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News Release Information

16-1328-DAL
Tuesday, July 05, 2016

Contacts Technical information: Media contact:
  • (972) 850-4800

Occupational Employment and Wages in Little Rock-North Little Rock-Conway, May 2015

Workers in the Little Rock-North Little Rock-Conway Metropolitan Statistical Area had an average (mean) hourly wage of $20.45 in May 2015, about 12 percent below the nationwide average of $23.23, 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 lower than their respective national averages in 20 of the 22 major groups, including legal; management; and computer and mathematical. Two groups had wages that were not measurably different from the national averages.

When compared to the nationwide distribution, local employment was more highly concentrated in 4 of the 22 occupational groups, including healthcare practitioners and technical; management; and computer and mathematical. Conversely, seven groups had employment shares significantly below their national representation, including production; food preparation and serving related; and architecture and engineering. (See table A and box note at end of release.)

Table A. Occupational employment and wages by major occupational group, United States and the Little Rock-North Little Rock-Conway Metropolitan Statistical Area, and measures of statistical significance, May 2015
Major occupational groupPercent of total employmentMean hourly wage
United StatesLittle Rock-
North Little Rock-
Conway
United StatesLittle Rock-
North Little Rock-
Conway
Percent
difference(1)

Total, all occupations

100.0%100.0% $23.23$20.45*-12

Management

5.05.9*55.3041.35*-25

Business and financial operations

5.15.0 35.4828.01*-21

Computer and mathematical

2.93.4*41.4331.62*-24

Architecture and engineering

1.81.3*39.8932.42*-19

Life, physical, and social science

0.80.7*34.2425.96*-24

Community and social service

1.41.2*22.1919.88*-10

Legal

0.81.0*49.7436.93*-26

Education, training, and library

6.25.2 25.4824.79 -3

Arts, design, entertainment, sports, and media

1.30.9*27.3920.35*-26

Healthcare practitioners and technical

5.88.1*37.4034.29*-8

Healthcare support

2.93.0 14.1913.06*-8

Protective service

2.42.3 21.4517.43*-19

Food preparation and serving related

9.18.6*10.989.68*-12

Building and grounds cleaning and maintenance

3.23.4 13.0210.93*-16

Personal care and service

3.13.3 12.3310.37*-16

Sales and related

10.510.9 18.9017.19*-9

Office and administrative support

15.816.3 17.4715.69*-10

Farming, fishing, and forestry

0.3(2) 12.6714.08 11

Construction and extraction

4.03.8 22.8817.90*-22

Installation, maintenance, and repair

3.94.1 22.1119.12*-14

Production

6.65.1*17.4116.55*-5

Transportation and material moving

6.96.4*16.9015.30*-9

(1) A positive percent difference measures how much the mean wage in Little Rock-North Little Rock-Conway is above the national mean wage, while a negative difference reflects a lower wage.
(2) Estimate not released.  

Note: * 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–healthcare practitioners and technical–was chosen to illustrate the diversity of data available for any of the 22 major occupational categories. Little Rock had 27,350 jobs in healthcare practitioners and technical, accounting for 8.1 percent of local area employment, significantly higher than the 5.8-percent national share. However, the local average hourly wage for this occupational group, $34.29 per hour, was about 8 percent below the national average of $37.40.

Some of the larger detailed occupations within the healthcare practitioners and technical group included registered nurses (8,900), licensed practical and licensed vocational nurses (3,220), and pharmacists (1,340). Among the higher paying jobs were general internists, as well as family and general practitioners, with mean hourly wages of $122.47 and $112.53, respectively. At the lower end of the wage scale were psychiatric technicians ($13.98) and emergency medical technicians and paramedics ($14.18). (Detailed occupational data for the healthcare practitioners and technical group are presented in table 1; for a complete listing of detailed occupations go to www.bls.gov/oes/current/oes_30780.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 Little Rock metropolitan area, above average concentrations of employment were found in many of the occupations within the healthcare practitioners and technical group. For instance, local pharmacists, as well as licensed practical and licensed vocational nurses, were employed at 1.9 times the national rate. The Little Rock location quotient for pharmacists was among the highest in all metropolitan areas for this particular occupation. On the other hand, surgical technologists had a location quotient of 1.0 in Little Rock, indicating that this 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 Arkansas Department of Workforce Services.

