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Hickory–Morganton–Lenoir, NC
National Compensation Survey
January 2005
_________________________________________________________________________________________
U.S. Department of Labor
Elaine L. Chao, Secretary
U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics
Kathleen P. Utgoff, Commissioner
September 2005
Bulletin 3130–16

Preface

D

2 Massachusetts Avenue, NE., Room 4175, Washington,
DC 20212–0001, call (202) 691–6199, or send an e-mail to
ocltinfo@bls.gov.
The data contained in this bulletin are also available at
http://www.bls.gov/ncs/ocs/compub.htm, the BLS Internet site. Data are presented in a Portable Document Format
(PDF) file containing the core bulletin, and in an ASCII file
containing the published table formats. An ASCII file containing positional columns of data for manipulation as a
data base or spreadsheet also is available.
Results of earlier surveys of this area are available from
BLS regional offices, the Division of Compensation Data
Analysis and Planning, or at the BLS Internet site.
Material in this bulletin 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.

ata shown in this bulletin were collected as part of the
Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) National Compensation Survey (NCS). The survey could not have been conducted without the cooperation of the many private firms
and government jurisdictions that provided pay data included in this bulletin. The Bureau thanks these respondents for their cooperation.
Field economists of the Bureau of Labor Statistics collected and reviewed the survey data. The Office of Compensation and Working Conditions, in cooperation with the
Office of Field Operations and the Office of Technology
and Survey Processing in the BLS National Office, designed the survey, processed the data, and prepared the
survey for publication.
For additional information regarding this survey, please
contact any BLS regional office at the address and telephone number listed on the back cover of this bulletin.
You may also write to the Bureau of Labor Statistics at:
Division of Compensation Data Analysis and Planning,

iii

Contents

Page
Introduction ................................................................................................................................................

1

Tables:
1–1. Summary: Mean hourly earnings and weekly hours by selected characteristics,
private industry and State and local government ..........................................................................
2–1. Mean hourly earnings, all workers: Selected occupations,
private industry and State and local government ..........................................................................
2–2. Mean hourly earnings, full-time workers: Selected occupations,
private industry and State and local government ..........................................................................
2–3. Mean hourly earnings, part-time workers: Selected occupations,
private industry and State and local government ..........................................................................
3–1. Mean weekly earnings, full-time workers: Selected occupations,
private industry and State and local government ..........................................................................
3–2. Mean annual earnings, full-time workers: Selected occupations,
private industry and State and local government ..........................................................................
4–1. Selected occupations and levels, all workers: Mean hourly earnings,
private industry and State and local government ..........................................................................
4–2. Selected occupations and levels, full-time workers: Mean hourly earnings,
private industry and State and local government ..........................................................................
4–3. Selected occupations and levels, part-time workers: Mean hourly earnings,
private industry and State and local government ..........................................................................
5–1. Selected worker characteristics: Mean hourly earnings by occupational group............................
5–2. Major industry division: Mean hourly earnings by occupational group,
private industry.............................................................................................................................
5–3. Establishment employment size: Mean hourly earnings by occupational group,
private industry.............................................................................................................................
6–1. Hourly wage percentiles for establishment jobs, all workers: Selected occupations,
all industries..................................................................................................................................
6–2. Hourly wage percentiles for establishment jobs, all workers: Selected occupations,
private industry.............................................................................................................................
6–3. Hourly wage percentiles for establishment jobs, all workers: Selected occupations,
State and local government...........................................................................................................
6–4. Hourly wage percentiles for establishment jobs, full-time workers: Selected occupations,
all industries..................................................................................................................................
6–5. Hourly wage percentiles for establishment jobs, part-time workers: Selected occupations,
all industries..................................................................................................................................

2
3
5
7
8
10
12
15
18
19
20
21
22
24
26
27
29

Appendixes:
A. Technical Note.................................................................................................................................
Appendix table 1. Number of workers represented by the survey, by occupational group ............
B. Occupational Classifications............................................................................................................

v

A–1
A–5
B–1

Introduction

T

Table 1–1 presents an overview of all tables in this bulletin. Mean hourly earnings, weekly hours, and relative
standard errors are given for all industries, private industry,
and State and local government for selected worker and establishment characteristics. The worker characteristics include major occupational group, full-time or part-time
status, union or nonunion status, and time or incentive pay.
Establishment characteristics include goods and service
producing and size of establishment.
Table 2–1 presents estimates of mean hourly earnings,
and the relative standard errors associated with them, for
detailed occupations within all industries, private industry,
and State and local government. Table 2–2 presents the
same type of information for full-time workers only. Table
2–3 provides similar data for workers designated as parttime.
Table 3–1 provides mean weekly earnings data, with
relative standard errors, and weekly hours for full-time employees in specific occupations across all industries, private
industry, and State and local government. Table 3–2 provides annual earnings, relative standard errors, and annual
hours for full-time employees in specific occupations.
Table 4–1 provides mean hourly earnings data by work
level for occupational groups and for detailed occupations.
Separate data are also shown for private industry and government workers. Table 4–2 provides work level data for
full-time workers. Table 4–3 provides similar data for
workers designated as part-time.
Table 5–1 presents mean hourly earnings data for selected worker characteristics by major occupational group.
The worker characteristics include full-time or part-time
designation, union or nonunion status, and time or incentive
pay. Table 5–2 presents mean hourly earnings data for major industry divisions by occupational group; these estimates are limited to the private sector. Table 5–3 presents
mean hourly earnings data for establishment employment
sizes by major occupational group in the private sector.
Tables 6–1 through 6–5 present hourly wage percentiles
that describe the distribution of hourly earnings for individual workers within each published occupation. Data are
provided for the 10th, 25th, 50th, 75th, and 90th percentiles
for detailed occupations within all industries, private industry, State and local government, full-time workers, and
part-time workers.

