ML110140719

NRC Prefiled Exhibit NRC000100, U.S. Department of Labor, U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, Billings, MT National Compensation Survey August 2010

ML110140719
Person / Time
Site:	Eagle Rock
Issue date:	12/31/2010
From:	US Dept of Labor, Bureau of Labor Statistics
To:	Atomic Safety and Licensing Board Panel
SECY RAS
Shared Package
ML110140706	List: ML110140709 ML110140719 ML110310796 ML110310810 RIS 2005-31, 2005/12/22-NRC Prefiled Exhibit Nrc000086, NRC Regulatory Issue Summary 2005-31, Control of Security-Related Sensitive Unclassified Non-Safeguards Information Handled by Individuals, Firms, and Entities Subject to NRC Regulation of the U RIS 2005-31, Official Exhibit - Mandatory Hearing - NRC000086-MA-BD01 - NRC Reg Issue Summary 2005-31, Control of Security-Related Sensitive Unclassified Non-Safeguards Info Handled by Individuals, Firms, and Entities Subject to NRC Regulation of the
References
RAS 19424, 70-7015-ML, ASLBP 10-899-02-ML-BD01, NRC000100
Download: ML110140719 (17)

Text

Billings, MT National Compensation Survey August 2010 U.S. Department of Labor U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics December 2010 his summary provides results of an August 2010 sur-vey of occupational pay in the Billings, MT, Metropol-itan Statistical Area (MSA). The MSA includes Carbon and Yellowstone Counties.

Data shown in this summary were collected as part of the Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) National Compensa-tion Survey (NCS). The NCS provides comprehensive measures of occupational earnings, compensation cost trends, benefit incidence, and detailed plan provisions.

This summary is limited to data on occupational wages and salaries.

Table 1 presents an overview of all tables in this sum-mary. Mean hourly earnings, weekly hours, and relative standard errors are given for all industries, private industry, and State and local government for selected worker and establishment characteristics.

Table 2 presents mean hourly earnings data by work level for occupational major groups and for detailed occu-pations. Separate data are also shown for full-time and part-time workers. Table 3 provides work level data for private industry workers. Table 4 provides similar data for State and local government workers.

Tables 5 through 7 present hourly wage percentiles that describe the distribution of hourly earnings for individual workers within each published occupation. Data are pro-vided for the 10th, 25th, 50th, 75th, and 90th percentiles for detailed occupations within all industries, private indus-try, and State and local government.

Table 8 presents mean and median hourly, weekly, and annual earnings, and the associated hours, for major occu-pational groups and detailed occupations for full-time workers. Table 9 provides the same type of information for private industry workers. Table 10 provides similar data for State and local government workers.

The survey could not have been conducted without the cooperation of the many government agencies that pro-vided pay data included in this summary. The Bureau thanks these respondents for their cooperation. Field econ-omists of the Bureau of Labor Statistics collected and re-viewed the survey data. The Office of Compensation and Working Conditions, in cooperation with the Office of Field Operations and the Office of Technology and Survey Processing in the BLS National Office, designed the sur-vey, processed the data, and prepared the survey for publi-cation.

Where to find more information The data contained in this summary are available at http://www.bls.gov/ncs/ocs/compub.htm, the BLS Inter-net site. Data are presented in a Portable Document Format (PDF) file and in an ASCII file containing the published table formats.

For additional information regarding this survey, includ-ing a list of occupational classifications, please contact any BLS regional office. You may also write to the Bureau of Labor Statistics at: Division of Compensation Data Analy-sis and Planning, 2 Massachusetts Ave., NE., Room 4175, Washington, DC 20212, telephone (202) 691-6199, or send an e-mail to NCSinfo@bls.gov.

Material in this summary is in the public domain and, with appropriate credit, may be reproduced without permis-sion. This information will be made available to sensory impaired individuals upon request. Voice phone: (202) 691-5200; Federal Relay Service 1 (800) 877-8339.

T NRC000100

Table 1. Summary: Mean hourly earnings1 and weekly hours for selected worker and establishment characteristics, Billings, MT, August 2010 Worker and establishment characteristics Civilian workers Private industry workers State and local government workers Hourly earnings Mean weekly hours3 Hourly earnings Mean weekly hours3 Hourly earnings Mean weekly hours3 Mean Relative error2 (percent)

Mean Relative error2 (percent)

Mean Relative error2 (percent)

All workers..........................................................

$21.00 5.5 35.6

$20.44 6.1 35.5

$26.64 5.8 36.4 Worker characteristics4,5 Management, professional, and related...........

34.88 7.1 38.3 35.23 8.3 38.9 33.08 6.2 35.4 Management, business, and financial..........

33.49 8.9 40.1 34.67 9.7 40.1 Professional and related...............................

35.41 11.0 37.6 35.47 13.5 38.4 35.14 8.0 34.6 Service..............................................................

9.88 6.2 30.3 9.08 5.1 29.9 20.36 6.9 36.3 Sales and office................................................

14.07 8.2 34.3 14.04 8.6 34.2 14.68 8.6 37.8 Sales and related..........................................

14.50 19.7 31.6 14.50 19.7 31.6 Office and administrative support.................

13.84 4.9 36.0 13.77 5.2 35.9 14.68 8.6 37.8 Natural resources, construction, and maintenance...................................................

19.33 5.0 40.0 19.34 5.5 40.0 19.20 10.9 40.0 Construction and extraction.........................

20.47 6.4 40.0 20.80 7.0 40.0 19.20 10.9 40.0 Installation, maintenance, and repair............

19.12 4.2 40.0 19.12 4.2 40.0 Production, transportation, and material moving............................................................

18.32 5.6 37.4 18.30 5.7 37.4 Production....................................................

21.48 10.2 38.8 21.46 10.3 38.8 Transportation and material moving.............

16.47 10.9 36.7 16.43 11.3 36.6 Full time............................................................

22.72 5.4 40.0 22.30 6.0 40.0 26.56 4.9 39.3 Part time...........................................................

10.53 8.2 21.3 9.72 4.7 21.5 Union................................................................

27.38 5.0 37.1 25.39 7.0 36.2 29.46 6.1 38.2 Nonunion..........................................................

19.99 6.6 35.4 20.03 6.7 35.4 18.54 6.2 32.3 Time..................................................................

20.89 5.5 35.3 20.29 6.1 35.2 26.64 5.8 36.4 Incentive...........................................................

24.21 24.1 45.2 24.21 24.1 45.2 Establishment characteristics Goods producing..............................................

6

(

)

6

(

)

6

(

)

6

(

)

6

(

)

6

(

)

Service providing..............................................

6

(

)

6

(

)

6

(

)

19.88 6.9 35.2 6

(

)

6

(

)

6

(

)

1-99 workers.....................................................

16.50 5.6 34.5 16.46 5.8 34.6 18.18 11.9 32.4 100-499 workers...............................................

20.07 4.6 36.7 19.88 4.8 36.8 21.74 6.4 35.7 500 workers or more.........................................

