Compensation and Working Conditions Summer 1997 24

O

ne economic statistic that is

frequently in demand is the

average earnings for given

occupations. Such data have a

limitation, since a given occupation

can encompass a wide range of tasks

and abilities. Knowing the average

salary for engineers, for example,

would tell us little about the average

salary of entry-level engineers or of

senior-level engineers.

The Bureau of Labor Statistics

has instituted a number of surveys

over its history to study the relation

of job duties to earnings. The most

recent attempt is a national study of

earnings known as the National

Compensation Survey (NCS).1 (This

program was previously called

COMP2000, and is referred to by

that title in 1996 publications.)

The NCS collects data on

earnings for about 500 occupations—from accountants to wood

lathe operators.2 The NCS is slated

to publish earnings on overall

averages in an occupation, and also

by work level (defined as a range of

skills, knowledge, and duties within

an occupation).

To quantify work levels, BLS

designed a point-factor system of job

classification. BLS field economists

ask questions concerning a number

of factors related to a job. These

factors cover a job’s requirements,

duties, and working conditions. They

consist of the following:

• Knowledge

• Supervision received

• Guidelines

• Complexity

• Scope and effect

• Personal contacts

• Purpose of contacts

• Physical demands

• Work environment

• Supervisory duties

Earnings by Level of

Work: Results from Pilot

Studies of the National

Compensation Survey

Program

The Bureau’s new National Compensation Survey makes use of a

sophisticated point-factor system to classify jobs. The classification

system allows researchers to compare jobs—and hence, hourly wages—

between statistical metropolitan areas.

BY JASON FORD

Jason Ford is an economist with the Division of

Compensation and Data Estimation, Bureau of

Labor Statistics. Telephone (202) 606-6206.
25 Compensation and Working Conditions Summer 1997

(See appendix 1 for a description

of the factors used to determine work

levels.)

Each factor contains a set of

descriptions. Jobs are assigned

points for each factor, depending on

the description that best fits the job.

The points are tallied and then BLS

classifies every job into a level from

1 to 15.3 Examples of a level 1 job

might be fast-food workers or ditch

diggers. An example of a level 15

job might be senior researchers or

high-level managers.

Different combinations of factors

can generate the same level. Two

jobs each may be ranked at level 12,

for example, but one can have a

higher knowledge level, and the

other have higher complexity and

guidelines level. Thus, it cannot

explicitly be said that a job at level x

has certain attributes (combination

of factors). However, through the

use of prototypes an approximation

of the attributes can be made.

BLS defines prototypes for each

level; the prototype shows the most

common distribution of points

assigned to each factor to produce

the given level. The reason that

prototypes are possible is that the 10

factors have a high level of correlation with each other. A job with a

required level of knowledge would

be expected to have a certain level of

decision making, degree of contacts

with others, and working conditions.

If an employer required that a job be

filled by someone with a doctorate,

for example, it is likely that the

employer would expect that employee to work independently. For

specific discussion of prototypes for

each of the jobs discussed in this

article, please see appendix 2.

Early in 1996, BLS used this

point-factor analysis to do pilot

studies in three test cities: Albuquerque, New Mexico; Rochester,

New York; and Allentown, Pennsylvania. The results of these tests

suggest the wide number of possibilities for using this method as a

tool for studying the Nation’s

earnings structure in the private

tions. The National Compensation

Survey collects and publishes data

on the following nine groups5:

• Professional and technical;

• Executive, administrative, and

managerial;

• Sales;

• Administrative support

(clerical);

• Precision production, craft,

and repair;

• Machine operators, assemblers, and inspectors;

• Transportation and material

moving;

• Handlers, equipment cleaners,

helpers, and laborers; and

• Services.

Three occupational groups—

professional and technical; executive, administrative, and managerial;

and administrative support—are

grouped to form a category called

“white-collar workers, excluding

sales” which is used as a basis for

comparison for this article. For

example, earnings of level 4 secretaries were compared with level 4

administrative support workers. In

addition, comparisons were made of

workers in a specific occupation and

all workers in an occupational

group. For example, average

earnings of secretaries were compared to those of administrative

support workers, the group to which

secretaries belong.