he tables in this bulletin summarize the NCS results for
the Hickory–Morganton–Lenoir, NC, metropolitan
area. Data were collected between June 2004 and July
2005; the average reference month is January 2005. Tabulations provide information on earnings of workers in a variety of occupations and at different work levels. Also contained in this bulletin are information on the program, a
technical note describing survey procedures, and an appendix with detailed information on occupational classifications.
Most of the earnings estimates in this bulletin are presented as mean hourly earnings. Mean weekly and annual
earnings, and the corresponding hours, also are provided
for full-time employees in specific occupations. Some occupations, such as teachers and firefighters, typically have
shorter or longer work schedules than do the majority of
full-time workers. The weekly and annual estimates are
useful for comparing the earnings of occupations having
different work schedules.
NCS products
The Bureau’s National Compensation Survey provides
comprehensive measures of occupational earnings, compensation cost trends, benefit incidence, and detailed plan
provisions. The Employment Cost Index, a quarterly
measure of the change in employer costs for wages and
benefits, is derived from the NCS. Another product, Employer Costs for Employee Compensation, measures employers’ average hourly costs for total compensation, that
is, wages and benefits. Still another NCS product measures
the incidence and provisions of benefit plans. This bulletin
is limited to data on occupational wages and salaries.
About the tables
The tables that follow present data on straight-time occupational earnings, which include wages and salaries, incentive
pay, cost-of-living adjustments, and hazard pay. These
earnings exclude premium pay for overtime, vacations,
holidays, nonproduction bonuses, and tips. About 480 detailed occupations are used to describe all occupations in
the civilian nonfarm economy (excluding the Federal Government and private households). Data are not shown for
any occupations if they would raise concerns about the confidentiality of the survey respondents or if the data are insufficient to support reliable estimates.

1

Table 1-1. Summary: Mean hourly earnings1 and weekly hours by selected characteristics, private industry and State and local
government, National Compensation Survey, Hickory-Morganton-Lenoir, NC, January 2005
Total

Private industry

Hourly earnings

State and local government

Hourly earnings

Worker and establishment characteristics

Mean
weekly
hours3

Mean

Relative
error2
(percent)

Hourly earnings
Mean
weekly
hours3

Mean

Relative
error2
(percent)

Mean
weekly
hours3

Mean

Relative
error2
(percent)

$15.09

2.9

37.9

$14.49

2.6

37.7

$18.03

6.4

39.4

White-collar occupations5 .......................................
Professional specialty and technical ...................
Executive, administrative, and managerial .........
Sales ...................................................................
Administrative support ........................................
Blue-collar occupations5 .........................................
Precision production, craft, and repair ................
Machine operators, assemblers, and
inspectors .........................................................
Transportation and material moving ...................
Handlers, equipment cleaners, helpers,
and laborers ......................................................
Service occupations5 ..............................................

19.87
23.94
30.63
16.82
12.63
13.85
17.06

4.5
5.3
8.3
27.3
3.1
3.2
1.9

38.6
38.3
42.5
35.7
38.6
39.0
40.1

18.98
24.25
29.17
16.82
13.07
13.96
17.37

5.8
10.8
7.5
27.3
2.1
3.2
1.6

38.5
38.0
43.1
35.7
38.4
39.0
40.1

21.49
23.72
–
–
11.22
–
–

6.6
4.3
–
–
7.9
–
–

38.8
38.5
–
–
39.1
–
–

12.81
16.00

1.4
15.3

38.8
40.2

12.81
16.22

1.4
15.8

38.8
40.2

–
–

–
–

–
–

11.13
11.13

5.1
11.8

37.7
32.7

11.37
8.72

4.9
5.6

37.5
29.2

–
14.88

–
17.8

–
40.1

Full time ..................................................................
Part time .................................................................

15.45
8.44

2.8
9.6

39.7
20.7

14.90
7.99

2.6
9.2

39.8
20.7

17.97
–

6.5
–

39.6
–

Union ......................................................................
Nonunion ................................................................

–
14.93

–
2.5

–
38.0

–
14.28

–
1.9

–
37.7

–
18.03

–
6.4

–
39.4

Time ........................................................................
Incentive .................................................................

14.72
17.47

3.6
1.4

37.6
40.6

13.91
17.47

3.5
1.4

37.2
40.6

18.03
–

6.4
–

39.4
–

Goods producing ....................................................
Service producing ...................................................

