Workers in the Fargo Metropolitan Statistical Area had an average (mean) hourly wage of $19.42 in May 2012, about 12 percent below the nationwide average of $22.01, the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics reported today. Regional Commissioner Charlene Peiffer noted that, after testing for statistical significance, wages in the local area were significantly higher than their respective national averages in 2 of the 22 major occupational groups. Twelve groups had significantly lower wages than their respective national averages, including computer and mathematical; architecture and engineering; and arts, design, entertainment, sports, and media.

When compared to the nationwide distribution, local employment was more highly concentrated in 4 of the 22 occupational groups, including construction and extraction; sales and related; and personal care and service. Conversely, six groups had employment shares significantly below their national representation, including protective service; education, training, and library; and management. (See table A and box note at end of release.)

One occupational group—construction and extraction—was chosen to illustrate the diversity of data available for any of the 22 major occupational categories. Fargo had 6,500 jobs in construction and extraction, accounting for 5.2 percent of local area employment, significantly higher than the 3.8-percent share nationally. The average hourly wage for this occupational group locally was $19.02, measurably below the national wage of $21.61.

With employment of 1,050, construction laborers was the largest occupation within the construction and extraction group, followed by carpenters (720) and first-line supervisors of construction trades and extraction workers (600). Among the higher paying jobs were first-line supervisors of construction trades and extraction workers and also brickmasons and blockmasons, with mean hourly wages of $27.59 and $27.32, respectively. At the lower end of the wage scale were helpers--electricians ($12.37) and construction laborers ($13.58). (Detailed occupational data for construction and extraction are presented in table 1; for a complete listing of detailed occupations available go to www.bls.gov/oes/current/oes_22020.htm)

Location quotients allow for the exploration of an area’s occupational make-up 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 Fargo Metropolitan Statistical Area, above average concentrations of employment were found in many of the occupations within the construction and extraction group. For instance, cement masons and concrete finishers were employed at 4.5 times the national rate in Fargo, and sheet metal workers, at 2.2 times the U.S. average. On the other hand, painters, construction and maintenance had a location quotient of 0.9 in Fargo, 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, Job Service North Dakota and the Minnesota Department of Employment and Economic Development.

With the release of the May 2012 estimates, OES data are based on the 2010 Standard Occupational Classification (SOC) system for the first time. The OES survey provides estimates of employment and hourly and annual wages for wage and salary workers in 22 major occupational groups and more than 800 detailed occupations for the nation, states, metropolitan statistical areas, metropolitan divisions, and nonmetropolitan areas. In addition, employment and wage estimates for 94 minor groups and 458 broad occupations are available in the national data for the first time. Information about the 2010 SOC is available on the BLS website at www.bls.gov/soc.

The May 2012 OES estimates are the first to be produced using the 2012 North American Industry Classification System (NAICS). Information about the 2012 NAICS is available on the BLS website at www.bls.gov/bls/naics.htm.

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 are also surveyed, but their data are not included in the national estimates. 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 for a 3-year period. May 2012 estimates are based on responses from six semiannual panels collected in May 2012, November 2011, May 2011, November 2010, May 2010, and November 2009. The overall national response rate for the six panels is 76.6 percent based on establishments and 72.9 percent based on employment. The sample in the Fargo Metropolitan Statistical Area included 1,968 establishments with a response rate of 78 percent. For more information about OES concepts and methodology, go to www.bls.gov/news.release/ocwage.tn.htm.

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 Fargo, N.D.-Minn. Metropolitan Statistical Area&nbsp includes Cass County of North Dakota and Clay County of Minnesota.

Additional information

OES data are available on our regional web page at www.bls.gov/ro5/home.htm. 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/2012/may/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: 1-800-877-8339.

Table 1. Employment and wage data from the Occupational Employment Statistics survey, by occupation, Fargo Metropolitan Statistical Area, May 2012

Occupation (1)	Employment		Mean wages
	Level (2)	Location quotient (3)	Hourly	Annual(4)
Construction and Extraction Occupations	6,500	1.4	$19.02	$39,570
First-Line Supervisors of Construction Trades and Extraction Workers	600	1.4	27.59	57,380
Brickmasons and Blockmasons	50	1.0	27.32	56,830
Carpenters	720	1.3	18.38	38,240
Carpet Installers	40	1.7	17.83	37,090
Floor Layers, Except Carpet, Wood, and Hard Tiles	(5)	(5)	15.12	31,450
Cement Masons and Concrete Finishers	580	4.5	18.48	38,440
Construction Laborers	1,050	1.3	13.58	28,240
Paving, Surfacing, and Tamping Equipment Operators	130	2.4	18.95	39,420
Operating Engineers and Other Construction Equipment Operators	510	1.6	20.31	42,230
Drywall and Ceiling Tile Installers	(5)	(5)	18.86	39,240
Electricians	560	1.1	21.99	45,730
Insulation Workers, Floor, Ceiling, and Wall	110	4.9	17.26	35,900
Painters, Construction and Maintenance	170	0.9	16.22	33,730
Pipelayers	80	1.9	19.12	39,760
Plumbers, Pipefitters, and Steamfitters	380	1.2	22.35	46,480
Roofers	100	1.0	14.72	30,620
Sheet Metal Workers	280	2.2	16.72	34,770
Structural Iron and Steel Workers	120	2.2	16.36	34,020
Helpers--Brickmasons, Blockmasons, Stonemasons, and Tile and Marble Setters	60	2.5	15.33	31,880
Helpers--Carpenters	(5)	(5)	14.08	29,290
Helpers--Electricians	70	1.3	12.37	25,720
Helpers, Construction Trades, All Other	60	2.9	11.82	24,590
Construction and Building Inspectors	30	0.4	21.91	45,570
Highway Maintenance Workers	180	1.3	20.03	41,660
Construction and Related Workers, All Other	(5)	(5)	17.19	35,760
Footnotes: (1) For a complete listing of all detailed occupations in Fargo, ND-MN, see www.bls.gov/oes/current/oes_22020.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.