News Release Information
12-1365-DAL
Thursday, July 5, 2012
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Occupational Employment and Wages in Las Cruces, May 2011
Workers in the Las Cruces Metropolitan Statistical Area had an average (mean) hourly wage of $18.59 in
May 2011, about 14 percent below the nationwide average of $21.74, according to the U.S. Bureau of
Labor Statistics. Regional Commissioner Stanley W. Suchman noted that, after testing for statistical
significance, wages in the local area were significantly lower than their respective national averages in 17
of 22 major groups including legal, sales and related, and construction and extraction. Wages were
measurably higher than their respective national averages in only one group, education, training, and
library.
When compared to the nationwide distribution, local employment was more highly concentrated in 8 of
the 22 occupational groups, including education, training, and library; protective service; and
construction and extraction. Conversely, nine groups had employment shares significantly below their
national representation, including transportation and material moving, production, and sales and related. (See table A and box note at end of release.)
Major occupational group | Percent of total employment | Mean hourly wage | |||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
United States | Las Cruces | United States | Las Cruces | Percent difference(1) |
|||
Total, all occupations |
100.0% | 100.0% | $21.74 | $18.59 | * | -14 | |
Management |
4.8 | 4.2 | * | 51.64 | 37.24 | * | -28 |
Business and financial operations |
4.8 | 3.6 | * | 33.05 | 25.11 | * | -24 |
Computer and mathematical |
2.7 | 1.9 | * | 37.85 | 34.15 | * | -10 |
Architecture and engineering |
1.8 | 3.0 | * | 37.08 | 35.78 | -4 | |
Life, physical, and social science |
0.8 | 1.2 | * | 32.44 | 29.43 | * | -9 |
Community and social service |
1.5 | 2.2 | * | 21.07 | 19.39 | * | -8 |
Legal |
0.8 | 0.6 | * | 47.30 | 28.38 | * | -40 |
Education, training, and library |
6.6 | 9.2 | * | 24.46 | 27.19 | * | 11 |
Arts, design, entertainment, sports, and media |
1.3 | 0.8 | * | 25.89 | 16.95 | * | -35 |
Healthcare practitioners and technical |
5.9 | 5.9 | 34.97 | 34.51 | -1 | ||
Healthcare support |
3.1 | 3.0 | 13.16 | 11.81 | * | -10 | |
Protective service |
2.5 | 4.8 | * | 20.54 | 21.83 | 6 | |
Food preparation and serving related |
8.7 | 9.2 | 10.30 | 9.35 | * | -9 | |
Building and grounds cleaning and maintenance |
3.3 | 3.7 | 12.29 | 10.42 | * | -15 | |
Personal care and service |
2.8 | 4.5 | * | 11.84 | 9.77 | * | -17 |
Sales and related |
10.6 | 9.2 | * | 18.04 | 12.45 | * | -31 |
Office and administrative support |
16.7 | 16.2 | 16.40 | 12.97 | * | -21 | |
Farming, fishing, and forestry |
0.3 | 1.5 | * | 11.68 | 9.57 | * | -18 |
Construction and extraction |
3.9 | 5.2 | * | 21.46 | 15.45 | * | -28 |
Installation, maintenance, and repair |
3.9 | 3.0 | * | 20.86 | 16.95 | * | -19 |
Production |
6.5 | 3.7 | * | 16.45 | 14.95 | -9 | |
Transportation and material moving |
6.7 | 3.3 | * | 15.96 | 12.36 | * | -23 |
Footnotes: |
|||||||
* 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–architecture and engineering–was chosen to illustrate the diversity of data
available for any of the 22 major occupational categories. Las Cruces had 1,980 jobs in architecture and
engineering, accounting for 3.0 percent of local area employment, significantly higher than the
1.8-percent share nationally. The average hourly wage for this occupational group locally was $35.78
compared to the national wage of $37.08.
With employment of 360, aerospace engineers was the largest occupation within the architecture and
engineering group, followed by electronics engineers–excluding computer, (280). Among the higher
paying jobs were electronics engineers–excluding computer and aerospace engineers, with mean hourly
wages of $42.43 and $41.90, respectively. At the lower end of the wage scale were architectural and
civil drafters ($16.48) and surveying and mapping technicians ($17.75).