(6)
(6)

(6)
(6)

(6)
(6)

14.31
14.79

.9
7.1

39.2
35.2

(6)
(6)

(6)
(6)

(6)
(6)

50-99 workers7 .......................................................
100-499 workers .....................................................
500 workers or more ...............................................

11.56
14.97
16.90

8.7
3.3
5.0

33.8
38.9
38.4

11.56
14.93
15.50

8.7
3.5
5.1

33.8
38.8
37.9

–
–
18.66

–
–
6.4

–
–
39.1

Total ...........................................................................
Worker characteristics:4

Establishment characteristics:

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 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 appendix A.
3 Mean weekly hours are the hours an employee is scheduled to work in a week,
exclusive of overtime.
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. See appendix B for more information.
6 Classification of establishments into goods-producing and service-producing
industries applies to private industry only.
7 Establishments classified with 50-99 workers may contain establishments with
fewer than 50 due to staff reductions between survey sampling and collection.
NOTE: Dashes indicate that no data were reported or that data did not meet publication
criteria.

2

Table 2-1. Mean hourly earnings,1 all workers:2 Selected occupations, private industry and State and local government,
National Compensation Survey, Hickory-Morganton-Lenoir, NC, January 2005
Total
Occupation3

Private industry

State and local
government

Mean

Relative
error4
(percent)

Mean

Relative
error4
(percent)

Mean

Relative
error4
(percent)

All .............................................................................................
All excluding sales ............................................................

$15.09
15.04

2.9
2.9

$14.49
14.42

2.6
2.6

$18.03
18.03

6.4
6.4

White collar .........................................................................
White collar excluding sales .........................................

19.87
20.18

4.5
3.8

18.98
19.33

5.8
4.5

21.49
21.49

6.6
6.6

Professional specialty and technical ............................
Professional specialty ...................................................
Engineers, architects, and surveyors .......................
Health related ...........................................................
Registered nurses ................................................
Teachers, college and university ..............................
Teachers, except college and university ..................
Librarians, archivists, and curators ...........................
Social scientists and urban planners ........................
Social, recreation, and religious workers ..................
Writers, authors, entertainers, athletes, and
professionals, n.e.c. ............................................
Technical ......................................................................
Licensed practical nurses .....................................
Health technologists and technicians, n.e.c. ........

23.94
25.42
–
31.23
28.52
–
–
–
–
–

5.3
6.4
–
12.4
13.8
–
–
–
–
–

24.25
27.86
–
30.17
30.48
–
–
–
–
–

10.8
11.8
–
12.4
14.1
–
–
–
–
–

23.72
24.26
–
–
–
–
–
–
–
–

4.3
6.1
–
–
–
–
–
–
–
–

–
19.13
18.53
16.05

–
3.8
8.0
9.0

–
19.19
18.53
–

–
4.7
8.0
–

–
–
–
–

–
–
–
–

Executive, administrative, and managerial ..................
Executives, administrators, and managers ...............
Managers and administrators, n.e.c. ....................
Management related .................................................

30.63
32.04
28.71
28.01

8.3
10.1
8.8
8.6

29.17
30.46
28.71
–

7.5
7.5
8.8
–

–
–
–
–

–
–
–
–

Sales ................................................................................

16.82

27.3

16.82

27.3

–

–

Administrative support, including clerical ...................
Order clerks ..........................................................
Bookkeepers, accounting and auditing clerks ......
Production coordinators ........................................
Traffic, shipping and receiving clerks ...................
General office clerks .............................................

12.63
12.42
10.88
13.75
12.93
12.56

3.1
3.1
7.3
3.4
6.3
4.3

13.07
12.42
–
13.75
12.93
–

2.1
3.1
–
3.4
6.3
–

11.22
–
–
–
–
–

7.9
–
–
–
–
–

Blue collar ...........................................................................

13.85

3.2

13.96

3.2

–

–

Precision production, craft, and repair ........................
Industrial machinery repairers ..............................
Machinery maintenance .......................................
Mechanics and repairers, n.e.c. ...........................
Supervisors, production ........................................
Upholsterers .........................................................

17.06
16.51
13.72
19.08
18.68
19.48

1.9
7.7
4.1
7.0
3.3
.0

17.37
16.51
13.72
19.08
18.68
19.48

1.6
7.7
4.1
7.0
3.3
.0

–
–
–
–
–
–

–
–
–
–
–
–

Machine operators, assemblers, and inspectors ........
Grinding, abrading, buffing, and polishing
machine operators ..........................................
Winding and twisting machine operators ..............
Knitting, looping, taping, and weaving machine
operators ........................................................
Textile sewing machine operators ........................
Painting and paint spraying machine operators ...
Slicing and cutting machine operators ..................
Miscellaneous machine operators, n.e.c. .............
Assemblers ...........................................................
Hand cutting and trimming ....................................
Miscellaneous hand working, n.e.c. ......................
Production inspectors, checkers and examiners ..

