Workers in the Warner Robins, GA Metropolitan Statistical Area had an average (mean) hourly wage of $26.16 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 ($52.50), architecture and engineering ($44.87), and legal ($44.73). Lower paying occupations included food preparation and serving related ($12.82), personal care and service ($14.12), and building and grounds cleaning and maintenance ($15.28). (See table A.)

Occupational groups with the highest employment in the Warner Robins area included business and financial operations (11.0 percent), food preparation and serving related (10.8 percent), and office and administrative support (9.3 percent). Major occupational groups on the lower end of local employment included legal (0.3 percent); life, physical, and social science (0.6 percent); and arts, design, entertainment, sports, and media (0.7 percent). (See table A.)

One occupational group—business and financial operations—was chosen to illustrate the diversity of data available for any of the 22 major occupational categories. Warner Robins had 8,480 jobs in business and financial operations, accounting for 11.0 percent of local area employment, compared to the 6.6-percent share nationally. The average hourly wage for this occupational group locally was $40.89, compared to the national wage of $43.55.

Some of the larger detailed occupations within the business and financial operations group included logisticians (1,610), management analysts (630), and buyers and purchasing agents (580). Among the higher-paying jobs in this group were project management specialists and management analysts, with mean hourly wages of $48.55 and $44.96, respectively. At the lower end of the wage scale were training and development specialists ($28.09) and meeting, convention, and event planners ($28.27). (Detailed data for the business and financial operations occupations are presented in table 1; for a complete listing of detailed occupations available, go to www.bls.gov/oes/current/oes_47580.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 Warner Robins area, above-average concentrations of employment were found in many of the occupations within the business and financial operations group. For instance, logisticians were employed at 14.0 times the national rate in Warner Robins, and buyers and purchasing agents, at 2.4 times the U.S. average. Human resources specialists had a location quotient of 1.0 in Warner Robins, 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 Georgia Department of Labor.

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. 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 Warner Robins, GA Metropolitan Statistical Area included 882 establishments with a response rate of 73 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 Warner Robins, GA Metropolitan Statistical Area includes Houston County, Peach County, and Pulaski 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.

Table 1. Employment and wage data for business and financial operations occupations, Warner Robins metropolitan area, May 2023

Occupation (1)	Employment		Mean wages ($)
	Level (2)	Location quotient (3)	Hourly	Annual (4)
Business and financial operations occupations	8,480	1.7	40.89	85,050
Buyers and purchasing agents	580	2.4	42.98	89,390
Claims adjusters, examiners, and investigators	40	0.3	38.19	79,440
Compliance officers	160	0.8	33.24	69,140
Cost estimators	50	0.5	33.31	69,290
Human resources specialists	440	1.0	36.78	76,500
Logisticians	1,610	14.0	42.22	87,810
Project management specialists	310	0.7	48.55	100,980
Management analysts	630	1.5	44.96	93,520
Meeting, convention, and event planners	30	0.5	28.27	58,800
Training and development specialists	160	0.8	28.09	58,420
Market research analysts and marketing specialists	160	0.4	29.24	60,830
Business operations specialists, all other	3,160	5.7	41.21	85,710
Accountants and auditors	410	0.6	40.00	83,200
Property appraisers and assessors	50	1.5	29.11	60,560
Financial and investment analysts	30	0.2	42.22	87,820
Loan officers	100	0.6	32.92	68,480
Financial specialists, all other	350	5.6	43.46	90,390
Footnotes: (1) For a complete listing of all detailed occupations in the Warner Robins, GA Metropolitan Statistical Area, see www.bls.gov/oes/current/oes_47580.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.