Table 5. Average hourty earnings and relative’ pay levels of material movement and custodial occupations, United States and four
regions, September 1994

i Dispersion
‘Occupation us. Northeast | South Midwest West "ee
$10.48 |$12.07(115)| $9.14 (87) |$12.08 (115) |$11.05 (105) 22
6.74 7.41 (110)| 6.26 (93) | 6.53 (97)| 6.89 (102) 18

774 9.46 (122)| 6.19(80) | 7.99 (103)| 7.97(103)| 53
9.48 — | 10.25(112)] 8.04(88) | 10.60(115)| 8.11 (88)/ 32
924 | 10.54(114)} 8.98(91) | 9.05 (98)| 10.94(112)| 26
10.13 | 10.52(104)| 9.55 (94) | 10.53 (104)] 10.12(100) 10
13.71 | 14.93(109)| 12.02 (88) | 14.41 (105)| 14.17(10)| 24
11.99 | 13.31(111)| 10.75 (90) | 12.44(104)| 12.16(101)| 24

' Relative pay levels, shown in parentheses, indicate regional pay as a percent of national pay for the same job. Average pay of forkdift
operators in the Northeast, for example, is approximately 15 percent higher than the nationwide average for the job.
? The dispersion percent shows the percentage difference between average eamings in the highest paying and the lowest paying region.

‘Table 6. Average annual percent change in wages and salaries by region, private industry, selected periods, 1975-95

September 1975- | June 1981- | September 1975-
June 1981 June 1995 June 1995
8.1 40 52
73 45 53
82 3.9 51
at 37 50
88 39 53

Compensation and Working Conditions June 1996 38



Occupational Pay
Across Regions in
1994 BY JOHN E, BUCKLEY

verage occupational earnings differ considerably among the Nation’s four re-

gions as defined by the Bureau of the Census. An examination of 38 commonly

found jobs in 5 selected occupational groups reveals that earnings are likely to
be highest in the West and Northeast and lowest in the South. Among these groups,
average earnings across regions were more uniform within the professional and adminis-
trative group than within any of the other categories. Some possible factors influencing
regional pay levels include area or regional differences in industrial composition, living
costs, unemployment rates, and degree of unionization.

Professional and administra-
tive occupations

All of the jobs in the professional
and administrative occupational
group were classified into at least
four work levels, as in the case of
registered nurses, and as many as
eight, as was true for engineers. The
work levels selected for analysis
were the highest-populated ones
within each job, and they generally
represented the middle position
within the range. Among the jobs
compared in 1994, the highest
average weekly pay among the jobs
shown in table 1 was for attorneys,
level IM, ($1,289) in the West. Their
average pay was about 4 percent
above the national average for
comparable attorneys, and 10

John E, Buckley is an economist in the Divi-
sion of Compensation Data Analysis and Planning,
Bureau of Labor Statistics. Telephone (202) 606-
6204,

percent above that of those in the
South.

Average weekly earnings of
engineers, level IV, were tightly
clustered around the national
average for that level ($1,094), with
about a 1-percent difference in pay
among the four regions. This
contrasted sharply with nurses, level
II, whose average eamings in the
Northeast and West were about 20
percent higher than those in the
South and Midwest.

Technical and protective
service occupations
Health-related technical jobs and
protective service occupations
provided the sharpest earnings
differences among the regions.
Eamings of licensed practical
nurses, level II, and nursing assis-
tants, level II, in the Northeast
surpassed those of comparable
workers elsewhere. The difference
was especially pronounced for
nursing assistants, whose average

Survey occupations and work levels

Occupations in the Occupational Compensation Survey Program are di-
vided into work levels based on duties and responsibilities. The number of
levels varies by occupation, as does the degree of difficulty and responsibility.
The levels, indicated by Roman numerals, do not necessarily identify equal
work levels among different occupational groups. For example, attorney
levels I-IV equate to accountant levels II-VI. In addition, the work levels
studied are not intended to represent all workers in a specific occupation.
The duties and responsibilities of an establishment's top engineers, for ex-
ample, may exceed those of the highest level of engineers in the survey.

35 Compensation and Working Conditions June 1996



Table t-Average weekly earings and relative! pay levets of professional and administrative occupations, United States and four

regions, September 1!

