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22-1052-KAN
Thursday, July 21, 2022
Workers in the Wichita, KS Metropolitan Statistical Area had an average (mean) hourly wage of $23.32 in May 2021, 17 percent below the nationwide average of $28.01, the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics reported today. Regional Commissioner Michael Hirniak noted that, after testing for statistical significance, wages in the local area were lower than their respective national averages in 20 of the 22 major occupational groups, including legal; arts, design, entertainment, sports, and media; and educational instruction and library. Production was the only major occupational group with wages in the local area higher than its respective national average.
When compared to the nationwide distribution, Wichita area employment was more highly concentrated in 7 of the 22 occupational groups, including production; food preparation and serving related; and installation, maintenance, and repair. Eleven groups had employment shares significantly below their national representation, including management, transportation and material moving, and business and financial operations. (See table A.)
Major occupational group | Percent of total employment | Mean hourly wage | |||
---|---|---|---|---|---|
United States | Wichita | United States | Wichita | Percent difference (1) | |
Total, all occupations |
100.0 | 100.0 | $28.01 | $23.32* | -17 |
Management |
6.3 | 4.7* | 59.31 | 48.61* | -18 |
Business and financial operations |
6.4 | 5.2* | 39.72 | 33.30* | -16 |
Computer and mathematical |
3.3 | 2.1* | 48.01 | 37.93* | -21 |
Architecture and engineering |
1.7 | 2.5* | 44.10 | 40.52* | -8 |
Life, physical, and social science |
0.9 | 0.5* | 38.81 | 32.46* | -16 |
Community and social service |
1.6 | 1.5 | 25.94 | 21.93* | -15 |
Legal |
0.8 | 0.5* | 54.38 | 36.14* | -34 |
Educational instruction and library |
5.8 | 6.4* | 29.88 | 22.89* | -23 |
Arts, design, entertainment, sports, and media |
1.3 | 1.0* | 31.78 | 22.14* | -30 |
Healthcare practitioners and technical |
6.2 | 6.3 | 43.80 | 37.61* | -14 |
Healthcare support |
4.7 | 4.7 | 16.02 | 13.63* | -15 |
Protective service |
2.4 | 1.9* | 25.68 | 22.28* | -13 |
Food preparation and serving related |
8.0 | 8.8* | 14.16 | 11.71* | -17 |
Building and grounds cleaning and maintenance |
2.9 | 2.7* | 16.23 | 14.30* | -12 |
Personal care and service |
1.8 | 2.3* | 16.17 | 13.54* | -16 |
Sales and related |
9.4 | 8.8* | 22.15 | 19.01* | -14 |
Office and administrative support |
13.0 | 13.1 | 20.88 | 18.43* | -12 |
Farming, fishing, and forestry |
0.3 | 0.1* | 16.70 | 15.06 | -10 |
Construction and extraction |
4.2 | 4.7* | 26.87 | 23.24* | -14 |
Installation, maintenance, and repair |
4.0 | 4.8* | 25.66 | 24.80* | -3 |
Production |
6.0 | 9.3* | 20.71 | 22.44* | 8 |
Transportation and material moving |
9.0 | 7.7* | 19.88 | 18.26* | -8 |
(1) A positive percent difference measures how much the mean wage in the Wichita, KS Metropolitan Statistical Area is above the national mean wage, while a negative difference reflects a lower wage. |
One occupational group—production—was chosen to illustrate the diversity of data available for any of the 22 major occupational categories. Wichita had 26,490 jobs in production, accounting for 9.3 percent of local area employment, significantly higher than the 6.0-percent share nationally. The average hourly wage for this occupational group locally was $22.44, significantly above the national wage of $20.71.
Some of the larger detailed occupations within the production group included aircraft structure, surfaces, rigging, and systems assemblers (4,740); inspectors, testers, sorters, samplers, and weighers (2,260); and first-line supervisors of production and operating workers (1,920). Among the higher-paying jobs in this group were petroleum pump system operators, refinery operators, and gaugers; and computer numerically controlled tool programmers, with mean hourly wages of $43.34 and $37.65, respectively. At the lower end of the wage scale were bakers ($12.18) and laundry and dry-cleaning workers ($12.25). (Detailed data for the production occupations are presented in table 1; for a complete listing of detailed occupations available go to www.bls.gov/oes/current/oes_48620.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 Wichita area, above-average concentrations of employment were found in many of the occupations within the production group. For instance, aircraft structure, surfaces, rigging, and systems assemblers were employed at 70.6 times the national rate in Wichita, and computer numerically controlled tool programmers, at 6.2 times the U.S. average. Metal and plastic cutting, punching, and press setters, operators, and tenders had a location quotient of 1.1 in Wichita, indicating that this particular occupation’s local and national employment shares were similar.
