Workers in the McAllen-Edinburg-Mission, TX Metropolitan Statistical Area had an average (mean) hourly wage of $18.04 in May 2019, about 30 percent below the nationwide average of $25.72, the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics reported today. Acting Regional Commissioner Susan Mendez noted that, after testing for statistical significance, 19 of the 22 major occupational groups had average wages in the local area that were significantly lower than their respective national averages, including legal, computer and mathematical, and construction and extraction. No local group had wages that were significantly above their respective national average.

When compared to the nationwide distribution, McAllen area employment was more highly concentrated in 5 of the 22 occupational groups including healthcare support, educational instruction and library, and sales and related. Fourteen groups had employment shares significantly below their national representation, including business and financial operations, production, and computer and mathematical. (See table A and box note at end of release.)

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 1.1 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 2019 estimates are based on responses from six semiannual panels collected over a 3-year period: May 2019, November 2018, May 2018, November 2017, May 2017, and November 2016. The unweighted sampled employment of 83 million across all six semiannual panels represents approximately 57 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 McAllen-Edingurg-Mission, TX Metropolitan Statistical Area included 1,959 establishments with a response rate of 52 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 2019 OES estimates are the first set of OES estimates to be based in part on survey data collected using the 2018 SOC. These estimates use a hybrid of the 2010 and 2018 SOC systems. More information on the hybrid classification system is available at www.bls.gov/oes/soc_2018.htm.

The May 2019 OES estimates are based on the 2017 North American Industry Classification System (NAICS). More 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 McAllen-Edinburg-Mission, TX Metropolitan Statistical Area includes Hidalgo County in Texas.

For more information

Answers to frequently asked questions about the OES data are available at www.bls.gov/oes/oes_ques.htm. Detailed information about the OES program is available at www.bls.gov/oes/oes_doc.htm.

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 for educational instruction and library occupations, McAllen-Edinburg-Mission, TX Metropolitan Statistical Area, May 2019

Occupation(1)	Employment		Mean wages
	Level(2)	Location quotient(3)	Hourly	Annual(4)
Educational instruction and library occupations	27,120	1.7	$22.47	$46,740
Business teachers, postsecondary	90	0.6	(5)	72,940
Health specialties teachers, postsecondary	220	0.6	(5)	77,010
Career/technical education teachers, postsecondary	250	1.3	22.31	46,390
Preschool teachers, except special education	720	0.9	18.65	38,790
Kindergarten teachers, except special education	370	1.6	(5)	53,400
Elementary school teachers, except special education	5,460	2.1	(5)	55,800
Middle school teachers, except special and career/technical education	3,100	2.8	(5)	55,220
Career/technical education teachers, middle school	30	1.5	(5)	55,760
Secondary school teachers, except special and career/technical education	4,030	2.2	(5)	57,670
Career/technical education teachers, secondary school	610	4.6	(5)	59,500
Special education teachers, kindergarten and elementary school	770	2.2	(5)	56,970
Special education teachers, middle school	570	3.7	(5)	55,480
Special education teachers, secondary school	470	1.8	(5)	58,270
Special education teachers, all other	70	1.2	(5)	59,530
Adult basic education, adult secondary education, and english as a second language instructors	160	1.7	23.37	48,600
Self-enrichment teachers	150	0.3	16.78	34,890
Substitute teachers, short-term	3,080	2.9	10.88	22,630
Tutors and teachers and instructors, all other	1,050	1.8	(5)	22,250
Librarians and media collections specialists	400	1.6	29.96	62,320
Library technicians	100	0.6	13.16	27,380
Instructional coordinators	650	2.0	33.55	69,780
Teaching assistants, except postsecondary	3,280	1.4	(5)	24,080
Footnotes: (1) For a complete listing of all detailed occupations in the McAllen-Edinburg-Mission, TX Metropolitan Statistical Area, see www.bls.gov/oes/current/oes_32580.htm. (2) Estimates for detailed occupations may not sum to the totals due to rounding, and because the totals may include occupations that 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) 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.