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Friday, July 26, 2024
Workers in the Charleston-North Charleston, SC Metropolitan Statistical Area had an average (mean) hourly wage of $28.29 in May 2023, compared to the nationwide average of $31.48, the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics reported today. Regional Commissioner Victoria G. Lee noted that higher paying major occupational groups included management ($58.68), computer and mathematical ($49.10), and healthcare practitioners and technical ($47.18). Lower paying occupations included food preparation and serving related ($14.26), building and grounds cleaning and maintenance ($16.92), and personal care and service ($17.24). (See table A.)
Occupational groups with the highest employment in the Charleston area included office and administrative support (12.5 percent), food preparation and serving related (11.1 percent), and sales and related (9.8 percent). Major occupational groups on the lower end of local employment included life, physical, and social science (0.7 percent); community and social service (0.9 percent); and legal (1.0 percent). (See table A.)
Major occupational group | Percent of total employment | Mean hourly wage ($) | |||
---|---|---|---|---|---|
United States | Charleston | United States | Charleston | ||
Total, all occupations |
100.0 | 100.0 | 31.48 | 28.29 | |
Management |
6.9 | 6.3 | 66.23 | 58.68 | |
Business and financial operations |
6.6 | 5.4 | 43.55 | 39.88 | |
Computer and mathematical |
3.4 | 3.1 | 54.39 | 49.10 | |
Architecture and engineering |
1.7 | 2.4 | 47.64 | 45.20 | |
Life, physical, and social science |
0.9 | 0.7 | 42.24 | 37.08 | |
Community and social service |
1.6 | 0.9 | 28.36 | 25.90 | |
Legal |
0.8 | 1.0 | 64.34 | 41.91 | |
Educational instruction and library |
5.8 | 4.7 | 31.92 | 28.47 | |
Arts, design, entertainment, sports, and media |
1.4 | 1.1 | 36.31 | 27.47 | |
Healthcare practitioners and technical |
6.1 | 7.0 | 49.07 | 47.18 | |
Healthcare support |
4.7 | 3.1 | 18.37 | 18.81 | |
Protective service |
2.3 | 2.2 | 27.74 | 23.39 | |
Food preparation and serving related |
8.7 | 11.1 | 16.58 | 14.26 | |
Building and grounds cleaning and maintenance |
2.9 | 3.3 | 18.43 | 16.92 | |
Personal care and service |
2.0 | 2.5 | 18.48 | 17.24 | |
Sales and related |
8.8 | 9.8 | 25.62 | 23.07 | |
Office and administrative support |
12.2 | 12.5 | 23.05 | 21.36 | |
Farming, fishing, and forestry |
0.3 | 0.1 | 19.22 | 19.67 | |
Construction and extraction |
4.1 | 3.8 | 29.57 | 24.88 | |
Installation, maintenance, and repair |
3.9 | 4.4 | 28.13 | 26.09 | |
Production |
5.8 | 5.9 | 22.90 | 24.22 | |
Transportation and material moving |
9.1 | 8.8 | 22.45 | 21.00 |
One occupational group—food preparation and serving related—was chosen to illustrate the diversity of data available for any of the 22 major occupational categories. Charleston had 41,780 jobs in food preparation and serving related, accounting for 11.1 percent of local area employment, compared to the 8.7-percent share nationally. The average hourly wage for this occupational group locally was $14.26, compared to the national wage of $16.58.
Some of the larger detailed occupations within the food preparation and serving related group included fast food and counter workers (9,670), waiters and waitresses (8,730), and restaurant cooks (6,160). Among the higher-paying jobs in this group were chefs and head cooks and first-line supervisors of food preparation and serving workers, with mean hourly wages of $28.12 and $21.38, respectively. At the lower end of the wage scale were waiters and waitresses ($11.34) and bartenders ($12.17). (Detailed data for the food preparation and serving related occupations are presented in table 1; for a complete listing of detailed occupations available, go to www.bls.gov/oes/current/oes_16700.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 Charleston area, above-average concentrations of employment were found in some of the occupations within the food preparation and serving related group. For instance, restaurant, lounge, and coffee shop hosts and hostesses were employed at 1.9 times the national rate in Charleston, and restaurant cooks at 1.8 times the U.S. average. First-line supervisors of food preparation and serving workers had a location quotient of 1.0 in Charleston, indicating that this particular occupation’s local and national employment shares were similar.
The statistics in this release are from the Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics (OEWS) survey, a cooperative effort between BLS and the State Workforce Agencies (SWAs). BLS funds the survey and provides the procedures and technical support. State Workforce Agencies collect most of the data: in this case, the South Carolina Department of Employment and Workforce.
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. Full OEWS data tables are available online.
Additional information about the OEWS estimates and methodology are available in the national Technical Notes. The overall national response rate for the six panels, based on the 50 states and the District of Columbia, is 65.8 percent based on establishments and 64.3 percent based on weighted sampled employment. The sample in the Charleston-North Charleston, SC Metropolitan Statistical Area included 2,907 establishments with a response rate of 71 percent.
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 Charleston-North Charleston, SC Metropolitan Statistical Area includes Berkeley County, Charleston County, and Dorchester County.
For more information
Answers to frequently asked questions about the OEWS data, as well as general program documentation, are available on the OEWS website.
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.
Occupation (1) | Employment | Mean wages ($) | ||
---|---|---|---|---|
Level (2) | Location quotient (3) | Hourly | Annual (4) | |
Food preparation and serving related occupations |
41,780 | 1.3 | 14.26 | 29,650 |
Chefs and head cooks |
560 | 1.3 | 28.12 | 58,490 |
First-line supervisors of food preparation and serving workers |
2,980 | 1.0 | 21.38 | 44,470 |
Cooks, fast food |
1,450 | 0.9 | 13.00 | 27,040 |
Cooks, institution and cafeteria |
1,140 | 1.1 | 16.04 | 33,370 |
Cooks, restaurant |
6,160 | 1.8 | 16.64 | 34,600 |
Cooks, short order |
290 | 0.9 | 14.47 | 30,110 |
Food preparation workers |
2,590 | 1.2 | 14.92 | 31,030 |
Bartenders |
2,960 | 1.7 | 12.17 | 25,310 |
Fast food and counter workers |
9,670 | 1.1 | 13.31 | 27,690 |
Waiters and waitresses |
8,730 | 1.6 | 11.34 | 23,590 |
Food servers, nonrestaurant |
560 | 0.8 | 15.52 | 32,280 |
Dining room and cafeteria attendants and bartender helpers |
1,250 | 1.1 | 12.55 | 26,100 |
Dishwashers |
1,430 | 1.3 | 14.07 | 29,260 |
Hosts and hostesses, restaurant, lounge, and coffee shop |
1,980 | 1.9 | 12.71 | 26,430 |
Footnotes: |
Last Modified Date: Friday, July 26, 2024