Table 2. Average weekly earnings’ in nursing occupations, private health services, United States and selected areas,

1994 — Continued
Registered Nurses Licensed Practical Nurses Nursing Assistants
State, area, and reference month
1 W " u Ml 1 u a 1 u Mm
Specialists Anesthetists
Ohio
Toledo (Apel) . - ge39 | - - - - ssi] - - | saa] =
regon
Portland (July) - 732 | - $982 - - 50] - - 303 | $350
Pennsylvania
Philadelphia (November) 775. | $841 987 | $1,359 - 557} - | $2a6/ 308| 404
Pittsburgh (Apri). 703 74) - 1,231 - 464} - 220| 308] 340
Scranton-Wilkes-Barre
(November) .... 587 | 631 ea | - 1,250 - as} - 259| 287| 319
South Carolina
Beaufort County (September) - - - - - 445] - - 230|  -
Charleston (March) . - - - - - - 423) - - 220) -
Greenwood County (September)... - - - - - - 390} - a7) -
Tennessee
Mamphis (November). - 605 701 - a 431} - - 243] -
Texas
‘Austin (June) - 635 | - 451) - - 248 | 315
Corpus Christi (Aug 494 | 628 67 | - - - ail - - 204) -
Houston (March) .. 530 | 688 754 886 - - 450) - 190} 262] 343
Longview-Marshall (July) - - - - - - 49] - - 201] -
San Angelo (October) - 581 - - - - 370|  - - an} -
San Antonio (June) . - ea] - - - - 416] $454] 188] 217] -
Utah
Salt Lake City-Ogden (May) - 650] - 792 - - aor] - 262| 260] -
Virginia
Norfolk-Virginia Beach-Newport
News (August)... 538 | 637 | - - 1335 | $373} 411] - - 250) -
Richmond-Petersburg (August) - ‘e2 | - - - - a7| - - 252] 334
Wisconsin
Appleton-Oshkosh-Neenah Way) - 649 7a} - - - 429 - -
Milwaukee (September) 579 | 709 755 919 - - 508 - 201 | 386

1 Exciudes premium pay for overtime and for work on weekends, holidays, and late
shifts. Also excluded are performance bonuses and lump-sum payments of the type
Negotiated in the auto and aerospace industries, as well as profit sharing payments,
attendance bonuses, Christmas or yearend bonuses, and other nonproduction bonuses.
Pay increases, but not bonuses, under cost-of-iving clauses, and incentive payments,

15 Compensation and Working Conditions Spring 1997

however, are included.

NOTE: Dashes indicate that no data were reported or that data did not meet publication i
criteria. Areas and occupations do not appear on this table if they had no publishable
data.



Table 4. Full-time nursing employment in private industry, 1994

Allnurses ..

Nursing assistants.
1

All private industry
Occupation and level Total Private health services
Total Hospitals
1,390,814 1,330,794 699,945
569,008 560,579 479,079
17,949 16,544 5,050
14,137 507,398 440,534
18,715 18,712 18,252
11,061 10,854 9,547
6,259 6,186 4,838
887 885 858
227,499 (220,849 94,152
6,435, 5,975 1,423
215,658 209,603 90,542
5,406 5271 2,187
594,307 549,366 126,714
73,104 45,198 5,783
490,942 475,218 106,758
28,861 27,567 13,209

employment is expected to grow
more slowly than in the past but still
add 469,000 new jobs in the next 10
years in the public and private
sectors. In addition, because the
number of hospital nurses is large,
replacement due to attrition and
retirement will provide numerous job
openings.

Employment of licensed practical
nurses and nursing assistants is
expected to grow much faster than
the average, with nursing homes
offering the most new jobs as the
number of aged and disabled persons
in need of rehabilitation and long-
term care rises rapidly. In both the
private and public sectors, nearly
197,000 new jobs are projected to
open up for licensed practical nurses
over the next decade and nearly
380,000 for nursing assistants.

In addition, new medical technol-
ogy will provide nurses with new
opportunities for career advancement
in the coming decade. New technol-
ogy will increase the number of
medical treatments and procedures
that nurses can perform and create a

need for more, and better trained,
nurses. In some instances, technol-
ogy will enable nurses to perform
tasks previously done only by
physicians. In other instances, it
will allow some treatments and
procedures previously done only in
hospitals to be performed in doctors’
offices, clinics, patients’ homes, and
nursing homes.