12.81

1.4

12.81

1.4

–

–

12.96
10.69

.1
.0

12.96
10.69

.1
.0

–
–

–
–

12.89
12.65
11.99
13.82
13.94
12.61
14.86
14.34
11.87

.7
4.4
3.0
6.1
4.2
7.1
1.8
9.1
4.8

12.89
12.65
11.99
13.82
13.94
12.61
14.86
14.34
11.87

.7
4.4
3.0
6.1
4.2
7.1
1.8
9.1
4.8

–
–
–
–
–
–
–
–
–

–
–
–
–
–
–
–
–
–

Transportation and material moving ............................
Truck drivers .........................................................

16.00
18.95

15.3
9.3

16.22
19.51

15.8
8.7

–
–

–
–

Handlers, equipment cleaners, helpers, and laborers
Stock handlers and baggers .................................
Machine feeders and offbearers ...........................

11.13
10.46
10.20

5.1
13.6
1.6

11.37
10.46
10.20

4.9
13.6
1.6

–
–
–

–
–
–

See footnotes at end of table.

3

Table 2-1. Mean hourly earnings,1 all workers:2 Selected occupations, private industry and State and local government,
National Compensation Survey, Hickory-Morganton-Lenoir, NC, January 2005 — Continued
Total
Occupation3

Private industry

State and local
government

Mean

Relative
error4
(percent)

Mean

Relative
error4
(percent)

Mean

Relative
error4
(percent)

Handlers, equipment cleaners, helpers, and laborers
–Continued
Freight, stock, and material handlers, n.e.c. .........
Hand packers and packagers ...............................
Laborers, except construction, n.e.c. ....................

$10.42
9.36
10.57

4.0
4.5
6.3

$10.42
9.36
11.46

4.0
4.5
2.8

–
–
–

–
–
–

Service .................................................................................
Protective service .....................................................
Food service .............................................................
Waiters, waitresses, and bartenders ......................
Other food service ..................................................
Food preparation, n.e.c. .......................................
Health service ...........................................................
Nursing aides, orderlies and attendants ...............
Cleaning and building service ...................................
Janitors and cleaners ...........................................
Personal service .......................................................

11.13
12.02
8.31
–
9.29
9.13
10.50
10.49
18.03
9.75
–

11.8
14.2
7.6
–
4.8
11.8
2.5
2.6
31.0
3.7
–

8.72
–
8.11
–
9.15
8.71
10.68
10.68
12.01
10.31
–

5.6
–
8.2
–
5.5
15.2
4.7
4.7
14.3
6.3
–

$14.88
–
–
–
–
–
–
–
–
–
–

17.8
–
–
–
–
–
–
–
–
–
–

Blue collar –Continued

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, 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 All workers include full-time and part-time workers.
3 A classification system including about 480 individual occupations is used
to cover all workers in the civilian economy. See appendix B for more information.

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 appendix A.
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.

4

Table 2-2. Mean hourly earnings,1 full-time workers:2 Selected occupations, private industry and State and local
government, National Compensation Survey, Hickory-Morganton-Lenoir, NC, January 2005
Total
Occupation3

Private industry

State and local
government

Mean

Relative
error4
(percent)

Mean

Relative
error4
(percent)

Mean

Relative
error4
(percent)

All .............................................................................................
All excluding sales ............................................................

$15.45
15.35

2.8
2.8

$14.90
14.77

2.6
2.6

$17.97
17.97

6.5
6.5

White collar .........................................................................
White collar excluding sales .........................................

20.17
20.15

4.3
3.9

19.47
19.35

5.6
4.7

21.37
21.37

6.6
6.6

Professional specialty and technical ............................
Professional specialty ...................................................
Engineers, architects, and surveyors .......................
Health related ...........................................................
Registered nurses ................................................
Teachers, college and university ..............................
Teachers, except college and university ..................
Librarians, archivists, and curators ...........................
Social scientists and urban planners ........................
Social, recreation, and religious workers ..................
Writers, authors, entertainers, athletes, and
professionals, n.e.c. ............................................
Technical ......................................................................
Health technologists and technicians, n.e.c. ........

23.91
25.36
–
31.27
28.77
–
–
–
–
–

5.6
6.7
–
13.9
14.5
–
–
–
–
–

24.39
28.07
–
30.36
30.78
–
–
–
–
–

11.5
12.7
–
13.9
14.8
–
–
–
–
–

23.57
24.10
–
–
–
–
–
–
–
–

4.3
6.1
–
–
–
–
–
–
–
–

–
19.22
16.21

–
4.0
10.0

–
19.32
–

–
5.0
–

–
–
–

–
–
–

Executive, administrative, and managerial ..................
Executives, administrators, and managers ...............
Managers and administrators, n.e.c. ....................
Management related .................................................

30.63
32.04
28.71
28.01

8.3
10.1
8.8
8.6

29.17
30.46
28.71
–

7.5
7.5
8.8
–

–
–
–
–

–
–
–
–

Sales ................................................................................

