Occupational Employment and Wages in Ames — May 2021

Workers in the Ames, IA Metropolitan Statistical Area had an average (mean) hourly wage of $25.54 in May 2021, 9 percent below the nationwide average of $28.01, the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics reported today. Regional Commissioner Jason Palmer noted that, after testing for statistical significance, wages in the local area were lower than their respective national averages in 18 of the 22 major occupational groups, including legal, management, and computer and mathematical. Two groups had significantly higher wages than their respective national averages: protective service and healthcare support.

When compared to the nationwide distribution, Ames area employment was more highly concentrated in 9 of the 22 occupational groups, including educational instruction and library; life, physical, and social science; and production. Seven groups had employment shares significantly below their national representation, including transportation and material moving, office and administrative support, and protective service. (See table A.)

One occupational group-life, physical, and social science-was chosen to illustrate the diversity of data available for any of the 22 major occupational categories. Ames had 1,410 jobs in life, physical, and social science, accounting for 3.2 percent of local area employment, significantly higher than the 0.9-percent share nationally. The average hourly wage for this occupational group locally was $31.24, significantly below the national wage of $38.81.

Some of the larger detailed occupations within the life, physical, and social science group included biological technicians (190), soil and plant scientists (180), and agricultural technicians (180). Among the higher-paying jobs in this group were chemists and biochemists and biophysicists, with mean hourly wages of $40.13 and $36.40, respectively. At the lower end of the wage scale were agricultural technicians ($22.51) and biological technicians ($25.00). (Detailed data for the life, physical, and social science occupations are presented in table 1; for a complete listing of detailed occupations available go to www.bls.gov/oes/current/oes_11180.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 Ames area, above-average concentrations of employment were found in all of the occupations within the life, physical, and social science group. For instance, agricultural technicians were employed at 42.5 times the national rate in Ames, and soil and plant scientists, at 36.3 times the U.S. average.

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 Iowa Workforce Development.

Technical Note

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 Ames, IA Metropolitan Statistical Area included 825 establishments with a response rate of 68 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 Ames, IA Metropolitan Statistical Area includes Story 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	Employment		Mean wages
	Level	Location quotient	Hourly	Annual
Life, physical, and social science occupations	1,410	3.5	$31.24	$64,980
Animal scientists	40	49.6	35.17	73,150
Soil and plant scientists	180	36.3	29.60	61,570
Biochemists and biophysicists	40	3.8	36.40	75,710
Biological scientists, all other	70	4.4	38.38	79,830
Chemists	40	1.5	40.13	83,460
Environmental scientists and specialists, including health	50	2.0	31.25	65,000
Agricultural technicians	180	42.5	22.51	46,830
Biological technicians	190	7.9	25.00	52,000
Chemical technicians	30	1.8	25.47	52,980
Life, physical, and social science technicians, all other	80	4.1	26.93	56,000
Occupational health and safety specialists	60	1.7	35.18	73,180

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