(Detailed occupational data for architecture and engineering workers are presented in table 1;
for a complete listing of all detailed occupations go to www.bls.gov/oes/current/oes_29740.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 Las Cruces Metropolitan Statistical Area, above average concentrations of
employment were found in many of the occupations within the architecture and engineering group. For
instance, aerospace engineers were employed at 8.7 times the national rate in Las Cruces, and electrical
and electronics engineering technicians, at 2.8 times the U.S. average. On the other hand, electrical
engineers had a location quotient of 0.9 in Las Cruces, 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 New Mexico
Department of Workforce Solutions. The OES survey provides estimates of employment and hourly and
annual wages for wage and salary workers in 22 major occupational groups and nearly 800 detailed
occupations for the nation, states, metropolitan statistical areas, metropolitan divisions, and
nonmetropolitan areas.
OES wage and employment data for the 22 major occupational groups in the Las Cruces Metropolitan
Statistical Area were compared to their respective national averages based on statistical significance
testing. Only those occupations with wages or employment shares above or below the national wage or
share after testing for significance at the 90-percent confidence level meet the criteria.
NOTE: 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. Guam, Puerto Rico, and the Virgin Islands also are surveyed, but their data are not
included in the national estimates. OES estimates are constructed from a sample of about 1.2 million
establishments. Forms are mailed to approximately 200,000 establishments in May and November of each
year for a 3-year period. The nationwide response rate for the May 2011 survey was 77.3 percent based
on establishments and 73.3 percent based on employment. May 2011 estimates are based on responses
from six semiannual panels collected over a 3-year period: May 2011, November 2010, May 2010,
November 2009, May 2009, and November 2008. The sample in the Las Cruces Metropolitan Statistical
Area included 964 establishments with a response rate of 89 percent.
For more information about OES concepts and methodology, go to www.bls.gov/news.release/ocwage.tn.htm.
The May 2011 OES estimates are based in part on data collected using the 2010 Standard Occupational Classification (SOC) system. Nearly all the occupations
in this release are 2010 SOC occupations; however, some are not. The May 2012 OES data will reflect the full set of detailed occupations in the 2010 SOC.
For a list of all occupations, including 2010 SOC occupations, and how data collected on two structures were combined, see the OES Frequently Asked Questions
online at www.bls.gov/oes/oes_ques.htm#Ques41.
Information in this release will be made available to sensory impaired individuals upon request. Voice phone: (202) 691-5200; TDD message referral
phone: 1 (800) 877-8339.
The substate area data published in this release reflect the standards and definitions established by the U.S. Office of Management and Budget. The Las Cruces Metropolitan Statistical Area (MSA) includes Doña Ana County in New Mexico.
Occupation(1) | Employment | Mean wages | ||
---|---|---|---|---|
Level(2) | Location quotient(3) |
Hourly | Annual(4) | |
Architecture and Engineering Occupations |
1,980 | 1.7 | $35.78 | 74,420 |
Architects, except landscape and naval |
30 | 0.8 | 32.42 | 67,430 |
Aerospace engineers |
360 | 8.7 | 41.90 | 87,160 |
Civil engineers |
70 | 0.5 | 35.30 | 73,430 |
Electrical engineers |
70 | 0.8 | 36.24 | 75,380 |
Electronics engineers, except computer |
280 | 3.9 | 42.43 | 88,240 |
Industrial engineers |
70 | 0.6 | (5) | (5) |
Mechanical engineers |
60 | 0.5 | 36.47 | 75,860 |
Engineers, all other |
240 | 3.8 | 41.15 | 85,590 |
Architectural and civil drafters |
40 | 1.0 | 16.48 | 34,280 |
Civil engineering technicians |
60 | 1.6 | 21.61 | 44,960 |
Electrical and electronics engineering technicians |
220 | 2.8 | 30.27 | 62,970 |
Environmental engineering technicians |
(5) | (5) | 27.96 | 58,160 |
Engineering technicians, except drafters, all other |
100 | 3.0 | 29.24 | 60,810 |
Surveying and mapping technicians |
30 | 1.3 | 17.75 | 36,920 |
Footnotes: |
Last Modified Date: July 5, 2012