37.53 7.8 39.0 41.06 9.1 39.6 29.98 6.1 37.8 1 Earnings are the straight-time hourly wages or salaries paid to employees. They include incentive pay, cost-of-living adjustments, and hazard pay. Excluded are premium pay for overtime, vacations, holidays, nonproduction bonuses, and tips. The mean is computed by totaling the pay of all workers and dividing by the number of workers, weighted by hours. See appendix A for more information.

2 The relative standard error (RSE) is the standard error expressed as a percent of the estimate. It can be used to calculate a "confidence interval" around a sample estimate. For more information about RSEs, see appendix A.

3 Mean weekly hours are the hours an employee is scheduled to work in a week, exclusive of overtime.

4 Employees are classified as working either a full-time or a part-time schedule based on the definition used by each establishment. Union workers are those whose wages are determined through collective bargaining. Wages of time workers are based solely on hourly rate or salary; incentive workers are those whose wages are at least partially based on productivity payments such as piece rates, commissions, and production bonuses.

5 Workers are classified by occupation using the 2000 Standard Occupational Classification (SOC) system. See appendix B for more information.

6 Estimates for goods-producing and service-providing industries are published for private industry only. Industries are determined by the 2007 North American Industry Classification System (NAICS).

NOTE: Dashes indicate that no data were reported or that data did not meet publication criteria.

SOURCE: Bureau of Labor Statistics, National Compensation Survey.

3

Table 2. Civilian workers: Mean hourly earnings1 for full-time and part-time workers2 by work levels3, Billings, MT, August 2010 Occupation4 and level Total Full-time workers Part-time workers Mean Relative error5 (percent)

Mean Relative error5 (percent)

Mean Relative error5 (percent)

All workers..............................................................................

$21.00 5.5

$22.72 5.4

$10.53 8.2 Management occupations.................................................

39.13 12.4 39.13 12.4 Level 9.............................................................

26.29 4.6 26.29 4.6 Business and financial operations occupations.............

24.34 11.9 24.34 11.9 Architecture and engineering occupations.....................

25.84 13.5 25.84 13.5 Community and social services occupations..................

16.22 6.5 16.33 6.6 Education, training, and library occupations..................

33.82 8.6 34.62 8.2 13.77 15.3 Level 9.............................................................

38.38 2.6 38.47 2.8 Primary, secondary, and special education school teachers......................................................................

36.05 5.6 36.10 5.7 Level 9.............................................................

38.67 2.5 38.76 2.7 Elementary and middle school teachers.......................

34.04 9.6 34.19 9.9 Level 9.............................................................

37.32 2.7 Elementary school teachers, except special education............................................................

34.15 10.2 34.31 10.5 Secondary school teachers..........................................

39.35 6.0 39.35 6.0 Level 9.............................................................

39.35 6.0 39.35 6.0 Secondary school teachers, except special and vocational education...........................................

39.35 6.0 39.35 6.0 Level 9.............................................................

39.35 6.0 39.35 6.0 Healthcare practitioner and technical occupations........

47.98 16.2 48.67 16.5 Level 8.............................................................

30.93 2.7 30.92 2.7 Licensed practical and licensed vocational nurses...........

17.83 1.8 17.83 1.8 Healthcare support occupations.......................................

12.21 4.6 12.17 4.3 Nursing, psychiatric, and home health aides....................

11.62 1.4 11.66 1.3 Protective service occupations.........................................

22.07 4.8 22.90 5.5 Food preparation and serving related occupations........

8.19 5.7 8.72 9.5 7.67 2.1 Level 2.............................................................

7.61 2.3 7.50 2.7 Level 3.............................................................

7.89 1.6 Cooks...............................................................................

10.65 20.5 Food service, tipped.........................................................

7.43

.8 7.31

.9 Level 2.............................................................

7.38 2.1 Waiters and waitresses................................................

7.25

.4 7.21

.4 Level 2.............................................................

7.25

.5 Building and grounds cleaning and maintenance occupations..................................................................

10.76 11.4 12.22 15.1 Building cleaning workers.................................................

9.62 6.6 Maids and housekeeping cleaners...............................

9.44 8.6 Personal care and service occupations...........................

9.18 4.3 9.04 5.1 Sales and related occupations..........................................

14.50 19.7 16.17 23.4 9.62 11.0 Level 3.............................................................

10.51 3.4 10.55

.4 First-line supervisors/managers, sales workers...............

23.63 5.4 23.63 5.4 First-line supervisors/managers of retail sales workers 23.63 5.4 23.63 5.4 Retail sales workers.........................................................

10.81 3.8 11.35 3.5 9.62 11.0 Level 3.............................................................

10.51 3.4 10.55

.4 Cashiers, all workers....................................................

9.73 3.9 Cashiers...................................................................

9.73 3.9 Retail salespersons......................................................

11.37 5.7 11.94 5.1 10.24 8.8 Level 3.............................................................

10.61 4.8 Office and administrative support occupations..............

13.84 4.9 14.08 4.7 12.43 9.7 Level 3.............................................................

11.39 1.7 11.57 2.5 10.73 4.3 Level 4.............................................................

15.27 6.9 15.28 7.4 Level 5.............................................................

16.46 4.7 16.28 5.4 Level 6.............................................................

19.40 11.5 19.40 11.5 See footnotes at end of table.

4

Table 2. Civilian workers: Mean hourly earnings1 for full-time and part-time workers2 by work levels3, Billings, MT, August 2010 Continued Occupation4 and level Total Full-time workers Part-time workers Mean Relative error5 (percent)

Mean Relative error5 (percent)

Mean Relative error5 (percent)

Office and administrative support occupations

-Continued Financial clerks.................................................................

$13.09 9.0

$13.23 9.1

$12.62 12.3 Level 5.............................................................

15.83 4.2 Bookkeeping, accounting, and auditing clerks.............

15.06 6.2 15.13 6.5 Office clerks, general........................................................

13.23 5.5 13.34 5.6 Level 3.............................................................

12.00 3.5 12.00 3.5 Level 4.............................................................

15.68 8.4 15.68 8.4 Construction and extraction occupations.......................

20.47 6.4 20.47 6.4 Installation, maintenance, and repair occupations.........

19.12 4.2 19.12 4.2 Level 6.............................................................

21.39 6.3 21.39 6.3 Production occupations....................................................

21.48 10.2 23.14 8.2 Transportation and material moving occupations..........

16.47 10.9 17.90 9.2 Level 4.............................................................

18.36 5.9 18.36 5.9 Driver/sales workers and truck drivers.............................

16.63 9.6 17.94 6.2 Laborers and material movers, hand................................

10.88 10.5 1 Earnings are the straight-time hourly wages or salaries paid to employees.

They include incentive pay, cost-of-living adjustments, and hazard pay. Excluded are premium pay for overtime, vacations, holidays, nonproduction bonuses, and tips. The mean is computed by totaling the pay of all workers and dividing by the number of workers, weighted by hours. See appendix A for more information.

