Workers in the Shreveport-Bossier City, LA Metropolitan Statistical Area had an average (mean) hourly wage of $24.61 in May 2023, compared to the nationwide average of $31.48, the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics reported today. Assistant Commissioner for Regional Operations Michael Hirniak noted that higher paying major occupational groups included management ($53.24), computer and mathematical ($44.07), and legal ($41.57). Lower paying occupations included food preparation and serving related ($12.66), building and grounds cleaning and maintenance ($13.29), and healthcare support ($14.55). (See table A.)

Occupational groups with the highest employment in the Shreveport area included office and administrative support (13.9 percent), sales and related (9.6 percent), and food preparation and serving related (9.5 percent). Major occupational groups on the lower end of local employment included life, physical, and social science (0.5 percent); legal (0.5 percent); and arts, design, entertainment, sports, and media (0.7 percent).

One occupational group—healthcare practitioners and technical—was chosen to illustrate the diversity of data available for any of the 22 major occupational categories. Shreveport had 15,190 jobs in healthcare practitioners and technical, accounting for 8.9 percent of local area employment, compared to the 6.1-percent share nationally. The average hourly wage for this occupational group locally was $41.19, compared to the national wage of $49.07.

Some of the larger detailed occupations within the healthcare practitioners and technical group included registered nurses (5,670), licensed practical and licensed vocational nurses (1,900), and pharmacy technicians (630). Among the higher-paying jobs in this group were nurse anesthetists and pharmacists, with mean hourly wages of $101.75 and $65.03, respectively. At the lower end of the wage scale were psychiatric technicians ($13.62) and veterinary technologists and technicians ($14.94). (Detailed data for the healthcare practitioners and technical occupations are presented in table 1; for a complete listing of detailed occupations available go to www.bls.gov/oes/current/oes_43340.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 Shreveport area, above-average concentrations of employment were found in many of the occupations within the healthcare practitioners and technical group. For instance, nurse anesthetists were employed at 2.7 times the national rate in Shreveport, and respiratory therapists, at 2.3 times the U.S. average. Occupational therapist had a location quotient of 1.0 in Shreveport, 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.

Technical Note

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 Shreveport-Bossier City, LA Metropolitan Statistical Area included 1,942 establishments with a response rate of 49 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 Shreveport-Bossier City, LA Metropolitan Statistical Area includes Bossier Parish, Caddo Parish, De Soto Parish, and Webster 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.

Table 1. Employment and wage data for healthcare practitioners and technical occupations, Shreveport metropolitan area, May 2023

Occupation (1)	Employment		Mean wages ($)
	Level (2)	Location quotient (3)	Hourly	Annual (4)
Healthcare practitioners and technical occupations	15,190	1.5	41.19	85,680
Dietitians and nutritionists	50	0.6	31.99	66,550
Pharmacists	500	1.3	65.03	135,260
Physician assistants	120	0.7	62.43	129,860
Occupational therapists	160	1.0	45.11	93,820
Physical therapists	300	1.1	49.22	102,390
Radiation therapists	40	1.9	42.10	87,570
Respiratory therapists	340	2.3	32.72	68,070
Speech-language pathologists	270	1.4	35.50	73,840
Veterinarians	60	0.7	55.62	115,680
Registered nurses	5,670	1.6	42.24	87,870
Nurse anesthetists	140	2.7	101.75	211,640
Nurse practitioners	360	1.1	58.00	120,640
Anesthesiologists	90	2.4	168.79	351,070
Physicians, all other	380	1.1	145.76	303,180
Dental hygienists	230	1.0	35.66	74,180
Clinical laboratory technologists and technicians	450	1.2	30.91	64,290
Cardiovascular technologists and technicians	120	1.9	28.15	58,550
Diagnostic medical sonographers	90	0.9	33.36	69,390
Nuclear medicine technologists	30	1.8	39.66	82,490
Radiologic technologists and technicians	380	1.6	30.34	63,100
Magnetic resonance imaging technologists	(5)	(5)	28.61	59,520
Emergency medical technicians	200	1.1	15.47	32,190
Paramedics	190	1.7	23.88	49,680
Pharmacy technicians	630	1.2	19.67	40,900
Psychiatric technicians	120	0.9	13.62	28,330
Surgical technologists	210	1.7	23.67	49,230
Veterinary technologists and technicians	140	1.0	14.94	31,080
Licensed practical and licensed vocational nurses	1,900	2.7	25.49	53,030
Medical records specialists	290	1.4	23.91	49,730
Opticians, dispensing	80	0.9	17.32	36,020
Orthotists and prosthetists	40	3.8	36.60	76,120
Health technologists and technicians, all other	640	3.4	20.47	42,580
Healthcare practitioners and technical workers, all other	260	6.3	29.24	60,820
(1) For a complete listing of all detailed occupations in the Shreveport-Bossier City, LA Metropolitan Statistical Area, see www.bls.gov/oes/current/oes_43340.htm. (2) Estimates for detailed occupations may not sum to the totals due to rounding, and because the totals may include occupations that are 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.