Engineers

There were a sufficient number of

engineers in Albuquerque and

Rochester to generate publishable

data for levels 9 and above. Engineers, not surprisingly, tended to be

classified at relatively high levels in

the two cities, where the most

sector and State and local governments.

BLS first took a random sample

of establishments in these cities,

then randomly sampled jobs within

each establishment. The sampled

jobs were classified into 1 of 501

possible occupations, such as

“actuary” or “food service worker,

not elsewhere classified”.

Not all occupations provided

publishable data in the three cities.

An occupation had to be common

enough to allow for generation of

meaningful data.

This article focuses on the

occupations where enough data were

available in the three cities to

compare earnings by level. For the

occupation to be selected, at least

three levels of data had to be

available in at least two of the three

cities.

The occupations meeting this

standard are:

• Engineers;

• Secretaries;

• Bookkeepers and accounting

and auditing clerks4;

• General office clerks; and

• Janitors and cleaners.

A smaller volume of data on a

number of other occupations also

was developed. See tables 1, 3, and

5 for the complete breakdown.

In addition to making comparisons of the same occupation between

cities, the leveling system allows

comparison of an occupation’s

earnings with those of similar

occupations. For example, secretaries’ earnings can be compared to

average earnings of all administrative support occupations, including

clerical workers, which is the major

group that includes secretaries.

To allow for comparison, BLS

distributes the economy’s approximate 500 jobs into 11 occupational

groups containing related occupa-
 Compensation and Working Conditions Summer 1997 26

common level was 12.

In Albuquerque, average hourly

earnings for engineers ranged from

$20.47 at level 9 to $33.38 at level

13. Level 9 refers to a journey-level

engineer, and level 13 refers to an

engineer doing work requiring an

advanced degree or the equivalent.

In Rochester, average hourly

earnings for engineers ranged from

$22.08 at level 9 to $28.54 at level

12. (See table 1 for earnings ratio of

engineering occupation by level.)

How do the earnings of engineers

compare to other professional and

white collar jobs, holding level

constant?

Ratios are used to compare wages

among occupations, levels, and

areas. Comparison ratios were

computed to determine the relationship between engineers and various

published categories. To compute

them, the mean wage for an occupation, such as engineer level 9, was

divided by the mean wage for all

professional level 9 occupations. A

ratio larger than 1 indicates that the

mean wage for the occupation(s) is

greater than the mean wage for the

comparison group; a ratio of less

than 1 indicates a lower wage.

Ratios were calculated in the

following manner:

1. Determine the basis for

comparison:

almost identical in the two cities

when compared by level except for

the “all levels” category. At level

11, for example, the ratio was 1.12

in both cities.

The data do not indicate why

engineers are paid more relative to

other professional and white-collar

workers at the lower levels. Some

possibilities, however, include:

• Jobs that require a great deal

of training, such as doctors

and research scientists, are

found predominantly at the

higher levels. These jobs

receive high pay because

workers have to forego several

years of earnings to receive

training. Their earnings raise

the overall average of all

white-collar and executivelevel jobs.

• At levels 12 and 13, the

overall averages for professional and white-collar pay are

driven partly by high pay for

supervisory positions. An

engineering job can be

classified as level 13 without

having supervisory duties.

Other jobs classified at that

level are more likely to have

supervisory duties.

Albuquerque Rochester

9 ..................................................................................... 1.14 1.20 1.15 1.19

11 ................................................................................... 1.03 1.12 1.09 1.12

12 ................................................................................... 1.03 1.05 0.94 1.02

13 ................................................................................... 0.73 0.90 n.a. n.a.

All levels ........................................................................ 1.12 1.63 1.16 1.46

Table 1. Earnings ratios of engineers to professional and white-collar workers in private industry by city and level, 1996

Professional

workers1

White-collar

workers

(excluding sales)

White-collar

workers

(excluding sales)

Professional

workers1

Level

2

1For engineers, only private industry was used, because the job

is found almost entirely in private industry in both cities.

2All levels” includes engineers who are slotted at levels other

than the four found on this table. For example, the survey did not

turn up enough level 10 engineers to publish statistically significant data

on that work level. Nevertheless, those that were found were averaged

into the “all levels” data.

n.a. = data not available.

