Section III: Method of Collection

In 1999, the OES Wage Survey began using the Office of Management and Budget’s occupational classification system--the Standard Occupational Classification (SOC)system. The SOC classification system allows government statistical agencies and others to produce data using a common classification system. Prior to the SOC system, Federal agencies collecting occupational data used a variety of systems that were not necessarily compatible with one another.

In the SOC system, all workers are classified in one of over 820 occupations according to their occupational definition. To facilitate classification, occupations are combined to form 23 major, 96 minor, and 449 broad groups of occupations requiring similar job duties, skills, education, or experience.

Classification Principles of the SOC Coding System

In order to ensure that all users of occupational data classify workers in the same way, the following classification principles should be followed:

1.  The classification covers all occupations in which work is performed for pay or profit, including work performed in family-operated enterprises by family members who are not directly compensated. It excludes occupations unique to volunteers. Each occupation is assigned to only one occupational category at the lowest level of the classification.

2.  Occupations are classified based on work performed and on required skills, education, training, and credentials.

3.  Supervisors of professional and technical workers usually have a background similar to those of the workers they supervise and therefore are classified with the workers they supervise.  Likewise, team leaders, lead workers, and supervisors of production, sales, and service workers who spend at least twenty percent of their time performing work similar to the workers they supervise are classified with the workers they supervise.

4.  First-line managers and supervisors of production, service, and sales workers who spend more than eighty percent of their time performing supervisory activities are classified separately in the appropriate supervisor category because their work activities are distinct from those of the workers they supervise. First-line managers are generally found in smaller establishments where they perform both supervisory and management functions, such as accounting, marketing, and personnel work.

5.  Apprentices and trainees are classified with the occupations for which they are being trained, while helpers and aides are classified separately.

6.  If an occupation is not included as a distinct detailed occupation in the structure, it is classified in the appropriate residual occupation. Residual occupations contain all occupations within a major, minor, or broad group that are not classified separately.

7.  When workers can be classified in more than one occupation, they should be classified in the occupation that requires the higher skill level. When there is no perceptible difference in skill level, the worker should be classified in the occupation that describes their primary activity.

8.  Data collection and reporting agencies should classify workers at the most detailed level possible.  Different agencies may use different levels of aggregation, depending on their ability to collect data and on the requirements of users.

Section IV: Geographic Coverage of Estimates

The data for Wyoming are collected for four regions and the two Metropolitan Statistical Areas (MSAs), Casper and Cheyenne, shown in the map below. An MSA is a county or group of adjoining counties that contain at least one urbanized area of 50,000 inhabitants or more. The sample is stratified for each of these geographic areas. The estimates are prepared using samples specifically drawn for these geographic areas. Sample stratification provides greater assurance that no employer segment is left out of the sample.

Occupational Employment Statistics Area Map

Section V: Estimation Technique

The OES Wage Survey estimates were calculated using information from the 2000, 2001, 2002, 2003, and 2004 surveys. Using three or more years of data reduces sampling error, particularly for small geographic areas and less common occupations. However, this technique also requires the adjustment of 2000, 2001, 2002, 2003, and May 2004 data to the current reference period. This procedure is referred to as "wage updating." Estimates from the BLS Federal/State Cooperative OES program are produced for the most recent survey reference period that includes the 12th of the month. The BLS validated the results found in this publication. For wage updating purposes, the BLS uses the national wage changes for the nine occupational divisions for which Employment Cost Index (ECI) estimates are available. This procedure assumes that each occupation's wage, as measured in each year, moves according to the average movement of its occupational division and that there are no major geographic or detailed occupational differences. In the BLS estimates, ECI factors were applied to 2000, 2001, 2002, 2003, and May 2004 survey data to update them.

The employment estimates for each occupation are based on the total number of jobs worked reported as part of the UI Covered Employment and Wages program. The BLS technical notes relating to the OES Wage Survey include the scope of the survey, an explanation of the UI Covered Employment and Wage program, occupational classification of 22 major occupational groups, size class, and hourly intervals. 

Section VI: Wage Survey Definitions

* Annual Wages - Wages for certain occupations having a work year of less than 2,080 hours are reported as an annual salary.

Employment - Represents the jobs worked for wages, salaries, commissions, or tips from a private employer, a non-profit employer, or a governmental unit. This is the estimate of the number of jobs worked in an occupation across the industries in which it was reported. These numbers are rounded to the nearest ten.

Mean Wage - The estimated total wages for an occupation divided by its weighted survey employment. A measure of central tendency. If some values are far removed from the others (outlying), they can substantially influence the mean.

Entry Level Wage - Mean of the lower one-third of wage distribution.

Experienced Level Wage- Mean of the upper two-thirds of wage distribution

Percentile Wage Estimates- A percentile wage estimate shows the percentage of jobs worked in an occupation that earn less than a given wage and the percentage that earn more. 

The following Figure shows the statewide hourly wage for all occupations by percentile:

25th Percentile - 25 percent of jobs worked in an occupation are paid wages below $8.80 and 75 percent are paid wages above $8.80.

50th Percentile (Median) - The estimated 50th percentile of the wage distribution; 50 percent of jobs worked in an occupation are paid wages below $12.97 and 50 percent are paid wages above $12.97.

75th Percentile - 75 percent of jobs worked in an occupation are paid wages below $20.02 and 25 percent are paid wages above $20.02.