2 Employees are classified as working either a full-time or a part-time schedule based on the definition used by each establishment. Therefore, a worker with a 35-hour-per-week schedule might be considered a full-time employee in one establishment, but classified as part-time in another firm, where a 40-hour week is the minimum full-time schedule.

3 Each occupation for which data are collected in an establishment is evaluated based on four factors, including knowledge, job controls and complexity, contacts, and physical environment. The knowledge factor is tailored to 24 families of closely related jobs. Points are assigned based on the occupations rank within each factor. The points are summed to determine the overall level of the occupation. See appendix A for more information.

4 Workers are classified by occupation using the 2000 Standard Occupational Classification (SOC) system. See appendix B for more information.

5 The relative standard error (RSE) is the standard error expressed as a percent of the estimate. It can be used to calculate a "confidence interval" around a sample estimate. For more information about RSEs, see appendix A.

SOURCE: Bureau of Labor Statistics, National Compensation Survey.

NOTE: Dashes indicate that no data were reported or that data did not meet publication criteria. Overall occupational groups may include data for categories not shown separately 5

Table 3. Private industry workers: Mean hourly earnings1 for full-time and part-time workers2 by work levels3, Billings, MT, August 2010 Occupation4 and level Total Full-time workers Part-time workers Mean Relative error5 (percent)

Mean Relative error5 (percent)

Mean Relative error5 (percent)

All workers..............................................................................

$20.44 6.1

$22.30 6.0

$9.72 4.7 Management occupations.................................................

39.83 12.9 39.83 12.9 Level 9.............................................................

26.29 4.6 26.29 4.6 Business and financial operations occupations.............

24.80 14.1 24.80 14.1 Architecture and engineering occupations.....................

25.84 13.5 25.84 13.5 Community and social services occupations..................

15.63 7.0 Healthcare practitioner and technical occupations........

48.20 16.7 48.80 16.5 Level 8.............................................................

30.93 2.7 30.92 2.7 Licensed practical and licensed vocational nurses...........

17.83 1.8 17.83 1.8 Healthcare support occupations.......................................

12.21 4.6 12.17 4.3 Nursing, psychiatric, and home health aides....................

11.62 1.4 11.66 1.3 Food preparation and serving related occupations........

8.17 5.7 8.68 9.5 7.66 2.1 Level 2.............................................................

7.60 2.3 7.49 2.8 Level 3.............................................................

7.83

.6 Food service, tipped.........................................................

7.43

.8 7.31

.9 Level 2.............................................................

7.38 2.1 Waiters and waitresses................................................

7.25

.4 7.21

.4 Level 2.............................................................

7.25

.5 Building and grounds cleaning and maintenance occupations..................................................................

10.62 12.6 Building cleaning workers.................................................

9.31 7.5 Personal care and service occupations...........................

9.18 4.3 9.04 5.1 Sales and related occupations..........................................

14.50 19.7 16.17 23.4 9.62 11.0 Level 3.............................................................

10.51 3.4 10.55

.4 First-line supervisors/managers, sales workers...............

23.63 5.4 23.63 5.4 First-line supervisors/managers of retail sales workers 23.63 5.4 23.63 5.4 Retail sales workers.........................................................

10.81 3.8 11.35 3.5 9.62 11.0 Level 3.............................................................

10.51 3.4 10.55

.4 Cashiers, all workers....................................................

9.73 3.9 Cashiers...................................................................

9.73 3.9 Retail salespersons......................................................

11.37 5.7 11.94 5.1 10.24 8.8 Level 3.............................................................

10.61 4.8 Office and administrative support occupations..............

13.77 5.2 14.04 5.0 12.35 9.9 Level 3.............................................................

11.31 1.7 11.50 2.6 10.60 4.8 Level 4.............................................................

15.35 7.1 15.36 7.6 Level 5.............................................................

16.40 4.8 16.21 5.6 Financial clerks.................................................................

13.07 9.1 13.21 9.2 Level 5.............................................................

15.83 4.2 Bookkeeping, accounting, and auditing clerks.............

15.06 6.4 Office clerks, general........................................................

13.38 6.2 13.51 6.4 Level 3.............................................................

11.97 4.0 11.97 4.0 Level 4.............................................................

16.05 8.6 16.05 8.6 Construction and extraction occupations.......................

20.80 7.0 20.80 7.0 Installation, maintenance, and repair occupations.........

19.12 4.2 19.12 4.2 Level 6.............................................................

21.39 6.3 21.39 6.3 Production occupations....................................................

21.46 10.3 23.12 8.3 Transportation and material moving occupations..........

16.43 11.3 17.90 9.5 See footnotes at end of table.

6

Table 3. Private industry workers: Mean hourly earnings1 for full-time and part-time workers2 by work levels3, Billings, MT, August 2010 Continued Occupation4 and level Total Full-time workers Part-time workers Mean Relative error5 (percent)

Mean Relative error5 (percent)

Mean Relative error5 (percent)

Transportation and material moving occupations

-Continued Level 4.............................................................

$18.38 6.2

$18.38 6.2 Driver/sales workers and truck drivers.............................

16.63 9.6 17.94 6.2 Laborers and material movers, hand................................

10.88 10.5 1 Earnings are the straight-time hourly wages or salaries paid to employees.

They include incentive pay, cost-of-living adjustments, and hazard pay. Excluded are premium pay for overtime, vacations, holidays, nonproduction bonuses, and tips. The mean is computed by totaling the pay of all workers and dividing by the number of workers, weighted by hours. See appendix A for more information.

2 Employees are classified as working either a full-time or a part-time schedule based on the definition used by each establishment. Therefore, a worker with a 35-hour-per-week schedule might be considered a full-time employee in one establishment, but classified as part-time in another firm, where a 40-hour week is the minimum full-time schedule.

3 Each occupation for which data are collected in an establishment is evaluated based on four factors, including knowledge, job controls and complexity, contacts, and physical environment. The knowledge factor is tailored to 24 families of closely related jobs. Points are assigned based on the occupations rank within each factor. The points are summed to determine the overall level of the occupation. See appendix A for more information.

4 Workers are classified by occupation using the 2000 Standard Occupational Classification (SOC) system. See appendix B for more information.

5 The relative standard error (RSE) is the standard error expressed as a percent of the estimate. It can be used to calculate a "confidence interval" around a sample estimate. For more information about RSEs, see appendix A.

SOURCE: Bureau of Labor Statistics, National Compensation Survey.

NOTE: Dashes indicate that no data were reported or that data did not meet publication criteria. Overall occupational groups may include data for categories not shown separately 7

Table 4. State and local government workers: Mean hourly earnings1 for full-time and part-time workers2 by work levels3, Billings, MT, August 2010 Occupation4 and level Total Full-time workers Part-time workers Mean Relative error5 (percent)

Mean Relative error5 (percent)

Mean Relative error5 (percent)

All workers..............................................................................

$26.64 5.8

$26.56 4.9 Education, training, and library occupations..................

36.70 6.7 37.72 4.9 Level 9.............................................................