The mean wage for level 9

 engineers in Albuquerque

The mean wage for level 9

 professionals in Albuquerque

2. Calculate the ratio:

x/y where x = mean wage for

level 9 engineers in

Albuquerque

y = mean wage for

level 9 professionals in Albuquerque

$20.47 / $17.90 =

1.14

In this instance, the level 9

engineers were paid approximately

14 percent more than the average

pay for level 9 professionals in

Albuquerque. The tables show the

ratios.

The two cities in table 1 show

similarities in the data. In Albuquerque, level 9 engineers are paid more

than professional and white-collar

workers. At level 13, engineers were

paid less than other professional

workers. In Rochester, level 9

engineers were paid more than

white-collar workers at the same

level whereas, at level 12, the

estimated wage does not differ

significantly for engineers and

white-collar workers.

The ratio of engineers’ pay to that

of all white-collar workers was
27 Compensation and Working Conditions Summer 1997

• Local supply and demand for

engineers may be similar in

the two cities.

Secretaries

Secretaries are considered

administrative support workers. Data

on secretaries were available from

levels 3 to 6.

The process of classifying by level

for administrative support workers is

somewhat different than for professional workers such as engineers.

For example, the “knowledge” factor

relates to skill for clerical workers,

rather than formal education.

The NCS was able to develop

data for secretaries in the levels 4

and 5 in the three cities. At level 4,

their average hourly earnings were

$11.14 in Allentown, $9.92 in

Albuquerque, and $9.79 in Rochester. At level 5, the average hourly

earnings were $12.28 for Allentown,

$11.54 for Rochester, and $11.24 for

Albuquerque.

The overall ratio of secretarial

earnings to those of all administrative support workers was almost the

same in the three cities. (See table

2.)

Bookkeepers and accounting

and auditing clerks

Workers in this occupation

classify, record, and summarize

numerical and financial records.

They are considered administrative

support workers.

The data for this group show

fewer patterns than other occupations. On average, hourly earnings

were $11.01 in Allentown, $10.77

in Rochester, and $8.99 in Albuquerque. Workers at level 5 averaged

$10.98 per hour in Rochester and

$9.42 per hour in Allentown.

When looking at ratios by levels,

the only pattern to emerge was that

the overall average earnings for this

occupation are similar to the overall

average earnings for all administrative support (clerical) workers. (See

table 3.)

General office clerks

Like secretaries and bookkeepers

and accounting and auditing clerks,

general office clerks are considered

administrative support workers.

General office clerks were usually

graded at a lower level than secretaries and bookkeepers, however. Data

were available from levels 1 to 4 in

Albuquerque and levels 2 to 4 in the

two other cities.

Their earnings are comparable to

other administrative support staff

and white-collar workers at the

same level. (See table 4.)

Janitors and cleaners

BLS was able to compile data on

janitors and cleaners from level 1 to

level 3 in all three cities. These

workers are classified as blue collar

and as such their levels are defined

differently than those of clerical or

professional workers. Level 1

basically characterizes an unskilled

laborer, requiring little or no

previous experience. Level 2 and 3

Table 2. Earnings ratios of secretaries to administrative support and white-collar jobs in private industry by city and level, 1996

3 ................................................................................. 1.03 1.04 0.99 0.99 n.a. n.a.

4 ................................................................................. 1.05 1.05 .99 .96 0.99 0.98

5 ................................................................................. 1.13 1.04 1.12 1.07 .98 .96

6 ................................................................................. n.a. n.a. .94 .82 1.17 .97

All levels ..................................................................... 1.08 0.61 1.06 .66 1.08 .62

Administrative

support

Administrative

support

Administrative

support

White

collar

White

collar

White

collar

Levels

Albuquerque Allentown Rochester

Table 3. Earnings ratios of bookkeepers to administrative support occupations in private industry by city and level, 1996

3 ................................................................................. 0.97 0.80 0.88 0.88 n.a. n.a.

