Deschutes County wages 11 percent below U.S. average

Workers in the Bend-Redmond Metropolitan Area (Deschutes County had an average (mean) hourly wage of $20.60 in May 2015, about 11 percent below the nationwide average of $23.23, the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics reported Friday.

Assistant Commissioner for Regional Operations Richard Holden noted that, after testing for statistical significance, wages in the local area were lower than their respective national averages in 13 of the 22 major occupational groups, including management; legal; and computer and mathematical.

Five groups had significantly higher wages than their respective national averages, including healthcare practitioners and technical; protective service; and healthcare support.

When compared to the nationwide distribution, local employment was more highly concentrated in seven of the 22 occupational groups, including food preparation and serving related; sales and related; and construction and extraction.

Conversely, seven groups had employment shares significantly below their national representation, including production; transportation and material moving; and business and financial operations.

You can read the report at: http://www.bls.gov/regions/west/news-release/occupationalemploymentandwages_bend.htm

Other highlights:

The average worker in the Bend area earned $20.60/hr inMay 2015, about 11% below the U.S. average of $23.23/hr
Healthcare practitioner and technical occupations in the area were highest paid at $42.49/hr, followed by management occupations at $41.18/hr The average wage for healthcare practitioner and technical occupations was 14% above the national average The average wage for healthcare support occupations was 13% above the national average Bend had the highest concentration ofHearing Aid Specialistsnationwide