Workers in the Tulsa Metropolitan Statistical Area had an average (mean) hourly wage of $22.20 in May 2018, about 11 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, wages in the local area were lower than their respective national averages in 19 of the 22 major occupational groups, including education, training, and library; computer and mathematical; and food preparation and serving related. One group had significantly higher wages than its respective national average: production.

When compared to the nationwide distribution, local employment was more highly concentrated in 7 of the 22 occupational groups, including production; installation, maintenance, and repair; and office and administrative support. Conversely, 11 groups had employment shares significantly below their national representation, including personal care and service; education, training, and library; and computer and mathematical. (See table A and box notes at end of release.)

One occupational group—installation, maintenance, and repair—was chosen to illustrate the diversity of data available for any of the 22 major occupational categories. Tulsa had 21,150 jobs in installation, maintenance, and repair, accounting for 4.9 percent of local area employment, significantly higher than the 3.9-percent share nationally. The average hourly wage for this occupational group locally was $22.02, significantly below the national wage of $23.54.

Some of the larger detailed occupations within the installation, maintenance, and repair group included general maintenance and repair workers (4,270), automotive service technicians and mechanics (2,290), and first-line supervisors of mechanics, installers, and repairers (1,910). Among the higher-paying jobs in this group were first-line supervisors of mechanics, installers, and repairers, as well as aircraft mechanics and service technicians, with mean hourly wages of $31.63 and $31.05, respectively. At the lower end of the wage scale were tire repairers and changers ($12.15) and computer, automated teller, and office machine repairers ($15.96). (Detailed data for the installation, maintenance, and repair occupations are presented in table 1; for a complete listing of detailed occupations available go to www.bls.gov/oes/current/oes_46140.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 Tulsa Metropolitan Statistical Area, above-average concentrations of employment were found in many of the occupations within the installation, maintenance, and repair group. For instance, machinery maintenance workers were employed at 4.8 times the national rate in Tulsa, and aircraft mechanics and service technicians, at 3.5 times the U.S. average. These two location quotients in Tulsa were among the highest in all the published metropolitan areas nationwide for these particular occupations. On the other hand, general maintenance and repair workers had a location quotient of 1.0 in Tulsa, 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 Oklahoma Employment Security Commission.

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 Tulsa Metropolitan Statistical Area included 3,369 establishments with a response rate of 79 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 Tulsa Metropolitan Statistical Area includes Creek, Okmulgee, Osage, Pawnee, Rogers, Tulsa, and Wagoner Counties in Oklahoma.

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, Tulsa Metropolitan Statistical Area, May 2018

Occupation (1)	Employment		Mean wages
	Level (2)	Location quotient (3)	Hourly	Annual (4)
Installation, maintenance, and repair occupations	21,150	1.3	$22.02	$45,800
First-line supervisors of mechanics, installers, and repairers	1,910	1.4	31.63	65,780
Computer, automated teller, and office machine repairers	440	1.4	15.96	33,200
Radio, cellular, and tower equipment installers and repairers	50	1.2	20.73	43,130
Telecommunications equipment installers and repairers, except line installers	640	0.9	25.52	53,080
Avionics technicians	280	5.0	32.01	66,580
Electric motor, power tool, and related repairers	160	3.4	19.12	39,760
Electrical and electronics repairers, commercial and industrial equipment	300	1.7	30.60	63,650
Security and fire alarm systems installers	480	2.3	21.25	44,200
Aircraft mechanics and service technicians	1,380	3.5	31.05	64,580
Automotive body and related repairers	510	1.2	18.16	37,780
Automotive service technicians and mechanics	2,290	1.2	18.04	37,520
Bus and truck mechanics and diesel engine specialists	660	0.8	20.96	43,590
Mobile heavy equipment mechanics, except engines	540	1.3	24.19	50,310
Outdoor power equipment and other small engine mechanics	100	1.0	19.89	41,360
Recreational vehicle service technicians	120	2.7	18.16	37,780
Tire repairers and changers	220	0.7	12.15	25,270
Mechanical door repairers	(5)	(5)	15.05	31,310
Control and valve installers and repairers, except mechanical door	260	1.7	28.53	59,340
Heating, air conditioning, and refrigeration mechanics and installers	1,270	1.3	19.62	40,810
Home appliance repairers	180	1.9	17.02	35,400
Industrial machinery mechanics	1,040	1.0	24.89	51,780
Maintenance workers, machinery	1,150	4.8	22.75	47,320
Millwrights	(5)	(5)	30.19	62,800
Electrical power-line installers and repairers	560	1.6	24.53	51,030
Telecommunications line installers and repairers	440	1.2	21.83	45,410
Medical equipment repairers	150	1.1	23.56	49,000
Maintenance and repair workers, general	4,270	1.0	17.65	36,710
Coin, vending, and amusement machine servicers and repairers	360	3.6	18.45	38,370
Locksmiths and safe repairers	(5)	(5)	19.64	40,860
Riggers	90	1.4	19.94	41,470
Helpers - installation, maintenance, and repair workers	390	1.3	16.67	34,670
Installation, maintenance, and repair workers, all other	270	0.6	19.73	41,040
Footnotes: (1) For a complete listing of all detailed occupations in the Tulsa, OK Metropolitan Statistical Area, see www.bls.gov/oes/current/oes_46140.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.