Occupational Compensation
Survey program

In 1994, the Bureau enhanced the
occupational compensation survey
sample in order to publish data
separately for nurses and workers in
selected other occupations in private
health services’, including private
hospitals. BLS has published
occupational wage data on private
hospitals before, most recently in
1991, but this is the first time data
have been published for all of the
private health services industry by
BLS.

The survey was limited to full-
time workers in establishments with
50 or more workers in the 48

contiguous States. Private house-
holds, agriculture, the Federal
Government, and the self-employed
were excluded. Occupational pay
data, including health services, for
the public sector are available from
BLS upon request.’

The Occupational Compensation
Survey controls for differences in job
duties and responsibilities by
stratifying workers into two or more
“job levels.” Each of the nursing
jobs surveyed begins at entry level I
and progresses through multiple
levels, each calling for progressively
more complex duties and responsi-
bilities. Registered nurse consists of
four job levels, and two specialist
jobs. Registered nurse specialist
equates to the duties and responsi-
bilities of level II and nurse anesthe-
tist equates to level III. Licensed
practical nurse comprises three job
levels and nursing assistants
comprises four. The job descriptions,
including leveling criteria, which
were used to collect data for the
nursing occupations surveyed, are
summarized in the following
section,

Compensation and Working Conditions Spring 1997 20

_. —t


Table 3. Average weekly earnings’ in nursing occupations, private hospitals, United States and selected areas, 1994

Registered Nurses Licensed Practical Nurses Nursing Assistants
State, area, and reference month
' n y rn W I 0 | om I wf] ow
Specialists Anesthetists
United States (September)... $509 | $719 | $7et_ | $074 | $1,502 | $397] $450] $522| $310] $312) $371
Alabama
Mobile (July) .... - 631 - - - - 366} - - 24) -
Arizona
Phoenix (April... - ee | - - - - 4g | = - 2eg | -
ea | - - - - - - - - -
834 95 | - - - 563 | - - oat} -
765 - - - - 498 - - - -
809 - - - - 530 - - 336] -
830 842 880 - - 47|  - - 329] 375
902 - - - - soz} - - 335 | 411
1,083 - - - - ese] - - 492 | 485
San Jose (July) ... 1,049 - - - - 674] - - 480, -
Colorado
Denver (December) ..... - - - - 1,324 - - - - - 385
Delaware
Wilmington (December) - - 887 - oa - 552 - - 332 -
Florida
Miami-Hialeah (October) - 715 785 969 - - 460) - a1} -
Orlando (December) .... - 648 - - - - 439 - - 342
Tampa-St. Petersburg-Ciearwater
(Juy) .. foe 613 666 - - - aig] - - 256 | -
Georgla
528 | 678 847 - - a6| = - aoa} 343
- 676 - - - - - - -
- 660 | - - - - - - - ang | -
Minols
- 752 821 912} 1,292 - sor] - - 353] 390
Joliet (August) - e2 | - - - - 506 | - - . .
Indiana
Evansville (August) - - - - - - aie] - - 207| -
Fort Wayne (February) - 605 - - - - 435] - - 295| -
indianapolis (July) .. - 657 - - - - agi] - - 300] -
South Bend-Mishawaka
(September)... - - - - - - ame; - | - 335] -
Kentucky
Louisville (June) - 705 - - - - 438 | - - 2p | -
Loulsiana
New Orleans (July) - 718 825 - 394} 481 233] 266] -
Shreveport (April) - 624 - - - 421 - 24h] -

‘See footnotes at end of table.

17 Compensation and Working Conditions Spring 1997


worked in hospitals, were paid
noticeably more in hospitals for
levels I, I, and If than in all private
health services. Private hospitals
paid 31 percent more than all private
industry at level I and 15 percent
more at the most populous level II.
The pay advantage in hospitals fell
to 6 percent at level III. At level IV,
however, the situation for nursing
assistants was different. In hospitals,
where they represented seven-tenths
of all level IV nursing assistants, pay
fell slightly below the average for
nursing assistants in all private
industry.

Area differences in nursing pay in
private hospitals were similar to the
area pay differences in all private
health services (table 3). Hospital
nursing pay for level I registered
nurses was typically higher than the
national average ($719 a week) in
the larger metropolitan areas and
lower than the national average in
smaller cities and non-metropolitan
areas. For example, in San Fran-
cisco, California, level JI registered
nurses earned $1,083 a week but less
than $610 a week in some smaller
metropolitan areas such as Fort
Wayne, Indiana and San Angelo,
Texas. The same pattern was
evident for nursing assistants, with
San Francisco, California, reporting
the highest average wage for nursing
assistants and Mobile, Alabama, the
lowest.

