Department of Labor Logo United States Department of Labor
Dot gov

The .gov means it's official.
Federal government websites often end in .gov or .mil. Before sharing sensitive information, make sure you're on a federal government site.

Https

The site is secure.
The https:// ensures that you are connecting to the official website and that any information you provide is encrypted and transmitted securely.

News Release Information

16-1089-PHI
Wednesday, June 01, 2016

Contacts Technical information: Media contact:

Occupational Employment and Wages in Pittsburgh – May 2015

Workers in the Pittsburgh Metropolitan Statistical Area had an average (mean) hourly wage of $22.24 in May 2015, 4 percent below the nationwide average of $23.23, according to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics. Sheila Watkins, the Bureau’s regional commissioner, noted that, after testing for statistical significance, wages in the local area were significantly lower than their respective national averages in 12 of the 22 major occupational groups, including computer and mathematical, protective service, and community and social service. Three other occupational groups had average wages that were measurably higher than their respective national averages: management; production; and construction and extraction.

When compared to the nationwide distribution, Pittsburgh employment shares were significantly higher in 8 of the 22 occupational groups including healthcare practitioners and technical, office and administrative support, and personal care and service. Conversely, nine occupational groups had employment shares significantly below their national representation; these groups included management; production; and transportation and material moving. (See table A and box note at end of release.)

 

Table A. Occupational employment and wages by major occupational group, United States and Pittsburgh metropolitan area, and measures of statistical significance, May 2015
Major occupational groupPercent of total employmentMean hourly wage
United StatesPittsburghUnited StatesPittsburghPercent difference (1)

Total, all occupations

100%100% $23.23$22.24*-4

Management

5.04.0*55.3056.93*3

Business and financial operations

5.15.1 35.4832.42*-9

Computer and mathematical

2.92.9 41.4335.35*-15

Architecture and engineering

1.82.0*39.8937.05*-7

Life, physical, and social science

0.80.9*34.2431.41*-8

Community and social service

1.41.8*22.1919.55*-12

Legal

0.80.8 49.7448.68 -2

Education, training, and library

6.25.7*25.4826.32 3

Arts, design, entertainment, sports, and media

1.31.0*27.3925.47*-7

Healthcare practitioners and technical

5.87.2*37.4033.38*-11

Healthcare support

2.93.2*14.1914.13 0

Protective service

2.42.1*21.4518.50*-14

Food preparation and serving related

9.18.9*10.9810.40*-5

Building and grounds cleaning and maintenance

3.22.9*13.0212.92 -1

Personal care and service

3.13.8*12.3311.52*-7

Sales and related

10.510.5 18.9018.68 -1

Office and administrative support

15.816.8*17.4716.88*-3

Farming, fishing, and forestry

0.30.1*12.6713.21 4

Construction and extraction

4.04.5*22.8823.39*2

Installation, maintenance, and repair

3.94.0 22.1121.22*-4

Production

6.65.6*17.4118.63*7

Transportation and material moving

6.96.4*16.9016.63 -2

Footnotes:
(1) A positive percent difference measures how much the mean wage in Pittsburgh 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—construction and extraction—was chosen to illustrate the diversity of data available for any of the 22 major occupational categories. Pittsburgh had 51,430 jobs in construction and extraction, accounting for 4.5 percent of local area employment, significantly above the 4.0-percent share nationally. The average hourly wage for this occupational group locally was $23.39, which was significantly above the national average of $22.88.

Some of the larger detailed occupations within the construction and extraction group included construction laborers (9,060), carpenters (8,040), and operating engineers and other construction equipment operators (4,660). Among the higher-paying jobs were boilermakers ($34.05) and first-line supervisors of construction trades and extraction workers ($33.88). At the lower end of the wage scale were construction laborers and electrician helpers, with mean hourly wages of $18.30 and $12.77, respectively. (Detailed occupational data for construction and extraction are presented in table 1; for a complete listing of detailed occupations available go to www.bls.gov/oes/current/oes_38300.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 as it does nationally. In the Pittsburgh area, above-average concentrations of employment were found in several of the occupations within the construction and extraction group. For instance, carpet installers were employed at 2.6 times the national rate in Pittsburgh, and oil and gas rotary drill operators were employed at 3.0 times the U.S. average. On the other hand, roofers had a location quotient of 1.0 in Pittsburgh, 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 Pennsylvania Department of Labor and Industry.

