Occupational Employment and Wages in Rochester — May 2021

Workers in the Rochester, MN Metropolitan Statistical Area had an average (mean) hourly wage of $32.96 in May 2021, 18 percent above 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 higher than their respective national averages in 10 of the 22 major occupational groups, including healthcare practitioners and technical, community and social service, and healthcare support. Eight groups had significantly lower wages than their respective national averages, including legal, management, and computer and mathematical.

When compared to the nationwide distribution, Rochester area employment was more highly concentrated in 3 of the 22 occupational groups: healthcare practitioners and technical, healthcare support, and community and social service. Nineteen groups had employment shares significantly below their national representation, including transportation and material moving, business and financial operations, and computer and mathematical. (See table A.)

One occupational group-healthcare practitioners and technical-was chosen to illustrate the diversity of data available for any of the 22 major occupational categories. Rochester had 26,890 jobs in healthcare practitioners and technical, accounting for 23.2 percent of local area employment, significantly higher than the 6.2-percent share nationally. The average hourly wage for this occupational group locally was $61.65, significantly above the national wage of $43.80.

Some of the larger detailed occupations within the healthcare practitioners and technical group included registered nurses (9,190), nurse anesthetists (1,080), and licensed practical and licensed vocational nurses (1,070). Among the higher-paying jobs in this group were psychiatrists and nurse anesthetists, with mean hourly wages of $134.36 and $105.30, respectively. At the lower end of the wage scale were emergency medical technicians ($18.44) and veterinary technologists and technicians ($18.55). (Detailed data for the healthcare practitioners and technical occupations are presented in table 1; for a complete listing of detailed occupations available go to www.bls.gov/oes/current/oes_40340.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 Rochester area, above-average concentrations of employment were found in many of the occupations within the healthcare practitioners and technical group. For instance, nurse anesthetists were employed at 30.0 times the national rate in Rochester, and physician assistants, at 6.9 times the U.S. average. Dentists, general had a location quotient of 0.9 in Rochester, 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 Minnesota Department of Employment & Economic 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 Rochester, MN Metropolitan Statistical Area included 1,186 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 Rochester, MN Metropolitan Statistical Area includes Dodge, Fillmore, Olmsted, and Wabasha Counties.

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
Healthcare practitioners and technical occupations	26,890	3.7	$61.65	$128,230
Chiropractors	50	1.6	36.32	75,550
Dentists, general	80	0.9	86.86	180,660
Dietitians and nutritionists	210	3.8	34.76	72,300
Optometrists			67.05	139,470
Pharmacists	730	2.9	65.47	136,170
Physician assistants	750	6.9	59.29	123,320
Occupational therapists	280	2.7	39.82	82,820
Physical therapists	340	1.8	42.17	87,720
Respiratory therapists	170	1.6	35.84	74,560
Speech-language pathologists	200	1.7	36.37	75,650
Veterinarians	50	0.8	50.60	105,240
Registered nurses	9,190	3.7	41.57	86,470
Nurse anesthetists	1,080	30.0	105.30	219,030
Nurse practitioners	940	4.9	61.29	127,490
Audiologists	60	5.1	40.51	84,270
Psychiatrists	140	6.8	134.36	279,460
Physicians, all other	1,380	6.5	134.34	279,420
Dental hygienists	220	1.3	37.40	77,790
Clinical laboratory technologists and technicians	790	3.0	28.14	58,540
Radiologic technologists and technicians	760	4.3	34.10	70,920
Emergency medical technicians	510	3.8	18.44	38,350
Pharmacy technicians	770	2.2	19.98	41,550
Surgical technologists	490	5.5	29.87	62,120
Veterinary technologists and technicians	110	1.1	18.55	38,590
Licensed practical and licensed vocational nurses	1,070	2.0	25.24	52,500
Medical records specialists	310	2.1	24.88	51,760
Opticians, dispensing			21.32	44,340
Health technologists and technicians, all other	230	2.0	28.37	59,000
Health information technologists and medical registrars	150	4.8	37.14	77,250

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