‘Dispersion
Occupation Us. Northeast | South Midwest West percent?

$767 $779(1 $747 $759 (99) | $787 (103) 5

1241 1267 (102) | 1172(94) | 1257101) | 1289(104) 10

1094 1092(100) | 1090(100) | 1092 (100) | 1104(101) 1

710 799(113) | 647(91) | 662 (93) | 789(111) 23

642 661 (103) 614 (96) | 642(100) | 664(103) 8

743 755 (102) | 724(97) | 742(100) | 765 (103) 6

892 898 (101) 871 (98) 885 (99) | 915(103) 5

768 772(101) | 740(96) | 760(98) | 805(105) 9

’ Relative pay levels, shown in parentheses, indicate regional pay than the nationwide average for the job.

as a percent of national pay for the same job. Average pay of accoun-

® The dispersion percent shows the percentage difference between

‘tants lit in the Northeast, for example, is approximately 2 percenthigher average eamings in the highest paying and the lowest paying region.

Table 2. Average weekly earnings and relative’ pay levels of technical and protective service occupations, United States and four

regions, September 1994
Dispersion
Occupation US. | Northeast | South | Midwest West percent!
$433 $455 (105) | $418(97) | $430(99) | $446(103) 9
607 608 (400) | 604 (100) 597 (98) | 633(104) 6
739 705 (95) | 734(99) | 766(104) | 749(101) 9
448 522(117) | 411(92) | 440(98) | 504(113) 27
276 348 (126) 239 (87) 264 (96) | 285(103) 48
533 651 (122) 422 (79) 508 (95) | 671 (126) 59
631 697(110) | 516(82) | 638(101) | 770(122) 49
660 731 (411) | 532(61) | 641(97) | 768(119) 48

1 Relative pay levels, shown in parentheses, indicate regional
Pay as a@ percent of national pay for the same job. Average pay of
computer operators Il in the Northeast, for example, is approximately

weekly earings in the Northeast
($348) exceeded the next highest
regional average (in the West) by 22
percent, and exceeded the average in
the South by 46 percent. Regional
pay dispersion was considerably
narrower for the three remaining
technical jobs shown in table 2—
computer operators, drafters, and
engineering technicians.

Among protective service
occupations, the average weekly
earnings of corrections officers in
the West ($671) exceeded those of
corrections officers in the South by
59 percent. In this survey of non-
Federal establishments, almost all of
the protective service workers
teported—corrections officers,
firefighters, and police officers—are
State or local government employ-
ees. In terms of regional differences
in average earnings, the protective

service jobs can be categorized as
well above the national average
(West and Northeast), at or near the
average (Midwest), or well below the
average (South).

Office clerical occupations

Except for order clerks, level I,
regional earnings differences for
office clerical workers followed the
pattern generally applicable to the
professional and administrative
group above. That is, for most jobs,
earnings were moderately above the
national average in the Northeast
and West, and near or moderately
below the average in the South and
Midwest. The average weekly
earnings of order clerks, level I, in
the Northeast ($391) were 35
percent higher than the average in
the Midwest which had the lowest
pay of the four regions for this

5 percent higher than the nationwide average for the job.
2 The dispersion percent shows the percentage differance between
average eamings in the highest paying and the lowest paying region.

occupation ($290). (The duties of
order clerks, level I, typically involve
receiving customers’ purchase orders
for readily identified materials or
merchandise.)

Maintenance and toolroom
occupations

Seven of the eight blue-collar
occupations in table 4 are single-
level jobs, the exception being the
maintenance electronics technician
job which was studied at three work
levels, National hourly average
earnings ranged from $10.42 for
general maintenance workers to
$18.89 for maintenance pipefitters.
The average hourly rate of pipefitters
in the Midwest ($20.06) was the
only regional average to meet or
surpass the national average. The
same pattern was true for general
maintenance workers in the North-

Compensation and Working Conditions June 1996 36



east, where the average rate ($12.24
per hour) exceeded the national
average by 17 percent.

