Occupational Composition
Description:
In conjunction with a per employee economic measure, the occupational composition combined with the industrial composition provides information on the quality of jobs in a region.
The occupational composition as displayed on Arizona Indicators is expressed as the share of total wage and salary employment contributed by each of 22 occupational groups. The occupational composition is displayed for Arizona and for the nation for the latest year. The median wage by occupational group also is presented. A diverse occupational composition with disproportionate shares in groups with a high median wage is the ideal.
Occupational employment and wage data are collected annually via a survey of employers; only wage and salary employees are included. The survey is conducted semiannually on a three-year cycle, with one-third of the survey data collected each year. The latest data from May 2010 include information collected during early 2010, each period of 2009 and 2008, and late 2007.
Data Source:
U.S. Department of Labor, Bureau of Labor Statistics, Occupational Employment Survey: http://www.bls.gov/oes/. About half-way down the page under “Current Tables” select “National Cross-Industry” for the national data and “State Cross-Industry” for Arizona data. The data are released one year after the survey date. Produced in cooperation with the Arizona Department of Administration’s Office of Employment and Population Statistics, the occupational data also are available at http://www.workforce.az.gov/occupational-employment-statistics.aspx.
Data Quality Comments:
The data are subject to sampling error. Because of the sample design, comparisons over time should use three-year intervals.
Occupational Group Share of Total Employment in Arizona, 2010
Visualization Notes:
Note: Occupational groups are listed in order of the median wage in the United States
In 19 of the 22 occupational groups, the share of total wage and salary employment in Arizona ranges from less than 1 percent to 6 percent. Three groups are substantially larger than the others: office and administrative support, sales, and food preparation and serving. The median wage in each of these three groups is below the overall median.
Occupational Group Share of Total Employment, Arizona Less the National Average, 2010
Visualization Notes:
Note: Occupational groups are listed in order of the median wage in the United States
A diverse occupational composition, but with disproportionately large shares in high-paying occupational groups, could be considered to be the ideal composition. The occupational composition in Arizona is moderately different from the national average, but the largest differentials are in groups—office and administrative support, production, and transportation and material moving—in which the median wage is not much different from the overall median. Otherwise, Arizona’s shares generally are a little above the national average in the lowest-paying groups. The result is an overall occupational mix that is slightly tilted toward lower-wage jobs.
Median Wage by Occupational Group, 2010
Visualization Notes:
Note: Occupational groups are listed in order of the median wage in the United States.
Multiplying Arizona’s overall median hourly wage of $15.89 by 2,080 hours (40 hours per week for 52 weeks) results in an annual median wage of $33,040 in 2010. The median wage varies widely by occupational group—from less than $20,000 to nearly $80,000—due to several factors. The major factor is that the nature of the typical job varies widely by occupational group. In particular, wages are highly correlated to educational attainment; the percentage of jobs requiring a university degree differs considerably by group. For example, most jobs classified in the highest-paying management group require a bachelor’s or advanced degree, while few jobs categorized in the lowest-paying food preparation and serving group require a college degree.
Median Wage by Occupational Group, Arizona Less the National Average, 2010
Visualization Notes:
Note: Occupational groups are listed in order of the median wage in the United States
Arizona’s median wage, as estimated by the occupational employment survey, was 2.4 percent less than the national average in 2010. In 16 of the 22 occupational groups, the median wage in Arizona was less than the national average in 2010. In 10 of the groups, including most of the groups with a median wage above the national median, the median was at least 6 percent less than the national median.
The wage differences by group between Arizona and the nation are strongly affected by the occupational mix within a group. For example, Arizona has few large corporate headquarters, so it has fewer very highly paid corporate executives than average, putting the median wage in the management group considerably below the national average.
Data Source
U.S. Department of Labor, Bureau of Labor Statistics, Occupational Employment Survey: http://www.bls.gov/oes/. About half-way down the page under “Current Tables” select “National Cross-Industry” for the national data and “State Cross-Industry” for Arizona data. The data are released one year after the survey date. Produced in cooperation with the Arizona Department of Administration’s Office of Employment and Population Statistics, the occupational data also are available at http://www.workforce.az.gov/occupational-employment-statistics.aspx.
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