Labor Market Information

Kansas Wage Survey

Overview

2006 Edition

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The Standard Occupational Classification (SOC) System was developed in response to a growing need for a universal occupational classification system.

The SOC system is used by all federal statistical agencies to classify workers into occupational categories for the purpose of collecting, calculating or disseminating data. All workers are classified into one of 801 occupations according to their occupational definition. The survey is collected primarily by mail. However, employers have access to a toll-free line for making inquires and reporting employment and wages. Reminder postcards are sent to sampled establishments that do not respond after the first four mailings. In addition, phone calls are made to clarify reported data and to encourage employer participation.

Occupational Employment Estimates (OES) Program
Occupation and wage data are collected under the Occupational Employment Statistics (OES) Program of the United States Department of Labor. The Bureau of Labor Statistics contracts with Labor Market Information Services, Kansas Department of Labor, to collect occupation and wage data from employers.

The OES program started in Kansas in 1979 and has been responsible for providing occupational employment demand information for the state since that time. In 1996, the OES program assumed collection of occupational wage information to lessen the reporting burden on employers.

Each state in the nation as well as the District of Columbia, Puerto Rico, the Virgin Islands and Guam conduct an OES survey. From the survey data, estimates of wages and employment by occupation are produced at the national, state and metropolitan statistical area. To access information for other states and national averages the following Web address is available: www.bls.gov/oes

The Wage Survey
The Kansas Wage Survey continues to be the most requested publication among those produced by Labor Market Information Services.

Wage data for the state and the five MSAs (Doniphan County, Kansas City, Lawrence, Topeka and Wichita) are presented in mean and median hourly wages across industries. Wage estimates for "Balance of State" include data for all counties not included in an MSA. Separate tables list occupations where only an average annual salary is available. These occupations do not have a typical work pattern of 40 hours a week for an entire year.

Employment Estimates
Employment estimates reflect the average of the total employment for May 2005 and November 2004 from the Quarterly Census of Employment and Wages Program. Projected occupational estimates for total employment are contained in the Kansas Occupational Outlook 2012 publication.

Survey Design Changes
The survey sample is drawn from the Kansas Unemployment Insurance records. For each cycle, a response rate of at least 75 percent in establishments in each area and at least 65 percent in overall employment is required. No establishment is surveyed more than once during a three-year period. For the May 2005 collection cycle, which ended January 12, 2006, 77 percent of those sampled responded to the survey.

The survey changed from an annual survey to a semiannual survey of establishments in November of 2002. In Kansas, the OES survey samples approximately 5,000 employers each year. Half of these employers are contacted in May and the other half are contacted in November. Over three years, approximately 15,000 establishments will be contacted. The full three-year sample allows the production of estimates at fine levels of geographic, industrial and occupational detail.

With the release of data for May 2005, the OES program has incorporated redefined metropolitan statistical areas as designated by the US Office of Management and Budget. This includes adding Doniphan County to the St. Joseph cross-state MSA as well as adding Franklin and Linn counties to the Kansas City MSA; Jackson, Jefferson, Osage and Wabaunsee counties to the Topeka MSA; and Sumner County to the Wichita MSA.

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