4 ................................................................................. .87 .82 1.06 1.00 1.04 1.03

5 ................................................................................. n.a. n.a. .76 .82 0.93 0.91

6 ................................................................................. n.a. n.a. n.a. n.a. 1.00 .84

All levels ..................................................................... .97 .49 1.03 .59 1.04 .65

Levels Administrative

support

Administrative

support

Administrative

support

White

collar

White

collar

White

collar

Albuquerque Allentown Rochester

n.a. = data not available.

n.a. = data not available.
 Compensation and Working Conditions Summer 1997 28

workers are considered semiskilled.

In the janitorial trades, a level 3 job

often equates to one in which the

incumbent is able to do routine

maintenance tasks.

Level 2 and level 3 workers had

sizable differences in earnings

from city to city. In Albuquerque,

level 2 janitors and cleaners

averaged $6.14 per hour and at

Table 4. Earnings ratios of general office clerks to administrative support and white-collar jobs in private industry by

 city and level, 1996

1 ................................................................................. 1.01 1.01 n.a. n.a. n.a. n.a.

2 ................................................................................. 1.03 1.01 1.03 1.03 0.92 0.923

3 ................................................................................. 1.03 1.03 1.11 1.11 .96 .97

4 ................................................................................. 0.93 0.93 1.04 1.02 .98 .98

All levels ..................................................................... .89 .50 .95 .59 .92 .53

Albuquerque Allentown Rochester

Levels Administrative

support

Administrative

support

Administrative

support

White

collar

White

collar

White

collar

level 3, $7.73. In Allentown, the

averages were $8.23 at level 2 and

$12.22 at level 3. In Rochester,

the averages were $7.73 at level 2

and $10.37 at level 3.

The average pay of janitors and

cleaners was always at least 10 percent greater than that of service

workers overall, although the ratio

varied, as shown above.

Table 5. Earnings ratios of janitors and cleaners to service workers in private industry by city and level, 1996

Service workers Service workers Service workers

 1 ................................................................................................ 1.27 1.26 1.27

 2 ................................................................................................ 1.12 1.08 1.00

 3 ................................................................................................ 1.21 1.51 1.40

All levels ..................................................................................... 1.09 1.12 0.99

Albuquerque Allentown Rochester

Level

Future studies

In October 1996, BLS began

collecting data on earnings by level in

154 localities across the United States,

including the 34 largest metropolitan

areas. When the data are gathered

and analyzed, BLS can determine

whether the findings from these initial

three cities are representative of the

Nation as a whole.

n.a. = data not available.
29 Compensation and Working Conditions Summer 1997

The National Compensation

Survey uses 10 factors to determine

the work level of an occupation. The

factor with the greatest weight is

knowledge required. A job that

requires no knowledge other than

the ability to do simple repetitive

tasks would be given the lowest

number of points. On the high end,

a job that required mastery of a

professional field to generate and

develop new hypotheses and theories—a theoretical mathematician,

for example— would be assigned the

maximum number of points for this

factor.

Three factors deal with the level

of decision making on a job. These

are complexity, guidelines, and

scope and effect. Complexity deals

with the level of difficulty and

originality in performing the work.

A street sweeper would likely be

assigned the least number of points

in this category, because the job is

routine. A rocket scientist who

works with abstract issues and must

independently figure out which tasks

need to be done and which approach

to take would be assigned the most

points.

Guidelines refer to whether a job

has clear instructions on the work to

be performed. A job where deviations are not allowed would get the

lowest number of points. Jobs where

guidelines are scarce or of limited

use would get the highest number of

points. Scope and effect refers to the

importance of the decision making

when the job is performed correctly.

A janitor who collects trash will not

have as high a scope and effect on

the company as the plant manager

who could decide to introduce a

more efficient manufacturing system.

The next group of factors deal

with relations with other employees

and the public. They are supervision

received, personal contacts, and

purpose of contacts.

Supervision received refers to the

amount of monitoring and review a

person receives. Jobs which entail

tasks having detailed instructions are

assigned the least number of points;

jobs which call for only general

policy direction receive the highest

number of points.

Personal contacts and purpose of

contacts refer to relations with those

outside the immediate hierarchy.