Nursing employment

Because employment of nurses is
so widespread, and almost the
exclusive domain of women,
information on the occupation’s pay
should be of interest to a large
audience. In 1994, the Bureau’s
Current Population Survey (CPS)*,
found that nurses held about 1 out of
every 23 full-time jobs in the United
States, and about J out of every 31
part-time jobs. Overall, the CPS
found 4.0 million nurses among 123
million workers. Included in 87
million full-time workers were 2.8
million nurses. Among these were
about 1.4 million registered nurses,

296,000 licensed practical nurses,
and 1.2 million nursing assistants.
Among 36 million part-time
workers, the CPS found 1.1 million
nurses, including 562,000 registered
nurses, 101,000 licensed practical
nurses, and 478,000 nursing
assistants.

Most nurses were women. The
CPS reported that women accounted
for 92 percent of the full-time
nursing population, second only to
secretary, where virtually all the jobs
were filled by women. Moreover, 1
out of every 15 women in the full-
time private workforce was em-
ployed as a nurse, as was 1 out of
every 18 women working part time.
And while the teaching occupation
also employed more women than
nursing in 1994, its ratio of women
to men was smaller than in nursing.

Nursing occupations

The OCS found considerably
fewer nurses in the establishments it
surveyed than the CPS found in the
economy as a whole. This is
primarily because it is limited to
full-time nurses who matched the
OCS job descriptions for nurses and
who worked in private establish-
ments employing at least 50 work-
ers’.

Additionally, due to survey design
limitations, OCS estimates of
occupational employment serve as a
general guide to size and composi-
tion of the occupations studied,
rather than a precise measure of
employment. Table 4 shows OCS
data on full-time nursing employ-
ment in all private industry, private
health services, and private hospi-
tals, (Private health services is a
subset of all private industry and
private hospitals is a subset of
private health services.)

In 1994, OCS found 1.4 million
full-time nurses in private industry,
virtually all in private health
services (see table 4). Overall, the
survey reported 569,000 registered
nurses, including 19,000 registered
nurse specialists, 6,000 nurse
anesthetists, 227,000 licensed

practical nurses, and 594,000 non-
skilled nursing assistants. While
most nurses in private industry
worked in health services, just over
one-half of them worked in hospi-
tals. Unlike the CPS, however, OCS
does not break out employment by
gender.

The majority of private industry
nurses in each of the three nursing
occupations studied worked in
private health services. But nursing
employment in hospitals, as a
portion of nursing employment in all
health services, varied by nursing
occupation. For example, of
registered nurses, 85 percent worked
in hospitals, including nearly every
specialist, level IL, registered nurse
level IIL, and registered nurse level
IV. In contrast, 43 percent of
licensed practical nurses and 23
percent of nursing assistants worked
in hospitals.

Aside from hospitals, the OCS
did not report on the types of
establishments nurses worked in.
But, according to the Bureau’s
Occupational Outlook Quarterly,
about one quarter of licensed
practical nurses worked in nursing
homes and one-tenth worked in
doctors’ offices and clinics.
Likewise, about one-half of nursing
assistants work in nursing homes.

Employment outlook

Job opportunities in the nursing
profession are expected to rise faster
than the norm over the next decade
and will continue to make nursing
an attractive career choice. Accord-
ing to the Bureau’s Division of
Occupational Outlook, attrition, an
aging population, and technological
advancement will drive the demand
for more and better trained nurses.
In addition, individuals who are
willing to continue their training,
Jearn advanced techniques and
procedures, and specialize in a
particular field, will find additional
opportunities to advance their
careers.

For registered nurses, the major-
ity of whom work in hospitals,

Compensation and Working Conditions Spring 1997 16

_ —y


Table 3. Average weekly earnings’ in nursing occupations, private hospitals, United States and selected areas, 1994 —

Continued
Registered Nurses Licensed Practical Nurses Nursing Assistants
State, area, and reference month 1 mn
' i] Specialists Mt Anesthetists ! a aM | il] MW
Utah
Salt Lake City-Ogden (May) .... - - - - - - - - - gees] -
Virginia
Norfolk-Virginia Beach-Newport
News (August)... - $643 - - $1,335 - $426) - - 286 | -
Richmond Petersburg (August) - 679 - - - - 446) - 287) -
Wisconsin
Appleton-Oshkosh-Neenah (Mey) - 666 - = - - 440 - 314 -
Milwaukee (September)... $579 720 | $757 | $919 - - 475 - 338 | $387

1 Excludes premium pay for overtime and for work on weekends, holidays, and late
shifts. “Also excluded are performance bonuses and lump-sum payments of the type
negotiated in the auto and aerospace industries, as well 8s prof sharing payments,
attendance bonuses, Christmas or yearend bonuses, and other nonproduction bonuses.
Pay increases, but not bonuses, under cost-of-living clauses, and incentive payments,

19 Compensation and Working Conditions Spring 1997

however, are included.

