Workers in the Shreveport-Bossier City, LA Metropolitan Statistical Area had an average (mean) hourly wage of $25.59 in May 2024, compared to the nationwide average of $32.66, 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 ($54.13), computer and mathematical ($43.93), and architecture and engineering ($42.33). Lower paying occupations included food preparation and serving related ($12.57), building and grounds cleaning and maintenance ($14.08), and personal care and service ($14.83). (See table A.)

Occupational groups with the highest employment in the Shreveport area included office and administrative support (13.3 percent), food preparation and serving related (9.7 percent), and sales and related (9.6 percent). Major occupational groups on the lower end of local employment included life, physical, and social science (0.5 percent); legal (0.6 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 14,810 jobs in healthcare practitioners and technical, accounting for 9.3 percent of local area employment, compared to the 6.2-percent share nationally. The average hourly wage for this occupational group locally was $41.62, compared to the national wage of $50.59.

Some of the larger detailed occupations within the healthcare practitioners and technical group included registered nurses (5,650), licensed practical and licensed vocational nurses (1,790), and clinical laboratory technologists and technicians (570). Among the higher paying jobs in this group were nurse anesthetists ($112.23) and general dentists ($85.75). At the lower end of the wage scale were psychiatric technicians ($14.76) and veterinary technologists and technicians ($14.96). (Detailed data for the healthcare practitioners and technical occupations are presented in table 1; for a complete listing of detailed occupations available go to https://data.bls.gov/oes/#/area/0043340.)

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 2.00 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, licensed practical and licensed vocational nurses were employed at 2.73 times the national rate in Shreveport, and respiratory therapists, at 2.35 times the U.S. average. Physical therapists had a location quotient of 1.02 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 530 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 65.7 percent based on establishments and 65.9 percent based on weighted sampled employment. The sample in the Shreveport-Bossier City, LA Metropolitan Statistical Area included 1,854 establishments with a response rate of 44 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, and De Soto 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 2024

Occupation (1)	Employment		Mean wages ($)
	Level (2)	Location quotient (3)	Hourly	Annual (4)
Healthcare practitioners and technical occupations	14,810	1.49	41.62	86,560
Dentists, general	110	0.90	85.75	178,350
Dietitians and nutritionists	50	0.68	35.82	74,510
Pharmacists	500	1.48	62.32	129,620
Physician assistants	140	0.90	62.69	130,400
Occupational therapists	160	1.04	44.14	91,800
Physical therapists	260	1.02	49.21	102,370
Radiation therapists	40	1.96	43.07	89,590
Respiratory therapists	330	2.35	34.78	72,340
Speech-language pathologists	210	1.16	35.53	73,900
Veterinarians	60	0.76	72.00	149,760
Registered nurses	5,650	1.66	44.61	92,790
Nurse anesthetists	110	2.07	112.23	233,440
Nurse practitioners	330	1.03	59.75	124,290
Physicians, all other	320	0.98	137.28	285,530
Dental hygienists	250	1.09	36.14	75,160
Clinical laboratory technologists and technicians	570	1.61	29.55	61,460
Cardiovascular technologists and technicians	120	1.86	25.57	53,180
Diagnostic medical sonographers	80	0.90	35.82	74,510
Radiologic technologists and technicians	330	1.43	31.60	65,720
Emergency medical technicians	250	1.37	16.05	33,380
Paramedics	200	1.91	23.11	48,060
Pharmacy technicians	570	1.12	20.78	43,210
Psychiatric technicians	130	0.91	14.76	30,700
Surgical technologists	230	1.94	24.95	51,890
Veterinary technologists and technicians	160	1.15	14.96	31,110
Ophthalmic medical technicians	130	1.61	19.28	40,110
Licensed practical and licensed vocational nurses	1,790	2.73	27.30	56,770
Medical records specialists	330	1.71	23.68	49,250
Opticians, dispensing	60	0.76	17.65	36,700
Health technologists and technicians, all other	490	2.72	21.74	45,220
Healthcare practitioners and technical workers, all other	160	4.06	25.90	53,870
(1) For a complete listing of all detailed occupations in the Shreveport-Bossier City, LA Metropolitan Statistical Area, see https://data.bls.gov/oes/#/area/0043340. (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.