National Compensation Survey:

Occupational Wages in the 

United States, July 2002

U.S. Department of Labor

Bureau of Labor Statistics

June 2003

Summary 03-02

arnings averaged $17.18 per hour in July 2002 for

private industry and State and local government 

workers in the United States. This summary presents

aggregated national earnings data from the National Compensation Survey (NCS)for:

• Sectors of the economy (private industry, State and 

local government, and total)

• Worker characteristics, including occupational 

detail

• Establishment characteristics

• Geographic areas

The data in this summary are a subset of occupational

earnings data from the NCS. Table 1 highlights the major

types of data available by sector of the economy— private 

industry, State and local government, and total. Table 2

shows similar data by metropolitan and nonmetropolitan

area. Table 3 provides data for specific occupations,

including separate estimates for full- and part-time workers.

Average hourly earnings were lower for private industry 

workers ($16.40) than for State and local government

workers ($21.54) in July 2002. Part of this difference can be 

explained by differences in the occupational and industrial

composition of the two sectors. For example, professional

specialty and technical occupations are more common in

State and local government than in private industry. Conversely, there are few State and local government workers in 

goods-producing industries other than construction.

Worker characteristics. Earnings varied by occupational

group; full- and part-time status; union and nonunion status; 

and time and incentive pay. White-collar pay, which averaged $21.09 per hour, was the highest among occupational

groups. Blue-collar pay averaged $14.51 per hour, while the 

pay of service occupations was $10.32.

Among broad occupational groups, average hourly earnings ranged from $31.16 for executive, administrative, and

managerial workers to $10.32 for service workers. 

Earnings were higher for full-time than for part-time 

workers, averaging $18.14 per hour and $9.66 per hour,

respectively. The difference reflects, in part, the occupational

composition of the two groups. The NCS classifies workers 

as full- and part-time based on the employer’s definition of

those terms.

Pay also was higher for union workers ($20.65 per hour) 

than for nonunion workers ($16.42 per hour). Incentive

workers (whose wages are based, at least in part, on productivity payments such as piece rates, commissions, and production bonuses) earned, on average, $22.52 per hour. In

contrast, earnings were lower for time workers (whose wages 

are based solely on an hourly rate or salary), who earned

$16.89 per hour. 

Earnings also varied among occupations within occupational groups. For example, average hourly earnings in transportation and material moving occupations were $14.25, with 

a wide range from $8.26 for parking lot attendants to $34.89

for railroad conductors and yardmasters. (See table 3.) 

Establishment characteristics. Earnings generally varied by 

size of the establishment and by industry.1 Average hourly

earnings ranged from $14.43 in establishments employing

between 1 and 99 workers to $23.30 in those with 2,500

workers or more. In private industry, workers employed in

goods-producing industries earned more ($17.74) than did

those in service-producing industries ($15.88). 

The NCS includes private sector establishments with 1

worker or more and State and local government establishments with 50 workers or more.

Geographic area. Among the nine census divisions, average 

hourly earnings ranged from $14.19 in the East South Central 

region to $19.79 in the Middle Atlantic region. In private

industry, average hourly earnings ranged from $13.67 in the 

East South Central region to $18.93 in the Middle Atlantic

region. Earnings for State and local government workers

ranged from $17.94 per hour in the East South Central region

to $24.87 per hour in the Pacific region. Earnings were

higher for workers in metropolitan areas than for those in

nonmetropolitan areas, averaging $17.56 per hour and $14.20 

per hour, respectively.

1

 Estimates for goods-producing and service-producing industries are for

private industry only. 

E
2

Additional occupational earnings data. More detailed 

information on average hourly earnings by occupation will 

be published later this year in the national bulletin. It will 

include:

• Occupational detail

• Occupational earnings by work level

• Data for the 10 largest metropolitan areas

In addition, supplementary tables will be available online

later this year at http://www.bls.gov/ncs/home.htm. 

These tables will include:

• Occupational wage percentiles

• Average weekly earnings and hours for full-time 

workers

• Average annual earnings and hours for full-time 

workers
TABLE 1. Mean hourly earnings1 and weekly hours by selected characteristics, private industry and State and local

government, United States, National Compensation Survey,2 July 2002

Worker and establishment characteristics

and geographic areas

Total Private industry State and local government

Hourly earnings

Mean

weekly

hours

Hourly earnings

Mean

weekly

hours

Hourly earnings

Mean

weekly

Mean hours

Relative

error3

(percent)

Mean

Relative

error3

(percent)

Mean

Relative

error3

(percent)

Total ........................................................... $17.18 0.8 35.8 $16.40 0.9 35.6 $21.54 0.9 36.7

Worker characteristics:4

White-collar occupations5 ....................... 21.09 .9 36.1 20.34 1.1 36.0 24.32 .9 36.5

Professional specialty and technical ... 27.18 1.3 36.1 26.44 1.8 36.2 28.77 .9 35.9

Executive, administrative, and 

managerial ........................................ 31.16 2.6 40.0 31.55 3.2 40.3 29.27 2.5 38.6

Sales ................................................... 14.50 2.1 32.6 14.51 2.1 32.6 12.93 5.6 33.6

Administrative support ........................ 13.41 .5 36.4 13.33 .6 36.3 13.79 1.3 36.6

Blue-collar occupations5 ......................... 14.51 .9 38.2 14.39 .9 38.2 16.59 1.2 37.6

Precision production, craft, and repair 18.20 1.1 39.6 18.15 1.2 39.6 18.91 1.9 39.8

Machine operators, assemblers, and

inspectors ......................................... 12.94 1.4 39.2 12.93 1.4 39.2 16.14 10.1 38.9

Transportation and material moving ... 14.25 1.5 37.5 14.10 1.7 37.9 15.52 1.7 34.2

Handlers, equipment cleaners,

helpers, and laborers ........................ 10.98 1.3 35.6 10.82 1.3 35.4 13.76 2.4 38.7

Service occupations5 .............................. 10.32 1.3 31.6 8.85 1.0 30.5 16.19 1.3 36.9

Full time .................................................. 18.14 .9 39.6 17.41 .9 39.7 21.94 .9 38.8

Part time ................................................. 9.66 1.0 20.5 9.27 1.0 20.6 14.68 3.0 19.1

Union ...................................................... 20.65 .8 36.9 18.76 .9 37.1 23.35 1.4 36.7

Nonunion ................................................ 16.42 1.0 35.6 16.06 1.0 35.4 19.82 1.6 36.7

Time ........................................................ 16.89 1.0 35.7 16.00 1.0 35.5 21.54 .9 36.7

Incentive ................................................. 22.52 6.5 38.3 22.52 6.5 38.3 – – –

Establishment characteristics:

Goods producing .................................... 6 ( ) 6 ( ) 6 ( ) 17.74 1.2 39.5 6 ( ) 6 ( ) 6 ( )

Service producing ................................... 6 ( ) 6 ( ) 6 ( ) 15.88 1.1 34.3 6 ( ) 6 ( ) 6 ( )

1 to 99 workers7 ..................................... 14.43 1.2 34.6 14.39 1.2 34.6 17.39 5.3 36.3

100 to 499 workers ................................. 16.73 1.4 36.3 16.35 1.6 36.4 19.89 1.6 35.6

500 to 999 workers ................................. 18.80 2.3 37.2 17.86 2.9 37.5 21.93 2.1 36.2

1,000 to 2,499 workers ........................... 20.75 3.5 36.5 20.66 4.9 36.6 20.98 1.8 36.2

2,500 workers or more ............................ 23.30 2.0 37.4 24.17 3.9 37.2 22.56 1.3 37.5

Geographic areas:8

Metropolitan ............................................ 17.56 .8 35.7 16.79 .8 35.6 22.37 .8 36.7

Nonmetropolitan ..................................... 14.20 2.7 36.4 12.91 3.1 36.3 18.02 1.9 36.8

New England .......................................... 18.61 2.9 34.4 17.73 3.5 34.2 24.55 2.6 35.8

Middle Atlantic ........................................ 19.79 1.8 34.8 18.93 1.5 34.7 24.69 1.9 35.4

East North Central .................................. 17.42 1.2 35.7 16.64 1.3 35.6 22.47 2.3 35.9

West North Central ................................. 16.11 4.1 35.3 15.31 4.3 35.0 20.40 3.5 37.2

South Atlantic ......................................... 15.97 1.9 36.4 15.38 2.4 36.1 18.84 1.2 38.0

East South Central ................................. 14.19 5.0 37.1 13.67 5.3 37.1 17.94 4.3 37.2

West South Central ................................ 15.39 1.5 36.6 14.81 1.6 36.3 18.24 1.4 38.2

Mountain ................................................. 15.67 3.6 35.5 14.67 2.6 35.2 21.50 3.2 37.1

Pacific ..................................................... 19.08 1.8 35.8 18.01 2.4 35.9 24.87 .8 35.6

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, and 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. 2 This survey covers all 50 States. Collection was conducted between

December 2001 and January 2003. The average reference period was July 2002. 3 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 Technical Note. 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 A classification system including about 480 individual occupations is used to

cover all workers in the civilian economy. 6 Classification of establishments into goods-producing and service-producing

industries applies to private industry only. 7 Estimates include private establishments employing 1 to 99 workers and

State and local government establishments employing 50 to 99 workers. 8 Data are presented for metropolitan and nonmetropolitan area divisions as

well as nine census divisions. See Technical Note for a list of survey areas and

States comprising the nine census divisions.

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

publication criteria. 