20.46

29.0

20.46

29.0

–

–

Administrative support, including clerical ...................
Order clerks ..........................................................
Bookkeepers, accounting and auditing clerks ......
Production coordinators ........................................
Traffic, shipping and receiving clerks ...................
General office clerks .............................................

12.59
12.42
10.88
13.75
12.93
12.56

3.0
3.1
7.3
3.4
6.3
4.3

13.03
12.42
–
13.75
12.93
–

2.1
3.1
–
3.4
6.3
–

11.22
–
–
–
–
–

7.9
–
–
–
–
–

Blue collar ...........................................................................

13.98

3.2

14.11

3.2

–

–

Precision production, craft, and repair ........................
Industrial machinery repairers ..............................
Machinery maintenance .......................................
Mechanics and repairers, n.e.c. ...........................
Supervisors, production ........................................
Upholsterers .........................................................

17.06
16.51
13.72
19.08
18.68
19.48

1.9
7.7
4.1
7.0
3.3
.0

17.37
16.51
13.72
19.08
18.68
19.48

1.6
7.7
4.1
7.0
3.3
.0

–
–
–
–
–
–

–
–
–
–
–
–

Machine operators, assemblers, and inspectors ........
Grinding, abrading, buffing, and polishing
machine operators ..........................................
Winding and twisting machine operators ..............
Knitting, looping, taping, and weaving machine
operators ........................................................
Textile sewing machine operators ........................
Painting and paint spraying machine operators ...
Slicing and cutting machine operators ..................
Miscellaneous machine operators, n.e.c. .............
Assemblers ...........................................................
Hand cutting and trimming ....................................
Miscellaneous hand working, n.e.c. ......................
Production inspectors, checkers and examiners ..

12.81

1.5

12.81

1.5

–

–

12.96
10.69

.1
.0

12.96
10.69

.1
.0

–
–

–
–

12.89
12.71
11.99
13.82
13.94
12.61
14.86
14.34
11.87

.7
5.0
3.0
6.1
4.2
7.1
1.8
9.1
4.8

12.89
12.71
11.99
13.82
13.94
12.61
14.86
14.34
11.87

.7
5.0
3.0
6.1
4.2
7.1
1.8
9.1
4.8

–
–
–
–
–
–
–
–
–

–
–
–
–
–
–
–
–
–

Transportation and material moving ............................
Truck drivers .........................................................

16.14
19.20

15.6
9.1

16.37
19.79

16.1
8.5

–
–

–
–

Handlers, equipment cleaners, helpers, and laborers
Stock handlers and baggers .................................
Machine feeders and offbearers ...........................
Freight, stock, and material handlers, n.e.c. .........

11.48
12.14
10.20
10.86

4.8
4.3
1.6
3.6

11.79
12.14
10.20
10.86

4.3
4.3
1.6
3.6

–
–
–
–

–
–
–
–

See footnotes at end of table.

5

Table 2-2. Mean hourly earnings,1 full-time workers:2 Selected occupations, private industry and State and local
government, National Compensation Survey, Hickory-Morganton-Lenoir, NC, January 2005 — Continued
Total
Occupation3

Private industry

State and local
government

Mean

Relative
error4
(percent)

Mean

Relative
error4
(percent)

Mean

Relative
error4
(percent)

Handlers, equipment cleaners, helpers, and laborers
–Continued
Hand packers and packagers ...............................
Laborers, except construction, n.e.c. ....................

$9.36
10.57

4.5
6.3

$9.36
11.46

4.5
2.8

–
–

–
–

Service .................................................................................
Protective service .....................................................
Food service .............................................................
Other food service ..................................................
Food preparation, n.e.c. .......................................
Health service ...........................................................
Nursing aides, orderlies and attendants ...............
Cleaning and building service ...................................
Janitors and cleaners ...........................................
Personal service .......................................................

12.20
–
9.63
9.63
10.79
10.46
10.45
18.03
9.75
–

12.2
–
3.2
3.2
5.0
2.5
2.6
31.0
3.7
–

9.62
–
9.47
9.47
–
10.61
10.61
12.01
10.31
–

3.9
–
3.0
3.0
–
5.0
5.0
14.3
6.3
–

$14.93
–
–
–
–
–
–
–
–
–

17.9
–
–
–
–
–
–
–
–
–

Blue collar –Continued

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, 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 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 A classification system including about 480 individual occupations is used
to cover all workers in the civilian economy. See appendix B for more information.
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 appendix A.
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.

6

Table 2-3. Mean hourly earnings,1 part-time workers:2 Selected occupations, private industry and State and local
government, National Compensation Survey, Hickory-Morganton-Lenoir, NC, January 2005
Total
Occupation3

Private industry

State and local
government

Mean

Relative
error4
(percent)

Mean

Relative
error4
(percent)

Mean

Relative
error4
(percent)

All .............................................................................................
All excluding sales ............................................................

$8.44
8.71

9.6
9.8

$7.99
8.19

9.2
9.5

–
–

–
–

White collar .........................................................................
White collar excluding sales .........................................

