Workers in the Tallahassee Metropolitan Statistical Area had an average (mean) hourly wage of $19.93 in May 2011, about 8 percent below the nationwide average of $21.74, according to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics. Regional Commissioner Janet S. Rankin noted that, after testing for statistical significance, wages in the local area were significantly lower than their respective national averages in 19 of the 22 major occupational groups, including business and financial operations, construction and extraction, and transportation and material moving. Education, training, and library was the only occupational group to have significantly higher wages than its respective national average.

When compared to the nationwide distribution, local employment was more highly concentrated in 9 of the 22 occupational groups, including business and financial operations, computer and mathematical, and protective service. Conversely, nine groups had employment shares significantly below their national representation, including production, transportation and material moving, and management. (See table A and box note at end of release.)

One occupational group—business and financial operations—was chosen to illustrate the diversity of data available for any of the 22 major occupational categories. Tallahassee had 16,430 jobs in business and financial operations, accounting for 10.4 percent of local area employment, significantly higher than the 4.8-percent share nationally. The average hourly wage for this occupational group locally was $24.78, measurably below the national wage of $33.05.

With employment of 4,750, management analysts was the largest occupation within the business and financial operations group, followed by accountants and auditors at 2,750. Among the higher paying jobs were loan officers and management analysts, with mean hourly wages of $33.06 and $27.29, respectively. At the lower end of the wage scale were compensation, benefits, and job analysis specialists ($19.50) and compliance officers ($18.08). (Detailed occupational data for business and financial operations are presented in table 1; for a complete listing of detailed occupations available go to www.bls.gov/oes/2011/may/oes_45220.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 Tallahassee Metropolitan Statistical Area, above average concentrations of employment were found in many of the occupations within the business and financial operations group. For instance, management analysts were employed at 7.1 times the national rate in Tallahassee, and compliance officers, at 5.6 times the U.S. average. On the other hand, purchasing agents, except wholesale, retail, and farm products had a location quotient of 0.8 in Tallahassee, 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 Florida Department of Economic Opportunity. The OES survey provides estimates of employment and hourly and annual wages for wage and salary workers in 22 major occupational groups and nearly 800 detailed occupations for the nation, states, metropolitan statistical areas, metropolitan divisions, and nonmetropolitan areas.

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. Guam, Puerto Rico, and the Virgin Islands also are surveyed, but their data are not included in this release. OES estimates are constructed from a sample of about 1.2 million establishments. Forms are mailed to approximately 200,000 establishments in May and November of each year for a 3-year period. The nationwide response rate for the May 2011 survey was 77.3 percent based on establishments and 73.3 percent based on employment. May 2011 estimates are based on responses from six semiannual panels collected over a 3-year period: May 2011, November 2010, May 2010, November 2009, May 2009, and November 2008. The sample in the Tallahassee Metropolitan Statistical Area included 1,701 establishments with a response rate of 81 percent. For more information about OES concepts and methodology, go to www.bls.gov/news.release/ocwage.tn.htm.

The May 2011 OES estimates mark the first set of estimates based in part on data collected using the 2010 Standard Occupational Classification (SOC) system. Nearly all the occupations in this release are 2010 SOC occupations; however, some are not. The May 2012 OES data will reflect the full set of detailed occupations in the 2010 SOC. For a list of all occupations, including 2010 SOC occupations, and how data collected on two structures were combined, see the OES Frequently Asked Questions online at www.bls.gov/oes/oes_ques.htm#Ques41.

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 Tallahassee, Fla. Metropolitan Statistical Area includes Gadsden, Jefferson, Leon, and Wakulla Counties.

Additional information

OES data are available on our regional web page at www.bls.gov/ro4/home.htm. If you have additional questions, contact the Southeast Economic Analysis and Information Unit at (404) 893-4222. Information in this release will be made available to sensory impaired individuals upon request. Voice phone: 202-691-5200; TDD message referral phone number: 1-800-877-8339.

Table 1. Employment and wage data from the Occupational Employment Statistics survey, by occupation, Tallahassee Metropolitan Statistical Area, May 2011

Occupation (1)	Employment		Mean wages
	Level (2)	Location quotient (3)	Hourly	Annual (4)
Business and Financial Operations Occupations	16,430	2.2	$24.78	$51,530
Purchasing Agents, Except Wholesale, Retail, and Farm Products	290	0.8	22.41	46,610
Claims Adjusters, Examiners, and Investigators	520	1.6	22.23	46,240
Compliance Officers	1,440	5.6	18.08	37,610
Cost Estimators	200	0.9	26.91	55,970
Human Resources, Training, and Labor Relations Specialists, All Other	890	1.7	22.43	46,650
Management Analysts	4,750	7.1	27.29	56,770
Meeting, Convention, and Event Planners	140	1.8	18.78	39,060
Compensation, Benefits, and Job Analysis Specialists	180	1.5	19.50	40,550
Training and Development Specialists	370	1.5	22.72	47,260
Market Research Analysts and Marketing Specialists	200	0.5	22.37	46,530
Business Operations Specialists, All Other	2,100	1.8	28.73	59,750
Accountants and Auditors	2,750	2.1	24.94	51,880
Appraisers and Assessors of Real Estate	40	0.5	22.59	46,990
Budget Analysts	210	3.0	25.25	52,530
Financial Analysts	170	0.6	23.88	49,680
Personal Financial Advisors	170	0.8	19.69	40,950
Insurance Underwriters	140	1.2	30.55	63,550
Credit Counselors	60	1.7	18.74	38,980
Loan Officers	390	1.1	33.06	68,770
Financial Specialists, All Other	320	1.7	22.62	47,040
Footnotes: (1) For a complete listing of all detailed occupations in Tallahassee, FL, see www.bls.gov/oes/current/oes_45220.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.

Last Modified Date: June 19, 2012