38.38 2.6 38.47 2.8 Primary, secondary, and special education school teachers......................................................................

38.19 1.4 38.28 1.6 Level 9.............................................................

38.67 2.5 38.76 2.7 Elementary and middle school teachers.......................

36.93 2.3 37.22 2.5 Level 9.............................................................

37.32 2.7 Elementary school teachers, except special education............................................................

37.30 2.6 Secondary school teachers..........................................

39.35 6.0 39.35 6.0 Level 9.............................................................

39.35 6.0 39.35 6.0 Secondary school teachers, except special and vocational education...........................................

39.35 6.0 39.35 6.0 Level 9.............................................................

39.35 6.0 39.35 6.0 Protective service occupations.........................................

22.07 4.8 22.90 5.5 Office and administrative support occupations..............

14.68 8.6 14.60 9.0 Office clerks, general........................................................

12.17

.6 Construction and extraction occupations.......................

19.20 10.9 19.20 10.9 1 Earnings are the straight-time hourly wages or salaries paid to employees.

They include incentive pay, cost-of-living adjustments, and hazard pay. Excluded are premium pay for overtime, vacations, holidays, nonproduction bonuses, and tips. The mean is computed by totaling the pay of all workers and dividing by the number of workers, weighted by hours. See appendix A for more information.

2 Employees are classified as working either a full-time or a part-time schedule based on the definition used by each establishment. Therefore, a worker with a 35-hour-per-week schedule might be considered a full-time employee in one establishment, but classified as part-time in another firm, where a 40-hour week is the minimum full-time schedule.

3 Each occupation for which data are collected in an establishment is evaluated based on four factors, including knowledge, job controls and complexity, contacts, and physical environment. The knowledge factor is tailored to 24 families of closely related jobs. Points are assigned based on the occupations rank within each factor. The points are summed to determine the overall level of the occupation. See appendix A for more information.

4 Workers are classified by occupation using the 2000 Standard Occupational Classification (SOC) system. See appendix B for more information.

5 The relative standard error (RSE) is the standard error expressed as a percent of the estimate. It can be used to calculate a "confidence interval" around a sample estimate. For more information about RSEs, see appendix A.

SOURCE: Bureau of Labor Statistics, National Compensation Survey.

NOTE: Dashes indicate that no data were reported or that data did not meet publication criteria. Overall occupational groups may include data for categories not shown separately 8

Table 5. Civilian workers: Hourly wage percentiles1, Billings, MT, August 2010 Occupation2 10 25 Median 50 75 90 All workers..............................................................................

$8.25

$10.50

$15.83

$24.30

$35.66 Management occupations.................................................

22.29 24.04 28.85 35.66 45.73 Business and financial operations occupations.............

15.99 19.48 23.36 30.65 37.02 Architecture and engineering occupations.....................

14.00 18.45 24.30 31.15 41.54 Community and social services occupations..................

10.50 12.50 17.31 19.35 20.40 Education, training, and library occupations..................

17.23 24.98 34.74 48.15 49.54 Primary, secondary, and special education school teachers......................................................................

24.36 27.40 36.65 46.60 49.54 Elementary and middle school teachers.......................

25.16 26.33 30.00 44.43 48.47 Elementary school teachers, except special education............................................................

25.16 26.33 30.00 44.52 48.47 Secondary school teachers..........................................

27.40 34.44 39.35 49.54 49.54 Secondary school teachers, except special and vocational education...........................................

27.40 34.44 39.35 49.54 49.54 Healthcare practitioner and technical occupations........

16.00 20.39 29.66 44.57 181.73 Licensed practical and licensed vocational nurses...........

15.44 16.00 18.13 19.17 20.39 Healthcare support occupations.......................................

10.22 10.62 11.96 12.67 13.52 Nursing, psychiatric, and home health aides....................

10.12 10.58 11.59 12.67 12.80 Protective service occupations.........................................

16.82 19.92 22.17 26.27 27.22 Food preparation and serving related occupations........

7.25 7.25 7.50 8.75 9.50 Cooks...............................................................................

7.93 9.29 9.29 14.31 14.31 Food service, tipped.........................................................

7.12 7.25 7.25 7.47 8.00 Waiters and waitresses................................................

7.12 7.25 7.25 7.25 7.25 Building and grounds cleaning and maintenance occupations..................................................................

7.84 8.86 8.86 11.50 17.38 Building cleaning workers.................................................

7.25 8.86 8.86 10.50 12.39 Maids and housekeeping cleaners...............................

7.25 7.84 8.86 10.50 11.50 Personal care and service occupations...........................

7.25 7.61 9.00 10.00 11.00 Sales and related occupations..........................................

8.15 9.60 10.90 14.20 18.81 First-line supervisors/managers, sales workers...............

12.10 15.40 21.68 34.13 34.13 First-line supervisors/managers of retail sales workers 12.10 15.40 21.68 34.13 34.13 Retail sales workers.........................................................

8.15 9.00 10.50 11.50 14.20 Cashiers, all workers....................................................

8.00 8.50 9.50 10.50 11.70 Cashiers...................................................................

8.00 8.50 9.50 10.50 11.70 Retail salespersons......................................................

8.00 9.63 11.00 11.68 16.00 Office and administrative support occupations..............

10.20 11.03 12.68 15.87 18.79 Financial clerks.................................................................

10.20 10.86 12.00 15.53 16.00 Bookkeeping, accounting, and auditing clerks.............

12.00 13.75 16.00 16.26 18.00 Office clerks, general........................................................

10.44 11.03 12.55 13.99 16.20 Construction and extraction occupations.......................

10.00 14.07 21.05 24.94 31.95 Installation, maintenance, and repair occupations.........

13.00 15.00 19.96 21.00 23.00 Production occupations....................................................

9.00 10.15 14.00 34.00 37.22 Transportation and material moving occupations..........

8.00 12.00 16.67 20.92 27.60 Driver/sales workers and truck drivers.............................

9.22 16.00 16.67 20.92 20.92 Laborers and material movers, hand................................

7.50 8.00 11.53 13.40 14.65 1 Percentiles designate position in the earnings distribution and are calculated from individual-worker earnings and the hours they are scheduled to work. At the 50th percentile, the median, half of the hours are paid the same as or more than the rate shown, and half are paid the same as or less than the rate shown. At the 25th percentile, one-fourth of the hours are paid the same as or less than the rate shown. At the 75th percentile, one-fourth are paid the same as or more than the rate shown. The 10th and 90th percentiles follow the same logic. Hourly wages are the straight-time wages or salaries paid to employees. They include incentive pay, cost-of-living adjustments, and hazard pay.

Excluded are premium pay for overtime, vacations, and holidays; nonproduction bonuses; and tips.

2 Workers are classified by occupation using the 2000 Standard Occupational Classification (SOC) system. See appendix B for more information.

SOURCE: Bureau of Labor Statistics, National Compensation Survey.