3
TABLE 2. Mean hourly earnings1 and weekly hours by selected characteristics, metropolitan and nonmetropolitan areas,2

United States, National Compensation Survey,3 July 2002

Worker and establishment characteristics

and geographic areas

Total Metropolitan areas Nonmetropolitan areas

Hourly earnings

Mean

weekly

hours

Hourly earnings

Mean

weekly

hours

Hourly earnings

Mean

weekly

Mean hours

Relative

error4

(percent)

Mean

Relative

error4

(percent)

Mean

Relative

error4

(percent)

Total ........................................................... $17.18 0.8 35.8 $17.56 0.8 35.7 $14.20 2.7 36.4

Private industry ....................................... 16.40 .9 35.6 16.79 .8 35.6 12.91 3.1 36.3

State and local government .................... 21.54 .9 36.7 22.37 .8 36.7 18.02 1.9 36.8

Worker characteristics:5

White-collar occupations6 ....................... 21.09 .9 36.1 21.43 .9 36.1 17.75 1.6 36.4

Professional specialty and technical ... 27.18 1.3 36.1 27.71 1.3 36.2 22.73 2.0 36.0

Executive, administrative, and 

managerial ........................................ 31.16 2.6 40.0 31.56 2.8 40.0 25.94 2.8 40.0

Sales ................................................... 14.50 2.1 32.6 14.75 2.3 32.6 11.38 6.1 33.5

Administrative support ........................ 13.41 .5 36.4 13.60 .6 36.3 11.61 2.2 36.9

Blue-collar occupations6 ......................... 14.51 .9 38.2 14.71 .8 38.1 13.25 3.0 38.5

Precision production, craft, and repair 18.20 1.1 39.6 18.46 1.2 39.6 16.25 3.5 40.0

Machine operators, assemblers, and

inspectors ......................................... 12.94 1.4 39.2 13.07 1.3 39.1 12.38 4.4 39.6

Transportation and material moving ... 14.25 1.5 37.5 14.22 1.6 37.5 14.53 5.0 37.7

Handlers, equipment cleaners,

helpers, and laborers ........................ 10.98 1.3 35.6 11.14 1.4 35.6 10.02 3.0 35.9

Service occupations6 .............................. 10.32 1.3 31.6 10.49 1.2 31.3 9.31 3.1 33.4

Full time .................................................. 18.14 .9 39.6 18.59 .8 39.6 14.78 3.0 39.6

Part time ................................................. 9.66 1.0 20.5 9.76 1.0 20.5 8.80 2.6 20.7

Union ...................................................... 20.65 .8 36.9 21.01 .7 36.8 17.59 3.0 37.8

Nonunion ................................................ 16.42 1.0 35.6 16.80 1.0 35.5 13.52 2.9 36.1

Time ........................................................ 16.89 1.0 35.7 17.25 1.0 35.6 14.11 2.6 36.2

Incentive ................................................. 22.52 6.5 38.3 23.41 7.1 37.9 15.79 8.5 41.1

Establishment characteristics:

Goods producing7 .................................. 17.74 1.2 39.5 – – – – – –

Service producing7 ................................. 15.88 1.1 34.3 – – – – – –

1 to 99 workers8 ..................................... 14.43 1.2 34.6 14.59 1.3 34.7 12.60 3.1 34.3

100 to 499 workers ................................. 16.73 1.4 36.3 17.24 1.6 36.2 14.21 2.6 36.7

500 to 999 workers ................................. 18.80 2.3 37.2 19.55 2.4 37.1 15.77 3.9 37.9

1,000 to 2,499 workers ........................... 20.75 3.5 36.5 21.55 3.5 36.2 16.27 10.6 38.0

2,500 workers or more ............................ 23.30 2.0 37.4 23.66 1.2 37.3 14.33 31.7 39.5

Geographic areas:9

New England .......................................... 18.61 2.9 34.4 18.99 2.9 34.4 14.66 9.4 34.5

Middle Atlantic ........................................ 19.79 1.8 34.8 19.97 1.8 34.8 15.83 3.8 34.9

East North Central .................................. 17.42 1.2 35.7 17.73 1.3 35.6 15.11 3.4 36.3

West North Central ................................. 16.11 4.1 35.3 16.82 4.7 35.3 13.38 6.2 35.3

South Atlantic ......................................... 15.97 1.9 36.4 16.26 2.1 36.3 13.83 3.4 37.1

East South Central ................................. 14.19 5.0 37.1 15.06 4.0 36.5 12.37 11.5 38.5

West South Central ................................ 15.39 1.5 36.6 15.49 1.7 36.7 14.45 6.5 36.3

Mountain ................................................. 15.67 3.6 35.5 15.67 4.2 35.5 15.70 1.3 35.7

Pacific ..................................................... 19.08 1.8 35.8 19.22 1.9 35.9 16.10 1.6 34.8

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, and 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. 2 Metropolitan areas can be a Metropolitan Statistical Area (MSA) or

Consolidated Metropolitan Statistical Area (CMSA) as defined by the Office of

Management and Budget, 1994. Nonmetropolitan areas are counties that do not fit

the definitions above. 3 This survey covers all 50 States. Collection was conducted between

December 2001 and January 2003. The average reference period was July 2002. 4 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 Technical Note. 5 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. 6 A classification system including about 480 individual occupations is used to

cover all workers in the civilian economy. 7 Classification of establishments into goods-producing and service-producing

industries applies to private industry only. 8 Estimates include private establishments employing 1 to 99 workers and

State and local government establishments employing 50 to 99 workers. 9 Data are presented for nine census divisions. See Technical Note for a list of

States comprising the nine census divisions.

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

publication criteria. 

4
TABLE 3. Mean hourly earnings1 and weekly hours for selected occupations, full-time and part-time workers,2 United States, National

Compensation Survey,3 July 2002

Occupation4

Total Full time Part time

Hourly earnings

Mean

weekly

hours

Hourly earnings

Mean

weekly

hours

Hourly earnings

Mean

weekly

Mean hours

Relative

error5

(percent)

Mean

Relative

error5

(percent)

Mean

Relative

error5

(percent)

All .......................................................................................... $17.18 0.8 35.8 $18.14 0.9 39.6 $9.66 1.0 20.5

All, excluding sales ........................................................ 17.45 .9 36.1 18.25 .9 39.5 10.18 1.2 20.4

White collar ...................................................................... 21.09 .9 36.1 22.11 .8 39.5 12.00 1.2 20.4

White collar, excluding sales ..................................... 22.50 .8 36.9 23.00 .8 39.4 15.57 1.6 19.8

Professional specialty and technical ......................... 27.18 1.3 36.1 27.57 1.3 38.9 21.79 2.3 18.2

Professional specialty ................................................ 29.34 1.5 36.2 29.68 1.6 38.9 24.19 2.3 17.6

Engineers, architects, and surveyors ..................... 32.73 1.5 40.4 32.73 1.5 40.6 33.13 11.4 21.1

Architects ........................................................... 26.64 7.6 40.2 26.63 7.7 40.3 – – –

Aerospace engineers ......................................... 36.85 6.3 39.7 36.61 6.3 40.2 – – –

Metallurgical and materials engineers ............... 29.41 6.7 40.6 29.41 6.7 40.6 – – –

Petroleum engineers .......................................... 38.30 6.2 40.0 38.30 6.2 40.0 – – –

Chemical engineers ........................................... 37.59 3.0 40.3 37.59 3.0 40.3 – – –

Nuclear engineers .............................................. 36.16 3.2 40.0 36.16 3.2 40.0 – – –

Civil engineers ................................................... 29.45 3.0 40.3 29.42 3.0 40.5 – – –

Electrical and electronic engineers .................... 34.97 2.7 40.9 35.01 2.7 40.9 – – –

Industrial engineers ........................................... 29.23 1.8 40.7 29.26 1.8 40.9 – – –

Mechanical engineers ........................................ 29.76 3.2 40.3 29.84 3.2 40.7 – – –

Engineers, n.e.c. ................................................ 34.60 3.1 40.1 34.57 3.1 40.3 – – –

Surveyors and mapping scientists ..................... 30.16 7.6 41.0 30.16 7.6 41.0 – – –

Mathematical and computer scientists ................... 32.62 2.8 39.7 32.70 2.9 40.1 25.06 18.4 20.5

Computer systems analysts and scientists ........ 32.86 2.8 39.7 32.94 2.8 40.1 24.95 19.9 20.1

Operations and systems researchers and

analysts ............................................................ 30.98 5.4 39.8 31.02 5.4 39.9 – – –

Actuaries ............................................................ 33.13 7.6 40.4 33.13 7.6 40.4 – – –

Statisticians ........................................................ 25.64 7.1 40.1 25.64 7.1 40.1 – – –

Natural scientists ................................................... 28.42 4.4 39.8 28.45 4.4 40.0 23.18 10.4 19.7

Physicists and astronomers ............................... 32.17 11.5 40.0 32.17 11.5 40.0 – – –

Chemists, except biochemists ........................... 30.68 4.0 39.4 30.72 4.0 39.6 – – –

Atmospheric and space scientists ..................... 24.06 19.2 40.9 24.06 19.2 40.9 – – –

Geologists and geodesists ................................. 31.52 10.4 40.3 31.52 10.4 40.3 – – –

Physical scientists, n.e.c. ................................... 29.93 6.5 40.5 29.93 6.5 40.5 – – –

Agricultural and food scientists .......................... 23.58 5.7 40.0 23.58 5.7 40.0 – – –

Biological and life scientists ............................... 28.07 15.4 39.0 28.16 15.6 39.5 – – –

Forestry and conservation scientists ................. 20.59 8.7 40.3 20.59 8.7 40.3 – – –

Medical scientists ............................................... 25.44 4.6 39.9 25.42 4.6 40.2 – – –

Health related ........................................................ 28.15 2.8 34.4 28.19 3.4 39.4 27.93 2.2 20.3

Physicians .......................................................... 51.66 10.2 39.5 50.69 11.0 42.2 80.69 17.5 13.5

Dentists .............................................................. 35.51 18.6 30.4 33.34 21.3 41.8 40.06 5.6 19.4

Optometrists ...................................................... 46.54 9.1 32.0 51.88 10.9 39.0 – – –

Health diagnosing practitioners, n.e.c. ............... 21.56 11.3 30.6 – – – – – –

Registered nurses .............................................. 24.57 1.1 33.6 24.23 1.3 38.9 26.08 1.5 21.0

Pharmacists ....................................................... 37.01 1.4 33.6 37.09 1.6 39.7 36.32 3.5 15.0

Dietitians ............................................................ 19.59 3.2 36.9 19.27 3.4 39.8 23.40 5.5 19.6

Respiratory therapists ........................................ 20.28 1.9 35.8 20.20 2.0 38.6 21.06 3.6 21.1

Occupational therapists ..................................... 24.53 3.5 33.5 23.75 3.7 39.0 28.66 3.7 19.2

Physical therapists ............................................. 27.05 2.6 32.9 26.05 2.7 39.6 30.84 3.5 20.0

Speech therapists .............................................. 28.51 3.3 34.1 28.48 3.8 38.2 28.71 3.6 19.0

Therapists, n.e.c. ............................................... 19.57 13.1 36.8 17.90 11.2 39.6 34.37 25.1 22.8

Physicians’ assistants ........................................ 31.50 5.1 39.5 31.59 4.9 39.9 – – –

Teachers, college and university ........................... 39.97 2.7 34.9 40.47 2.7 39.2 31.01 4.6 11.8

Earth, environmental, and marine science

teachers ........................................................... 44.54 10.8 37.4 44.57 11.0 39.2 – – –

Biological science teachers ............................... 41.14 9.9 38.1 41.45 10.0 40.0 30.40 29.0 14.5

Chemistry teachers ............................................ 38.82 9.1 40.6 38.87 9.2 41.1 – – –

Physics teachers ................................................ 49.88 9.7 39.0 49.88 9.7 39.0 – – –

Natural science teachers, n.e.c. ........................ 35.32 14.0 36.7 37.48 12.5 39.6 – – –

Psychology teachers .......................................... 36.77 11.5 35.4 37.21 11.9 39.4 24.09 11.8 9.0

Economics teachers .......................................... 61.72 18.7 43.1 61.73 18.7 43.2 – – –

History teachers ................................................. 36.43 11.8 38.9 36.10 12.4 41.3 – – –

Political science teachers .................................. 35.94 10.6 38.1 36.00 10.7 39.6 – – –

Sociology teachers ............................................ 32.41 10.2 39.2 32.39 10.3 39.9 – – –

Social science teachers, n.e.c. .......................... 39.97 7.6 37.0 39.23 8.1 39.1 62.02 17.9 14.3

Engineering teachers ......................................... 54.11 8.3 35.8 53.83 9.1 41.5 57.04 9.6 14.7

See footnotes at end of table.