Jobs calling for personal contacts—

where the incumbent deals with

other employees, customers, or

suppliers on a very structured

basis—would receive few points on

this factor. A ticket taker, for

example, probably would get low

points in this category. Jobs requiring a worker to deal with highranking officials at national or

international levels would get a high

level of points.

Purpose of contacts gives points

for the nature of relations with the

contacts. Those who exchange

routine information would get fewer

points than those who engage in

negotiations.

In the factors discussed thus far,

white-collar employees tend to get

matched at higher levels than bluecollar employees. For the next two

factors, however, the pattern is

reversed. These are physical

demands and work environment.

Physical demands refers to the

physical strength and agility required to do the job. Work environment refers to the level of risk and

discomforts involved in the job.

The final factor is supervisory

duties. This factor describes the

employee’s position in the chain of

command. A nonsupervisory

position gets no points, and jobs that

are third-line supervisors or higher

get the maximum number of points.

This factor is experimental, and may

be deleted or changed for future

studies.

Appendix 1. Factors Used for Determining Work Levels
 Compensation and Working Conditions Summer 1997 30

Engineers

For a level 9 professional job, the

prototype for the knowledge factor

is: Knowledge of the principles,

concepts, and methodology of a

professional or administrative

occupation which has been either (a)

supplemented by skill gained

through job experiences to permit

independent performance or recurring assignments; or (b) supplemented by expanded professional or

administrative knowledge gained

through relevant graduate school or

experience. This level generally

describes a professional job where

some graduate school or equivalent

experience is required. These jobs

often are referred to as journey-level

jobs.

In fact, all the levels from 6 to 9

have the same prototype for the

knowledge factor for professional

work. A level 9 job tends to be

distinguished by high scores on the

factors related to decision making

and contacts with others. (For a

complete discussion of the 10

factors, see Appendix 1 and

Comp2000-Pilot Survey, Albuquerque New Mexico Statistical Metropolitan Area, February-March 1996,

BLS Bulletin 3082-1).

The prototype for knowledge for

levels 10-12 is: knowledge of a wide

range of concepts, principles, and

practices in a professional or

administrative occupation, such as

would be gained through extended

graduate study or experience, and

skill in applying this knowledge to

difficult and complex work assignments. This level of knowledge

describes a professional worker with

advanced expertise. The difference

between levels 10 to 12 is generally

caused by the factors relating to

decision making and contacts with

others.

The prototype for levels 13-14 is

a knowledge level described as:

Mastery of a professional or administrative field to apply experimental

theories and new developments to

problems not susceptible to treatment by accepted methods.6

 This

level of knowledge generally

describes a job requiring a doctorate

or many years of experience.

The above description presumes

that the occupations have no

supervisory duties. Team leader

status may raise an occupation by 1

level, depending on the totals of the

other points. First line supervisory

status will usually raise the occupation 1-2 levels. Second line supervisory status will raise the occupation

2-4 levels. Third-line supervisory

status will raise the occupation 4-5

levels.7

Secretaries

The prototype for a level 2 or

level 3 secretary is a knowledge level

described as: Knowledge of basic or

commonly-used rules, procedures, or

operations which typically require

some previous training or experience. An entry-level secretary who

had enough training to type and

handle phone calls level 2. The

prototype for a level 3 secretary is a

job where the secretaries are trusted

to do basic clerical tasks on their

own, and contacts with other

employees or the public may involve

a variety of issues.

At levels 4 and 5, the prototype

for knowledge is: Knowledge of a

body of standardized rules, procedures, operations, goods and

services, tools or equipment requiring considerable training and

experience to perform the full range

of standard clerical assignments and

resolve recurring problems. This

knowledge level corresponds to an

experienced secretary who could

handle a variety of assignments on

his or her own. The difference in

prototypes between level 4 and 5 is

based on the complexity of the tasks

and the amount of work that

involves coordination with others.

The knowledge level of a level 6

secretary is: Knowledge of an

extensive body of rules, procedures,

operations, products or services

requiring extended training and

experience to perform a wide variety

of interrelated or nonstandard

procedural assignments and resolve

a wide range of problems. This level

of knowledge is generally the

maximum one assigned to clerical

workers. Thus, a position assigned

this knowledge level would be a

senior clerical worker, such as an

executive secretary.

