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News Release Information

19-1210-DAL
Wednesday, July 03, 2019

Contacts Technical information: Media contact:
  • (972) 850-4800

Occupational Employment and Wages in El Paso – May 2018

Workers in the El Paso Metropolitan Statistical Area had an average (mean) hourly wage of $18.80 in May 2018, about 25 percent below the nationwide average of $24.98, according to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics. Assistant Commissioner for Regional Operations Stanley W. Suchman noted that, after testing for statistical significance, 18 of the 22 major occupational groups had wages that were significantly lower than their respective national averages, including construction and extraction; personal care and service; and computer and mathematical. No wages in the local area were higher than their respective national averages in the 22 major occupational groups.

When compared to the nationwide distribution, local employment was more highly concentrated in 7 of the 22 occupational groups, including office and administrative support; education, training, and library; and sales and related. Conversely, eight groups had employment shares significantly below their national representation, including management; business and financial operations; and computer and mathematical. (See table A and box notes at end of release.)

Table A. Occupational employment and wages by major occupational group, United States and the El Paso Metropolitan Statistical Area, and measures of statistical significance, May 2018
Major occupational groupPercent of total employmentMean hourly wage
United StatesEl PasoUnited StatesEl PasoPercent difference (1)

Total, all occupations

100.0100.0$24.98$18.80*-25

Management

5.33.2*58.4448.83*-16

Business and financial operations

5.33.5*36.9831.29*-15

Computer and mathematical

3.01.3*44.0132.12*-27

Architecture and engineering

1.80.9*42.0134.73*-17

Life, physical, and social science

0.80.3*36.6233.31-9

Community and social service

1.51.0*23.6923.22-2

Legal

0.8(2)52.2541.80-20

Education, training, and library

6.18.4*27.2224.46*-10

Arts, design, entertainment, sports, and media

1.30.8*28.7422.90*-20

Healthcare practitioners and technical

6.05.939.4233.20*-16

Healthcare support

2.82.715.5713.22*-15

Protective service

2.43.3*23.3622.35-4

Food preparation and serving related

9.210.7*12.309.99*-19

Building and grounds cleaning and maintenance

3.12.714.4311.01*-24

Personal care and service

3.85.0*13.519.62*-29

Sales and related

10.011.6*20.0915.50*-23

Office and administrative support

15.117.8*18.7514.89*-21

Farming, fishing, and forestry

0.3(2)14.4910.92*-25

Construction and extraction

4.13.824.6216.61*-33

Installation, maintenance, and repair

3.94.3*23.5418.63*-21

Production

6.34.8*18.8414.11*-25

Transportation and material moving

7.17.318.4116.00*-13

Footnotes:
(1) A positive percent difference measures how much the mean wage in the El Paso Metropolitan Statistical Area is above the national mean wage, while a negative difference reflects a lower wage.
(2) Estimate not released.
* 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—education, training, and library—was chosen to illustrate the diversity of data available for any of the 22 major occupational categories. El Paso had 25,630 jobs in education, training, and library, accounting for 8.4 percent of local area employment, significantly higher than the 6.1-percent share nationally. The average hourly wage for this occupational group locally was $24.46, significantly below the national wage of $27.22.

Some of the larger detailed occupations within the education, training, and library group included elementary school teachers, except special education (3,470), secondary school teachers, except special and career/technical education (3,370), and substitute teachers (3,290). Among the higher-paying jobs in this group were postsecondary health specialties teachers and postsecondary English language and literature teachers, with mean annual wages of $92,500 and $88,380, respectively. At the lower end of the wage scale were substitute teachers ($23,020) and teachers assistants ($26,530). (Detailed data for the education, training, and library occupations are presented in table 1; for a complete listing of detailed occupations available go to www.bls.gov/oes/current/oes_21340.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 El Paso Metropolitan Statistical Area, above-average concentrations of employment were found in many of the occupations within the education, training, and library group. For instance, graduate teaching assistants were employed at 6.5 times the national rate in El Paso, and substitute teachers, at 2.7 times the U.S. average. El Paso's location quotient for graduate teaching assistants was among the highest in all metropolitan areas for this occupation. On the other hand, preschool teachers, except special education, had a location quotient of 1.0 in El Paso, 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.

Area Changes to the May 2018 Occupational Employment Statistics (OES)

OES continues to publish data for metropolitan and nonmetropolitan areas that cover the full geography of the United States. However, the level of detail available has decreased.

OES no longer publishes data for metropolitan divisions. Data for the 11 large metropolitan areas that contain divisions are now available at the Metropolitan Statistical Area (MSA) or New England City and Town Area (NECTA) level only.

In addition, some smaller nonmetropolitan areas have been combined to form larger nonmetropolitan areas. The May 2018 OES estimates contain data for 134 nonmetropolitan areas, compared with 167 nonmetropolitan areas in the May 2017 estimates.