12.28
22.06

28.5
15.5

10.15
18.19

24.4
9.1

–
–

–
–

Professional specialty and technical ............................
Professional specialty ...................................................
Health related ...........................................................
Writers, authors, entertainers, athletes, and
professionals, n.e.c. ............................................
Technical ......................................................................

25.25
28.15
30.79

18.4
20.3
19.6

20.27
–
–

14.7
–
–

–
–
–

–
–
–

–
–

–
–

–
–

–
–

–
–

–
–

Sales ................................................................................

–

–

–

–

–

–

Administrative support, including clerical ...................

–

–

–

–

–

–

10.8

–

–

Blue collar ...........................................................................

8.64

10.8

8.64

Machine operators, assemblers, and inspectors ........

–

–

–

–

–

–

Transportation and material moving ............................

–

–

–

–

–

–

Handlers, equipment cleaners, helpers, and laborers
Freight, stock, and material handlers, n.e.c. .........

8.37
9.46

12.1
7.7

8.37
9.46

12.1
7.7

–
–

–
–

Service .................................................................................
Protective service .....................................................
Food service .............................................................
Other food service ..................................................
Food preparation, n.e.c. .......................................
Health service ...........................................................
Personal service .......................................................

6.88
–
6.59
8.61
7.35
–
–

16.9
–
23.0
13.1
9.0
–
–

6.83
–
6.52
8.56
–
–
–

17.2
–
23.6
13.8
–
–
–

–
–
–
–
–
–
–

–
–
–
–
–
–
–

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, 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 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 A classification system including about 480 individual occupations is used
to cover all workers in the civilian economy. See appendix B for more information.
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 appendix A.
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.

7

Table 3-1. Mean weekly earnings,1 full-time workers:2 Selected occupations, private industry and State and local
government, National Compensation Survey, Hickory-Morganton-Lenoir, NC, January 2005
Total
Occupation3

Weekly earnings

Mean

Relative
error4
(percent)

State and local
government

Private industry
Weekly earnings
Mean
weekly
hours5

Mean

Relative
error4
(percent)

Weekly earnings
Mean
weekly
hours5

Mean

Relative
error4
(percent)

Mean
weekly
hours5

All ...............................................................
All excluding sales ..............................

$614
609

2.6
2.6

39.7
39.7

$593
587

2.5
2.4

39.8
39.7

$712
712

5.6
5.6

39.6
39.6

White collar ...........................................
White collar excluding sales ...........

806
802

4.5
4.0

40.0
39.8

788
779

5.7
4.5

40.5
40.3

836
836

7.4
7.4

39.1
39.1

937
996

5.9
7.1

39.2
39.3

965
1,133

11.9
12.2

39.6
40.3

918
936

4.7
6.5

38.9
38.8

–
1,232
1,132
–

–
14.2
15.2
–

–
39.4
39.3
–

–
1,214
1,231
–

–
13.9
14.8
–

–
40.0
40.0
–

–
–
–
–

–
–
–
–

–
–
–
–

–

–

–

–

–

–

–

–

–

–

–

–

–

–

–

–

–

–

–

–

–

–

–

–

–

–

–

–

–

–

–

–

–

–

–

–

–
747

–
4.1

–
38.9

–
744

–
5.1

–
38.5

–
–

–
–

–
–

648

10.0

40.0

–

–

–

–

–

–

Professional specialty and
technical ......................................
Professional specialty .....................
Engineers, architects, and
surveyors ..............................
Health related .............................
Registered nurses ..................
Teachers, college and university
Teachers, except college and
university ..............................
Librarians, archivists, and
curators .................................
Social scientists and urban
planners ................................
Social, recreation, and religious
workers .................................
Writers, authors, entertainers,
athletes, and professionals,
n.e.c. .....................................
Technical ........................................
Health technologists and
technicians, n.e.c. .............
Executive, administrative, and
managerial ...................................
Executives, administrators, and
managers ..............................
Managers and administrators,
n.e.c. .................................
Management related ...................

1,303

9.2

42.5

1,258

9.6

43.1

–

–

–

1,403

10.3

43.8

1,391

9.7

45.7

–

–

–

1,340
1,131

9.2
8.8

46.7
40.4

1,340
–

9.2
–

46.7
–

–
–

–
–

–
–

Sales ..................................................

863

31.2

42.2

863

31.2

42.2

–

–

–

499
492

3.4
3.1

39.6
39.6

519
492

2.0
3.1

39.8
39.6

439
–

9.5
–

39.1
–

435
550

7.3
3.4

40.0
40.0

–
550

–
3.4

–
40.0

–
–

–
–

–
–

503
501

5.0
4.1

38.9
39.8

503
–

5.0
–

38.9
–

–
–

–
–

–
–

555

3.0

39.7

560

3.0

39.7

–

–

–

683
661
549

1.9
7.7
4.1

40.1
40.0
40.0

696
661
549

1.6
7.7
4.1

40.1
40.0
40.0

–
–
–

–
–
–

–
–
–

763
752
779

7.0
3.2
.0

40.0
40.3
40.0

763
752
779

7.0
3.2
.0

40.0
40.3
40.0

–
–
–

–
–
–

–
–
–

498

1.4

38.9

498

1.4

38.9

–

–

–

Administrative support, including
clerical .........................................
Order clerks ............................
Bookkeepers, accounting and
auditing clerks ...................
Production coordinators ..........
Traffic, shipping and receiving
clerks ................................
General office clerks ...............
Blue collar .............................................
Precision production, craft, and
repair ............................................
Industrial machinery repairers
Machinery maintenance .........
Mechanics and repairers,
n.e.c. .................................
Supervisors, production ..........
Upholsterers ...........................
Machine operators, assemblers,
and inspectors ............................
See footnotes at end of table.