NOTE: Dashes indicate that no data were reported or that data did not meet publication criteria. Overall occupational groups may include data for categories not shown separately 9

Table 6. Private industry workers: Hourly wage percentiles1, Billings, MT, August 2010 Occupation2 10 25 Median 50 75 90 All workers..............................................................................

$8.00

$10.20

$15.00

$23.38

$34.16 Management occupations.................................................

22.29 26.25 33.90 35.66 45.73 Business and financial operations occupations.............

14.64 19.48 25.00 32.28 37.02 Architecture and engineering occupations.....................

14.00 18.45 24.30 31.15 41.54 Community and social services occupations..................

10.50 11.25 16.18 19.76 20.40 Healthcare practitioner and technical occupations........

16.00 20.39 29.66 44.57 181.73 Licensed practical and licensed vocational nurses...........

15.44 16.00 18.13 19.17 20.39 Healthcare support occupations.......................................

10.22 10.62 11.96 12.67 13.52 Nursing, psychiatric, and home health aides....................

10.12 10.58 11.59 12.67 12.80 Food preparation and serving related occupations........

7.25 7.25 7.50 8.75 9.50 Food service, tipped.........................................................

7.12 7.25 7.25 7.47 8.00 Waiters and waitresses................................................

7.12 7.25 7.25 7.25 7.25 Building and grounds cleaning and maintenance occupations..................................................................

7.25 8.50 8.86 11.50 17.38 Building cleaning workers.................................................

7.25 8.42 8.86 10.12 11.50 Personal care and service occupations...........................

7.25 7.61 9.00 10.00 11.00 Sales and related occupations..........................................

8.15 9.60 10.90 14.20 18.81 First-line supervisors/managers, sales workers...............

12.10 15.40 21.68 34.13 34.13 First-line supervisors/managers of retail sales workers 12.10 15.40 21.68 34.13 34.13 Retail sales workers.........................................................

8.15 9.00 10.50 11.50 14.20 Cashiers, all workers....................................................

8.00 8.50 9.50 10.50 11.70 Cashiers...................................................................

8.00 8.50 9.50 10.50 11.70 Retail salespersons......................................................

8.00 9.63 11.00 11.68 16.00 Office and administrative support occupations..............

10.18 11.00 12.59 16.00 18.27 Financial clerks.................................................................

10.20 10.86 12.00 15.53 16.00 Bookkeeping, accounting, and auditing clerks.............

12.00 13.75 16.00 16.26 18.00 Office clerks, general........................................................

10.44 11.03 12.55 15.25 16.20 Construction and extraction occupations.......................

10.00 15.22 21.05 25.56 31.95 Installation, maintenance, and repair occupations.........

13.00 15.00 19.96 21.00 23.00 Production occupations....................................................

9.00 10.15 14.00 34.00 37.22 Transportation and material moving occupations..........

8.00 12.00 16.67 20.92 27.60 Driver/sales workers and truck drivers.............................

9.22 16.00 16.67 20.92 20.92 Laborers and material movers, hand................................

7.50 8.00 11.53 13.40 14.65 1 Percentiles designate position in the earnings distribution and are calculated from individual-worker earnings and the hours they are scheduled to work. At the 50th percentile, the median, half of the hours are paid the same as or more than the rate shown, and half are paid the same as or less than the rate shown. At the 25th percentile, one-fourth of the hours are paid the same as or less than the rate shown. At the 75th percentile, one-fourth are paid the same as or more than the rate shown. The 10th and 90th percentiles follow the same logic. Hourly wages are the straight-time wages or salaries paid to employees. They include incentive pay, cost-of-living adjustments, and hazard pay.

Excluded are premium pay for overtime, vacations, and holidays; nonproduction bonuses; and tips.

2 Workers are classified by occupation using the 2000 Standard Occupational Classification (SOC) system. See appendix B for more information.

SOURCE: Bureau of Labor Statistics, National Compensation Survey.

NOTE: Dashes indicate that no data were reported or that data did not meet publication criteria. Overall occupational groups may include data for categories not shown separately 10

Table 7. State and local government workers: Hourly wage percentiles1, Billings, MT, August 2010 Occupation2 10 25 Median 50 75 90 All workers..............................................................................

$12.98

$17.23

$22.63

$37.47

$48.47 Education, training, and library occupations..................

18.70 29.00 39.35 48.15 49.54 Primary, secondary, and special education school teachers......................................................................

26.07 30.00 39.35 48.47 49.54 Elementary and middle school teachers.......................

26.78 30.00 34.35 48.47 48.47 Elementary school teachers, except special education............................................................

28.33 30.00 34.99 48.47 48.47 Secondary school teachers..........................................

27.40 34.44 39.35 49.54 49.54 Secondary school teachers, except special and vocational education...........................................

27.40 34.44 39.35 49.54 49.54 Protective service occupations.........................................

16.82 19.92 22.17 26.27 27.22 Office and administrative support occupations..............

11.62 11.63 13.20 15.75 25.24 Office clerks, general........................................................

10.71 11.63 12.00 13.00 13.30 Construction and extraction occupations.......................

13.82 13.82 19.19 23.04 24.94 1 Percentiles designate position in the earnings distribution and are calculated from individual-worker earnings and the hours they are scheduled to work. At the 50th percentile, the median, half of the hours are paid the same as or more than the rate shown, and half are paid the same as or less than the rate shown. At the 25th percentile, one-fourth of the hours are paid the same as or less than the rate shown. At the 75th percentile, one-fourth are paid the same as or more than the rate shown. The 10th and 90th percentiles follow the same logic. Hourly wages are the straight-time wages or salaries paid to employees. They include incentive pay, cost-of-living adjustments, and hazard pay.

Excluded are premium pay for overtime, vacations, and holidays; nonproduction bonuses; and tips.

2 Workers are classified by occupation using the 2000 Standard Occupational Classification (SOC) system. See appendix B for more information.

SOURCE: Bureau of Labor Statistics, National Compensation Survey.

NOTE: Dashes indicate that no data were reported or that data did not meet publication criteria. Overall occupational groups may include data for categories not shown separately 11

Table 8. Full-time1 civilian workers: Mean and median hourly, weekly, and annual earnings and mean weekly and annual hours, Billings, MT, August 2010 Occupation2 Hourly earnings3 Weekly earnings4 Annual earnings5 Mean Median Mean Median Mean weekly hours Mean Median Mean annual hours All workers................................................

$22.72

$17.08

$908

$695 40.0

$46,084

$35,516 2,029 Management occupations...................

39.13 28.85 1,573 1,154 40.2 81,793 60,002 2,090 Business and financial operations occupations....................................

24.34 23.36 974 934 40.0 50,626 48,593 2,080 Architecture and engineering occupations....................................

25.84 24.30 1,044 1,038 40.4 53,288 53,999 2,062 Community and social services occupations....................................

16.33 17.31 653 692 40.0 33,964 36,005 2,080 Education, training, and library occupations....................................

34.62 36.11 1,302 1,339 37.6 49,393 50,747 1,427 Primary, secondary, and special education school teachers............

36.10 36.94 1,349 1,375 37.4 50,358 51,418 1,395 Elementary and middle school teachers....................................