5
TABLE 3. Mean hourly earnings1 and weekly hours for selected occupations, full-time and part-time workers,2 United States, National

Compensation Survey,3 July 2002–Continued

Occupation4

Total Full time Part time

Hourly earnings

Mean

weekly

hours

Hourly earnings

Mean

weekly

hours

Hourly earnings

Mean

weekly

Mean hours

Relative

error5

(percent)

Mean

Relative

error5

(percent)

Mean

Relative

error5

(percent)

White collar –Continued

Professional specialty and technical –Continued

Professional specialty –Continued

Teachers, college and university –Continued

Mathematical science teachers ......................... $39.06 6.8 35.3 $39.68 6.7 38.7 $26.24 16.6 12.7

Computer science teachers ............................... 36.10 13.5 31.6 38.48 14.3 38.0 29.10 6.2 21.1

Medical science teachers .................................. 48.27 7.4 39.8 48.46 7.5 44.6 – – –

Health specialties teachers ................................ 40.95 8.3 36.9 41.22 8.5 38.5 27.04 10.9 11.6

Business, commerce, and marketing teachers .. 42.51 11.1 36.0 42.58 11.3 38.5 37.96 8.8 7.1

Agriculture and forestry teachers ....................... 39.78 20.0 36.6 39.78 20.0 36.6 – – –

Art, drama, and music teachers ......................... 32.85 6.2 34.1 32.92 6.5 38.8 31.79 8.2 11.4

Physical education teachers .............................. 37.92 13.5 25.3 40.06 14.3 38.5 24.60 27.9 8.1

Education teachers ............................................ 39.33 10.5 36.1 39.76 10.3 37.8 19.56 17.1 12.0

English teachers ................................................ 42.88 8.7 33.9 43.50 8.7 37.7 29.75 8.6 10.8

Foreign language teachers ................................ 31.90 20.7 35.9 31.58 22.3 40.9 36.27 11.4 13.4

Law teachers ..................................................... 50.92 10.8 28.7 51.71 11.2 37.0 – – –

Social work teachers .......................................... 24.10 10.2 27.2 – – – – – –

Theology teachers ............................................. 41.30 13.9 38.3 41.48 14.3 39.7 – – –

Trade and industrial teachers ............................ 29.61 7.3 35.4 29.53 7.6 38.7 31.95 16.4 10.7

Other post-secondary teachers ......................... 38.44 4.5 32.2 39.21 4.7 38.3 29.07 6.8 11.0

Teachers, except college and university ................ 28.94 1.2 34.3 29.48 1.2 36.7 17.82 4.9 14.6

Prekindergarten and kindergarten ..................... 17.33 7.1 34.8 18.03 7.4 38.0 12.91 8.9 22.8

Elementary school teachers .............................. 30.75 1.4 35.9 30.84 1.4 36.4 24.24 6.8 16.9

Secondary school teachers ............................... 31.01 1.9 36.7 30.99 1.8 37.0 34.02 11.8 16.6

Teachers, special education .............................. 31.63 3.6 35.3 31.86 3.6 35.8 – – –

Teachers, n.e.c. ................................................. 27.94 3.7 29.5 28.66 3.7 36.5 21.51 10.8 10.8

Substitute teachers ............................................ 12.06 4.5 15.0 11.89 9.6 33.5 12.10 5.3 13.5

Vocational and educational counselors ............. 27.01 5.4 36.6 27.19 5.7 37.6 20.83 7.6 19.1

Librarians, archivists, and curators ........................ 25.08 2.3 37.1 25.25 2.4 38.2 19.73 5.7 20.1

Librarians ........................................................... 26.17 3.6 37.0 26.35 3.7 38.0 20.56 5.2 20.2

Archivists and curators ...................................... 19.88 11.1 37.7 20.01 11.6 38.9 16.22 21.0 20.0

Social scientists and urban planners ..................... 27.41 4.2 36.7 27.60 4.4 39.2 23.33 13.4 15.6

Economists ........................................................ 27.83 3.4 40.9 27.83 3.4 40.9 – – –

Psychologists ..................................................... 28.38 5.6 34.5 28.85 6.0 38.2 23.40 13.6 16.8

Social scientists, n.e.c. ...................................... 22.34 15.9 36.8 22.33 15.9 38.6 – – –

Urban planners .................................................. 25.85 5.3 35.6 25.92 5.4 39.4 – – –

Social, recreation, and religious workers ............... 17.12 5.5 37.6 17.23 5.9 39.2 14.83 9.0 20.2

Social workers ................................................... 17.21 6.0 37.8 17.22 6.2 39.1 16.93 3.9 20.0

Recreation workers ............................................ 14.85 9.0 32.4 16.85 5.3 39.0 8.73 30.4 21.3

Clergy ................................................................ 17.37 11.4 42.6 17.40 11.8 45.0 – – –

Religious workers, n.e.c. .................................... 19.25 6.6 37.8 19.26 6.7 39.8 – – –

Lawyers and judges ............................................... 44.30 4.8 39.6 44.42 5.0 40.8 35.77 15.5 12.7

Lawyers ............................................................. 44.02 5.1 39.7 44.11 5.2 40.9 37.09 18.5 12.4

Judges ............................................................... 50.44 7.9 36.3 51.67 7.3 39.6 – – –

Writers, authors, entertainers, athletes, and

professionals, n.e.c. ............................................. 23.47 3.6 34.3 24.27 3.5 39.3 14.37 8.6 14.0

Technical writers ................................................ 26.13 8.2 39.6 26.35 8.3 40.4 – – –

Designers ........................................................... 22.02 6.0 36.9 22.85 5.4 39.8 11.07 18.1 18.8

Musicians and composers ................................. 31.65 30.4 14.5 32.57 42.4 31.4 29.62 18.4 6.6

Actors and directors ........................................... 25.45 9.7 33.3 27.33 10.2 40.6 13.93 20.3 15.9

Painters, sculptors, craft artists, and artist

printmakers ...................................................... 19.41 8.2 38.7 19.69 8.2 39.4 – – –

Photographers ................................................... 16.59 12.6 36.8 16.48 11.7 39.8 17.73 36.1 21.0

Dancers ............................................................. 6.28 33.8 18.2 – – – 5.41 34.6 17.1

Artists, performers, and related workers, n.e.c. 14.74 8.0 33.3 14.95 9.4 39.6 13.91 11.9 20.8

Editors and reporters ......................................... 22.38 5.6 39.1 22.43 5.7 39.5 17.71 31.7 18.2

Public relations specialists ................................. 25.53 9.7 39.0 25.55 9.7 39.0 – – –

Announcers ........................................................ 22.49 38.5 23.8 27.57 48.4 36.7 12.12 22.8 13.9

Athletes .............................................................. 26.00 28.9 23.3 31.10 23.9 37.8 11.96 16.7 11.4

Professional, n.e.c. ............................................ 30.06 6.3 37.7 30.18 6.5 39.5 26.38 13.3 15.3

Technical ................................................................... 19.89 1.5 35.9 20.26 1.5 39.0 16.09 3.9 19.7

Clinical laboratory technologists and

technicians ....................................................... 17.35 2.6 36.6 17.24 2.7 38.8 18.75 4.9 21.7

See footnotes at end of table.

6
TABLE 3. Mean hourly earnings1 and weekly hours for selected occupations, full-time and part-time workers,2 United States, National

Compensation Survey,3 July 2002–Continued

Occupation4

Total Full time Part time

Hourly earnings

Mean

weekly

hours

Hourly earnings

Mean

weekly

hours

Hourly earnings

Mean

weekly

Mean hours

Relative

error5

(percent)

Mean

Relative

error5

(percent)

Mean

Relative

error5

(percent)

White collar –Continued

Professional specialty and technical –Continued

Technical –Continued

Dental hygienists ............................................... $28.65 4.8 23.0 $29.81 4.9 36.4 $26.30 6.1 13.2

Health record technologists and technicians ..... 13.17 14.5 37.4 13.09 15.6 39.8 14.19 14.0 22.1

Radiological technicians .................................... 22.29 3.4 35.1 22.22 4.0 39.5 22.78 4.4 19.1

Licensed practical nurses .................................. 15.65 1.4 34.6 15.53 1.5 39.0 16.35 2.4 21.3

Health technologists and technicians, n.e.c. ...... 15.01 2.8 33.0 15.66 2.2 39.5 12.04 6.0 18.7

Electrical and electronic technicians .................. 19.42 5.8 39.3 19.44 5.7 39.9 17.77 20.6 18.2

Industrial engineering technicians ..................... 22.04 4.0 40.2 22.04 4.0 40.2 – – –

Mechanical engineering technicians .................. 22.40 4.1 40.2 22.44 4.1 40.3 – – –

Engineering technicians, n.e.c. .......................... 21.10 3.0 39.0 21.35 3.1 39.8 17.93 18.2 31.1

Drafters .............................................................. 19.05 3.2 40.1 19.03 3.3 40.3 – – –

Surveying and mapping technicians .................. 16.29 6.1 40.6 16.29 6.1 40.6 – – –

Biological technicians ........................................ 16.23 5.0 33.1 16.89 4.7 39.5 – – –

Chemical technicians ......................................... 20.34 6.8 39.8 20.36 6.8 39.8 – – –

Science technicians, n.e.c. ................................ 20.42 8.2 39.3 20.39 8.3 39.5 – – –

Airplane pilots and navigators ............................ 104.72 8.5 21.6 111.53 6.7 22.3 – – –

Broadcast equipment operators ......................... 17.08 9.7 35.0 19.63 11.1 39.8 7.99 11.5 24.6

Computer programmers ..................................... 24.84 4.8 39.1 24.88 4.8 39.9 21.74 13.5 15.4