Bookkeepers and accounting

and auditing clerks

This occupation has the same

prototype for each level as secretaries, since both are clerical workers.

Because the job duties are different,

however, the prototypes represent

different things. The prototype for a

level 3 bookkeeper is: Knowledge of

basic or commonly-used rules,

procedures, or operations which

typically require some previous

training or experience. A bookkeeper who handles routine clerical

tasks, such as identifying discrepancies and verifying mathematical

accuracy, would probably fall into

this category.

At level 4 and 5, the prototype is:

Knowledge of a body of standardized

rules, procedures, operations, goods

and services, tools or equipment

requiring considerable training and

experience to perform the full range

of standard clerical assignments and

resolve recurring problems. At these

levels, the clerk should be able to

perform more difficult clerical

functions than at level 3. An

employee would need a knowledge

of accounting procedures and be able

to follow them without close

supervision.

Appendix 2. Work Levels for Each of the Five Jobs Studied
31 Compensation and Working Conditions Summer 1997

The knowledge level for a level 6

in this occupation is: Knowledge of

an extensive body of rules, procedures, operations, products or

services requiring extended

training and experience to perform

a wide variety of interrelated or

nonstandard procedural assignments

and resolve a wide range of problems. This level of knowledge is

generally the maximum one assigned to clerical workers. This

rating is assigned to the most

experienced clerks who may

maintain journals of an accounting

system. They would be expected to

be able to resolve problem accounts

on their own.

General office clerks

The prototype for knowledge for

a level 1 clerical worker is: Knowledge of simple, routine, or repetitive

tasks or operations which typically

includes following step-by-step

instructions and requires little or no

previous training or experience. In

the prototype, all the other factors

are at their minimum, so a level 1

job generally consists of routine

clerical tasks where little training is

required.

Levels 2 and 3 have the same

knowledge requirement as secretaries. Employees are expected to

know: Basic or commonly-used

rules, procedures, or operations

which typically require some

previous training or experience. A

clerk who was expected to help

locate records for the public, for

example, would probably be at least

at level 2. The level 4 prototype

describes a clerk with training on a

variety of functions who could work

independently.

Janitors and cleaners

Level 1characterizes an unskilled

laborer, requiring little or no

previous experience. Levels 2 and 3

are semiskilled workers. In the

janitorial trade, a level 3 job often

equates to jobs where workers are

able to handle routine maintenance

tasks without supervision.

—ENDNOTES—

1

 For an overview of the new program, see

John E. Buckley, “BLS Redesigns its Compensation Surveys,” Compensation and Working Conditions, September 1996, pp. 19-21. See also

Kenneth Hoffmann, “New Approach to Measuring Occupational Wages,” Compensation and

Working Conditions, December 1996, pp. 4-8,

and Beth Levin Crimmel, “COMP2000: Designing a New Wage Survey,” Compensation and

Working Conditions, December 1996, pp. 9-11.

2

 NCS will probably never publish data on

all 500 jobs. The more common the occupation,

the greater the chance of publication.

3

 Few, if any, occupations would have classifiable jobs at all levels, however. A job requiring

a college degree can never score less than a level

5; thus, it is very unlikely that a professional job

would be classified at less than this level.

Similarly, blue-collar jobs are unlikely to go

higher than level 9 for a nonsupervisory position,

or level 11 for a supervisory position. Blue-collar

workers tend not to have high knowledge requirements, and are constrained by the nature of the

work to have relatively strict guidelines and supervisory controls. Furthermore, blue-collar workers tend to have a maximum of one level of supervisory authority.

The choice to use 15 work levels is arbitrary.

Since each job is given a set number of points,

any number of breakouts are possible.

4

 These three titles are considered part of

one job.

5

 BLS excludes agricultural and household

occupations.

6

 One factor not discussed here, because

not enough data were available at the occupational level, is level 15. To achieve this factor,

the knowledge description is as follows: Mastery

of a professional field to generate and develop

new hypotheses and theories. Jobs of this type

tend to be classified at the highest possible level

for most of the factors.

7

 Supervisory duties is an experimental factor. In more recent surveys, data have been collected on supervisory duties, but points have not

been added.