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News Release Information

16-1394-SAN
Thursday, July 21, 2016

Contacts Technical information: Media contact:
  • (415) 625-2270

Occupational Employment and Wages in Fresno — May 2015

Workers in the Fresno Metropolitan Statistical Area had an average (mean) hourly wage of $21.08 in May 2015, about 9 percent below the nationwide average of $23.23, according to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics. Assistant Commissioner for Regional Operations Richard Holden noted that, after testing for statistical significance, wages in the local area were lower than their respective national averages in 13 of the 22 major occupational groups, including management; legal; and computer and mathematical. Three groups had significantly higher wages than their respective national averages: healthcare practitioners and technical; education, training, and library; and food preparation and serving related.

When compared to the nationwide distribution, local employment was more highly concentrated in 3 of the 22 occupational groups, including education, training, and library and community and social service. Conversely, 11 groups had employment shares significantly below their national representation, including computer and mathematical; business and financial operations; and sales and related. (See table A and box note at end of release.)

Table A. Occupational employment and wages by major occupational group, United States and the Fresno Metropolitan Statistical Area, and measures of statistical significance, May 2015
Major occupational groupPercent of total employmentMean hourly wage
United StatesFresnoUnited StatesFresnoPercent difference (1)

Total, all occupations

100.0%100.0%$23.23$21.08*-9

Management

5.04.5*55.3047.41*-14

Business and Financial Operations

5.13.9*35.4830.80*-13

Computer and Mathematical

2.91.1*41.4335.46*-14

Architecture and Engineering

1.81.0*39.8942.677

Life, Physical, and Social Science

0.80.834.2431.51*-8

Community and Social Services

1.41.9*22.1922.672

Legal

0.80.749.7442.52*-15

Education, Training, and Library

6.27.4*25.4829.30*15

Arts, Design, Entertainment, Sports, and Media

1.31.1*27.3923.77*-13

Healthcare Practitioner and Technical

5.85.637.4042.54*14

Healthcare Support

2.92.614.1914.542

Protective Service

2.42.521.4520.96-2

Food Preparation and Serving Related

9.18.3*10.9811.61*6

Building and Grounds Cleaning and Maintenance

3.22.7*13.0213.191

Personal Care and Service

3.12.4*12.3312.511

Sales and Related

10.59.3*18.9016.84*-11

Office and Administrative Support

15.816.517.4717.01*-3

Farming, Fishing, and Forestry

0.37.8*12.6710.38*-18

Construction and Extraction

4.03.6*22.8821.15*-8

Installation, Maintenance, and Repair

3.93.822.1121.23*-4

Production

6.65.5*17.4114.35*-18

Transportation and Material Moving

6.96.916.9015.36*-9

Footnotes:
(1) A positive percent difference measures how much the mean wage in Fresno is above the national mean wage, while a negative difference reflects a lower wage.
* The percent share of employment or mean hourly wage for this area is significantly different from the national average of all areas at the 90-percent confidence level.
 

One occupational group—education, training, and library—was chosen to illustrate the diversity of data available for any of the 22 major occupational categories. Fresno had 25,150 jobs in education, training, and library, accounting for 7.4 percent of local area employment, significantly higher than the 6.2-percent share nationally. The average hourly wage for this occupational group locally was $29.30, significantly above the national wage of $25.48.

Some of the largest detailed occupations within the education, training, and library group included secondary school teachers, except special and career/technical education (3,850), elementary school teachers, except special education (3,650), and teacher assistants (3,620). Among the higher paying jobs were instructional coordinators and adult basic and secondary education and literacy teachers and instructors, with mean hourly wages of $37.36 and $35.04, respectively. At the lower end of the wage scale were preschool teachers, except special education ($13.05) and self-enrichment education teachers ($15.61). (Detailed occupational data for education, training, and library are presented in table 1; for a complete listing of detailed occupations available go to www.bls.gov/oes/2015/may/oes_23420.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 Fresno Metropolitan Statistical Area, above-average concentrations of employment were found in some of the occupations within the education, training, and library group. For instance, instructional coordinators were employed at 2.0 times the national rate in Fresno, and vocational education teachers, postsecondary, at 1.9 times the U.S. average. On the other hand, middle school teachers, except special and career/technical education had a location quotient of 0.9 in Fresno, 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 California Employment Development Department.

Notes on Occupational Employment Statistics Data

With the issuance of data for May 2015, the OES program has incorporated redefined metropolitan area definitions as designated by the Office of Management and Budget. OES data are available for 394 metropolitan areas, 38 metropolitan divisions, and 167 OES-defined nonmetropolitan areas. A listing of the areas and their definitions can be found at www.bls.gov/oes/current/msa_def.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.