NOTE: Dashes indicate that no data were reported or that data did not meat publication
criteria. Areas and occupations do not appear on this table if they had no publishable
data.


BY MICHAEL A. MILLER

Michael A. Miller is a labor economist in the
Division of Compensation Data Estimation, Bu-
reau of Labor Statistics, Telephone (202) 606-
6242.

Nursing Pay in Private
Industry, 1994

Registered nurses, among the best educated of the nursing
occupations, earned, on average, considerably more than
either licensed practical nurses or nursing assistants. Also,
nursing employment is expected to grow significantly over
the next decade, adding more than I million jobs to the

economy.

etween 1994 and 2005, the
B Bureau of Labor Statistics

projects that the health
services industry will grow by 3.1
million workers.’ Included in this
number will be more than 1 million
new nursing jobs filled by 469,000
registered nurses, 197,000 licensed
practical nurses, and 380,000
nursing assistants.”

The Bureau’s 1994 survey of pay
for nursing and non-nursing
occupations in the private health
services industry was conducted as
part of its Occupational Compensa-
tion Survey program (OCS). The
survey collected data on pay for
nursing as well as non-nursing
occupations. The OCS also studies
occupational wages for over 150
selected metropolitan areas and non-
metropolitan counties across the
Nation.

This article reports pay data for
three nursing occupations in private
industry from the 1994 OCS:
Registered nurses (including
specialists and nurse anesthetists),
licensed practical nurses, and
nursing assistants. It also presents a
broad overview of the nursing
profession, examines the
occupation’s national employment,
and looks at employment projections
for the next decade. In addition, a

11 Compensation and Working Conditions Spring 1997

special section summarizes the job
descriptions used by the OCS to
match nurses to their jobs.

Among the survey findings are:

© Most nurses surveyed in the
private sector worked in the
private health services sub-
sector.

° Nationally, pay for nurses in
private industry did not vary
substantially from pay for
nurses in the same jobs in
either the private health
services sub-sector or the
private hospitals sub-sector.

© Registered nurses who
specialized in a particular
medical discipline were paid
higher wages than non-
specialists, with nurse anesthe-
tists having the highest
average wage.

* Private sector nursing pay in
major metropolitan areas was
typically much higher than the
national average for each of
the three nursing occupations
studied.

Pay for nurses
Across the various job levels of

TT


intensive care or coronary care units.
These assignments require LPN’s to
immediately recognize and respond
to serious situations, sometimes prior
to notifying an RN. However, their
overall independence and authority
is more limited than that described
in situation | and supervisory
approval is required for proposed
deviations from established guide-
lines.

Nursing assistant (NA)

Nursing assistants provide
personal and nursing care to patients
in hospitals, nursing homes, resident
care facilities, clinics, private homes,
and community health organiza-
tions. Their duties include main-
taining patient hygiene and support-
ing doctors and nurses in diagnostic
procedures, technical treatments,
patient charting and patient teach-
ing. Their work does not require
State licensure.

OCS classifies NA’s into levels
based upon the following definitions:

Level 1. Performs simple personal
care and housekeeping tasks

‘Employment Outlook: 1994-2005, Job
Quality and Other Aspects of Projected Employ.
‘ment Growth, Bulletin 2472, Bureau of Labor Sta
tistics, December 1995, p. 3.

2Employment Outlook, p. 13.

3 For all occupations studied, the Bureau
ranked workers according to the level of duties
and responsibility their jobs required. This rank-
ing is known as “job leveling.” Detailed job lev-
ling information for the occupations surveyed is.
available upon request.

“The Current Population Survey (crs) is con-
ducted monthly by the Bureau of the Census for
the Bureau of Labor Statistics. Itis a sample sur-
vey of people 16 years of age and older and pro-

requiring no previous training.
Typical tasks include: bathing,
dressing, feeding, lifting, escorting,
and transporting patients; collecting
laundry carts and food trays; taking
and recording temperatures; and
changing bed linen and cleaning
patient’s room. Follows detailed and
specific instructions.