34.19 30.00 1,268 1,125 37.1 47,408 42,072 1,386 Elementary school teachers, except special education......

34.31 30.00 1,267 1,125 36.9 47,372 42,072 1,381 Secondary school teachers............

39.35 39.35 1,487 1,476 37.8 55,372 55,187 1,407 Secondary school teachers, except special and vocational education..............................

39.35 39.35 1,487 1,476 37.8 55,372 55,187 1,407 Healthcare practitioner and technical occupations....................................

48.67 29.66 1,985 1,142 40.8 103,229 59,361 2,121 Licensed practical and licensed vocational nurses..........................

17.83 18.13 713 725 40.0 37,090 37,710 2,080 Healthcare support occupations.........

12.17 11.92 483 477 39.7 25,106 24,794 2,063 Nursing, psychiatric, and home health aides.............................................

11.66 11.72 466 469 40.0 24,255 24,378 2,080 Protective service occupations...........

22.90 22.17 933 969 40.7 48,507 50,368 2,118 Food preparation and serving related occupations....................................

8.72 8.00 331 306 38.0 17,138 15,912 1,966 Building and grounds cleaning and maintenance occupations.............

12.22 11.00 475 440 38.9 24,716 22,880 2,023 Personal care and service occupations....................................

9.04 9.00 362 360 40.0 17,971 16,120 1,988 Sales and related occupations............

16.17 11.39 642 456 39.7 33,379 23,691 2,064 First-line supervisors/managers, sales workers.........................................

23.63 21.68 945 867 40.0 49,148 45,094 2,080 First-line supervisors/managers of retail sales workers...................

23.63 21.68 945 867 40.0 49,148 45,094 2,080 Retail sales workers...........................

11.35 10.73 449 420 39.6 23,370 21,840 2,060 Retail salespersons........................

11.94 11.22 469 449 39.2 24,362 23,327 2,041 Office and administrative support occupations....................................

14.08 12.86 559 514 39.7 28,979 26,562 2,058 Financial clerks...................................

13.23 12.68 529 507 40.0 27,527 26,374 2,080 Bookkeeping, accounting, and auditing clerks...........................

15.13 16.00 605 640 40.0 31,473 33,280 2,080 Office clerks, general..........................

13.34 12.55 516 502 38.7 26,586 26,042 1,993 Construction and extraction occupations....................................

20.47 21.05 818 842 40.0 42,557 43,788 2,079 Installation, maintenance, and repair occupations....................................

19.12 19.96 765 798 40.0 39,775 41,521 2,080 See footnotes at end of table.

12

Table 8. Full-time1 civilian workers: Mean and median hourly, weekly, and annual earnings and mean weekly and annual hours, Billings, MT, August 2010 Continued Occupation2 Hourly earnings3 Weekly earnings4 Annual earnings5 Mean Median Mean Median Mean weekly hours Mean Median Mean annual hours Production occupations......................

$23.14

$14.00

$926

$560 40.0

$48,128

$29,120 2,080 Transportation and material moving occupations....................................

17.90 16.67 765 837 42.7 39,770 43,518 2,222 Driver/sales workers and truck drivers 17.94 16.67 808 837 45.0 42,001 43,518 2,342 1 Employees are classified as working either a full-time or a part-time schedule based on the definition used by each establishment. Therefore, a worker with a 35-hour-per-week schedule might be considered a full-time employee in one establishment, but classified as part-time in another firm, where a 40-hour week is the minimum full-time schedule.

2 Workers are classified by occupation using the 2000 Standard Occupational Classification (SOC) system. See appendix B for more information.

3 Earnings are the straight-time hourly wages or salaries paid to employees. They include incentive pay, cost-of-living adjustments, and hazard pay. Excluded are premium pay for overtime, vacations, holidays, nonproduction bonuses, and tips. The mean is computed by totaling the pay of all workers and dividing by the number of workers, weighted by hours. See appendix A for more information.

4 Mean weekly earnings are the straight-time weekly wages or salaries paid to employees. Median weekly earnings designates position - one-half of the hours are paid the same as or more than the rate shown. Mean weekly hours are the hours an employee is scheduled to work in a week, exclusive of overtime.

5 Mean annual earnings are the straight-time annual wages or salaries paid to employees. Median annual earnings designates position - one-half of the hours are paid the same as or more than the rate shown. Mean annual hours are the hours an employee is scheduled to work in a year, exclusive of overtime.

SOURCE: Bureau of Labor Statistics, National Compensation Survey.

NOTE: Dashes indicate that no data were reported or that data did not meet publication criteria. Overall occupational groups may include data for categories not shown separately 13

Table 9. Full-time1 private industry workers: Mean and median hourly, weekly, and annual earnings and mean weekly and annual hours, Billings, MT, August 2010 Occupation2 Hourly earnings3 Weekly earnings4 Annual earnings5 Mean Median Mean Median Mean weekly hours Mean Median Mean annual hours All workers................................................

$22.30

$16.67

$893

$656 40.0

$46,000

$33,696 2,063 Management occupations...................

39.83 33.90 1,601 1,356 40.2 83,269 70,502 2,090 Business and financial operations occupations....................................

24.80 25.00 992 1,000 40.0 51,581 52,000 2,080 Architecture and engineering occupations....................................

25.84 24.30 1,044 1,038 40.4 53,288 53,999 2,062 Healthcare practitioner and technical occupations....................................

48.80 29.66 1,990 1,142 40.8 103,503 59,361 2,121 Licensed practical and licensed vocational nurses..........................

17.83 18.13 713 725 40.0 37,090 37,710 2,080 Healthcare support occupations.........

12.17 11.92 483 477 39.7 25,106 24,794 2,063 Nursing, psychiatric, and home health aides.............................................

11.66 11.72 466 469 40.0 24,255 24,378 2,080 Food preparation and serving related occupations....................................

8.68 8.00 330 306 38.0 17,135 15,912 1,974 Personal care and service occupations....................................

9.04 9.00 362 360 40.0 17,971 16,120 1,988 Sales and related occupations............

16.17 11.39 642 456 39.7 33,379 23,691 2,064 First-line supervisors/managers, sales workers.........................................

23.63 21.68 945 867 40.0 49,148 45,094 2,080 First-line supervisors/managers of retail sales workers...................

23.63 21.68 945 867 40.0 49,148 45,094 2,080 Retail sales workers...........................

11.35 10.73 449 420 39.6 23,370 21,840 2,060 Retail salespersons........................

11.94 11.22 469 449 39.2 24,362 23,327 2,041 Office and administrative support occupations....................................

14.04 12.86 556 511 39.6 28,928 26,562 2,061 Financial clerks...................................

13.21 12.49 528 500 40.0 27,471 25,979 2,080 Office clerks, general..........................

13.51 12.55 520 502 38.5 27,025 26,104 2,001 Construction and extraction occupations....................................

20.80 21.05 832 842 40.0 43,245 43,788 2,079 Installation, maintenance, and repair occupations....................................