Tool programmers, numerical control ................ 20.78 5.7 40.0 20.78 5.7 40.0 – – –

Legal assistants ................................................. 17.86 5.3 37.5 17.99 5.1 38.6 – – –

Technical and related, n.e.c. .............................. 19.51 4.1 38.6 19.89 4.1 39.8 12.45 20.9 24.2

Executive, administrative, and managerial ............... 31.16 2.6 40.0 31.27 2.6 40.5 21.38 10.0 18.3

Executives, administrators, and managers ............ 34.75 3.2 40.4 34.85 3.1 40.8 22.83 17.2 18.1

Legislators ......................................................... 14.68 19.2 14.3 14.47 27.7 37.9 14.95 27.5 7.9

Chief executives and general administrators,

public administration ........................................ 44.88 7.5 42.2 45.26 7.5 42.7 – – –

Administrators and officials, public

administration .................................................. 30.41 3.2 39.5 30.40 3.3 39.6 33.97 22.1 12.5

Financial managers ........................................... 36.34 8.8 40.4 36.38 8.8 40.7 – – –

Personnel and labor relations managers ........... 32.35 10.4 41.2 32.35 10.4 41.2 – – –

Purchasing managers ........................................ 32.13 4.4 40.5 32.13 4.4 40.5 – – –

Managers, marketing, advertising, and public

relations ........................................................... 42.70 10.0 40.9 42.72 10.0 40.9 – – –

Administrators, education and related fields ...... 35.21 4.3 39.1 35.30 4.4 39.6 28.60 14.4 20.3

Managers, medicine and health ......................... 33.79 4.3 39.7 33.82 4.4 39.9 31.04 15.5 27.9

Managers, food servicing and lodging

establishments ................................................. 18.66 3.9 42.0 18.91 3.8 43.2 – – –

Managers, properties and real estate ................ 20.94 9.8 37.6 22.07 8.3 39.5 – – –

Funeral directors ................................................ 22.95 14.5 47.1 22.95 14.5 47.1 – – –

Managers, service organizations, n.e.c. ............ 28.08 8.6 40.0 28.11 8.6 40.6 25.90 24.8 22.3

Managers and administrators, n.e.c. ................. 36.60 5.1 41.1 36.60 5.1 41.2 – – –

Management related .............................................. 24.90 1.8 39.2 24.98 1.8 39.9 20.08 9.1 18.5

Accountants and auditors .................................. 23.35 2.6 38.8 23.34 2.5 39.8 23.60 14.1 21.6

Underwriters ...................................................... 23.97 7.0 37.7 23.97 7.0 37.7 – – –

Other financial officers ....................................... 31.50 6.1 39.6 31.73 6.0 39.9 16.93 33.4 27.5

Management analysts ........................................ 28.06 4.8 39.8 28.07 4.8 40.0 – – –

Personnel, training, and labor relations

specialists ........................................................ 23.15 3.4 38.8 23.25 3.4 41.0 16.38 18.0 8.5

Purchasing agents and buyers, farm products .. 25.84 20.4 39.6 25.84 20.4 39.6 – – –

Buyers, wholesale and retail trade, except farm

products ........................................................... 23.27 8.8 39.3 23.36 8.7 39.8 – – –

Purchasing agents and buyers, n.e.c. ............... 23.93 6.0 39.7 23.94 6.0 40.1 – – –

Construction inspectors ..................................... 23.25 4.1 39.2 23.35 4.1 39.9 – – –

Inspectors and compliance officers, except

construction ..................................................... 21.98 2.8 39.4 22.02 2.9 39.8 – – –

Management related, n.e.c. ............................... 23.88 1.8 39.2 23.96 1.8 39.6 17.49 12.0 21.5

Sales ............................................................................. 14.50 2.1 32.6 16.89 2.1 40.3 7.67 1.2 21.1

Supervisors, sales ............................................. 19.16 4.7 40.9 19.27 4.7 41.4 7.97 7.0 20.2

Insurance sales .................................................. 21.46 8.6 39.9 21.58 8.5 40.3 – – –

See footnotes at end of table.

7
TABLE 3. Mean hourly earnings1 and weekly hours for selected occupations, full-time and part-time workers,2 United States, National

Compensation Survey,3 July 2002–Continued

Occupation4

Total Full time Part time

Hourly earnings

Mean

weekly

hours

Hourly earnings

Mean

weekly

hours

Hourly earnings

Mean

weekly

Mean hours

Relative

error5

(percent)

Mean

Relative

error5

(percent)

Mean

Relative

error5

(percent)

White collar –Continued

Sales –Continued

Real estate sales ............................................... $19.13 8.8 38.2 $19.42 8.6 39.2 – – –

Securities and financial services sales .............. 43.42 11.8 39.6 43.52 11.8 39.8 – – –

Advertising and related sales ............................. 20.90 8.7 36.7 21.63 8.2 38.7 – – –

Sales, other business services .......................... 20.99 9.9 36.8 22.38 9.3 40.9 $9.00 17.4 19.7

Sales engineers ................................................. 37.71 19.9 42.8 37.71 19.9 42.8 – – –

Sales representatives, mining, manufacturing,

and wholesale .................................................. 24.08 5.2 40.1 24.14 5.2 40.6 – – –

Sales workers, motor vehicles and boats .......... 18.95 4.8 45.4 18.94 4.8 45.6 – – –

Sales workers, apparel ...................................... 9.05 3.5 25.1 10.57 4.1 37.8 7.83 3.9 19.7

Sales workers, shoes ......................................... 8.64 4.9 23.3 10.17 9.0 39.8 7.87 6.7 19.2

Sales workers, furniture and home furnishings .. 11.21 10.2 26.8 15.29 8.4 41.5 7.82 5.7 20.7

Sales workers, radio, tv, hi-fi, and appliances ... 19.71 32.5 33.6 – – – 9.00 3.5 23.4

Sales workers, hardware and building supplies 13.82 5.5 37.5 14.42 6.5 41.1 10.16 2.6 24.6

Sales workers, parts .......................................... 13.79 4.4 38.5 14.15 4.8 40.7 8.20 4.5 20.7

Sales workers, other commodities ..................... 11.73 5.9 29.9 13.87 6.0 39.6 7.59 1.2 20.3

Sales counter clerks .......................................... 8.93 8.9 29.5 10.34 9.6 39.4 6.75 4.1 21.2

Cashiers ............................................................. 8.19 1.4 28.8 8.87 2.0 39.1 7.41 1.3 22.1

Street and door-to-door sales workers .............. 14.87 31.1 26.3 18.14 29.0 39.9 – – –

News vendors .................................................... 8.00 8.6 20.7 – – – 7.97 8.6 20.6

Demonstrators, promoters, and models, sales .. 23.26 28.5 26.7 – – – 8.65 8.9 13.4

Sales support, n.e.c. .......................................... 13.98 7.7 34.6 15.46 9.4 40.2 8.70 5.1 23.0

Administrative support, including clerical ................ 13.41 .5 36.4 13.69 .5 39.2 10.74 1.4 21.3

Supervisors, general office ................................ 17.86 3.1 38.9 17.94 3.1 39.5 – – –

Supervisors, computer equipment operators ..... 19.12 9.5 40.0 19.12 9.5 40.0 – – –

Supervisors, financial records processing ......... 19.72 2.4 38.9 19.72 2.4 38.9 – – –

Chief communications operators ....................... 20.59 6.5 40.0 20.59 6.5 40.0 – – –

Supervisors, distribution, scheduling, and

adjusting clerks ................................................ 19.76 4.4 39.9 19.98 4.3 40.4 – – –

Computer operators ........................................... 15.90 2.7 38.7 15.95 2.7 39.3 11.36 9.2 16.8

Peripheral equipment operators ........................ 14.06 9.8 39.2 14.06 9.9 39.4 – – –

Secretaries ......................................................... 14.77 1.2 37.5 14.85 1.2 38.9 13.37 4.0 22.5

Stenographers ................................................... 16.68 4.9 33.5 16.96 5.1 39.0 15.51 13.8 21.0

Typists ............................................................... 14.07 1.7 36.4 14.20 1.7 38.1 11.83 4.6 21.0

Interviewers ....................................................... 11.25 4.4 30.9 11.97 3.6 39.7 9.05 4.9 18.3

Hotel clerks ........................................................ 8.71 2.4 35.9 8.83 2.6 39.6 7.99 4.0 23.1

Transportation ticket and reservation agents ..... 13.74 5.3 35.9 13.67 5.8 39.4 14.13 8.3 23.5

Receptionists ..................................................... 10.62 2.1 33.6 11.01 1.9 39.3 8.81 2.8 20.1

Information clerks, n.e.c. .................................... 12.16 2.8 37.0 12.42 2.8 39.6 10.27 4.7 25.0

Classified ad clerks ............................................ 10.63 15.1 38.2 – – – – – –

Correspondence clerks ...................................... 13.02 2.0 39.0 13.05 2.1 40.0 – – –

Order clerks ....................................................... 13.20 1.9 37.4 13.54 1.8 39.6 9.63 5.3 23.5

Personnel clerks, except payroll and

timekeeping ..................................................... 14.75 3.4 39.1 14.75 3.4 39.7 14.54 8.9 23.8

Library clerks ..................................................... 11.69 2.8 29.7 12.31 3.7 38.2 10.15 3.3 19.2

File clerks ........................................................... 9.92 2.2 32.9 10.09 2.7 39.6 9.11 6.5 18.1

Records clerks, n.e.c. ........................................ 12.95 2.2 38.3 13.02 2.2 39.4 11.81 6.0 25.1

Bookkeepers, accounting and auditing clerks ... 13.62 1.5 37.0 13.82 1.6 39.4 11.21 4.5 21.6

Payroll and timekeeping clerks .......................... 15.17 2.6 35.1 15.35 2.6 39.6 12.76 13.6 13.7

Billing clerks ....................................................... 12.11 3.5 37.1 12.13 3.7 39.7 11.61 4.5 17.0

Cost and rate clerks ........................................... 14.76 23.1 40.2 14.76 23.1 40.2 – – –

Billing, posting, and calculating machine

operators .......................................................... 11.95 4.7 33.3 13.18 5.7 38.6 9.05 4.8 25.2

Duplicating machine operators .......................... 11.27 6.4 38.3 11.37 6.9 39.5 9.80 11.4 26.0

Mail preparing and paper handling machine

operators .......................................................... 11.32 6.5 38.0 11.41 6.8 39.6 – – –

Office machine operators, n.e.c. ........................ 10.24 5.4 38.6 10.30 5.4 39.9 – – –

Telephone operators .......................................... 12.57 4.2 34.6 13.17 4.0 39.0 9.45 3.4 21.8

Communications equipment operators, n.e.c. ... 10.94 12.7 31.2 11.55 13.3 39.6 8.44 19.8 16.6

Mail clerks, except postal service ...................... 11.32 5.8 35.0 11.79 6.3 39.1 8.60 4.2 21.6

Messengers ....................................................... 9.25 6.8 29.8 10.01 11.3 39.5 7.51 5.8 19.0

See footnotes at end of table.