Level 2. In addition to providing
personal care, performs common
nursing procedures such as: observ-
ing and reporting on patient condi-
tions; taking and recording vital
signs; collecting and labeling
specimens; sterilizing equipment;
listening to and encouraging
patients; giving baths; applying and
changing compresses and non-sterile
dressings; checking and replenishing
supplies; securing admission data
from patients; and assisting in
controlling aggressive or disruptive
behavior. Follows specific instruc-
tions; matters not covered are
verified with the supervisor.

Level 3, Performs a variety of
common nursing procedures as

—ENDNOTES—

vides comprehensive data, including usual weekly
earnings, on the labor force, classified by such
characteristics as age, sex, race, family relation-
ship, marital status, occupation, and industry at-
tachment, Thecrs is collected by trained interview-
ers from a sample of 50,000 households located
in 754 sample areas chosen to represent all coun-
ties and independent cities in the 50 States and the
District of Columbia.

The OCS minimum employment refers to
workers of all occupations; it is not limited to
nurses.

The reader is cautioned that employment fig-
ures from the Occupational Outlook Quarterly
include nurses in the public sector as well as those

described at level 2. Work requires
prior experience or training to
perform these procedures with some
latitude for exercising independent
initiative or limited judgment. May
also: perform several procedures
sequentially; chart patient care;
administer prescribed medication
and simple treatments; teach patient
self care; and lead lower level
nursing assistants,

Level 4. Applies advanced patient
or resident care principles, proce-
dures and techniques which require
considerable training and experi-
ence. In addition to the work
described at level 3, typical duties
include: assisting professional staff
in planning and evaluating patient
or resident care; recognizing subtle
changes in patient’s condition and
behavior and varying nursing care
accordingly; catheterizing, irrigating
and suctioning patients; monitoring
IV fluids and alerting registered
nurse when system needs attention;
and performing minor operative and
diagnostic procedures in a clinic.
Supervisor describes limitations or
priorities of work.

in private industry.
‘classifications in this article are de~

fined in the U.S, Office of Management and
Budget’s Standard Industrial Classification
(SIC) Manual, 1987. Private health services is
SIC 80. Private hospitals, SIC 806, is a subset of
private health services, along with doctors’ offices,
clinics, nursing homes, extended care facilities,
laboratories, and miscellaneous health services.

"Occupational Wage Survey, Hospitals,
January 1991, Bulletin 2392, Bureau of Labor
Statistics, January 1992.

*See Occupational Compensation Survey,
National Summary, 1994, Bulletin 2479, Bureau
of Labor Statistics, June 1996.

Compensation and Working Conditions Spring 1997 22

TT


Job Descriptions for Nurses

Job descriptions used in the
Occupational Compensation Survey
to collect pay data for nurses’ jobs
are summarized below. The leveling
criteria used are also included.

Registered nurse (RN)

These workers provide profes-
sional nursing care to patients in
hospitals, nursing homes, clinics,
health units, private residences, and
community health organizations.
(Visiting nurses are included.) They
assist physicians with treatment;
assess patient health problems and
needs; develop and implement
nursing care plans; maintain
medical records; and assist patients
in complying with a prescribed
medical regimen. Their work may
be specialized as, for example,
operating room nurse, psychiatric
nurse, nurse anesthetist, industrial
nurse, nurse practitioner, and
clinical nurse specialist. And they
may supervise licensed practical
nurses and nursing assistants.

OCS classifies RN's into levels
based upon the following criteria:

Level 1. Provides comprehensive
general nursing care to patients
whose conditions and treatment are
normally uncomplicated. Follows
established procedures, standing
orders, and doctor’s instructions.
Uses judgment in selecting guide-
lines appropriate to changing patient
conditions. Routine duties are
performed independently; variations
from established routines are
performed under specific instruc-
tions.

Level 2. Plans and provides compre-
hensive nursing care in accordance
with professional nursing standards.
Uses judgment in assessing patient
conditions, interprets guidelines, and
modifies patient care as necessary.
Recognizes and determines proper
action for medical emergencies, for

example, calls physician or takes
pre-planned emergency measures.

Level 2 specialist. Plans and
provides highly specialized patient
care in a difficult specialty area, such
as intensive care or critical care. In
comparison with Registered Nurse 2,
pay typically reflects advanced
specialized training, experience, and
certification. May assist higher level
nurses in developing, evaluating,
and revising nursing plans. May
provide advice to lower level nursing
staff in area of specialty.

