Before sharing sensitive information, make sure you're on a federal government site.

Https

The site is secure.
The https:// ensures that you are connecting to the official website and that any information you provide is encrypted and transmitted securely.

News Release Information

23-1233-ATL
Tuesday, June 06, 2023

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

Occupational Employment and Wages in Birmingham-Hoover — May 2022

Workers in the Birmingham-Hoover, AL Metropolitan Statistical Area had an average (mean) hourly wage of $25.98 in May 2022, 13 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 20 of the 22 major occupational groups, including arts, design, entertainment, sports, and media; computer and mathematical; and construction and extraction.

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 transportation and material moving. Thirteen groups had employment shares significantly below their national representation, including management, healthcare support, and educational instruction and library. (See table A.)


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

Total, all occupations

100.0 100.0 $29.76 $25.98* -13

Management

6.7 5.7* 63.08 56.97* -10

Business and financial operations

6.5 5.6* 41.39 37.33* -10

Computer and mathematical

3.4 2.6* 51.99 41.89* -19

Architecture and engineering

1.7 1.4* 45.52 49.28 8

Life, physical, and social science

0.9 0.6* 40.21 35.44* -12

Community and social service

1.6 1.1* 26.81 23.28* -13

Legal

0.8 0.9 59.87 53.48* -11

Educational instruction and library

5.7 4.8* 30.41 29.44* -3

Arts, design, entertainment, sports, and media

1.4 1.1* 36.78 24.93* -32

Healthcare practitioners and technical

6.1 8.5* 46.52 37.96* -18

Healthcare support

4.6 3.6* 17.10 15.22* -11

Protective service

2.3 2.9* 25.97 19.92* -23

Food preparation and serving related

8.5 8.0* 15.45 12.64* -18

Building and grounds cleaning and maintenance

2.9 2.5* 17.26 14.76* -14

Personal care and service

1.9 1.7* 17.41 14.60* -16

Sales and related

8.9 10.1* 24.22 21.68* -10

Office and administrative support

12.6 13.1* 21.90 19.85* -9

Farming, fishing, and forestry

0.3 0.1* 18.21 18.19 0

Construction and extraction

4.1 4.4* 28.08 23.00* -18

Installation, maintenance, and repair

3.9 4.7* 26.77 26.39* -1

Production

5.9 6.3* 21.81 20.05* -8

Transportation and material moving

9.2 10.3* 21.12 18.99* -10

Footnotes:
(1) A positive percent difference measures how much the mean wage in the Birmingham-Hoover, AL 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. Birmingham had 42,700 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 $37.96, significantly below the national wage of $46.52.

Some of the larger detailed occupations within the healthcare practitioners and technical group included registered nurses (17,330), licensed practical and licensed vocational nurses (2,340), and pharmacy technicians (2,310). Among the higher-paying jobs in this group were nurse anesthetists and general dentists, with mean hourly wages of $100.91 and $97.05, respectively. At the lower end of the wage scale were psychiatric technicians ($15.15) and veterinary technologists and technicians ($15.61). (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 many of the occupations within the healthcare practitioners and technical group. For instance, nurse anesthetists were employed at 3.9 times the national rate in Birmingham, and psychiatric technicians, at 2.3 times the U.S. average. Medical records specialists had a location quotient of 1.0 in Birmingham, 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 Alabama Department of Labor.

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 Birmingham-Hoover, AL Metropolitan Statistical Area included 3,302 establishments with a response rate of 67 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 Birmingham-Hoover, AL Metropolitan Statistical Area includes Bibb County, Blount County, Chilton County, Jefferson County, Shelby County, St. Clair County, and Walker County.

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, Birmingham metropolitan area, May 2022
Occupation (1) Employment Mean wages
Level (2) Location quotient (3) Hourly Annual (4)

Healthcare practitioners and technical occupations

42,700 1.4 $37.96 $78,950

Chiropractors

70 0.6 30.73 63,910

Dentists, general

310 0.8 97.05 201,860

Dietitians and nutritionists

200 0.8 29.61 61,580

Optometrists

140 1.0 60.23 125,290

Pharmacists

1,620 1.5 60.66 126,170

Physician assistants

350 0.7 44.28 92,090

Occupational therapists

430 0.9 42.65 88,700

Physical therapists

940 1.2 47.23 98,250

Radiation therapists

50 1.0 44.36 92,260

Respiratory therapists

880 2.0 27.65 57,520

Speech-language pathologists

740 1.3 36.98 76,920

Veterinarians

320 1.2 62.02 129,000

Registered nurses

17,330 1.7 33.79 70,290

Nurse anesthetists

610 3.9 100.91 209,880

Nurse practitioners

1,190 1.4 52.99 110,220

Cardiologists

100 1.8 218.06 453,560

Dermatologists

50 1.3 (5) (5)

Family medicine physicians

130 0.4 (6) (6)

Obstetricians and gynecologists

50 0.7 87.45 181,890

Pediatricians, general

110 0.9 77.09 160,340

Physicians, pathologists

40 0.9 86.21 179,320

Psychiatrists

60 0.7 69.68 144,940

Physicians, all other

1,040 1.0 106.01 220,490

Orthopedic surgeons, except pediatric

180 2.8 169.95 353,500

Surgeons, all other

350 4.0 105.04 218,480

Dental hygienists

910 1.3 26.22 54,530

Clinical laboratory technologists and technicians

2,210 2.0 24.67 51,320

Cardiovascular technologists and technicians

410 2.2 22.75 47,330

Diagnostic medical sonographers

430 1.6 31.44 65,390

Nuclear medicine technologists

120 2.1 33.98 70,670

Radiologic technologists and technicians

1,300 1.8 27.18 56,530

Magnetic resonance imaging technologists

200 1.6 33.07 68,780

Emergency medical technicians

540 1.0 16.06 33,410

Paramedics

240 0.7 17.50 36,410

Pharmacy technicians

2,310 1.5 16.53 34,380

Psychiatric technicians

790 2.3 15.15 31,510

Surgical technologists

660 1.8 22.09 45,940

Veterinary technologists and technicians

480 1.2 15.61 32,470

Ophthalmic medical technicians

400 1.8 17.95 37,340

Licensed practical and licensed vocational nurses

2,340 1.1 23.89 49,680

Medical records specialists

630 1.0 20.58 42,800

Opticians, dispensing

190 0.8 16.50 34,320

Orthotists and prosthetists

30 1.1 37.73 78,480

Health technologists and technicians, all other

460 0.8 22.48 46,760

Athletic trainers

120 1.2 (7) 47,710

Surgical assistants

60 0.9 16.17 33,620

Healthcare practitioners and technical workers, all other

30 0.2 29.63 61,630

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 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) This wage is equal to or greater than $115.00 per hour or $239,200 per year.
(6) Estimate not released.
(7) 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: Tuesday, June 06, 2023