8
TABLE 3. Mean hourly earnings1 and weekly hours for selected occupations, full-time and part-time workers,2 United States, National

Compensation Survey,3 July 2002–Continued

Occupation4

Total Full time Part time

Hourly earnings

Mean

weekly

hours

Hourly earnings

Mean

weekly

hours

Hourly earnings

Mean

weekly

Mean hours

Relative

error5

(percent)

Mean

Relative

error5

(percent)

Mean

Relative

error5

(percent)

White collar –Continued

Administrative support, including clerical

–Continued

Dispatchers ........................................................ $15.36 3.8 39.1 $15.49 4.0 40.0 $11.60 11.2 22.9

Production coordinators ..................................... 17.17 3.3 39.0 17.27 3.2 39.9 9.75 21.3 14.6

Traffic, shipping and receiving clerks ................. 12.72 2.9 38.4 12.77 3.0 39.8 – – –

Stock and inventory clerks ................................. 12.40 1.9 37.0 12.64 2.2 39.8 9.83 4.2 21.2

Meter readers .................................................... 16.27 4.5 38.9 16.34 4.6 40.0 13.80 9.7 19.0

Weighers, measurers, checkers, and samplers 14.97 7.5 38.2 15.06 7.8 40.1 – – –

Expeditors .......................................................... 14.74 3.6 37.7 15.16 3.3 39.7 8.07 8.2 21.3

Material recording, scheduling, and distribution

clerks, n.e.c. ..................................................... 13.31 9.1 38.7 13.37 9.5 39.7 11.66 19.5 23.0

Insurance adjusters, examiners, and

investigators ..................................................... 18.96 8.4 38.0 19.17 8.3 38.8 13.43 3.6 24.1

Investigators and adjusters, except insurance ... 14.74 2.2 38.5 14.81 2.3 39.7 13.04 6.6 23.0

Eligibility clerks, social welfare ........................... 14.90 3.2 38.8 14.97 3.2 38.9 – – –

Bill and account collectors ................................. 13.32 3.8 37.4 13.46 3.9 39.5 11.73 10.8 22.9

General office clerks .......................................... 12.52 1.1 35.9 12.81 1.1 39.2 10.14 2.9 21.2

Bank tellers ........................................................ 10.00 1.3 33.7 10.16 1.5 39.2 9.34 1.9 21.7

Proofreaders ...................................................... 14.20 15.4 36.9 14.44 16.8 39.8 – – –

Data entry keyers ............................................... 12.06 2.1 36.4 12.18 2.4 39.5 11.37 6.8 25.0

Statistical clerks ................................................. 13.49 4.3 38.9 13.52 4.4 39.7 11.75 9.9 21.2

Teachers’ aides ................................................. 10.94 1.3 31.2 10.38 1.6 35.7 12.72 2.3 22.3

Administrative support, n.e.c. ............................ 13.60 1.4 35.2 13.99 1.4 39.2 10.62 4.4 19.8

Blue collar ........................................................................ 14.51 .9 38.2 14.85 .9 40.0 8.94 1.7 21.8

Precision production, craft, and repair ...................... 18.20 1.1 39.6 18.26 1.1 40.0 12.62 9.4 21.8

Supervisors, mechanics and repairers .............. 22.74 3.1 40.9 22.73 3.1 41.0 – – –

Automobile mechanics ....................................... 17.27 3.8 40.1 17.32 3.8 40.3 – – –

Automobile mechanic apprentices ..................... 12.08 5.7 40.5 12.08 5.7 40.5 – – –

Bus, truck, and stationary engine mechanics .... 16.47 3.3 39.6 16.60 3.3 40.4 – – –

Aircraft engine mechanics ................................. 25.18 5.3 40.0 25.18 5.3 40.0 – – –

Small engine repairers ....................................... 13.57 4.4 39.9 13.60 4.4 40.0 – – –

Automobile body and related repairers .............. 17.49 9.4 39.8 17.63 9.4 40.2 – – –

Aircraft mechanics, except engine ..................... 25.00 6.7 40.0 25.00 6.7 40.0 – – –

Heavy equipment mechanics ............................. 18.85 4.6 39.7 18.85 4.6 39.9 – – –

Farm equipment mechanics .............................. 14.26 6.7 40.9 14.30 6.6 41.0 – – –

Industrial machinery repairers ........................... 19.22 2.2 39.8 19.20 2.2 39.8 – – –

Machinery maintenance ..................................... 14.89 6.3 37.6 15.54 5.1 39.5 – – –

Electronic repairers, communications and

industrial equipment ......................................... 19.51 4.1 38.7 19.67 4.1 39.9 15.07 19.7 20.4

Data processing equipment repairers ................ 15.52 15.8 39.7 15.61 16.1 39.8 – – –

Household appliance and power tool repairers 15.18 7.1 38.9 15.18 7.2 39.3 – – –

Telephone line installers and repairers .............. 23.36 3.8 40.0 23.36 3.8 40.0 – – –

Telephone installers and repairers .................... 22.76 2.4 40.0 22.76 2.4 40.0 – – –

Heating, air conditioning, and refrigeration

mechanics ........................................................ 16.46 3.0 39.6 16.34 3.0 39.8 – – –

Camera, watch, and musical instrument

repairers ........................................................... 14.85 24.0 40.0 14.85 24.0 40.0 – – –

Locksmiths and safe repairers ........................... 14.64 10.5 41.1 14.64 10.5 41.1 – – –

Office machine repairers .................................... 14.55 8.6 39.9 14.55 8.6 39.9 – – –

Mechanical controls and valve repairers ........... 20.83 4.9 39.4 21.00 5.0 40.0 – – –

Elevator installers and repairers ........................ 35.81 9.6 40.0 35.81 9.6 40.0 – – –

Millwrights .......................................................... 21.77 5.5 40.0 21.75 5.6 40.0 – – –

Mechanics and repairers, n.e.c. ......................... 15.81 2.9 39.0 15.88 2.9 39.5 10.30 18.5 17.4

Supervisors, brickmasons, stonemasons, and

tilesetters ......................................................... 20.99 17.5 40.0 20.99 17.5 40.0 – – –

Supervisors, carpenters and related workers .... 24.84 5.9 39.9 24.93 5.9 40.2 – – –

Supervisors, electricians and power

transmission installers ..................................... 26.72 5.0 40.0 26.72 5.0 40.0 – – –

Supervisors, painters, paperhangers, and

plasterers ......................................................... 19.93 13.0 40.9 19.93 13.0 40.9 – – –

See footnotes at end of table.

9
TABLE 3. Mean hourly earnings1 and weekly hours for selected occupations, full-time and part-time workers,2 United States, National

Compensation Survey,3 July 2002–Continued

Occupation4

Total Full time Part time

Hourly earnings

Mean

weekly

hours

Hourly earnings

Mean

weekly

hours

Hourly earnings

Mean

weekly

Mean hours

Relative

error5

(percent)

Mean

Relative

error5

(percent)

Mean

Relative

error5

(percent)

Blue collar –Continued

Precision production, craft, and repair –Continued

Supervisors, plumbers, pipefitters, and

steamfitters ...................................................... $25.23 4.7 40.8 $25.23 4.7 40.8 – – –

Supervisors, construction trades, n.e.c. ............. 21.15 3.6 40.2 21.15 3.6 40.2 – – –

Brickmasons and stonemasons ......................... 19.92 7.5 40.0 19.92 7.5 40.0 – – –

Tile setters, hard and soft .................................. 22.47 14.2 40.0 22.47 14.2 40.0 – – –

Carpet installers ................................................. 19.05 12.3 39.0 19.18 13.0 39.5 – – –

Carpenters ......................................................... 18.30 3.3 39.7 18.27 3.3 39.9 $21.90 11.9 26.3

Carpenter apprentices ....................................... 17.40 13.6 40.0 17.40 13.6 40.0 – – –

Drywall installers ................................................ 20.74 10.2 40.0 20.75 10.2 40.0 – – –

Electricians ........................................................ 22.33 3.6 39.5 22.33 3.6 39.7 – – –

Electrician apprentices ....................................... 14.83 4.0 39.9 14.84 4.0 39.9 – – –

Electrical power installers and repairers ............ 24.30 3.8 40.0 24.30 3.8 40.0 – – –

Painters, construction and maintenance ............ 13.65 6.5 39.7 13.66 6.6 39.8 – – –

Plasterers ........................................................... 15.06 12.6 40.0 15.06 12.6 40.0 – – –

Plumbers, pipefitters and steamfitters ............... 21.27 3.8 39.5 21.28 3.9 39.6 – – –

Plumber, pipefitter, and steamfitter apprentices 18.29 12.6 39.5 18.29 12.6 39.5 – – –

Concrete and terrazzo finishers ......................... 18.35 9.5 39.4 18.35 9.5 39.4 – – –

Glaziers .............................................................. 16.92 5.5 40.0 16.92 5.5 40.0 – – –

Insulation workers .............................................. 14.40 5.9 39.8 14.40 5.9 39.8 – – –

Paving, surfacing, and tamping equipment

operators .......................................................... 15.97 18.1 41.8 15.97 18.1 41.8 – – –

Roofers .............................................................. 14.68 10.3 38.7 14.68 10.3 38.7 – – –

Sheetmetal duct installers .................................. 20.54 14.6 40.0 20.54 14.6 40.0 – – –

Structural metal workers .................................... 17.62 5.5 40.0 17.62 5.5 40.0 – – –

Construction trades, n.e.c. ................................. 15.76 4.1 39.7 15.75 4.1 39.9 16.52 25.8 19.7

Supervisors, extractive ...................................... 23.58 8.2 41.4 23.58 8.2 41.4 – – –

Drillers, oil well ................................................... 20.01 18.2 40.0 20.01 18.2 40.0 – – –

Mining machine operators ................................. 15.51 9.7 40.0 15.51 9.7 40.0 – – –

Mining, n.e.c. ..................................................... 20.21 10.2 47.6 20.21 10.2 47.6 – – –

Supervisors, production ..................................... 20.67 3.2 40.4 20.67 3.2 40.5 – – –

Tool and die makers .......................................... 21.85 2.1 40.0 21.85 2.1 40.0 – – –