Level 3. Plans and performs
specialized and advanced nursing
assignments of considerable diffi-
culty. Uses expertise in assessing
patient conditions and develops
nursing plans which serve as a role
model for others. Evaluation and
observation skills are relied upon by
physicians in developing and
modifying treatment. Work extends
beyond patient care to the evaluation
of concepts, procedures, and pro-
gram effectiveness.

Level 3 anesthetist. Recommends
and administers general anesthetics
intravenously, typically by inhala-
tion, or by endotracheal intubation;
induces patient anesthesia, and
manages proper states of patient
narcosis throughout prolonged
surgeries. Determines the need for
and administers parenteral fluids,
including plasma and blood;
administers stimulants as directed.
May also administer local anesthet-
ics, as needed.

Level 4. Plans, researches, develops,
and implements new or modified
techniques, methods, practices, and
approaches in nursing care. Acts as
consultant in area of specialization
and is considered an expert or leader
within specialty area. Consults with
supervisor to develop decisions and

21 Compensation and Working Conditions Spring 1997

coordinates with other medical staff
and community.

Licensed practical nurse (LPN)

LPN’s provide practical or
vocational nursing care to patients in
hospitals, nursing homes, clinics,
health units, homes, and community
health organizations. They typically
work under the supervision of a
registered nurse or physician, and
may supervise unlicensed nursing
assistants.

OCS classifies LPN’s into levels
based upon the following criteria:

Level I. Provides standard nursing
care requiring some latitude for
independent judgment and initiative
to perform recurring duties. Super-
visor provides additional instructions
for unusual or difficult tasks.
Deviations from specific guidelines
must be authorized by the supervisor.

Level 2. Provides nursing care
requiring an understanding of
diseases and illnesses sufficient to
enhance communication with
physicians, registered nurses and
patients, Follows general instruc-
tions in addition to established
policies, practices, and procedures.
Uses judgment to vary sequence of
procedures based on patient’s
condition and previous instructions.
Supervisory approval for requested
deviations is given routinely.
Guidance is provided for unusual
occurrences.

Level 3. This level applies to two
different work situations. In
situation 1), LPN’s provide nursing
care for patients in various stages of
dependency, setting priorities and
deadlines for patient care, and
modifying nursing care as necessary
prior to notifying the supervisor. In
situation 2), LPN’s are assigned to a
selected group of critically ill
patients, for example, in hospital


Table 3. Average weekly earnings’ in nursing occupations, private hospitals, United States and selected areas, 1994 —

Continued
Registered Nurses Licensed Practical Nurses Nursing Assistants
State, area, and reference month
} n y iW a yoo fm fou }ou dw
Specialists ‘Anesthetists
Maryland
Baltimore (March) ... - $723 | $913 | $927 - - $513} - - $318 | $336
- 923 1,002 1,175 | $1,439 617} - - 402 394
- 770 - - - - 611 - = 353 -
- 739 - - - ~ 585 - - 378 -
Missouri
Kansas City (September) ... - 678 757 - - - 462 - - 290 -
New Jersey
Bergen-Passaic (May) .. - 892 - - - 672) $751 - 383 432
Monmouth-Ocean (Septer - 760 - - - - 526] - - 365] -
New Mexico
Albuquerque (September) .. - - - - - - - - - 266 -
New York
Nassau-Sutfolk (November) - 907 = - - - 615 - - 465
New York (May) - 969 1,080 1,164 1,381 - 570 - - 446 450
Poughkeepsie (August) .. - - - - - - 481 - - - -
Rochester (November) - 643 - - - - 454 - -
North Carolina
Charlotte-Gastonia-Rock Hill
(September) .... - 691 - - - - 464] - - 309} 341
Ohio
Cincinnati (May) - 669 - - - - 462 - - 5} -
Cleveland (August) - 735 854 - 1,465 - 439] - - 375 | -
Toledo (April)... - 4} | - - - 458 | - - 336} -
Oregon
Portland (July) .. af = 761 - 945 - - 515] - - 380] -
Pennsylvania
Philadelphia (November) - 7 841 987 359 - 543] - - 393
Pittsburgh (April... - 709 754 - 1,231 - 475 - - 363 368
Scranton-Wilkes-Barre
(November) - 637 627 - 1,250 - 478 - $282 294
South Carolina
Charleston (March) ..... - - - - - - 425 - - - -
Tennessee
Memphis (November) ..... o - 603 687 - - - 438 - - 280 -
Texas
Austin (dune) .. 662 - - - - 459] - - 261
Corpus Christi (August) 621 667 - - - 4t4 - - 231 -
Houston (March) ..... 690 754 - - $398 459 - 258 279 339
Longview-Marshall (July) - - - - - - si] - - - -
San Angelo (October) - sea] - - - - - - - -
‘San Antonio (June) - 610 - - - - 408 - - 27] -

See footnotes at end of table.