8

Table 3-1. Mean weekly earnings,1 full-time workers:2 Selected occupations, private industry and State and local
government, National Compensation Survey, Hickory-Morganton-Lenoir, NC, January 2005 — Continued
Total
Occupation3

Weekly earnings

Mean

Relative
error4
(percent)

State and local
government

Private industry
Weekly earnings
Mean
weekly
hours5

Mean

Relative
error4
(percent)

Weekly earnings
Mean
weekly
hours5

Mean

Relative
error4
(percent)

Mean
weekly
hours5

Blue collar –Continued
Machine operators, assemblers,
and inspectors –Continued
Grinding, abrading, buffing,
and polishing machine
operators ..........................
Winding and twisting machine
operators ..........................
Knitting, looping, taping, and
weaving machine
operators ..........................
Textile sewing machine
operators ..........................
Painting and paint spraying
machine operators ............
Slicing and cutting machine
operators ..........................
Miscellaneous machine
operators, n.e.c. ................
Assemblers .............................
Hand cutting and trimming ......
Miscellaneous hand working,
n.e.c. .................................
Production inspectors,
checkers and examiners ...
Transportation and material
moving .........................................
Truck drivers ...........................
Handlers, equipment cleaners,
helpers, and laborers .................
Stock handlers and baggers ...
Machine feeders and
offbearers .........................
Freight, stock, and material
handlers, n.e.c. .................
Hand packers and packagers
Laborers, except construction,
n.e.c. .................................
Service ...................................................
Protective service .......................
Food service ...............................
Other food service ....................
Food preparation, n.e.c. .........
Health service .............................
Nursing aides, orderlies and
attendants .........................
Cleaning and building service .....
Janitors and cleaners .............
Personal service .........................

$518

0.1

40.0

$518

0.1

40.0

–

–

–

427

.0

40.0

427

.0

40.0

–

–

–

516

.7

40.0

516

.7

40.0

–

–

–

508

5.0

40.0

508

5.0

40.0

–

–

–

480

3.0

40.0

480

3.0

40.0

–

–

–

553

6.1

40.0

553

6.1

40.0

–

–

–

506
494
595

4.2
8.8
1.8

36.3
39.1
40.0

506
494
595

4.2
8.8
1.8

36.3
39.1
40.0

–
–
–

–
–
–

–
–
–

572

8.8

39.9

572

8.8

39.9

–

–

–

464

9.7

39.0

464

9.7

39.0

–

–

–

663
802

13.8
5.5

41.1
41.8

674
829

14.2
4.0

41.1
41.9

–
–

–
–

–
–

463
486

5.2
4.3

40.3
40.0

476
486

4.8
4.3

40.4
40.0

–
–

–
–

–
–

407

1.8

39.9

407

1.8

39.9

–

–

–

434
366

3.1
5.1

40.0
39.1

434
366

3.1
5.1

40.0
39.1

–
–

–
–

–
–

423

6.3

40.0

458

2.8

40.0

–

–

–

483
–
385
385
432
410

12.4
–
3.2
3.2
5.0
1.4

39.6
–
40.0
40.0
40.0
39.2

374
–
379
379
–
407

4.9
–
3.0
3.0
–
3.5

38.8
–
40.0
40.0
–
38.3

17.8
–
–
–
–
–

40.4
–
–
–
–
–

409
721
390
–

1.5
31.0
3.7
–

39.2
40.0
40.0
–

407
480
412
–

3.5
14.3
6.3
–

38.3
40.0
40.0
–

–
–
–
–

–
–
–
–

1 Earnings are the straight-time weekly wages or salaries paid to employees.
They include incentive pay, cost-of-living adjustments, and hazard pay. Excluded
are premium pay for overtime, vacations, 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 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 A classification system including about 480 individual occupations is used to

$603
–
–
–
–
–
–
–
–
–

cover all workers in the civilian economy. See appendix B for more information.
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 appendix A.
5 Mean weekly hours are the hours an employee is scheduled to work in a
week, exclusive of overtime.
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.

9

Table 3-2. Mean annual earnings,1 full-time workers:2 Selected occupations, private industry and State and local
government, National Compensation Survey, Hickory-Morganton-Lenoir, NC, January 2005
Total
Occupation3

Annual earnings

Mean

Relative
error4
(percent)

State and local
government

Private industry
Annual earnings
Mean
annual
hours5

Mean

Relative
error4
(percent)

Annual earnings
Mean
annual
hours5

Mean

Relative
error4
(percent)

Mean
annual
hours5

All ...............................................................
All excluding sales ..............................

