How are 'Wages' Defined by the OES Survey?

Wages for the OES survey are straight-time, gross pay, exclusive of premium pay.

Included in wage data are:

• base rate,

• cost-of-living allowances,

• guaranteed pay,

• hazardous-duty pay, incentive pay including commissions and production bonuses, 

• on-call pay, 

• tips.

How are 'Employees' Defined by the OES Survey?    

'Employees' are all part-time and full-time workers who are paid a wage or salary. The survey does not cover the self-employed, owners and partners in unincorporated firms, household workers, or unpaid family workers.

What are 'mean', 'median', 'entry', and 'experienced' wages?

The OES program produces estimates of wages by occupation; i.e., the wages paid to wage or salary employees in a given occupation in the U.S., in a particular State, or in a particular industry. These occupational wage estimates are either estimates of mean wages or percentiles, such as the median wage.

• A mean wage is an average wage. An occupational mean wage estimate is calculated by summing the wages of all the employees in a given occupation and then dividing the total wages by the number of employees.
  

• A median wage is a boundary. An occupational median wage estimate is the boundary between the highest paid 50% and the lowest paid 50% of workers in that occupation. Half of the workers in a given occupation earn more than the median wage, and half the workers earn less than the median wage.
  

• The entry level and experienced wage rates are defined as the first and third quartile respectively. The quartiles are determined by arranging all reported wage rates for each occupation in order from highest to lowest. The rate at which 25 percent of the reported wage rates falls below is the first quartile. The rate at which 75 percent of the reported wage rates falls below is the third quartile.

How does OES classify occupations (SOC)?

Beginning in 2000 OES Estimates are produced using the revised Standard Occupational Classification (SOC) system The new SOC system, which will be used by all Federal statistical agencies for reporting occupational data, consists of 821 detailed occupations, grouped into 449 broad occupations, 96 minor groups, and 23 major groups. The OES program provides occupational employment and wage estimates at the major group and detailed occupation level. Due to the OES survey's transition to the new SOC system, 1999 and 2000 OES estimates are not directly comparable with previous years' OES estimates, which were based on a classification system having 7 major occupational groups and 770 detailed occupations. The detailed SOC occupations are allocated among these twenty-three major groups:

How does OES classify industries (NAICS)?

The OES program uses definitions of industries found in the North American Industry Classification System (NAICS). The NAICS is used throughout the federal government to group establishments into industries. The NAICS structure makes it possible to collect and calculate establishment data by broad industrial Sectors (labeled 11 through 92), Sub-sectors (the 3-digit NAICS levels), Industry Groups (the 4-digit NAICS levels), and NAICS Industries (the 5-digit level). See the North American Industry Classification System, 2002 (Executive Office of the President, Office of Management and Budget), available in many libraries. The OES survey produces occupational employment and wage estimates for most 4- and select 5-digit NAICS industrial groups. (Note: OES estimates of government employment and wages do not correspond to the NAICS. In the case of government, the OES survey produces occupational employment and wage estimates for Local Government, State Government, and Federal Government.)

Which industries are included/not included in the survey?

The OES survey collects occupational employment and wage data from establishments in nonfarm industries. The OES survey produces estimates of occupational employment and wages for 4- and 5-digit industrial groups in these industrial sectors: Forestry and logging; Mining; Utilities; Construction; Manufacturing; Wholesale trade; Retail trade; Transportation and warehousing; Information; Finance and insurance; Real estate and Rental and leasing; Professional, scientific, and technical services; Management of companies and enterprises; Administrative and support and Waste management and remediation services; Educational services; Health care and social assistance; Arts, entertainment, and recreation; Accommodation and food services; Other services (except public administration); and Government.

The OES program does not survey establishments in NAICS 111 (Crop production); NAICS 112 (Animal production); NAICS 114 (Fishing, hunting, and trapping); and NAICS 814 (Private households).

How is the OES Survey conducted?

The OES survey is an annual mail survey of non-farm establishments. The BLS produces the survey materials and selects the establishments to be surveyed. The sampling frame (the list from which establishments to be surveyed are selected) is derived from the list of establishments maintained by State Employment Security Agencies (SESAs) for unemployment insurance purposes. Establishments to be surveyed are selected in order to obtain data from every metropolitan area and State, across all surveyed industries, and from establishments of varying sizes. The SESAs mail the survey materials to the selected establishments and make follow-up calls to request data from non-respondents or to clarify data. The collected data are used to produce occupational estimates at the National, State, and sub-State levels.

For more information, visit the U.S. Department of Labor's Bureau of Labor Statistics' OES Home Page.

Rhode Island Department of Labor and Training
Labor Market Information
1511 Pontiac Avenue
Cranston, RI 02920-4407
Sandra M. Powell, Director

Phone: (401) 462-8740
Fax: (401) 462-8766
TDD: (401) 462-8006
E-mail LMI