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14-1226-DAL
Thursday, June 26, 2014
Workers in the Fayetteville-Springdale-Rogers Metropolitan Statistical Area had an average (mean) hourly wage of $19.98 in May 2013, about 11 percent below the nationwide average of $22.33, according to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics. Regional Commissioner Stanley W. Suchman noted that, after testing for statistical significance, wages in the local area were significantly lower than their respective national averages in 19 of the 22 major occupational groups, including construction and extraction; architecture and engineering; and life, physical, and social science.
When compared to the nationwide distribution, local employment was more highly concentrated in 5 of the 22 occupational groups, including transportation and material moving; production; and business and financial operations. Conversely, 12 groups had employment shares significantly below their national representation, including healthcare practitioners and technical; protective service healthcare support. (See table A and box note at end of release.)
Major occupational group | Percent of total employment | Mean hourly wage | |||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
United States | Fayetteville- Springdale-Rogers | United States | Fayetteville- Springdale-Rogers | Percent difference(1) | |||
Total, all occupations | 100.0% | 100.0% | $22.33 | $19.98 | * | -11 | |
Management | 4.9 | 5.9 | * | 53.15 | 52.50 | -1 | |
Business and financial operations | 5.0 | 6.0 | * | 34.14 | 32.16 | * | -6 |
Computer and mathematical | 2.8 | 3.2 | * | 39.43 | 33.93 | * | -14 |
Architecture and engineering | 1.8 | 1.0 | * | 38.51 | 28.76 | * | -25 |
Life, physical, and social science | 0.9 | 0.7 | * | 33.37 | 24.53 | * | -26 |
Community and social service | 1.4 | 0.7 | * | 21.50 | 20.29 | * | -6 |
Legal | 0.8 | 0.5 | * | 47.89 | 41.45 | -13 | |
Education, training, and library | 6.3 | 6.1 | 24.76 | 22.89 | * | -8 | |
Arts, design, entertainment, sports, and media | 1.3 | 0.9 | * | 26.72 | 21.17 | * | -21 |
Healthcare practitioners and technical | 5.8 | 4.6 | * | 35.93 | 33.58 | * | -7 |
Healthcare support | 3.0 | 2.0 | * | 13.61 | 12.08 | * | -11 |
Protective service | 2.5 | 1.2 | * | 20.92 | 17.10 | * | -18 |
Food preparation and serving related | 9.0 | 8.6 | * | 10.38 | 9.08 | * | -13 |
Building and grounds cleaning and maintenance | 3.2 | 2.8 | * | 12.51 | 10.90 | * | -13 |
Personal care and service | 3.0 | 2.9 | 11.88 | 9.92 | * | -16 | |
Sales and related | 10.6 | 10.8 | 18.37 | 16.23 | * | -12 | |
Office and administrative support | 16.2 | 15.5 | * | 16.78 | 14.79 | * | -12 |
Farming, fishing, and forestry | 0.3 | 0.4 | 11.70 | 13.59 | * | 16 | |
Construction and extraction | 3.8 | 3.2 | * | 21.94 | 16.51 | * | -25 |
Installation, maintenance, and repair | 3.9 | 3.8 | 21.35 | 17.94 | * | -16 | |
Production | 6.6 | 8.9 | * | 16.79 | 13.92 | * | -17 |
Transportation and material moving | 6.8 | 10.2 | * | 16.28 | 14.95 | * | -8 |
* The percent share of employment or mean hourly wage for this area is significantly different from the national average of all areas at the 90-percent confidence level. |
One occupational group–transportation and material moving–was chosen to illustrate the diversity of data available for any of the 22 major occupational categories. Fayetteville-Springdale-Rogers had 21,290 jobs in transportation and material moving, accounting for 10.2 percent of area employment, significantly higher than the 6.8-percent national share. However, the average hourly wage for this occupational group locally was $14.95, 8 percent below the national wage of $16.28.
With employment of 9,540, heavy and tractor-trailer truck drivers was one of the largest occupations within the transportation and material moving group, followed by laborers and freight, stock, and hand material movers (4,020) and light truck or delivery services drivers (1,040). Among the higher paying jobs were first-line supervisors of transportation and material-moving machine and vehicle operators ($24.03) and first-line supervisors of helpers, laborers, and hand material movers ($21.59). Among non-supervisory workers, higher paid positions included heavy and tractor-trailer truck drivers, as well as conveyor operators and tenders, with average hourly wages of $17.87 and $15.32, respectively. At the lower end of the wage scale were cleaners of vehicles and equipment ($9.70) and taxi drivers and chauffeurs ($9.73). (Data for the transportation and material moving group are presented in table 1; for a complete listing of detailed occupations see www.bls.gov/oes/current/oes_22220.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 Fayetteville metropolitan area, above average concentrations of employment were found in some of the occupations within the transportation and material moving group. For instance, heavy and tractor-trailer truck drivers were employed at 3.8 times the national rate in Fayetteville, and machine feeders and offbearers, at 4.1 times the U.S. average. On the other hand, light truck or delivery services drivers had a location quotient of 0.9 in Fayetteville, 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 Arkansas Department of Workforce Services.