Compensation and Working Conditions Spring 1997 18

TT


Table 2. Average weekly earnings’ in nursing occupations, private health services, United States and selected areas,

1994 — Continued

Registered Nurses Licensed Practical Nurses ‘Nursing Assistants
State, area, and reference month
\ 0 y W Ww \ o fom fo of] ol
‘Specialists Anesthetists
indiana
Evansville (August) .. - $588 - - - - $442 - - $246 | $298
Fort Wayne (February) .. $653 | 602 - - - - 426] = 245 -
Indianapolis (July) 611 655 - - - - 518 - - 253 297
South Bend-Mishe
(September) ... - 662 - - - - 470 - - 243 320
Kentucky
Louisville (June) 8... 604 703 - - - - 444 - - 259 305
Louisiana
New Orleans (July) - 717 | $821 - - $394] 453] $523] $96} 205] -
Shreveport (Apri) - ea] - - - 404} ~ 160| 209) -
Maryland
Baltimore (March) ..... 574 719 904 $942 - - 516 - 266 264 323
Massachusetts
Boston (May) .... 678 904 | 1,002 | 1,182 | $1,499 - 23 | - - 368] 394
Lawrence-Haverhill (October) 616 | 757 - - - - sai] - - 34] -
Worcester (September) ..... 7 738 - - - - 580] - - 366]  -
Minnesota
St. Cloud (March) ...... - - - - - - 405 | - - 268] -
Missouri
Butler County (June) - 509 - - - - 338 7 - 199 -
Kansas City (September) - 675 757 901 - 367] 457] - 202| 243! 306
Montana
Billings (September) .. - - - - - - 403) - - 22] -
New Hampshire
Carroll County (May) ..... - 543 - - - - - - - - ~
New Jersey
Bergen-Passaic (May) ... 678 866 - - - - 645] 669] - 346 | 354
Monmouth-Ocean (September) - 755 - - - - 525 - - 336 -
New Mexico
Albuquerque (September) .. - - - - - - 463] - - 24g]
New York
Delaware County (October) - 574 - - - - us| - - 24g] -
Elmira (September) ... - - - - - - 385 - - - 316
Nassau-Suffolk (November) .. 826 887 - - - 513 591 - - 44 465
New York (May) .... - 955 | 1,077 | 1,164] 4,381 - 564] - 306] 433] 448
Poughkeepsie (August) . 579] - - - - 467|  - - 326) -
Rochester (November) - 645 - - - - 453 - - 305 -
North Carolina
Charlotte-Gastonia-Rock Hill
(September) ..... - 675 - - - - 473 - - 273 339
Ohio
Cincinnati (May) 563 | 654 - - - - 476|  - - 265| 312
Cleveland (August) - 719 854 - 1,463 - 494 - - 290 -

See footnotes at end of table.

Compensation and Working Conditions Spring 1997 14

_ aan


Table 2. Average weekly earnings’ In nursing occupations, private health services, United States and selected areas,

1994
Registered Nurses Licensed Practical Nurses Nursing Assistants
State, area, and reference month
\ n 4 Ww W \ oe fom | oyu
Specialists Anesthetists
United States (September) .... $589 $714 $762 $964 | $1,464 $393 $453} $525] $237] $273} $348
Alabama
Mobile (July) ... - 628 - - - - 372 - - 214 -
Arizona
Apache County (November) - - - - - - 424) - - es7} -
Phoenix (April ... - 647 - - - - 461) - - 268} 336
Arkansas
Little Rock-North Little Rock
(December) .. - 625 - - - - 371 - 218 -
California
‘Anaheim-Santa Ana (Augus!) .. 593 822 915 - - - 576 - - 282 -
Fresno (March) .. - 751 - - - - 44} 536] = 255] 345
Oxnard-Ventura (August) - 793 - - - - 5AL - - 255 -
Riverside-San Bemardino (May) .. 613 823 842 880 - - 490 - - 249 378
San Diego ( 644 865 - - - - 546] - 230) = ait
San Francisco (April = 969 - - - - 613] - - 302] 406
San Jose (July) .. or | 1,013 - - - - 662] - - 343] 487
‘San Luis Obispo County
(September) ..... - - - - - - 4g] - 256) -
Visalia-Tulare-Porterville (July) - 65 | - - - - - - - 242}
- - - - - 407 - - 251 7
Denver (December) - 700 - 1,324 - 479 - - 287 382
Connecticut
Danbury (February) ..... ee] - - - - - 623] - - 6) -
Delaware
Wiimington (December) ... - 760 817 - - - 551 - 249 291 -
Florida
Bradenton (Apri .... 516 - - - - - 409} - - on| -
Miami-Hialeah (October) - 10 785 969 - - 466 555 224 269 922
Monroe County (August) .. 581 - - - - - 448 - 232 282 =
Orlando (December .... - 642 - 905 - - 434] 462] = 260} 339
Tampa-St. Petersburg-Clearwater
(duly) .. foe 601 666 - - - 4541 S00; - 259) -
Georgia
Atlanta (May) .. 540 674 - 47 - - 44 - 200 260 339
Augusta (June) - 676 - - - - 433 - - 238 -
Boise City (November) - - - - - - 43) - _ oso | -
Illinois
= 740 818 910 1,232 512 537 - 265 386
se5 | 684 | - - - - 504] - - an} -
- - - - - - 306} = - 208 -
Indiana
Elkhart-Goshen (November) .... - - - - - - 515 - - 269 319
See footnotes at end of table.

