News Release Information
12-1454-DAL
Friday, July 20, 2012
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Further information:
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Occupational Employment and Wages in
New Orleans-Metairie-Kenner, May 2011
Workers in the New Orleans-Metairie-Kenner Metropolitan Statistical Area had an average (mean)
hourly wage of $20.24 in May 2011, about 7 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 the 22 major occupational groups, including legal, protective service and
computer and mathematical. Only 4 groups had wages that were measurably higher than their respective
national averages, including production workers and architechture and engineering.
When compared to the nationwide distribution, local employment was more highly concentrated in 8 of
the 22 occupational groups, including food preparation and serving related, construction and extraction,
and installation, maintenance, and repair. Conversely, employment shares were significantly below their
national representation in 10 groups, including production, computer and mathematical, and education,
training, and library. (See table A and box note at end of release.)
Major occupational group | Percent of total employment | Mean hourly wage | |||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
United States | New Orleans- Metairie-Kenner |
United States | New Orleans- Metairie-Kenner |
Percent difference(1) |
|||
Total, all occupations |
100.0% | 100.0% | $21.74 | $20.24 | * | -7 | |
Management |
4.8 | 4.9 | 51.64 | 46.96 | * | -9 | |
Business and financial operations |
4.8 | 3.9 | * | 33.05 | 28.53 | * | -14 |
Computer and mathematical |
2.7 | 1.3 | * | 37.85 | 31.57 | * | -17 |
Architecture and engineering |
1.8 | 2.0 | 37.08 | 40.54 | * | 9 | |
Life, physical, and social science |
0.8 | 0.7 | * | 32.44 | 30.29 | * | -7 |
Community and social service |
1.5 | 1.3 | * | 21.07 | 19.05 | * | -10 |
Legal |
0.8 | 1.2 | * | 47.30 | 39.37 | * | -17 |
Education, training, and library |
6.6 | 5.6 | * | 24.46 | 22.73 | * | -7 |
Arts, design, entertainment, sports, and media |
1.3 | 1.1 | * | 25.89 | 19.26 | * | -26 |
Healthcare practitioners and technical |
5.9 | 6.3 | * | 34.97 | 32.37 | * | -7 |
Healthcare support |
3.1 | 2.9 | 13.16 | 12.15 | * | -8 | |
Protective service |
2.5 | 2.9 | * | 20.54 | 17.72 | * | -14 |
Food preparation and serving related |
8.7 | 10.6 | * | 10.30 | 9.95 | * | -3 |
Building and grounds cleaning and maintenance |
3.3 | 3.1 | 12.29 | 10.75 | * | -13 | |
Personal care and service |
2.8 | 2.4 | * | 11.84 | 11.03 | * | -7 |
Sales and related |
10.6 | 11.5 | * | 18.04 | 16.22 | * | -10 |
Office and administrative support |
16.7 | 15.9 | * | 16.40 | 15.50 | * | -5 |
Farming, fishing, and forestry |
0.3 | 0.1 | * | 11.68 | 16.51 | * | 41 |
Construction and extraction |
3.9 | 5.1 | * | 21.46 | 18.95 | * | -12 |
Installation, maintenance, and repair |
3.9 | 4.8 | * | 20.86 | 20.64 | -1 | |
Production |
6.5 | 5.0 | * | 16.45 | 20.50 | * | 25 |
Transportation and material moving |
6.7 | 7.3 | * | 15.96 | 17.30 | * | 8 |
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–transportation and material moving–was chosen to illustrate the diversity of
data available for any of the 22 major occupational categories. New Orleans-Metairie-Kenner had 37,310
jobs in transportation and material moving, accounting for 7.3 percent of local area employment,
significantly higher than the 6.7-percent share nationally. The average hourly wage for this occupational
group was $17.30, 8 percent above the national average of $15.96.