Tool and die maker apprentices ........................ 13.43 12.2 39.8 13.43 12.2 39.8 – – –

Precision assemblers, metal .............................. 19.22 4.1 40.0 19.22 4.1 40.0 – – –

Machinists .......................................................... 18.52 4.8 39.8 18.54 4.9 40.0 – – –

Machinist apprentices ........................................ 14.49 3.7 40.0 14.49 3.7 40.0 – – –

Precision grinders, filers, and tool sharpeners ... 17.03 6.5 39.7 17.03 6.5 39.7 – – –

Patternmakers and modelmakers, metal ........... 20.85 11.8 40.0 20.85 11.8 40.0 – – –

Layout workers .................................................. 17.08 14.5 40.0 17.08 14.5 40.0 – – –

Precious stones and metals workers ................. 12.72 16.9 39.8 12.72 16.9 39.8 – – –

Engravers, metal ................................................ 17.15 19.9 40.0 17.15 19.9 40.0 – – –

Sheet metal workers .......................................... 17.07 9.2 38.5 17.07 9.2 38.5 – – –

Sheet metal worker apprentices ........................ 14.16 17.2 39.1 14.16 17.2 39.1 – – –

Cabinet makers and bench carpenters .............. 11.87 7.2 39.2 11.92 7.1 40.0 – – –

Furniture and wood finishers ............................. 12.61 6.8 40.0 12.61 6.8 40.0 – – –

Tailors ................................................................ 13.85 10.2 28.5 14.72 9.9 39.4 – – –

Upholsterers ...................................................... 15.84 13.7 40.0 15.84 13.7 40.0 – – –

Hand molders and shapers, except jewelers ..... 17.56 5.3 40.0 17.56 5.3 40.0 – – –

Patternmakers, layout workers, and cutters ...... 16.52 6.8 39.6 16.55 6.9 40.0 – – –

Dental laboratory and medical appliance

technicians ....................................................... 14.90 4.1 39.5 14.90 4.1 39.5 – – –

Bookbinders ....................................................... 16.81 14.7 38.1 17.17 14.7 39.8 – – –

Electrical and electronic equipment assemblers 12.46 3.9 39.1 12.35 4.0 39.9 – – –

Miscellaneous precision workers, n.e.c. ............ 15.07 8.7 39.7 15.09 8.7 39.9 – – –

Precision food production .................................. 12.94 10.2 39.9 12.94 10.2 39.9 – – –

Butchers and meat cutters ................................. 11.40 3.9 37.5 11.37 4.0 39.7 12.21 8.2 14.9

Bakers ................................................................ 10.76 5.2 35.3 11.50 3.3 39.6 8.02 12.8 25.2

Food batchmakers ............................................. 11.69 10.7 39.8 11.69 10.8 40.2 – – –

Inspectors, testers, and graders ........................ 17.90 2.8 40.3 17.91 2.8 40.3 – – –

Precision inspectors, testers, and related

workers, n.e.c. ................................................. 21.85 7.3 40.0 21.85 7.3 40.0 – – –

Adjusters and calibrators ................................... 14.71 7.3 36.8 14.71 7.3 36.8 – – –

See footnotes at end of table.

10
TABLE 3. Mean hourly earnings1 and weekly hours for selected occupations, full-time and part-time workers,2 United States, National

Compensation Survey,3 July 2002–Continued

Occupation4

Total Full time Part time

Hourly earnings

Mean

weekly

hours

Hourly earnings

Mean

weekly

hours

Hourly earnings

Mean

weekly

Mean hours

Relative

error5

(percent)

Mean

Relative

error5

(percent)

Mean

Relative

error5

(percent)

Blue collar –Continued

Precision production, craft, and repair –Continued

Water and sewer treatment plant operators ...... $17.25 3.4 39.9 $17.26 3.4 40.0 – – –

Power plant operators ........................................ 25.62 2.9 40.0 25.62 2.9 40.0 – – –

Stationary engineers .......................................... 21.91 4.5 39.8 21.91 4.5 39.8 – – –

Miscellaneous plant and system operators,

n.e.c. ................................................................ 22.39 3.2 39.5 22.39 3.2 39.5 – – –

Machine operators, assemblers, and inspectors ..... 12.94 1.4 39.2 13.04 1.4 39.8 $8.83 3.3 23.6

Lathe and turning machine set-up operators ..... 16.07 5.4 40.0 16.07 5.4 40.0 – – –

Lathe and turning machine operators ................ 15.00 5.9 40.0 15.00 5.9 40.0 – – –

Milling and planing machine operators .............. 13.04 5.2 40.0 13.04 5.2 40.0 – – –

Punching and stamping press operators ........... 12.77 7.8 39.9 12.77 7.8 40.0 – – –

Rolling machine operators ................................. 15.38 11.8 40.0 15.38 11.8 40.0 – – –

Drilling and boring machine operators ............... 11.82 11.1 40.0 11.82 11.1 40.0 – – –

Grinding, abrading, buffing, and polishing

machine operators ........................................... 13.08 3.6 38.9 13.21 3.5 40.0 – – –

Forging machine operators ................................ 13.75 7.4 39.8 13.75 7.4 39.8 – – –

Numerical control machine operators ................ 14.63 4.5 39.7 14.64 4.5 40.0 – – –

Fabricating machine operators, n.e.c. ............... 14.38 4.3 39.1 14.63 3.9 39.9 – – –

Molding and casting machine operators ............ 12.32 3.5 39.6 12.40 3.5 39.7 7.27 5.7 34.4

Metal plating machine operators ........................ 13.68 7.0 39.5 13.76 6.9 39.6 – – –

Heat treating equipment operators .................... 15.71 7.5 40.0 15.71 7.5 40.0 – – –

Wood lathe, routing, and planing machine

operators .......................................................... 11.78 6.2 38.2 11.78 6.3 39.9 – – –

Sawing machine operators ................................ 11.98 4.3 39.8 11.99 4.3 39.9 – – –

Shaping and jointing machine operators ........... 12.68 5.3 40.0 12.68 5.3 40.0 – – –

Nailing and tacking machine operators .............. 10.86 6.3 38.2 10.86 6.3 38.2 – – –

Printing press operators ..................................... 15.85 3.4 39.2 15.86 3.5 39.5 14.95 11.9 19.2

Photoengravers and lithographers ..................... 16.83 4.4 39.4 16.83 4.4 39.4 – – –

Typesetters and compositors ............................. 14.05 10.3 32.9 15.20 8.4 39.0 9.14 17.9 19.7

Winding and twisting machine operators ........... 12.94 9.9 39.8 12.95 9.9 39.8 – – –

Knitting, looping, taping, and weaving machine

operators .......................................................... 12.36 8.7 39.9 12.36 8.7 39.9 – – –

Textile cutting machine operators ...................... 9.98 6.8 39.2 9.98 6.8 39.2 – – –

Textile sewing machine operators ..................... 8.93 6.3 38.9 8.91 6.4 39.5 – – –

Pressing machine operators .............................. 9.08 4.0 39.3 9.08 4.0 39.4 – – –

Laundering and dry cleaning machine operators 8.49 4.1 38.0 8.55 4.3 39.3 7.21 4.6 21.9

Cementing and gluing machine operators ......... 11.91 8.3 40.0 11.91 8.3 40.0 – – –

Packaging and filling machine operators ........... 12.40 4.2 39.2 12.53 3.9 39.9 – – –

Extruding and forming machine operators ......... 12.78 6.1 39.4 12.78 6.1 39.4 – – –

Mixing and blending machine operators ............ 14.87 4.6 39.8 14.87 4.6 39.9 – – –

Separating, filtering, and clarifying machine

operators .......................................................... 18.97 3.6 39.8 18.97 3.6 39.8 – – –

Compressing and compacting machine

operators .......................................................... 11.39 2.7 40.4 11.39 2.7 40.4 – – –

Painting and paint spraying machine operators 15.10 6.0 40.0 15.10 6.0 40.0 – – –

Roasting and baking machine operators, food .. 11.42 9.4 39.7 11.41 9.5 40.0 – – –

Washing, cleaning, and pickling machine

operators .......................................................... 13.22 10.2 40.0 13.22 10.2 40.0 – – –

Folding machine operators ................................ 13.07 7.7 40.0 13.07 7.7 40.0 – – –

Furnace, kiln, and oven operators, except food 13.72 6.3 39.7 13.71 6.3 39.9 – – –

Crushing and grinding machine operators ......... 12.95 4.6 40.1 12.95 4.6 40.1 – – –

Slicing and cutting machine operators ............... 13.12 4.6 39.5 13.16 4.6 39.9 – – –

Motion picture projectionists .............................. 12.24 25.2 28.4 – – – 18.08 24.3 18.2

Photographic process machine operators ......... 10.93 5.2 32.3 11.91 4.6 39.9 7.74 2.5 20.0

Miscellaneous machine operators, n.e.c. .......... 13.47 2.7 39.5 13.53 2.7 39.8 9.23 2.9 24.9

Welders and cutters ........................................... 15.51 2.5 40.0 15.52 2.5 40.0 – – –

Solders and braziers .......................................... 10.35 9.8 40.0 10.35 9.8 40.0 – – –

Assemblers ........................................................ 12.83 3.3 39.0 13.01 3.2 40.0 8.50 7.2 24.5

Hand cutting and trimming ................................. 9.86 12.6 39.6 9.89 12.7 40.0 – – –

Hand molding, casting, and forming .................. 10.91 7.4 40.0 10.91 7.4 40.0 – – –

Hand painting, coating, and decorating ............. 11.32 6.2 39.1 11.33 6.4 40.0 – – –

See footnotes at end of table.