Regional earnings dispersion
among the eight skilled occupations,
as measured by average hourly rates,
was widest for general maintenance
workers and maintenance machinists
(30 percent) and narrowest for
maintenance electronics technicians,
level II (8 percent). For 7 of the 8
jobs, the highest average earnings
were found in the West or Mid-
west—the notable exception being
general maintenance workers in the
Northeast. Averages were typically
lowest in the South.

Material movement and custo-
dial occupations

Tractor trailer truckdrivers had
the highest average earnings among

this group of 8 material movement
and custodial jobs. Regionally, the
truckdriver rate ranged from $12.02
per hour in the South to $14.93 in
the Northeast. The national hourly
average rate for guards, level I,
($6.74) was $1 below the average for
the next lowest paid occupational
category, janitors, In most cases,
average hourly earnings of material
movement and custodial workers in
the Northeast surpassed the average
earnings of comparable workers in
other regions. The average hourly
rate of material handling laborers in
the Midwest ($10.60), however,
surpassed the rate for comparable
workers in the Northeast ($10.25).
Earnings’ differences between these
two regions were insignificant for
forklift operators and shipping/
receiving clerks.

Trends In regional pay, 1975-95
Since the 1970s, the Bureau’s
Employment Cost Index tracked the
movement of wages and salaries by
several categories, including region.

In the 20-year period ending in
1995, the wages and salaries of
private industry workers in the
Northeast and West registered the
largest average annual percent
increase (5.3 percent), and the
smallest in the Midwest (5.0). (See
table 6.)

Regional changes for the 20-year
period mask variations that occurred
over shorter time spans. In the
earliest period shown (1975-81),
wage and salary increases were
smallest in the Northeast during that
era of high inflation; during the next
14 years (1981-95), average wage
increases in the Northeast out-
stripped those of any other region.

Te 3. Average weekly earnings and relative’ pay levels of office clerical occupations, United States and four regions, September
1

Dispersion
Us. Northeast South Midwest West percent?
$362 $376(104) | $350(97) | $354 (98) | $381 (105) 9
408 410 (100) | 369(90) | 403(99) | 434 (106) 18
328 391(119) | 305(93) | 290(88) | 362(110) 35
319 354(111) | 301(94) | 308(97) | 332 (104) 18
530 552(104) | 498(94) | 533(101) | 550(104) Ww
457 452(99) | 415(91) | 468 (102) } 484 (106) 7

’ Relative pay levels, shown in parentheses, indicate regional
pay as a percent of national pay for the same job, Average pay of
accounting clerks Il in the Northeast, for example, is approximately

4 percent higher than the nationwide average for the job.
2 The dispersion percent shows the percentage difference between
average earings in the highest paying and the lowest paying region.

Table 4. Average hourly earnings and relative’ pay levels of maintenance and toolroom occupations, United States and four

regions, September 1994

‘Occupation US. | Northeast | South | Midwest | West panies
General maintenance workers $10.42 —|$12.24(117)] $9.39 (90) | $10.02 ( 96) | $10.21 (98) 30
Maintenance electricians ...... 1765 | 17.88(101)| 15.72 (89)| 18.83(107)| 18.81(107)| 20
Maintenance electronics technicians It. 17:39 | 17.50(101)| 17.18 (99)| 16.97 (98)} 18.29 (105) 8
Maintenance machinists 16.73} 16.57 (99)| 14.82 (89)| 16.97 (101)| 19.26 (115) 30
Maintenance mechanics, machinery 4624 | 46.50 (95)| 14.95 (92)| 17.41 (107)| 17.63 (109) 18
Maintenance mechanics, motor vehicle 18.15 | 16.07(106)| 13.27 (88)| 15.64(103)| 16.48(109)| 24
Maintenance pipefitters 18.89 | 18.29 (97)| 17.69 (94)| 20.06 (106)| 18.68 (99) 13
Tool and die makers 18.23 | 17.16 (94)| 17.62 (97)| 19.08 (105)| 18.79 (103) "1

’ Relative pay levels, shown in parentheses, indicate regional pay
a8 a percent of national pay for the same job. Average pay of general

T ‘example, is approximately
17 percent higher than the nationwide average for the job.

maintenance workers in the Northeast, for:

ing region

37 Compensation and Working Conditions June 1996

? The dispersion percent shows the percentage difference be-
tween average eamings in the highest paying and the lowest pay-