With employment of 9,750, hand laborers and freight, stock, and material movers was the largest
occupation within the transportation and material moving group, followed by heavy and tractor-trailer
truck drivers (4,390) and light truck or delivery services drivers (4,210). Among the higher paying jobs
were captains, mates, and pilots of water vessels (also the fourth largest occupation within the group)
and ship engineers, with mean hourly wages of $35.09 and $35.02, respectively. At the lower end of the
wage scale were parking lot attendants ($9.43) and cleaners of vehicles and equipment ($9.90). (Detailed
data for transportation and material moving workers are presented in table 1; for a complete listing of all detailed
occupations go to www.bls.gov/oes/current/oes_35380.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 New Orleans-Metairie-Kenner Metropolitan Statistical Area, above average
concentrations of employment were found in many of the occupations within the transportation and
material moving group. For instance, captains, mates, and pilots of water vessels were employed at 22.2
times the national rate in New Orleans, and sailors and marine oilers, at 19.5 times the U.S. average. On
the other hand, commercial pilots had a location quotient of 1.1 in New Orleans, 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 Louisiana Workforce
Commission. 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 New Orleans-Metairie-Kenner
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 New Orleans-Metairie-Kenner
Metropolitan Statistical Area included 3,896 establishments with a response rate of 75 percent. For more
information about OES and methodology, see 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 New Orleans-Metairie-Kenner Metropolitan Statistical Area (MSA) Jefferson, Orleans, Plaquemines, St. Bernard, St. Charles, St. John the Baptist, and St. Tammany Parishes in Louisiana.
Occupation(1) | Employment | Mean wages | ||
---|---|---|---|---|
Level(2) | Location quotient(3) |
Hourly | Annual(4) | |
Transportation and material moving occupations |
37,310 | 1.1 | $17.30 | $35,990 |
First-line supervisors of helpers, laborers, and material movers, hand |
890 | 1.4 | 25.06 | 52,120 |
First-line supervisors of transportation and material-moving machine and vehicle operators |
990 | 1.2 | 26.11 | 54,310 |
Commercial pilots |
130 | 1.1 | (5) | 63,690 |
Ambulance drivers and attendants, except emergency medical technicians |
(5) | (5) | 10.61 | 22,070 |
Bus drivers, transit and intercity |
1,150 | 1.6 | 14.89 | 30,960 |
Bus drivers, school or special client |
1,230 | 0.7 | 12.95 | 26,940 |
Driver/sales workers |
1,000 | 0.7 | 13.40 | 27,870 |
Heavy and tractor-trailer truck drivers |
4,390 | 0.7 | 19.44 | 40,430 |
Light truck or delivery services drivers |
4,210 | 1.4 | 16.87 | 35,100 |
Taxi drivers and chauffeurs |
960 | 1.4 | 12.13 | 25,230 |
Sailors and marine oilers |
2,420 | 19.5 | 17.82 | 37,060 |
Captains, mates, and pilots of water vessels |
2,660 | 22.2 | 35.09 | 72,980 |
Ship engineers |
410 | 10.3 | 35.02 | 72,850 |
Bridge and lock tenders |
110 | 8.1 | 15.46 | 32,160 |
Parking lot attendants |
650 | 1.3 | 9.43 | 19,610 |
Automotive and watercraft service attendants |
150 | 0.4 | 11.88 | 24,700 |
Transportation inspectors |
70 | 0.8 | 33.21 | 69,080 |
Transportation workers, all other |
70 | 0.5 | (5) | (5) |
Conveyor operators and tenders |
70 | 0.5 | 18.66 | 38,800 |
Crane and tower operators |
370 | 2.2 | 21.13 | 43,950 |
Excavating and loading machine and dragline operators |
210 | 1.1 | 18.40 | 38,270 |
Industrial truck and tractor operators |
1,210 | 0.6 | 16.01 | 33,300 |
Cleaners of vehicles and equipment |
810 | 0.7 | 9.90 | 20,590 |
Laborers and freight, stock, and material movers, hand |
9,750 | 1.2 | 12.14 | 25,250 |
Packers and packagers, hand |
820 | 0.3 | 11.49 | 23,900 |
Refuse and recyclable material collectors |
670 | 1.4 | 11.07 | 23,020 |
Tank car, truck, and ship loaders |
370 | 8.6 | 22.31 | 46,400 |
Material moving workers, all other |
320 | 2.8 | 17.18 | 35,740 |
Footnotes: |
Last Modified Date: July 20, 2012