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 Pittsburgh Metropolitan Statistical Area included 6,059 establishments with a response rate of 75 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 Pittsburgh, Pa. Metropolitan Statistical Area includes Allegheny, Armstrong, Beaver, Butler, Fayette, Washington, and Westmoreland Counties in Pennsylvania.

Additional information

OES data are available on our regional web page at www.bls.gov/regions/mid-atlantic. 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, Pittsburgh Metropolitan Statistical Area, May 2015
Occupation (1)Employment (2)Mean wage
LevelLocation quotient (3)HourlyAnnual (4)

Construction and extraction occupations

51,4301.1$23.39$48,650

First-line supervisors of construction trades and extraction workers

3,9900.933.8870,470

Boilermakers

3102.334.0570,830

Brickmasons and blockmasons

9201.824.1950,310

Carpenters

8,0401.523.7049,290

Carpet installers

5602.620.0341,660

Floor layers, except carpet, wood, and hard tiles

(5)(5)12.9126,860

Tile and marble setters

3201.121.1543,990

Cement masons and concrete finishers

1,1000.822.1746,120

Construction laborers

9,0601.218.3038,070

Paving, surfacing, and tamping equipment operators

4701.124.4850,910

Pile-driver operators

(5)(5)24.7351,430

Operating engineers and other construction equipment operators

4,6601.622.9647,760

Drywall and ceiling tile installers

4100.623.9149,720

Tapers

700.524.5351,030

Electricians

4,5300.926.4955,090

Glaziers

3000.820.4942,610

Insulation workers, mechanical

2200.931.7165,950

Painters, construction and maintenance

1,3100.819.2640,070

Pipelayers

2500.825.8153,680

Plumbers, pipefitters, and steamfitters

3,4201.128.7159,720

Plasterers and stucco masons

(5)(5)16.3233,940

Reinforcing iron and rebar workers

400.225.5253,080

Roofers

8901.018.0337,500

Sheet metal workers

7000.630.3563,140

Structural iron and steel workers

4800.925.8853,830

Helpers--brickmasons, blockmasons, stonemasons, and tile and marble setters

1200.614.8330,840

Helpers--carpenters

1900.615.3831,990

Helpers--electricians

4700.812.7726,550

Helpers--painters, paperhangers, plasterers, and stucco masons

(5)(5)11.0522,980

Helpers--pipelayers, plumbers, pipefitters, and steamfitters

3400.815.5832,410

Helpers--roofers

(5)(5)12.7526,510

Construction and building inspectors

1,5902.125.0952,190

Elevator installers and repairers

(5)(5)28.0558,340

Hazardous materials removal workers

4901.421.2244,130

Highway maintenance workers

1,7201.519.3240,190

Rail-track laying and maintenance equipment operators

800.716.6834,700

Septic tank servicers and sewer pipe cleaners

2100.920.4042,420

Derrick operators, oil and gas

(5)(5)24.3550,640

Rotary drill operators, oil and gas

6203.026.1854,460

Service unit operators, oil, gas, and mining

6701.422.6347,080

Earth drillers, except oil and gas

2001.219.7741,130

Continuous mining machine operators

(5)(5)21.2244,150

Mine cutting and channeling machine operators

(5)(5)20.1341,870

Roustabouts, oil and gas

7001.221.5944,910

Helpers--extraction workers

4302.316.0833,440

Footnotes:
(1) For a complete listing of all detailed occupations in the Pittsburgh Metropolitan Statistical Area, see www.bls.gov/oes/current/oes_38300.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) Estimates not available.
 

 

Last Modified Date: Wednesday, June 01, 2016