Workers in the Augusta-Richmond County Metropolitan Statistical Area had an average (mean) hourly wage of $20.35 in May 2015, about 12 percent below the nationwide average of $23.23, according to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics. Regional Commissioner Janet S. Rankin noted that, after testing for statistical significance, 18 groups had significantly lower wages than their respective national averages, including computer and mathematical; sales and related; and management.

When compared to the nationwide distribution, local employment was more highly concentrated in 6 of the 22 occupational groups, including healthcare practitioners and technical; production; and education, training, and library. Conversely, nine groups had employment shares significantly below their national representation, including business and financial operations; computer and mathematical; and management. (See table A and box note at end of release.)

One occupational group—healthcare practitioners and technical—was chosen to illustrate the diversity of data available for any of the 22 major occupational categories. Augusta-Richmond County had 17,850 jobs in healthcare practitioners and technical, accounting for 8.4 percent of local area employment, significantly higher than the 5.8-percent share nationally. The average hourly wage for this occupational group locally was $34.61, significantly below the national wage of $37.40.

Some of the larger detailed occupations within the healthcare practitioners and technical group included registered nurses (6,400), licensed practical and licensed vocational nurses (1,850), and pharmacy technicians (820). Among the higher paying jobs were obstetricians and gynecologists, and family and general practitioners, with mean hourly wages of $116.39 and $109.43, respectively. At the lower end of the wage scale were veterinary technologists and technicians ($13.55) and pharmacy technicians ($14.10). (Detailed occupational data for healthcare practitioners and technical are presented in table 1; for a complete listing of detailed occupations available go to www.bls.gov/oes/current/oes_12260.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 Augusta-Richmond County Metropolitan Statistical Area, above-average concentrations of employment were found in many of the occupations within the healthcare practitioners and technical group. For instance, surgical technologists were employed at 1.9 times the national rate in Augusta, and medical and clinical laboratory technicians, at 1.8 times the U.S. average. On the other hand, dental hygienists had a location quotient of 1.0 in Augusta, 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 Georgia Department of Labor.

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 Augusta-Richmond County Metropolitan Statistical Area included 2,511 establishments with a response rate of 79 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 Augusta-Richmond County, Ga.-S.C. Metropolitan Statistical Area  includes Burke, Columbia, Lincoln, McDuffie, and Richmond Counties of Georgia and Aiken and Edgefield Counties of South Carolina.

Additional information

OES data are available on our regional web page at www.bls.gov/regions/southeast. 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, Augusta-Richmond County Metropolitan Statistical Area, May 2015

Occupation (1)	Employment		Mean wages
	Level (2)	Location quotient (3)	Hourly	Annual (4)
Healthcare Practitioners and Technical Occupations	17,850	1.4	$34.61	$71,990
Chiropractors	50	0.9	28.96	60,230
Dentists, General	(5)	(5)	93.70	194,900
Dentists, All Other Specialists	(5)	(5)	49.24	102,430
Dietitians and Nutritionists	230	2.5	16.68	34,690
Optometrists	90	1.7	57.66	119,940
Pharmacists	570	1.3	55.25	114,920
Anesthesiologists	(5)	(5)	(6)	(6)
Family and General Practitioners	270	1.4	109.43	227,620
Internists, General	40	0.5	95.06	197,720
Obstetricians and Gynecologists	(5)	(5)	116.39	242,090
Pediatricians, General	30	0.8	71.18	148,060
Surgeons	100	1.5	(6)	(6)
Physicians and Surgeons, All Other	1,010	2.0	68.80	143,100
Physician Assistants	200	1.3	35.12	73,050
Occupational Therapists	160	0.9	34.85	72,490
Physical Therapists	360	1.1	38.99	81,100
Radiation Therapists	60	2.3	35.60	74,060
Recreational Therapists	70	2.7	19.11	39,740
Respiratory Therapists	320	1.7	26.05	54,190
Speech-Language Pathologists	140	0.7	32.28	67,130
Veterinarians	170	1.7	39.87	82,930
Registered Nurses	6,400	1.5	31.79	66,120
Nurse Anesthetists	50	0.8	92.78	192,990
Nurse Practitioners	260	1.3	44.00	91,510
Medical and Clinical Laboratory Technologists	410	1.6	26.94	56,040
Medical and Clinical Laboratory Technicians	450	1.8	17.86	37,140
Dental Hygienists	300	1.0	28.45	59,170
Cardiovascular Technologists and Technicians	130	1.6	24.55	51,070
Diagnostic Medical Sonographers	90	1.0	30.85	64,170
Nuclear Medicine Technologists	30	1.1	28.14	58,520
Radiologic Technologists	430	1.4	25.03	52,060
Magnetic Resonance Imaging Technologists	50	0.9	27.69	57,590
Emergency Medical Technicians and Paramedics	500	1.4	15.67	32,590
Pharmacy Technicians	820	1.4	14.10	29,320
Surgical Technologists	290	1.9	19.05	39,620
Veterinary Technologists and Technicians	200	1.4	13.55	28,190
Ophthalmic Medical Technicians	120	1.9	17.51	36,430
Licensed Practical and Licensed Vocational Nurses	1,850	1.7	19.02	39,560
Medical Records and Health Information Technicians	300	1.0	19.24	40,030
Opticians, Dispensing	140	1.3	14.78	30,750
Health Technologists and Technicians, All Other	240	1.5	19.23	39,990
Occupational Health and Safety Specialists	120	1.1	32.93	68,490
Healthcare Practitioners and Technical Workers, All Other	70	1.1	24.09	50,100
Footnotes: (1) For a complete listing of all detailed occupations in Augusta-Richmond County, GA-SC, see www.bls.gov/oes/current/oes_12260.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. (6) This wage is equal to or greater than $90.00 per hour or $187,200 per year.