11
TABLE 3. Mean hourly earnings1 and weekly hours for selected occupations, full-time and part-time workers,2 United States, National

Compensation Survey,3 July 2002–Continued

Occupation4

Total Full time Part time

Hourly earnings

Mean

weekly

hours

Hourly earnings

Mean

weekly

hours

Hourly earnings

Mean

weekly

Mean hours

Relative

error5

(percent)

Mean

Relative

error5

(percent)

Mean

Relative

error5

(percent)

Blue collar –Continued

Machine operators, assemblers, and inspectors

–Continued

Hand engraving and printing .............................. $15.50 27.8 30.1 $17.89 25.8 37.6 – – –

Miscellaneous hand working, n.e.c. ................... 11.12 6.0 39.1 11.18 6.0 39.6 – – –

Production inspectors, checkers and examiners 13.18 4.1 39.6 13.20 4.1 39.8 $9.82 8.0 24.2

Production testers .............................................. 13.26 4.7 39.9 13.26 4.7 39.9 – – –

Production samplers and weighers .................... 10.71 9.3 30.9 11.63 6.5 39.8 – – –

Graders and sorters, except agricultural ............ 9.89 7.4 38.5 9.98 7.6 39.9 – – –

Hand inspectors, n.e.c. ...................................... 10.49 10.2 39.8 10.49 10.2 39.8 – – –

Transportation and material moving ......................... 14.25 1.5 37.5 14.69 1.6 40.7 9.75 4.0 20.8

Supervisors, motor vehicle operators ................ 18.48 5.0 42.3 18.55 5.1 42.4 – – –

Truck drivers ...................................................... 14.20 2.1 40.2 14.35 2.2 41.7 9.93 6.7 20.2

Driver-sales workers .......................................... 12.77 5.9 35.5 14.03 5.6 40.8 8.11 11.1 24.1

Bus drivers ......................................................... 14.23 2.3 27.9 15.25 2.5 36.6 12.57 2.2 20.2

Taxicab drivers and chauffeurs .......................... 8.31 6.5 30.3 8.41 7.5 39.5 7.82 3.7 13.5

Parking lot attendants ........................................ 8.26 7.4 32.4 8.71 8.3 39.9 6.88 6.3 20.5

Motor transportation, n.e.c. ................................ 8.52 7.6 29.6 10.24 9.0 38.6 5.99 8.4 22.1

Railroad conductors and yardmasters ............... 34.89 4.7 40.0 34.89 4.7 40.0 – – –

Locomotive operating ........................................ 32.98 10.3 39.9 32.99 10.3 39.9 – – –

Rail vehicle operators, n.e.c. ............................. 24.58 7.4 40.0 24.58 7.4 40.0 – – –

Ship captains and mates, except fishing boats .. 19.18 9.4 45.4 19.30 9.5 45.6 – – –

Sailors and deckhands ...................................... 12.96 5.8 39.9 12.40 6.0 46.3 – – –

Bridge, lock and lighthouse tenders ................... 13.49 2.7 40.0 13.49 2.7 40.0 – – –

Supervisors, material moving equipment ........... 19.53 5.9 40.6 19.53 5.9 40.6 – – –

Operating engineers .......................................... 19.65 6.0 39.8 19.65 6.0 39.8 – – –

Hoist and winch operators ................................. 13.03 12.7 40.0 13.03 12.7 40.0 – – –

Crane and tower operators ................................ 16.98 5.1 40.0 16.98 5.1 40.0 – – –

Excavating and loading machine operators ....... 15.82 6.2 40.0 15.82 6.2 40.0 – – –

Grader, dozer, and scrapper operators ............. 14.89 4.4 40.0 14.89 4.4 40.0 – – –

Industrial truck and tractor equipment operators 13.56 2.5 39.5 13.63 2.5 39.9 10.60 10.1 26.6

Miscellaneous material moving equipment

operators, n.e.c. ............................................... 15.61 4.2 37.3 15.92 4.3 39.8 11.75 8.7 20.4

Handlers, equipment cleaners, helpers, and

laborers ....................................................................... 10.98 1.3 35.6 11.45 1.4 39.7 8.20 1.7 21.9

Nursery workers ................................................. 8.23 9.2 37.6 9.24 7.0 40.0 6.18 11.6 33.5

Supervisors, agriculture-related workers ........... 18.17 6.7 40.0 18.19 6.7 40.1 – – –

Groundskeepers and gardeners, except farm ... 11.16 2.9 37.2 11.48 3.2 39.7 8.73 5.4 25.0

Animal caretakers, except farm ......................... 10.48 9.3 32.6 11.00 9.8 39.2 7.70 14.1 17.1

Inspectors, agricultural products ........................ 9.55 16.9 38.6 10.06 16.6 40.0 – – –

Supervisors, handlers, equipment cleaners, and

laborers, n.e.c. ................................................. 18.31 5.9 39.3 18.36 6.0 39.7 – – –

Helpers, mechanics and repairers ..................... 11.61 4.5 38.6 11.80 4.8 39.6 7.54 5.0 24.5

Helpers, construction trades .............................. 11.26 3.1 39.4 11.28 3.2 39.9 9.22 13.9 16.7

Helpers, extractive ............................................. 11.11 18.2 40.0 11.11 18.2 40.0 – – –

Construction laborers ......................................... 13.00 4.2 38.8 12.94 4.0 39.7 14.44 14.6 26.0

Production helpers ............................................. 10.01 3.5 39.1 10.04 3.6 39.9 8.86 3.0 21.7

Garbage collectors ............................................. 14.54 8.7 40.6 14.58 8.7 40.9 – – –

Stevedores ......................................................... 16.95 19.8 36.2 17.88 19.0 40.0 – – –

Stock handlers and baggers .............................. 9.56 1.9 29.5 10.96 1.9 39.6 7.31 2.0 20.9

Machine feeders and offbearers ........................ 10.48 3.0 39.1 10.51 3.1 39.8 9.21 12.1 22.6

Freight, stock, and material handlers, n.e.c. ...... 12.10 4.9 34.9 12.47 5.2 39.8 10.16 3.1 21.2

Garage and service station related .................... 9.87 6.6 37.3 9.97 7.0 39.5 8.70 11.2 22.7

Vehicle washers and equipment cleaners ......... 9.88 2.8 37.1 10.10 3.0 39.5 7.03 4.0 21.0

Hand packers and packagers ............................ 9.31 3.7 36.9 9.47 4.2 39.7 7.94 4.6 22.6

Laborers, except construction, n.e.c. ................. 10.62 2.4 36.9 10.96 2.5 39.7 8.33 3.2 24.9

Service .............................................................................. 10.32 1.3 31.6 11.36 1.7 38.9 7.20 1.2 20.2

Protective service .................................................. 16.83 2.3 37.0 17.45 2.1 40.6 9.52 2.9 18.1

Supervisors, firefighters and fire prevention ...... 24.50 4.7 49.0 24.50 4.7 49.0 – – –

See footnotes at end of table.

12
TABLE 3. Mean hourly earnings1 and weekly hours for selected occupations, full-time and part-time workers,2 United States, National

Compensation Survey,3 July 2002–Continued

Occupation4

Total Full time Part time

Hourly earnings

Mean

weekly

hours

Hourly earnings

Mean

weekly

hours

Hourly earnings

Mean

weekly

Mean hours

Relative

error5

(percent)

Mean

Relative

error5

(percent)

Mean

Relative

error5

(percent)

Service –Continued

Protective service –Continued

Supervisors, police and detectives .................... $28.77 2.9 40.2 $28.77 2.9 40.2 – – –

Supervisors, guards ........................................... 19.78 5.7 38.4 20.07 5.5 39.2 – – –

Fire inspection and fire prevention ..................... 20.41 8.8 39.0 20.44 8.8 42.0 – – –

Firefighting ......................................................... 17.91 2.6 44.2 18.22 2.1 48.0 $7.27 7.7 11.9

Police and detectives, public service ................. 22.64 1.0 39.4 22.71 1.0 39.9 13.88 8.9 14.8

Sheriffs, bailiffs, and other law enforcement

officers ............................................................. 18.58 1.9 38.2 18.63 2.0 39.8 16.99 12.9 16.3

Correctional institution officers ........................... 16.43 5.1 39.7 16.47 5.1 39.9 – – –

Crossing guards ................................................. 9.60 4.9 17.9 – – – 9.26 3.7 17.7

Guards and police, except public service .......... 10.24 2.9 33.3 10.40 3.1 39.2 9.47 3.8 19.3

Protective service, n.e.c. .................................... 11.72 6.5 25.8 13.39 7.9 39.1 8.65 8.1 15.9

Food service .......................................................... 7.41 1.1 28.4 8.25 1.5 38.2 6.19 1.1 20.7

Waiters, waitresses, and bartenders ................... 4.88 2.7 26.5 5.13 3.1 37.1 4.60 3.2 20.1

Bartenders ......................................................... 6.75 3.8 27.3 6.95 5.1 37.6 6.46 5.4 19.6

Waiters and waitresses ...................................... 4.21 3.3 26.5 4.37 4.2 36.8 4.05 3.5 20.5

Waiters’/Waitresses’ assistants ......................... 6.01 3.2 25.9 6.38 4.9 37.9 5.58 3.5 18.7

Other food service ............................................... 8.45 1.2 29.2 9.35 1.5 38.7 7.00 .8 20.9

Supervisors, food preparation and service ........ 12.61 2.6 38.9 13.10 2.6 41.7 8.36 3.2 24.7

Cooks ................................................................. 9.10 1.5 33.6 9.49 1.4 38.4 7.54 2.3 22.5

Kitchen workers, food preparation ..................... 7.75 2.0 28.6 8.29 3.0 38.8 7.09 2.7 21.7

Food preparation, n.e.c. ..................................... 7.48 1.1 25.6 8.15 1.5 37.9 6.90 1.1 20.0

Health service ........................................................ 10.54 1.8 34.1 10.72 1.9 38.7 9.59 2.3 20.7

Dental assistants ............................................... 14.47 7.0 35.5 14.42 7.3 36.8 15.21 7.1 22.3

Health aides, except nursing ............................. 11.49 3.7 34.2 11.79 3.5 39.4 9.63 8.4 18.6

Nursing aides, orderlies and attendants ............ 9.80 1.3 34.0 9.89 1.4 38.7 9.37 2.2 21.3

Cleaning and building service ................................ 10.23 2.0 34.7 10.64 1.9 39.4 7.89 3.1 20.8

Supervisors, cleaning and building service

workers ............................................................ 14.73 4.0 39.6 14.78 4.0 40.0 – – –

Maids and housemen ........................................ 8.21 1.6 34.6 8.20 1.8 38.5 8.26 4.6 20.7

Janitors and cleaners ......................................... 10.38 2.1 34.2 10.93 1.6 39.6 7.76 3.4 20.9

Pest control ........................................................ 12.70 6.2 39.0 12.58 6.0 39.8 – – –

Personal service .................................................... 10.28 3.7 29.2 10.95 5.3 37.1 8.49 4.1 18.7

Supervisors, personal service ............................ 15.16 4.1 39.4 15.34 3.9 40.3 8.77 11.0 21.4

Hairdressers and cosmetologists ....................... 13.12 7.3 26.1 13.79 8.3 37.7 11.98 11.3 17.1

Attendants, amusement, and recreation

facilities ............................................................ 7.06 4.6 31.8 7.08 5.3 39.6 6.99 4.5 19.5

Guides ............................................................... 12.05 12.7 31.5 12.69 13.1 37.8 9.67 10.9 19.4

Ushers ............................................................... 8.33 3.5 23.2 – – – 7.68 5.8 18.5

Public transportation attendants ........................ 30.95 2.5 19.5 31.53 2.5 20.0 23.07 26.2 14.2

Baggage porters and bellhops ........................... 7.21 6.1 36.8 7.07 6.9 39.1 8.74 9.7 22.8

Welfare service aides ........................................ 9.10 5.3 28.4 10.48 3.7 38.9 7.20 6.1 20.8

Early childhood teachers’ assistants .................. 8.32 3.8 30.4 8.48 4.7 37.7 7.81 3.9 18.7

Child care workers, n.e.c. .................................. 9.27 4.1 28.7 9.64 5.1 39.0 8.37 3.2 17.4

Service, n.e.c. .................................................... 10.36 3.0 29.7 11.12 3.3 38.4 8.36 3.2 18.5

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, and 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. 2 Total includes full-time and part-time workers. 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 This survey covers all 50 States. Collection was conducted between December 2001

and January 2003. The average reference period was July 2002. 4 A classification system including about 480 individual occupations is used to cover all

workers in the civilian economy. 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 Technical Note.