Technical Note

The Occupational Employment Statistics (OES) survey is a semiannual mail survey measuring occupational employment and wage rates for wage and salary workers in nonfarm establishments in the United States. The OES program produces employment and wage estimates for over 800 occupations for all industries combined in the nation; the 50 states and the District of Columbia; 432 metropolitan areas and divisions; 167 nonmetropolitan areas; and Guam, Puerto Rico, and the U.S. Virgin Islands. National estimates are also available by industry for NAICS sectors, 3-, 4-, and selected 5- and 6-digit industries, and by ownership across all industries and for schools and hospitals. OES data are available at www.bls.gov/oes/tables.htm.

OES estimates are constructed from a sample of about 1.2 million establishments. Forms are mailed to approximately 200,000 sampled establishments in May and November each year. May 2015 estimates are based on responses from six semiannual panels collected over a 3-year period: May 2015, November 2014, May 2014, November 2013, May 2013, and November 2012. The overall national response rate for the six panels is 73.5 percent based on establishments and 69.6 percent based on weighted sampled employment. The unweighted employment of sampled establishments across all six semiannual panels represents approximately 57.9 percent of total national employment. (Response rates are slightly lower for these estimates due to the federal shutdown in October 2013.) The sample in the Fresno Metropolitan Statistical Area included 2,675 establishments with a response rate of 69 percent. For more information about OES concepts and methodology, go to www.bls.gov/news.release/ocwage.tn.htm.

The May 2015 OES estimates are based on the 2010 Standard Occupational Classification (SOC) system and the 2012 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 2012 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 Fresno, Calif. Metropolitan Statistical Area  includes Fresno County.

Additional information

OES data are available on our regional web page at www.bls.gov/regions/west. 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/2015/may/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, Fresno Metropolitan Statistical Area, May 2015
Occupation (1)EmploymentMean wages
Level (2)Location quotient (3)HourlyAnnual (4)

Education, Training, and Library Occupations

25,1501.2$29.30$60,940

Business Teachers, Postsecondary

(5)(5)(5)95,930

Mathematical Science Teachers, Postsecondary

1200.9(5)103,040

Biological Science Teachers, Postsecondary

700.6(5)104,850

Chemistry Teachers, Postsecondary

400.8(5)118,440

Political Science Teachers, Postsecondary

300.8(5)97,600

Psychology Teachers, Postsecondary

500.6(5)96,000

Nursing Instructors and Teachers, Postsecondary

800.6(5)83,800

Education Teachers, Postsecondary

(5)(5)(5)84,140

Art, Drama, and Music Teachers, Postsecondary

1700.7(5)94,190

Communications Teachers, Postsecondary

600.8(5)95,140

English Language and Literature Teachers, Postsecondary

2101.1(5)98,780

History Teachers, Postsecondary

400.7(5)97,250

Graduate Teaching Assistants

4201.4(5)27,240

Recreation and Fitness Studies Teachers, Postsecondary

701.7(5)96,550

Vocational Education Teachers, Postsecondary

5601.934.2671,260

Postsecondary Teachers, All Other

1,1802.5(5)66,590

Preschool Teachers, Except Special Education

8000.913.0527,150

Kindergarten Teachers, Except Special Education

4801.2(5)60,710

Elementary School Teachers, Except Special Education

3,6501.1(5)77,310

Middle School Teachers, Except Special and Career/Technical Education

1,4700.9(5)65,910

Secondary School Teachers, Except Special and Career/Technical Education

3,8501.6(5)83,250

Career/Technical Education Teachers, Secondary School

(5)(5)(5)77,960

Special Education Teachers, Preschool

(5)(5)(5)71,060

Special Education Teachers, Kindergarten and Elementary School

6301.3(5)81,430

Special Education Teachers, Middle School

2201.0(5)65,000

Special Education Teachers, Secondary School

3701.2(5)82,980

Special Education Teachers, All Other

1301.4(5)76,990

Adult Basic and Secondary Education and Literacy Teachers and Instructors

2501.535.0472,870

Self-Enrichment Education Teachers

2100.415.6132,460

Teachers and Instructors, All Other, Except Substitute Teachers

1,0501.6(5)43,280

Substitute Teachers

2,6601.716.8335,010

Librarians

1400.429.9362,250

Library Technicians

3001.316.3333,970

Instructional Coordinators

6702.037.3677,700

Teacher Assistants

3,6201.2(5)29,530

Education, Training, and Library Workers, All Other

5502.117.8337,080

Footnotes:
(1) For a complete listing of all detailed occupations in Fresno, CA, see www.bls.gov/oes/current/oes_23420.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.
 

 

Last Modified Date: Thursday, July 21, 2016