19.12 19.96 765 798 40.0 39,775 41,521 2,080 Production occupations......................

23.12 14.00 925 560 40.0 48,092 29,120 2,080 Transportation and material moving occupations....................................

17.90 16.67 767 837 42.8 39,872 43,518 2,228 Driver/sales workers and truck drivers 17.94 16.67 808 837 45.0 42,001 43,518 2,342 1 Employees are classified as working either a full-time or a part-time schedule based on the definition used by each establishment. Therefore, a worker with a 35-hour-per-week schedule might be considered a full-time employee in one establishment, but classified as part-time in another firm, where a 40-hour week is the minimum full-time schedule.

2 Workers are classified by occupation using the 2000 Standard Occupational Classification (SOC) system. See appendix B for more information.

3 Earnings are the straight-time hourly wages or salaries paid to employees. They include incentive pay, cost-of-living adjustments, and hazard pay. Excluded are premium pay for overtime, vacations, holidays, nonproduction bonuses, and tips. The mean is computed by totaling the pay of all workers and dividing by the number of workers, weighted by hours. See appendix A for more information.

4 Mean weekly earnings are the straight-time weekly wages or salaries paid to employees. Median weekly earnings designates position - one-half of the hours are paid the same as or more than the rate shown. Mean weekly hours are the hours an employee is scheduled to work in a week, exclusive of overtime.

5 Mean annual earnings are the straight-time annual wages or salaries paid to employees. Median annual earnings designates position - one-half of the hours are paid the same as or more than the rate shown. Mean annual hours are the hours an employee is scheduled to work in a year, exclusive of overtime.

SOURCE: Bureau of Labor Statistics, National Compensation Survey.

NOTE: Dashes indicate that no data were reported or that data did not meet publication criteria. Overall occupational groups may include data for categories not shown separately 14

Table 10. Full-time1 State and local government workers: Mean and median hourly, weekly, and annual earnings and mean weekly and annual hours, Billings, MT, August 2010 Occupation2 Hourly earnings3 Weekly earnings4 Annual earnings5 Mean Median Mean Median Mean weekly hours Mean Median Mean annual hours All workers................................................

$26.56

$22.63

$1,044

$934 39.3

$46,745

$45,789 1,760 Education, training, and library occupations....................................

37.72 39.35 1,440 1,476 38.2 54,844 55,187 1,454 Primary, secondary, and special education school teachers............

38.28 39.35 1,449 1,476 37.9 54,060 55,187 1,412 Elementary and middle school teachers....................................

37.22 34.99 1,411 1,293 37.9 52,783 48,358 1,418 Secondary school teachers............

39.35 39.35 1,487 1,476 37.8 55,372 55,187 1,407 Secondary school teachers, except special and vocational education..............................

39.35 39.35 1,487 1,476 37.8 55,372 55,187 1,407 Protective service occupations...........

22.90 22.17 933 969 40.7 48,507 50,368 2,118 Office and administrative support occupations....................................

14.60 13.20 584 528 40.0 29,549 27,456 2,023 Construction and extraction occupations....................................

19.20 19.19 768 768 40.0 39,945 39,915 2,080 1 Employees are classified as working either a full-time or a part-time schedule based on the definition used by each establishment. Therefore, a worker with a 35-hour-per-week schedule might be considered a full-time employee in one establishment, but classified as part-time in another firm, where a 40-hour week is the minimum full-time schedule.

2 Workers are classified by occupation using the 2000 Standard Occupational Classification (SOC) system. See appendix B for more information.

3 Earnings are the straight-time hourly wages or salaries paid to employees. They include incentive pay, cost-of-living adjustments, and hazard pay. Excluded are premium pay for overtime, vacations, holidays, nonproduction bonuses, and tips. The mean is computed by totaling the pay of all workers and dividing by the number of workers, weighted by hours. See appendix A for more information.

4 Mean weekly earnings are the straight-time weekly wages or salaries paid to employees. Median weekly earnings designates position - one-half of the hours are paid the same as or more than the rate shown. Mean weekly hours are the hours an employee is scheduled to work in a week, exclusive of overtime.

5 Mean annual earnings are the straight-time annual wages or salaries paid to employees. Median annual earnings designates position - one-half of the hours are paid the same as or more than the rate shown. Mean annual hours are the hours an employee is scheduled to work in a year, exclusive of overtime.

SOURCE: Bureau of Labor Statistics, National Compensation Survey.

NOTE: Dashes indicate that no data were reported or that data did not meet publication criteria. Overall occupational groups may include data for categories not shown separately 15

16 Appendix: Technical note Survey scope This survey of the Billings, MT, Metropolitan Statistical Area (MSA) covered establishments employing one worker or more in private goods-producing industries (mining, construction, and manufacturing); private service-providing industries (trade, transportation, and utilities, information, financial activities, professional and business services, edu-cation and health services, leisure and hospitality, and other services); State governments; and local governments.

Agriculture, forestry, fishing and hunting, private house-holds, and the Federal Government were excluded from the scope of the survey. For purposes of this survey, an estab-lishment is an economic unit that produces goods or servic-es, a central administrative office, or an auxiliary unit pro-viding support services to a company. For private indus-tries in this survey, the establishment is usually at a single physical location. For State and local governments, an es-tablishment is defined as all locations of a government agency within the sampled area.

Sampling frame The list of establishments from which the survey sample was selected (sampling frame) was developed from State unemployment insurance reports. Due to the volatility of industries within the private sector, sampling frames were developed using the most recent month of reference availa-ble at the time the sample was selected.

Sample design The sample for this survey area was selected using a two-stage stratified design with probability proportional to em-ployment sampling at each stage. The first stage of sample selection was a probability-proportional-to-size sample of establishments. Use of this technique means that the larger an establishments employment, the greater its chance of selection. The second stage of sample selection, detailed below, was a probability sample of occupations within a sampled establishment.

Occupational selection and classification Identification of the occupations for which wage data were to be collected was a multistep process:

1. Probability-proportional-to-size selection of estab-lishment jobs

2. Classification of jobs into occupations based on the 2000 Standard Occupational Classification (SOC) system

3. Characterization of jobs as full-time or part-time, union or nonunion, and time or incentive

4. Determination of the level of work of each job For each occupation, wage data were collected for those workers whose jobs could be characterized by the criteria identified in the last three steps. In step one, the jobs to be sampled were selected at each establishment by the BLS field economist. A complete list of employees was used for sampling, with each selected worker representing a job within the establishment. The greater the number of people working in a job in the establishment, the greater its chance of selection.

The second step of the process entailed classifying the selected jobs into occupations based on their duties. NCS uses the 2000 Standard Occupational Classification (SOC) system. A selected job may fall into any one of about 800 occupational classifications, from accountant to zoologist.

When workers could be classified in more than one occupa-tion, they were classified in the occupation that required the higher skill level. When there was no perceptible differ-ence in skill level, the workers were classified in the occu-pation that described their primary activity.