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

criteria, and n.e.c. means "not elsewhere classified." Overall occupational groups may

include data for categories not shown separately. 

13
14

Technical Notes

he data in this report are based on the National Compensation Survey (NCS) conducted by the Bureau of

Labor Statistics (BLS). The NCS is locality-based and covers 

establishments in private industry and State and local

governments. Agriculture, private households, and the Federal Government are excluded from the scope of the survey. 

Survey scope. The NCS included establishments representing 

nearly 84 million workers within the scope of the survey. 

(See table on page 16.) Private sector establishments with

one or more workers are covered in the survey. State and

local governments with 50 workers or more are covered. For 

purposes of this survey, an establishment is an economic unit 

that produces goods or services, a central administrative

office, or an auxiliary unit providing support services to a

company. For private industries in this survey, the

establishment is usually at a single physical location. For

State and local governments, an establishment is defined as all 

locations of a government entity.

Sampling frame. The list of establishments from which the

survey sample was selected (sampling frame) was developed 

from the State unemployment insurance reports. The reference month for the public sector is June 1994. Due to the volatility of industries within the private sector, sampling frames 

were developed using the most recent month of reference

available at the time the sample was selected. The reference 

month for the private sector varied by area.

Sample design and data collection. The sample for this

survey was selected using a three-stage design. The first stage 

involved the selection of areas. The NCS sample consists of 

154 metropolitan areas and nonmetropolitan areas that represent the Nation’s 326 metropolitan statistical areas (as defined 

by the U.S. Office of Management and Budget) and the

remaining portions of the 50 States. Metropolitan areas are

defined as Metropolitan Statistical Areas (MSAs) or

Consolidated Metropolitan Statistical Areas (CMSAs), as

defined by the U.S. Office of Management and Budget in

1994. Nonmetropolitan areas are counties that do not fit the 

metropolitan area definition. 

In the second stage, the sample of establishments was

drawn by first stratifying the sampling frame by ownership

and industry. The number of sample establishments allocated to each stratum is approximately proportional to the

stratum employment. Each sampled establishment was selected within a stratum with a probability proportional to its 

employment. Use of this technique means that the larger an 

establishment’s employment, the greater its chance of selection. Weights were applied to each establishment when the 

data were tabulated so that each establishment represents

similar units (in terms of industry and employment size) in 

the economy that were not selected for collection. 

The third stage of sample selection was a probability

sample of occupations within a sampled establishment. Collection was conducted between December 2001 and January 

2003, with an average reference period of July 2002.

Occupational selection and classification. Identification of 

the occupations for which wage data were to be collected

was a four-step process:

1. Probability-proportional-to-size selection of establishment jobs. 

2. Classification of jobs into occupations based on the

Census of Population system. 

3. Characterization of jobs as full versus part time, union

versus nonunion, and time versus incentive. 

4. Determination of the level of work of each job. 

For each occupation, wage data were collected for those

workers who met all the criteria identified in the last three

steps. Special procedures were developed for jobs for which 

a correct classification or level could not be determined.

In step one, the jobs to be sampled were selected at each 

establishment by the BLS field economist during a personal 

visit. A complete list of employees was used for sampling,

with each selected worker representing a job within the

establishment. As with the selection of establishments, the 

selection of a job was based on probability proportional to

its size in the establishment. The greater the number of

people working in a job in the establishment, the greater the 

job’s chance of selection. 

The second step of the process entailed classifying the

selected jobs into occupations based on their duties. The

NCS occupational classification system is based on that used 

for the 1990 Census of Population. A selected job may fall 

into any of about 480 occupational classifications, from

accountant to wood lathe operator. For cases in which a

job’s duties overlapped two or more census classification

codes, the duties used to set the wage level were used to

classify the job. Classification by primary duties was the

fallback. 

In step three, certain other job characteristics of the

chosen workers were identified. First, the worker was identified as holding either a full- or part-time job, based on the 

establishment’s definition of those terms. Then, the worker 

was classified as having a time or incentive job, depending 

on whether any part of pay was directly based on the actual 

production of the worker, rather than solely on hours

worked. Finally, the worker was identified as being in a

union job or a nonunion job. 

T
15

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 using 

the sample design. Estimates derived from the different

samples would differ from one another.

A measure of the variation among these differing

estimates is called the standard error or sampling error. It

indicates the precision with which an estimate from a

particular sample approximates the average result of all

possible samples. The relative standard error (RSE) is the

standard error divided by the estimate. Tables 1, 2, and 3

contain RSE data for indicated series in this report.

The standard error can be used to calculate a “confidence 

interval” around a sample estimate. As an example, table 1 

shows mean hourly earnings for all workers of $17.18 per

hour and a relative standard error of 0.8 percent for this

estimate. At the 90-percent level, the confidence interval for 

this estimate is $16.90 to $17.46 ($17.18 x 1.645 x 0.008= 

$0.2828, rounded to $0.28); ($17.18 - 0.28 = $16.90; $17.18

+ 0.28 = $17.46). If all possible samples were selected to

estimate the population value, the interval from each sample 

would include the true population 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 survey definitions, inability of the respondents to provide correct information, or mistakes in recording or coding the data obtained. 

Although such errors were not specifically measured, efforts 

were made to minimize them through extensive training of

field economists who gathered survey data, computer editing

1 The Middle Atlantic census division also includes the New York-Northern 

New Jersey-Long Island CMSA (which consists of parts of New York, New 

Jersey, Connecticut, and Pennsylvania) and the Philadelphia-WilmingtonAtlantic City CMSA (which consists of parts of Pennsylvania, New Jersey, 

Delaware, and Maryland).

2 The East North Central census division also includes the CincinnatiHamilton CMSA (which consists of parts of Ohio, Kentucky, and Indiana).

of the data, and detailed data review.

Census divisions. Data are tabulated by census divisions

defined as follows: New England: Connecticut, Maine, 

Massachusetts, New Hampshire, Rhode Island, and

Vermont; Middle Atlantic:1 New Jersey, New York, and

Pennsylvania; East North Central:2 Illinois, Indiana,

Michigan, Ohio, and Wisconsin; West North Central:3  

Iowa, Kansas, Minnesota, Missouri, Nebraska, North

Dakota, and South Dakota; South Atlantic: Delaware,

District of Columbia, Florida, Georgia, Maryland, North

Carolina, South Carolina, Virginia, and West Virginia; East 

South Central:4 Alabama, Kentucky, Mississippi, and

Tennessee; West South Central: Arkansas, Louisiana,

Oklahoma, and Texas; Mountain: Arizona, Colorado,

Idaho, Montana, Nevada, New Mexico, Utah, and

Wyoming; and Pacific: Alaska, California, Hawaii, Oregon, 

and Washington.

Additional information about the NCS, including reports for 

about 80 metropolitan areas and 9 census divisions are

available from BLS. These reports, as well as a list of

occupational classifications and the factors used in determining work levels, may be obtained by calling (202) 691-

6199. You may also write to the Bureau of Labor Statistics 

at: Division of Compensation Data Analysis and Planning, 2 

Massachusetts Ave., NE., Room 4175, Washington, DC

20212-0001, or send e-mail to OCLTINFO@bls.gov.

The summary is available on the BLS Internet site:

http://www.bls.gov/ncs/home.htm in a Portable Document

Format (PDF).

Material in this summary is in the public domain and,

with appropriate credit, may be reproduced without

permission. This information will be made available to

sensory impaired individuals upon request. Voice phone:

(202) 691-5200; Federal Relay Service: 1(800) 877-8339.

3 The West North Central census division also includes the St. Louis MSA 

(which consists of parts of Missouri and Illinois) and the Minneapolis-St. 

Paul MSA (which consists of parts of Minnesota and Wisconsin). 

4

 The East South Central census division also includes the Louisville MSA 

(which consists of parts of Kentucky and Indiana) and the Memphis MSA 

(which consists of parts of Tennessee, Arkansas, and Mississippi).
Number of workers1 represented by the survey, by occupational group,2 United States, National

Compensation Survey,3 July 2002

Occupational group All industries Private industry State and local

government

All ............................................................................................. 83,886,200 70,298,300 13,587,900

All, excluding sales ............................................................... 75,683,500 62,140,700 13,542,800

White collar ......................................................................... 43,504,400 34,318,800 9,185,600

White collar, excluding sales ............................................ 35,301,700 26,161,200 9,140,600

Professional specialty and technical ................................. 15,030,300 9,590,500 5,439,900

Professional specialty occupations ............................... 11,838,000 6,823,200 5,014,700

Technical occupations .................................................. 3,192,400 2,767,200 425,100

Executive, administrative, and managerial ....................... 6,345,200 5,197,400 1,147,800

Sales ................................................................................. 8,202,700 8,157,700 45,000

Administrative support, including clerical .......................... 13,926,100 11,373,300 2,552,900

Blue collar ........................................................................... 23,519,700 22,138,300 1,381,400

Precision production, craft, and repair .............................. 7,676,200 7,140,800 535,400

Machine operators, assemblers, and inspectors .............. 6,083,800 6,057,800 25,900

Transportation and material moving ................................. 4,015,800 3,500,700 515,200

Handlers, equipment cleaners, helpers, and laborers ...... 5,743,900 5,439,000 305,000

Service ................................................................................. 16,862,100 13,841,200 3,020,900

1 Estimates of the number of workers provide a description of

size and composition of the labor force included in the survey.

Estimates are not intended, however, for comparison with other

statistical series to measure employment trends or levels. Both

full-time and part-time workers were included in the survey.

2 A classification system including about 480 individual

occupations is used to cover all workers in the civilian economy. 3 This survey covers all 50 States. Collection was conducted

between December 2001 and January 2003. The average

reference period was July 2002. 

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