More information on these area changes is available at www.bls.gov/oes/areas_2018.htm.

Implementing the 2018 Standard Occupational Classification (SOC) System

The OES program plans to begin implementing the 2018 Standard Occupational Classification (SOC) system with the May 2019 estimates, to be released by early April of 2020. Because each set of OES estimates is produced by combining three years of survey data, estimates for May 2019 and May 2020 will be based on a combination of survey data collected under the 2010 SOC and data collected under the 2018 SOC, and will use a hybrid of the two classification systems. The May 2021 OES estimates, to be released by early April of 2022, will be the first set of estimates based fully on the 2018 SOC. For more information, please see www.bls.gov/oes/soc_2018.htm.


Technical Note

The Occupational Employment Statistics (OES) survey is a semiannual 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 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. OES data are available at www.bls.gov/oes/tables.htm.

The OES 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. OES estimates are constructed from a sample of about 1.2 million establishments. Each year, two semiannual panels of approximately 180,000 to 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 2018 estimates are based on responses from six semiannual panels collected over a 3-year period: May 2018, November 2017, May 2017, November 2016, May 2016, and November 2015. The unweighted sample employment of 83 million across all six semiannual panels represents approximately 58 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 71 percent based on establishments and 68 percent based on weighted sampled employment. The sample in the El Paso Metropolitan Statistical Area included 2,389 establishments with a response rate of 55 percent. For more information about OES 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.

The May 2018 OES estimates are based on the 2010 Standard Occupational Classification (SOC) system and the 2017 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 2017 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 El Paso Metropolitan Statistical Area includes El Paso and Hudspeth Counties 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.
Table 1. Employment and wage data from the Occupational Employment Statistics survey, by occupation, El Paso Metropolitan Statistical Area, May 2018
Occupation (1)EmploymentMean wages
Level (2)Location quotient (3)HourlyAnnual (4)

Education, training, and library occupations

25,6301.4$24.46$50,870

Business teachers, postsecondary

900.5(6)68,180

Computer science teachers, postsecondary

(5)(5)(6)58,790

Mathematical science teachers, postsecondary

1801.7(6)82,810

Engineering teachers, postsecondary

(5)(5)(6)70,560

Biological science teachers, postsecondary

1501.3(6)56,950

Chemistry teachers, postsecondary

1102.4(6)62,010

Physics teachers, postsecondary

301.2(6)82,500

Political science teachers, postsecondary

702.1(6)87,020

Psychology teachers, postsecondary

1301.7(6)86,950

Health specialties teachers, postsecondary

4601.1(6)92,500

Nursing instructors and teachers, postsecondary

1501.3(6)62,190

Education teachers, postsecondary

(5)(5)(6)63,820

Criminal justice and law enforcement teachers, postsecondary

501.5(6)63,100

Art, drama, and music teachers, postsecondary

1900.9(6)75,570

English language and literature teachers, postsecondary

2701.9(6)88,380

Foreign language and literature teachers, postsecondary

1001.8(6)65,920

History teachers, postsecondary

1002.3(6)81,920

Philosophy and religion teachers, postsecondary

400.8(6)76,550

Graduate teaching assistants

1,7906.5(6)32,010

Vocational education teachers, postsecondary

2201.029.6561,670

Postsecondary teachers, all other

1200.3(6)65,610

Preschool teachers, except special education

8501.019.0039,530

Kindergarten teachers, except special education

3101.1(6)72,030

Elementary school teachers, except special education

3,4701.2(6)63,950

Middle school teachers, except special and career/technical education

2,1301.7(6)62,140

Secondary school teachers, except special and career/technical education

3,3701.5(6)65,330

Career/technical education teachers, secondary school

2601.6(6)71,880

Special education teachers, kindergarten and elementary school

3300.9(6)59,820

Special education teachers, middle school

1801.0(6)59,340

Special education teachers, secondary school

3101.0(6)61,410

Special education teachers, all other

1001.3(6)51,500

Adult basic and secondary education and literacy teachers and instructors

700.629.6561,680

Self-enrichment education teachers

2800.618.6938,870

Teachers and instructors, all other, except substitute teachers

1,5402.3(6)36,740

Substitute teachers

3,2902.711.0723,020

Librarians

3501.332.4767,530

Library technicians

1300.713.7428,570

Instructional coordinators

5901.734.8572,480

Teacher assistants

2,7001.0(6)26,530

Education, training, and library workers, all other

3301.517.5836,570

Footnotes:
(1) For a complete listing of all detailed occupations in the El Paso, TX Metropolitan Statistical Area, see www.bls.gov/oes/current/oes_21340.htm.
(2) Estimates for detailed occupations do not sum to the totals because the totals include occupations 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) Estimate not released.
(6) 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: Wednesday, July 03, 2019