
An official website of the United States government
17-974-DAL
Tuesday, July 11, 2017
Workers in the McAllen-Edinburg-Mission Metropolitan Statistical Area had an average (mean) hourly wage of $16.79 in May 2016, about 30 percent below the nationwide average of $23.86, according to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics. Assistant Commissioner for Regional Operations Stanley W. Suchman noted that, after testing for statistical significance, wages in the local area were lower than their respective national averages in 19 of the 22 major occupational groups, including computer and mathematical; arts, design, entertainment, sports and media; and life, physical, and social science. One local group, community and social service, at $24.39 per hour, had wages that were significantly higher than the respective national average of $22.69.
When compared to the nationwide distribution, McAllen employment was more highly concentrated in 6 of the 22 occupational groups including personal care and service; education, training, and library; and healthcare support. Conversely, 12 groups had employment shares significantly below their national representation, including production; business and financial operations; and management. (See table A and box note at end of release.)
Major occupational group | Percent of total employment | Mean hourly wage | |||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
United States | McAllen-Edinburg- Mission, TX | United States | McAllen-Edinburg- Mission, TX | Percent difference(1) | |||
Total, all occupations | 100.0 | 100.0 | $23.86 | $16.79 | * | -30 | |
Management | 5.1 | 2.4 | * | 56.74 | 45.67 | * | -20 |
Business and financial operations | 5.2 | 2.3 | * | 36.09 | 29.31 | * | -19 |
Computer and mathematical | 3.0 | 0.7 | * | 42.25 | 24.44 | * | -42 |
Architecture and engineering | 1.8 | 0.4 | * | 40.53 | 28.22 | * | -30 |
Life, physical, and social science | 0.8 | 0.4 | * | 35.06 | 22.58 | * | -36 |
Community and social service | 1.4 | 1.0 | * | 22.69 | 24.39 | * | 7 |
Legal | 0.8 | 0.5 | * | 50.95 | (2) | - | |
Education, training, and library | 6.2 | 10.4 | * | 26.21 | 22.68 | * | -13 |
Arts, design, entertainment, sports, and media | 1.4 | 0.6 | * | 28.07 | 18.06 | * | -36 |
Healthcare practitioners and technical | 5.9 | 6.5 | 38.06 | 33.20 | * | -13 | |
Healthcare support | 2.9 | 6.1 | * | 14.65 | 10.44 | * | -29 |
Protective service | 2.4 | 2.8 | * | 22.03 | 21.71 | -1 | |
Food preparation and serving related | 9.2 | 9.3 | 11.47 | 10.29 | * | -10 | |
Building and grounds cleaning and maintenance | 3.2 | 2.4 | * | 13.47 | 10.85 | * | -19 |
Personal care and service | 3.2 | 9.7 | * | 12.74 | 9.03 | * | -29 |
Sales and related | 10.4 | 11.8 | * | 19.50 | 14.39 | * | -26 |
Office and administrative support | 15.7 | 16.7 | * | 17.91 | 13.52 | * | -25 |
Farming, fishing, and forestry | 0.3 | 0.4 | 13.37 | 9.74 | * | -27 | |
Construction and extraction | 4.0 | 2.2 | * | 23.51 | 16.02 | * | -32 |
Installation, maintenance, and repair | 3.9 | 3.3 | * | 22.45 | 16.33 | * | -27 |
Production | 6.5 | 2.6 | * | 17.88 | 14.08 | * | -21 |
Transportation and material moving | 6.9 | 7.5 | 17.34 | 13.08 | * | -25 | |
Footnotes: | |||||||
Note: * 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 – education, training, and library – was chosen to illustrate the diversity of data available for any of the 22 major occupational categories. McAllen had 25,960 jobs in education, training, and library, accounting for 10.4 percent of local area employment, significantly higher than the 6.2-percent national share. However, the local wage for this occupational group was significantly below the U.S. average. At $22.68 an hour, the mean wage for McAllen education, training, and library workers was about 13 percent below the $26.21 national average.
Some of the larger detailed occupations within the education, training, and library group included elementary school teachers, except special education (5,920), secondary school teachers, except special and career/technical education (4,330), and middle school teachers, except special and career/technical education (3,260). Among the higher-paying jobs were instructional coordinators and postsecondary English language and literature teachers, with mean annual wages of $71,150 and $68,220, respectively. At the lower end of the wage scale were substitute teachers ($22,600 per year) and teacher assistants ($24,900). (Detailed occupational data for the education, training, and library group are presented in table 1; for a complete listing of detailed occupations go to www.bls.gov/oes/current/oes_32580.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 McAllen metropolitan area, above average concentrations of employment were found in many of the occupations within the education, training, and library group. For instance, middle school teachers, except special and career/technical education, were employed at 2.9 times the national rate in McAllen, and secondary school teachers, except special education and career/technical education, at 2.4 times the U.S. average. Both McAllen teacher location quotients were among the highest in all metropolitan areas for these particular occupations. On the other hand, preschool teachers, except special education, had a location quotient of 1.0 in McAllen, 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 Texas Workforce Commission.