These statistics are from the Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics (OEWS) survey, a federal-state cooperative program between BLS and State Workforce Agencies, in this case, the Kansas Department of Labor.
With the May 2021 estimates release, the Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics (OEWS) program has implemented a new model-based (MB3) estimation method. For more information, see the May 2021 Survey Methods and Reliability Statement at www.bls.gov/oes/methods_21.pdf and the Monthly Labor Review article at www.bls.gov/opub/mlr/2019/article/model-based-estimates-for-the-occupational-employment-statistics-program.htm. OEWS estimates for the years 2015-19 were recalculated using the new estimation method and are available as research estimates at www.bls.gov/oes/oes-mb3-methods.htm.
The May 2021 OEWS estimates are also the first estimates based entirely on survey data collected using the 2018 Standard Occupational Classification (SOC) system. To improve data quality, the OEWS program aggregates some occupations to the SOC broad occupation level or as OEWS-specific combinations of 2018 SOC detailed occupations.
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 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. OEWS data are available at www.bls.gov/oes/tables.htm.
The OEWS 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. OEWS estimates are constructed from a sample of about 1.1 million establishments. Each year, two semiannual panels of approximately 179,000 to 187,000 sampled establishments are contacted, one panel in May and the other in November. Responses are obtained by Internet or other electronic means, mail, email, telephone, or personal visit. The May 2021 estimates are based on responses from six semiannual panels collected over a 3-year period: May 2021, November 2020, May 2020, November 2019, May 2019, and November 2018. The unweighted sampled employment of 82 million across all six semiannual panels represents approximately 62 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 67.2 percent based on establishments and 64.5 percent based on weighted sampled employment. The sample in the Wichita, KS Metropolitan Statistical Area included 2,375 establishments with a response rate of 74 percent. For more information about OEWS 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.
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 Wichita, KS Metropolitan Statistical Area includes Butler County, Harvey County, Kingman County, Sedgwick County, and Sumner County.
For more information
Answers to frequently asked questions about the OEWS data are available at www.bls.gov/oes/oes_ques.htm. Detailed information about the OEWS program is available at www.bls.gov/oes/oes_doc.htm.
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.
Occupation (1) | Employment | Mean wages | ||
---|---|---|---|---|
Level (2) | Location quotient (3) | Hourly | Annual (4) | |
Production occupations |
26,490 | 1.6 | $22.44 | $46,670 |
First-line supervisors of production and operating workers |
1,920 | 1.5 | 31.19 | 64,880 |
Aircraft structure, surfaces, rigging, and systems assemblers |
4,740 | 70.6 | 25.66 | 53,370 |
Coil winders, tapers, and finishers |
(5) | (5) | 15.28 | 31,780 |
Electrical, electronic, and electromechanical assemblers, except coil winders, tapers, and finishers |
750 | 1.4 | 16.89 | 35,130 |
Structural metal fabricators and fitters |
180 | 1.4 | 22.21 | 46,200 |
Miscellaneous assemblers and fabricators |
2,600 | 1.0 | 17.53 | 36,450 |
Bakers |
230 | 0.6 | 12.18 | 25,330 |
Butchers and meat cutters |
180 | 0.6 | 16.51 | 34,350 |
Meat, poultry, and fish cutters and trimmers |
80 | 0.3 | 17.02 | 35,410 |
Food batchmakers |
130 | 0.4 | 13.42 | 27,910 |
Food processing workers, all other |
40 | 0.4 | 20.90 | 43,470 |
Extruding and drawing machine setters, operators, and tenders, metal and plastic |
