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24-2038-DAL
Friday, September 27, 2024
Workers in the New Orleans-Metairie, LA Metropolitan Statistical Area had an average (mean) hourly wage of $27.34 in May 2023, compared to the nationwide average of $31.48, the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics reported today. Assistant Commissioner Regional Operations Michael Hirniak noted that higher paying major occupational groups included management ($57.82), legal ($52.45), and computer and mathematical ($50.34). Lower paying occupations included food preparation and serving related ($13.98), building and grounds cleaning and maintenance ($15.03), and personal care and service ($15.30). (See table A.)
Occupational groups with the highest employment in the New Orleans area included office and administrative support (12.5 percent), food preparation and serving related (11.7 percent), and transportation and material moving (9.4 percent). Major occupational groups on the lower end of local employment included life, physical, and social science (0.8 percent); community and social service (1.4 percent); and legal (1.5 percent).
Major occupational group | Percent of total employment | Mean hourly wage ($) | |||
---|---|---|---|---|---|
United States | New Orleans | United States | New Orleans | ||
Total, all occupations |
100.0 | 100.0 | 31.48 | 27.34 | |
Management |
6.9 | 6.4 | 66.23 | 57.82 | |
Business and financial operations |
6.6 | 4.9 | 43.55 | 37.22 | |
Computer and mathematical |
3.4 | 1.5 | 54.39 | 50.34 | |
Architecture and engineering |
1.7 | 1.7 | 47.64 | 49.17 | |
Life, physical, and social science |
0.9 | 0.8 | 42.24 | 39.13 | |
Community and social service |
1.6 | 1.4 | 28.36 | 24.40 | |
Legal |
0.8 | 1.5 | 64.34 | 52.45 | |
Educational instruction and library |
5.8 | 5.6 | 31.92 | 29.58 | |
Arts, design, entertainment, sports, and media |
1.4 | 1.5 | 36.31 | 42.92 | |
Healthcare practitioners and technical |
6.1 | 6.1 | 49.07 | 42.56 | |
Healthcare support |
4.7 | 3.7 | 18.37 | 15.57 | |
Protective service |
2.3 | 3.1 | 27.74 | 21.54 | |
Food preparation and serving related |
8.7 | 11.7 | 16.58 | 13.98 | |
Building and grounds cleaning and maintenance |
2.9 | 3.1 | 18.43 | 15.03 | |
Personal care and service |
2.0 | 2.6 | 18.48 | 15.30 | |
Sales and related |
8.8 | 9.4 | 25.62 | 20.45 | |
Office and administrative support |
12.2 | 12.5 | 23.05 | 20.39 | |
Farming, fishing, and forestry |
0.3 | 0.1 | 19.22 | 21.94 | |
Construction and extraction |
4.1 | 4.3 | 29.57 | 25.81 | |
Installation, maintenance, and repair |
3.9 | 4.6 | 28.13 | 27.23 | |
Production |
5.8 | 4.1 | 22.90 | 27.91 | |
Transportation and material moving |
9.1 | 9.4 | 22.45 | 22.59 |
One occupational group—food preparation and serving related—was chosen to illustrate the diversity of data available for any of the 22 major occupational categories. New Orleans had 59,980 jobs in food preparation and serving related, accounting for 11.7 percent of local area employment, compared to the 8.7-percent share nationally. The average hourly wage for this occupational group locally was $13.98, compared to the national wage of $16.58.
Some of the larger detailed occupations within the food preparation and serving related group included fast food and counter workers (11,710), waiters and waitresses (11,660), and food preparation workers (8,270). Among the higher-paying jobs in this group were chefs and head cooks and first-line supervisors of food preparation and serving workers, with mean hourly wages of $23.18 and $19.64, respectively. At the lower end of the wage scale were fast food cooks ($10.78) and food preparation workers ($11.87). (Detailed data for the food preparation and serving related occupations are presented in table 1; for a complete listing of detailed occupations available go to www.bls.gov/oes/current/oes_35380.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 New Orleans area, above-average concentrations of employment were found in many of the occupations within the food preparation and serving related group. For instance, food preparation workers were employed at 2.8 times the national rate in New Orleans, and bartenders, at 1.7 times the U.S. average. Fast food and counter workers had a location quotient of 0.9 in New Orleans, 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 Louisiana Workforce Commission.
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 New Orleans-Metairie, LA Metropolitan Statistical Area included 3,809 establishments with a response rate of 58 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 New Orleans-Metairie, LA Metropolitan Statistical Area includes Jefferson Parish, Orleans Parish, Plaquemines Parish, St. Bernard Parish, St. Charles Parish, St. James Parish, St. John the Baptist Parish, and St. Tammany Parish.
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.
Occupation (1) | Employment | Mean wages ($) | ||
---|---|---|---|---|
Level (2) | Location quotient (3) | Hourly | Annual (4) | |
Food preparation and serving related occupations |
59,980 | 1.3 | 13.98 | 29,080 |
Chefs and head cooks |
960 | 1.7 | 23.18 | 48,210 |
First-line supervisors of food preparation and serving workers |
5,740 | 1.4 | 19.64 | 40,850 |
Cooks, fast food |
1,180 | 0.5 | 10.78 | 22,430 |
Cooks, institution and cafeteria |
860 | 0.6 | 15.25 | 31,710 |
Cooks, restaurant |
5,470 | 1.1 | 14.63 | 30,430 |
Cooks, short order |
1,210 | 2.8 | 13.32 | 27,710 |
Cooks, all other |
350 | 5.5 | 16.85 | 35,060 |
Food preparation workers |
8,270 | 2.8 | 11.87 | 24,680 |
Bartenders |
4,150 | 1.7 | 12.47 | 25,940 |
Fast food and counter workers |
11,710 | 0.9 | 12.95 | 26,940 |
Waiters and waitresses |
11,660 | 1.5 | 14.22 | 29,580 |
Food servers, nonrestaurant |
1,300 | 1.4 | 12.49 | 25,990 |
Dining room and cafeteria attendants and bartender helpers |
1,440 | 0.9 | 12.88 | 26,790 |
Dishwashers |
2,170 | 1.4 | 12.23 | 25,440 |
Hosts and hostesses, restaurant, lounge, and coffee shop |
2,010 | 1.4 | 12.47 | 25,940 |
Food preparation and serving related workers, all other |
1,490 | 5.1 | 14.51 | 30,180 |
(1) For a complete listing of all detailed occupations in the New Orleans-Metairie, LA Metropolitan Statistical Area, see www.bls.gov/oes/current/oes_35380.htm. |
Last Modified Date: Friday, September 27, 2024