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 Little Rock-North Little Rock-Conway Metropolitan Statistical Area included 2,833 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 Little Rock-North Little Rock-Conway Metropolitan Statistical Area (MSA) includes Faulkner, Grant, Lonoke, Perry, Pulaski, and Saline Counties in Arkansas.

Additional information

OES data are available on our regional web page at www.bls.gov/regions/southwest. 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, Little Rock-North Little Rock-Conway Metropolitan Statistical Area, May 2015
Occupation(1)EmploymentMean wages
Level(2)Location
quotient(3)
HourlyAnnual(4)

Healthcare practitioners and technical occupations

27,3501.4$34.29$71,330

Chiropractors

1101.4(5)(5)

Dentists, general

1500.688.09183,230

Dietitians and nutritionists

2701.824.6851,340

Optometrists

600.759.49123,730

Pharmacists

1,3401.951.32106,750

Anesthesiologists

(5)(5)(6)(6)

Family and general practitioners

4601.5112.53234,060

Internists, general

1301.1122.47254,730

Obstetricians and gynecologists

(5)(5)(6)(6)

Psychiatrists

(5)(5)29.0760,460

Surgeons

2302.3110.86230,590

Physicians and surgeons, all other

1,6002.071.57148,870

Physician assistants

1800.835.6274,090

Occupational therapists

4101.539.3581,850

Physical therapists

7801.537.5878,170

Radiation therapists

902.338.1979,440

Recreational therapists

601.526.4555,010

Respiratory therapists

5201.824.8351,640

Speech-language pathologists

5801.835.9974,870

Veterinarians

1601.040.8384,930

Registered nurses

8,9001.329.7661,900

Nurse anesthetists

3103.270.06145,720

Nurse practitioners

5301.648.57101,020

Medical and clinical laboratory technologists

5001.325.7653,580

Medical and clinical laboratory technicians

6601.716.9235,190

Dental hygienists

4300.931.8566,240

Cardiovascular technologists and technicians

1401.129.3861,120

Diagnostic medical sonographers

1300.926.9656,070

Nuclear medicine technologists

501.032.5467,680

Radiologic technologists

6301.325.0452,080

Magnetic resonance imaging technologists

1201.525.9453,960

Emergency medical technicians and paramedics

4400.814.1829,490

Dietetic technicians

801.210.8922,640

Pharmacy technicians

1,1501.215.5632,370

Psychiatric technicians

4503.213.9829,080

Respiratory therapy technicians

903.719.2139,950

Surgical technologists

2401.020.4442,520

Veterinary technologists and technicians

400.214.7830,740

Ophthalmic medical technicians

(5)(5)17.5036,400

Licensed practical and licensed vocational nurses

3,2201.918.3438,150

Medical records and health information technicians

7201.618.2437,930

Opticians, dispensing

1300.718.5238,510

Health technologists and technicians, all other

2801.125.1852,380

Occupational health and safety specialists

2101.228.8860,080

Occupational health and safety technicians

(5)(5)30.6463,740

Athletic trainers

801.4(7)32,350

Healthcare practitioners and technical workers, all other

1301.318.8839,260

(1) For a complete listing of all detailed occupations in the Little Rock-North Little Rock-Conway MSA, see www.bls.gov/oes/current/oes_30780.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 released.
(6) Indicates a wage equal to or greater than $90.00 per hour or $187,200 per year.
(7) Wages for some occupations that do not generally work year-round, full time, are reported either as hourly wages or annual salaries depending on how they are typically paid.

 

Last Modified Date: Tuesday, July 05, 2016