13. Compensation and Working Conditions Spring 1997



Table 1. Weekly pay for nurses, 1994

Registered nurses
1

All private industry
Occupation and level Private health services
Total Total Hospitals
$590 $589 $589
711 711 719
762 762 761
960 964 974
1464 1464 1502
982 982 978
391 393 397
453 453 450
527 525 522
236 237 310
272 273 312
349 348 371
44 444 432

the three nursing occupations, pay
for nurses in private health services
did not vary significantly from pay
for nurses in all private industry in
1994, Nursing pay in private
hospitals did vary somewhat. The
differences were typically small,
however, exceeding 10 percent only
for the first two job levels of nursing
assistants.

The all private industry data in
table 1 show that registered nurses,
the most highly trained and skilled
of the three nursing occupations,
were the best paid. Among regis-
tered nurses, 90 percent worked at
level It where they averaged $711 a
week nationwide.> Registered nurse
specialists, level II, averaged 7
percent more pay than non-special-
ists at level II, and nurse anesthetists
earned one and one half times the
amount other level III registered
nurses earned, averaging $1,464 per
week, Over 9 in 10 licensed practical
nurses were classified at level II, and
these workers averaged $453 per
week. The most populous level of
nursing assistants—again level II—
averaged $272 per week.

Pay for nurses in private health
services in the larger metropolitan

areas was typically higher than the
national average, and lower than the
national average in smaller cities
and non-metropolitan areas (table 2).
For example, registered nurses, level
I, averaged $711 a week nation-
wide. In major metropolitan areas
their wages were higher, up to
$1,013 in San Jose, California, but
averaged less than $600 in some
non-metropolitan areas, such as
Butler County, Missouri, and Carroll
County, New Hampshire. Likewise,
registered nurse specialists, level II,
were typically paid more than the
national average in larger metropoli-
tan areas such as Boston, Massachu-
setts and New York, New York. For
nurse anesthetists, level II], however,
only a small portion of the metro-
politan areas studied reported data,
making it difficult to draw compari-
sons from one area to another.

The area differences seen in
private health services for registered
nurse, level Il, in table 2, were
repeated for licensed practical nurses
and nursing assistants. For example,
licensed practical nurses, level II,
who averaged $453 a week nation-
wide, earried considerably more in
larger metropolitan areas, $662 a

week in San Jose, California, for
instance, but less than $350 a week
in some non-metropolitan areas.
The same pattern was evident for
nursing assistants, with New York
City and Nassau-Suffolk counties,
New York, paying the highest
average wages.

Nationally, pay for registered
nurses in private hospitals was about
the same as it was for nurses in both
private health services and all
private industry (table 1). This is
because private hospitals dominated
employment for registered nurses.
Nurse anesthetists affiliated with
hospitals held the largest pay
advantage, 3 percent, but because of
possible sampling error, this
difference may not be significant.

For each level of licensed practi-
cal nurse in private hospitals, pay
was about the same across the three
industry breakouts shown in table 1.
But because hospitals employed less
than two-fifths of the licensed
practical nurses, their pay most
likely was not the dominant influ-
encing factor in the total average pay
for nurses in all private industry.

On the other hand, nursing
assistants, about one-fifth of whom

Compensation and Working Conditions Spring 1997 12

—TT |