80 | 0.6 | 18.07 | 37,590 |
Forging machine setters, operators, and tenders, metal and plastic |
50 | 2.3 | (5) | (5) |
Cutting, punching, and press machine setters, operators, and tenders, metal and plastic |
390 | 1.1 | 18.17 | 37,800 |
Grinding, lapping, polishing, and buffing machine tool setters, operators, and tenders, metal and plastic |
340 | 2.5 | 18.34 | 38,140 |
Lathe and turning machine tool setters, operators, and tenders, metal and plastic |
30 | 0.8 | 22.42 | 46,630 |
Machinists |
1,400 | 2.1 | 20.99 | 43,650 |
Foundry mold and coremakers |
60 | 2.1 | 20.23 | 42,080 |
Molding, coremaking, and casting machine setters, operators, and tenders, metal and plastic |
370 | 1.1 | 19.44 | 40,440 |
Multiple machine tool setters, operators, and tenders, metal and plastic |
140 | 0.5 | 18.08 | 37,600 |
Tool and die makers |
400 | 3.1 | 29.59 | 61,550 |
Welders, cutters, solderers, and brazers |
1,220 | 1.5 | 22.92 | 47,660 |
Welding, soldering, and brazing machine setters, operators, and tenders |
50 | 0.9 | 26.93 | 56,010 |
Heat treating equipment setters, operators, and tenders, metal and plastic |
70 | 2.3 | 24.63 | 51,240 |
Plating machine setters, operators, and tenders, metal and plastic |
190 | 2.9 | 16.78 | 34,900 |
Tool grinders, filers, and sharpeners |
40 | 3.5 | 26.33 | 54,770 |
Metal workers and plastic workers, all other |
30 | 0.8 | 22.60 | 47,010 |
Prepress technicians and workers |
70 | 1.3 | 16.11 | 33,520 |
Printing press operators |
360 | 1.2 | 16.20 | 33,700 |
Print binding and finishing workers |
120 | 1.5 | 13.32 | 27,700 |
Laundry and dry-cleaning workers |
490 | 1.5 | 12.25 | 25,470 |
Pressers, textile, garment, and related materials |
70 | 1.4 | 11.23 | 23,360 |
Sewing machine operators |
280 | 1.2 | 14.31 | 29,760 |
Textile cutting machine setters, operators, and tenders |
40 | 1.6 | 14.15 | 29,430 |
Upholsterers |
190 | 3.5 | 23.48 | 48,840 |
Cabinetmakers and bench carpenters |
480 | 2.6 | 19.88 | 41,360 |
Furniture finishers |
140 | 4.2 | 15.61 | 32,460 |
Woodworking machine setters, operators, and tenders, except sawing |
120 | 0.9 | 16.04 | 33,360 |
Power plant operators |
50 | 0.9 | 27.78 | 57,780 |
Water and wastewater treatment plant and system operators |
190 | 0.8 | 19.95 | 41,490 |
Petroleum pump system operators, refinery operators, and gaugers |
280 | 4.1 | 43.34 | 90,150 |
Separating, filtering, clarifying, precipitating, and still machine setters, operators, and tenders |
80 | 0.8 | 19.30 | 40,140 |
Crushing, grinding, and polishing machine setters, operators, and tenders |
50 | 0.8 | 19.25 | 40,030 |
Mixing and blending machine setters, operators, and tenders |
490 | 2.3 | 18.76 | 39,020 |
Cutting and slicing machine setters, operators, and tenders |
160 | 1.5 | 16.45 | 34,220 |
Extruding, forming, pressing, and compacting machine setters, operators, and tenders |
80 | 0.7 | 17.94 | 37,320 |
Inspectors, testers, sorters, samplers, and weighers |
2,260 | 2.0 | 26.26 | 54,620 |
Dental laboratory technicians |
80 | 1.1 | 20.82 | 43,310 |
Packaging and filling machine operators and tenders |
480 | 0.7 | 15.87 | 33,010 |
Coating, painting, and spraying machine setters, operators, and tenders |
790 | 2.7 | 22.27 | 46,320 |
Computer numerically controlled tool operators |
970 | 3.0 | 23.37 | 48,610 |
Computer numerically controlled tool programmers |
320 | 6.2 | 37.65 | 78,310 |
Molders, shapers, and casters, except metal and plastic |
110 | 1.4 | 15.78 | 32,830 |
Paper goods machine setters, operators, and tenders |
60 | 0.4 | 16.40 | 34,110 |
Helpers--production workers |
490 | 1.2 | 16.50 | 34,320 |
Production workers, all other |
90 | 0.2 | 16.55 | 34,420 |
(1) For a complete listing of all detailed occupations in the Wichita, KS Metropolitan Statistical Area, see www.bls.gov/oes/current/oes_48620.htm. |
Last Modified Date: Thursday, July 21, 2022