OES wage and employment data for the 22 major occupational groups in the Fayetteville-Springdale-Rogers Metropolitan Statistical Area were compared to their respective national averages based on statistical significance testing. Only those occupations with wages or employment shares above or below the national wage or share after testing for significance at the 90-percent confidence level meet the criteria.
Note: 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 Occupational Employment Statistics (OES) survey is a semiannual mail survey measuring occupational employment and wage rates for wage and salary workers in nonfarm establishments in the United States. Guam, Puerto Rico, and the Virgin Islands are also surveyed, but their data are not included in the national estimates. OES estimates are constructed from a sample of about 1.2 million establishments. Forms are mailed to approximately 200,000 sampled establishments in May and November each year for a 3-year period. May 2013 estimates are based on responses from six semiannual panels collected in May 2013, November 2012, May 2012, November 2011, May 2011, and November 2010. The overall national response rate for the six panels is 75.3 percent based on establishments and 71.6 percent based on employment. The sample in the Fayetteville-Springdale-Rogers Metropolitan Statistical Area included 2,212 establishments with a response rate of 85 percent. For more information about OES concepts and methodology, go to www.bls.gov/news.release/ocwage.tn.htm.
The OES survey provides estimates of employment and hourly and annual wages for wage and salary workers in 22 major occupational groups and 821 detailed occupations for the nation, states, metropolitan statistical areas, metropolitan divisions, and nonmetropolitan areas. In addition, employment and wage estimates for 94 minor groups and 458 broad occupations are available in the national data. OES data by state and metropolitan/nonmetropolitan area are available from www.bls.gov/oes/current/oessrcst.htm and www.bls.gov/oes/current/oessrcma.htm, respectively.
The May 2013 OES estimates are based on the 2010 Standard Occupational Classification (SOC) system and the 2012 North American Industry Classification System (NAICS). Information about the 2010 SOC is available on the BLS website at www.bls.gov/soc and information about the 2012 NAICS is available at www.bls.gov/bls/naics.htm.
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 Fayetteville-Springdale-Rogers Metropolitan Statistical Area (MSA) includes Benton, Madison, and Washington Counties in Arkansas and McDonald County in Missouri.
Additional information
OES data are available on our regional web page at www.bls.gov/regions/southwest/home.htm. Answers to frequently asked questions about the OES data are available at www.bls.gov/oes/oes_ques.htm. Detailed technical information about the OES survey is available in our Survey Methods and Reliability Statement on the BLS website at www.bls.gov/oes/2013/may/methods_statement.pdf. Information in this release will be made available to sensory impaired individuals upon request – Voice phone: 202-691-5200; Federal Relay Service: 1-800-877-8339.
Occupation(1) | Employment | Mean wages | ||
---|---|---|---|---|
Level(2) | Location quotient(3) | Hourly | Annual(4) | |
Transportation and material moving occupations | 21,290 | 1.5 | $14.95 | $31,100 |
First-line supervisors of helpers, laborers, and material movers, hand | 280 | 1.1 | 21.59 | 44,910 |
First-line supervisors of transportation and material-moving machine and vehicle operators | 430 | 1.4 | 24.03 | 49,980 |
Commercial pilots | 40 | 0.6 | (5) | 76,810 |
Bus drivers, school or special client | 710 | 0.9 | 11.40 | 23,710 |
Driver/sales workers | 570 | 0.9 | 13.66 | 28,410 |
Heavy and tractor-trailer truck drivers | 9,540 | 3.8 | 17.87 | 37,160 |
Light truck or delivery services drivers | 1,040 | 0.9 | 14.09 | 29,310 |
Taxi drivers and chauffeurs | 320 | 1.2 | 9.73 | 20,250 |
Parking lot attendants | 60 | 0.3 | 9.18 | 19,090 |
Automotive and watercraft service attendants | 180 | 1.0 | 10.64 | 22,140 |
Conveyor operators and tenders | 240 | 3.7 | 15.32 | 31,850 |
Excavating and loading machine and dragline operators | 50 | 0.7 | 20.36 | 42,360 |
Industrial truck and tractor operators | 960 | 1.2 | 12.69 | 26,400 |
Cleaners of vehicles and equipment | 970 | 2.0 | 9.70 | 20,180 |
Laborers and freight, stock, and material movers, hand | 4,020 | 1.1 | 11.14 | 23,170 |
Machine feeders and offbearers | 690 | 4.1 | 13.63 | 28,360 |
Packers and packagers, hand | (5) | (5) | 10.63 | 22,120 |
Refuse and recyclable material collectors | 190 | 1.0 | 13.21 | 27,470 |
(1) For a complete listing of all detailed occupations in the Fayetteville-Springdale-Rogers MSA, see www.bls.gov/oes/current/oes_22220.htm. |
Last Modified Date: Thursday, June 26, 2014