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. The OES data available from BLS include cross-industry occupational employment and wage estimates for the nation; over 650 areas, including states and the District of Columbia, metropolitan statistical areas (MSAs), metropolitan divisions, nonmetropolitan areas, and territories; national industry-specific estimates at the NAICS sector, 3-, 4-, and selected 5- and 6-digit industry levels, and national estimates by ownership across all industries and for schools and hospitals. OES data are available at www.bls.gov/oes/tables.htm.
OES estimates are constructed from a sample of about 1.2 million establishments. Each year, two semiannual panels of approximately 200,000 sampled establishments are contacted, one panel in May and the other in November. Responses are obtained by mail, Internet or other electronic means, email, telephone, or personal visit. The May 2016 estimates are based on responses from six semiannual panels collected over a 3-year period: May 2016, November 2015, May 2015, November 2014, May 2014, and November 2013. The overall national response rate for the six panels, based on the 50 states and the District of Columbia, is 73 percent based on establishments and 69 percent based on weighted sampled employment. The unweighted employment of sampled establishments across all six semiannual panels represents approximately 58 percent of total national employment. The sample in the McAllen-Edinburg-Mission Metropolitan Statistical Area included 2,063 establishments with a response rate of 57 percent. For more information about OES concepts and methodology, go to www.bls.gov/news.release/ocwage.tn.htm.
The May 2016 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.
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 McAllen-Edinburg-Mission Metropolitan Statistical Area includes Hidalgo County in Texas.
Additional information
OES data are available on our regional web page at www.bls.gov/regions/southwest. 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/current/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: (800) 877-8339.
Occupation(1) | Employment | Mean wages | ||
---|---|---|---|---|
Level(2) | Location quotient(3) | Hourly | Annual(4) | |
Education, training, and library occupations | 25,960 | 1.7 | $22.68 | $47,170 |
Business teachers, postsecondary | 60 | 0.4 | (5) | 73,110 |
Mathematical science teachers, postsecondary | 90 | 1.0 | (5) | 65,740 |
Biological science teachers, postsecondary | 60 | 0.7 | (5) | 64,290 |
Political science teachers, postsecondary | 40 | 1.4 | (5) | 58,040 |
Psychology teachers, postsecondary | 60 | 0.9 | (5) | 59,500 |
Health specialties teachers, postsecondary | 70 | 0.2 | (5) | 65,660 |
Nursing instructors and teachers, postsecondary | 30 | 0.3 | (5) | 66,870 |
Education teachers, postsecondary | 80 | 0.8 | (5) | 54,750 |
Art, drama, and music teachers, postsecondary | 90 | 0.5 | (5) | 49,530 |
Communications teachers, postsecondary | 50 | 1.1 | (5) | 51,730 |
English language and literature teachers, postsecondary | 310 | 2.5 | (5) | 68,220 |
Foreign language and literature teachers, postsecondary | 50 | 1.0 | (5) | 44,880 |
History teachers, postsecondary | 50 | 1.2 | (5) | 48,360 |
Vocational education teachers, postsecondary | 420 | 2.1 | 20.93 | 43,520 |
Preschool teachers, except special education | 680 | 1.0 | 17.81 | 37,050 |
Kindergarten teachers, except special education | 530 | 2.0 | (5) | 55,410 |
Elementary school teachers, except special education | 5,920 | 2.4 | (5) | 55,210 |
Middle school teachers, except special and career/technical education | 3,260 | 2.9 | (5) | 56,110 |
Secondary school teachers, except special and career/technical education | 4,330 | 2.4 | (5) | 56,420 |
Career/technical education teachers, secondary school | 360 | 2.6 | (5) | 54,450 |
Special education teachers, kindergarten and elementary school | 270 | 0.8 | (5) | 54,910 |
Special education teachers, middle school | 170 | 1.1 | (5) | 56,530 |
Special education teachers, secondary school | 290 | 1.2 | (5) | 57,320 |
Adult basic & secondary education & literacy teachers & instructors | 70 | 0.6 | 40.04 | 83,280 |
Self-enrichment education teachers | 240 | 0.6 | 14.71 | 30,590 |
Teachers and instructors, all other, except substitute teachers | 600 | 1.2 | (5) | 26,610 |
Substitute teachers | 3,140 | 2.9 | 10.86 | 22,600 |
Librarians | 380 | 1.6 | 29.99 | 62,390 |
Library technicians | 110 | 0.7 | 12.94 | 26,920 |
Audio-visual and multimedia collections specialists | 80 | 4.2 | 28.08 | 58,410 |
Instructional coordinators | 540 | 2.0 | 34.20 | 71,150 |
Teacher assistants | 2,870 | 1.3 | (5) | 24,900 |
Education, training, and library workers, all other | 70 | 0.4 | 14.17 | 29,470 |
Footnotes: |
Last Modified Date: Tuesday, July 11, 2017