Each occupational classification is an element of a broader classification known as a major group. Occupa-tions can fall into any of 22 major groups. A complete list of all individual occupations, classified by the major group to which they belong, is available from BLS.

In step three, certain other job characteristics of the chosen worker were identified. First, the worker was iden-tified as holding either a full-time or part-time job, based on the establishments definition of those terms. Then, the worker was classified as having a time versus incentive job and also identified as being in a union or a nonunion job.

Occupational leveling In the last step before wage data were collected, the work level of each selected job was determined using a point factor leveling process. Point factor leveling matches certain aspects of a job to specific levels of work with as-signed point values. Points for each factor are then totaled to determine the overall work level for the job.

17 The NCS program is in the process of converting from a nine-factor to a four-factor occupational leveling system.

The conversion is being phased in via annual NCS sample replenishment groups and will require several years for full implementation. The four occupational leveling factors are:

Knowledge Job controls and complexity Contacts (nature and purpose)

Physical environment Each factor consists of several levels, and each level has an associated description and assigned points. A know-ledge guide for 24 families of closely related occupations contains short definitions of the point levels of knowledge expected for the occupations and presents relevant exam-ples. The other three factors use identical descriptions for all occupational categories and contain a definition of each point level within each factor.

The description within each factor best matching the job is chosen. The point levels within each factor are designed to describe the thresholds of distinct levels of work. When a job does not meet the full description of a point level, the next lowest point level is used. Points for the four factors are totaled to determine the overall work level. NCS pub-lishes data for up to 15 work levels.

Most supervisory occupations are evaluated based on their duties and responsibilities. A modified approach is used for professional and administrative supervisors when they direct professional work and are paid primarily to su-pervise. Such supervisory occupations are leveled based on the work level of the highest position reporting to them.

For a complete description of point factor leveling, refer to the publication National Compensation Survey: Guide for Evaluating Your Firms Jobs and Pay, available at the BLS National Compensation Survey Internet site at http://www.bls.gov/ncs/ocs/sp/ncbr0004.pdf.

Collection period Survey data were collected over a 14-month period for the larger areas in the NCS program. For the smaller areas, data were collected over a 5-month period. For each estab-lishment in the survey, the data reflect the establishments most recent information at the time of collection. The pay-roll reference month shown in the tables reflects the aver-age date of this information for all sample units.

Earnings Earnings were defined as regular payments from the em-ployer to the employee as compensation for straight-time hourly work, or for any salaried work performed. The fol-lowing components were included as part of earnings:

Incentive pay, including commissions, production bonuses, and piece rates Cost-of-living allowances Hazard pay Payments of income deferred due to participation in a salary reduction plan Deadhead pay, defined as pay given to transporta-tion workers returning in a vehicle without freight or passengers The following forms of payments were not considered part of straight-time earnings:

Shift differentials, defined as extra payment for working a schedule that varies from the norm, such as night or weekend work Premium pay for overtime, holidays, and weekends Bonuses not directly tied to production (such as Christmas and profit-sharing bonuses)

Uniform and tool allowances Free or subsidized room and board Payments made by third parties (for example, tips)

On-call pay To calculate earnings for various periods (hourly, week-ly, and annual), data on work schedules also were col-lected. For hourly workers, scheduled hours worked per day and per week, exclusive of overtime, were recorded.

Annual weeks worked were determined. Because salaried workers who are exempt from overtime provisions often work beyond the assigned work schedule, their typical number of hours actually worked was collected.

Weighting and nonresponse Sample weights were calculated for each establishment and occupation in the survey. These weights reflected the rela-tive size of the occupation within the establishment and of the establishment within the sample universe. Weights were used to aggregate data for the individual establish-ments or occupations into the various data series.

If data were not provided by a sample member during the initial interview, the weights of responding sample members in the same or similar cells were adjusted to account for the missing data. This technique assumes that the mean value of data for the nonrespondents equals the mean value of data for the respondents at some detailed cell level. Responding and nonresponding establish-ments were classified into these cells according to industry and employment size. Responding and nonresponding oc-cupations within responding establishments were classified into cells that were additionally defined by major occupa-tion group.

18 If average hourly earnings data were not provided by a sample member during the update interview, then missing average hourly earnings were imputed by multiplying prior average hourly earnings by the rate of change in the aver-age hourly earnings of respondents. The regression model that takes into account available establishment characteris-tics is used to derive the rate of change in the average hour-ly earnings.

Establishments that were determined to be out of busi-ness or outside the scope of the survey had their weights changed to zero.

Survey response Establish-ments Total in sampling frame 4,400 Total in sample 116 Responding 82 Refused or unable to provide data 23 Out of business or not in survey scope 11 Estimation The wage series in the tables are computed by combining the wages for each sampled occupation. Before being combined, individual wage rates are weighted by the num-ber of workers; the sample weight, adjusted for nonres-ponding establishments and other factors; and the occupa-tions scheduled hours of work.

The sample weight reflects the inverse of each units probability of selection at each sample selection stage and four weight adjustment factors. The first factor adjusts for establishment nonresponse and the second factor adjusts for occupational nonresponse. The third factor adjusts for any special situations that may have occurred during data collection. The fourth factor, post-stratification, also called benchmarking, is introduced to adjust estimated employ-ment totals to the current counts of employment by indus-try. The latest available employment counts were used to derive average hourly earnings in this publication.

Not all calculated series met the criteria for publication.

Before any series was published, it was reviewed to make sure that the number of observations underlying it was suf-ficient. This review prevented the publication of a series that could have revealed information about a specific estab-lishment.

Data reliability The data in this summary are estimates from a scientifically selected probability sample. There are two types of errors possible in an estimate based on a sample survey, sampling and nonsampling.

Sampling errors occur because observations come only from a sample and not from an entire population. The sample used for this survey is one of a number of possible samples of the same size that could have been selected us-ing the sample design. Estimates derived from the different samples would differ from each other.

A measure of variation among these differing estimates is called the standard error or sampling error. It indicates the precision with which an estimate from a particular sam-ple approximates the average result of all possible samples.

The relative standard error (RSE) is the standard error di-vided by the estimate. RSE data are provided alongside the earnings data in the summary tables.

The standard error can be used to calculate a confi-dence interval around a sample estimate. As an example, suppose a table shows that mean hourly earnings for all workers were $17.75, with a relative standard error of 1.0 percent for this estimate. At the 90-percent level, the con-fidence interval for this estimate is from $17.46 to $18.04

($17.75 minus and plus $0.29, where $0.29 is the product of 1.645 times 1.0 percent times $17.75). If all possible samples were selected to estimate the population value, the interval from each sample would include the true popula-tion value approximately 90 percent of the time.

Nonsampling errors also affect survey results. They can stem from many sources, such as inability to obtain information for some establishments, difficulties with sur-vey definitions, inability of the respondents to provide cor-rect information, or mistakes in recording or coding the data obtained. Although they were not specifically meas-ured, the nonsampling errors were expected to be minimal due to the extensive training of the field economists who gathered the survey data, computer edits of the data, and detailed data review.