$31,578
31,344

2.6
2.6

2,044
2,042

$30,783
30,477

2.5
2.4

2,066
2,063

$35,073
35,073

5.6
5.6

1,952
1,952

White collar ...........................................
White collar excluding sales ...........

40,287
39,979

4.5
4.0

1,998
1,984

40,761
40,282

5.7
4.5

2,093
2,082

39,566
39,566

7.4
7.4

1,852
1,852

45,479
47,366

5.9
7.1

1,902
1,868

49,284
57,082

11.9
12.2

2,020
2,034

43,017
43,380

4.7
6.5

1,825
1,800

–
64,054
58,846
–

–
14.2
15.2
–

–
2,049
2,045
–

–
63,148
64,017
–

–
13.9
14.8
–

–
2,080
2,080
–

–
–
–
–

–
–
–
–

–
–
–
–

–

–

–

–

–

–

–

–

–

–

–

–

–

–

–

–

–

–

–

–

–

–

–

–

–

–

–

–

–

–

–

–

–

–

–

–

–
38,864

–
4.1

–
2,022

–
38,683

–
5.1

–
2,002

–
–

–
–

–
–

33,708

10.0

2,080

–

–

–

–

–

–

67,746

9.2

2,212

65,438

9.6

2,243

–

–

–

Professional specialty and
technical ......................................
Professional specialty .....................
Engineers, architects, and
surveyors ..............................
Health related .............................
Registered nurses ..................
Teachers, college and university
Teachers, except college and
university ..............................
Librarians, archivists, and
curators .................................
Social scientists and urban
planners ................................
Social, recreation, and religious
workers .................................
Writers, authors, entertainers,
athletes, and professionals,
n.e.c. .....................................
Technical ........................................
Health technologists and
technicians, n.e.c. .............
Executive, administrative, and
managerial ...................................
Executives, administrators, and
managers ..............................
Managers and administrators,
n.e.c. .................................
Management related ...................

72,945

10.3

2,277

72,344

9.7

2,375

–

–

–

69,663
58,806

9.2
8.8

2,426
2,099

69,663
–

9.2
–

2,426
–

–
–

–
–

–
–

Sales ..................................................

44,862

31.2

2,193

44,862

31.2

2,193

–

–

–

25,355
25,579

3.4
3.1

2,013
2,059

26,980
25,579

2.0
3.1

2,070
2,059

20,809
–

9.5
–

1,854
–

Administrative support, including
clerical .........................................
Order clerks ............................
Bookkeepers, accounting and
auditing clerks ...................
Production coordinators ..........
Traffic, shipping and receiving
clerks ................................
General office clerks ...............

22,638
28,592

7.3
3.4

2,080
2,080

–
28,592

–
3.4

–
2,080

–
–

–
–

–
–

26,157
26,031

5.0
4.1

2,023
2,072

26,157
–

5.0
–

2,023
–

–
–

–
–

–
–

Blue collar .............................................

28,845

3.0

2,063

29,090

3.0

2,062

–

–

–

Precision production, craft, and
repair ............................................
Industrial machinery repairers
Machinery maintenance .........
Mechanics and repairers,
n.e.c. .................................
Supervisors, production ..........
Upholsterers ...........................

35,513
34,347
28,544

1.9
7.7
4.1

2,082
2,080
2,080

36,168
34,347
28,544

1.6
7.7
4.1

2,082
2,080
2,080

–
–
–

–
–
–

–
–
–

39,695
39,122
40,527

7.0
3.2
.0

2,080
2,094
2,080

39,695
39,122
40,527

7.0
3.2
.0

2,080
2,094
2,080

–
–
–

–
–
–

–
–
–

Machine operators, assemblers,
and inspectors ............................

25,912

1.4

2,022

25,912

1.4

2,022

–

–

–

See footnotes at end of table.

10

Table 3-2. Mean annual earnings,1 full-time workers:2 Selected occupations, private industry and State and local
government, National Compensation Survey, Hickory-Morganton-Lenoir, NC, January 2005 — Continued
Total
Occupation3

Annual earnings

Mean

Relative
error4
(percent)

State and local
government

Private industry
Annual earnings
Mean
annual
hours5

Mean

Relative
error4
(percent)

Annual earnings
Mean
annual
hours5

Mean

Relative
error4
(percent)

Mean
annual
hours5

Blue collar –Continued
Machine operators, assemblers,
and inspectors –Continued
Grinding, abrading, buffing,
and polishing machine
operators ..........................
Winding and twisting machine
operators ..........................
Knitting, looping, taping, and
weaving machine
operators ..........................
Textile sewing machine
operators ..........................
Painting and paint spraying
machine operators ............
Slicing and cutting machine
operators ..........................
Miscellaneous machine
operators, n.e.c. ................
Assemblers .............................
Hand cutting and trimming ......
Miscellaneous hand working,
n.e.c. .................................
Production inspectors,
checkers and examiners ...
Transportation and material
moving .........................................
Truck drivers ...........................
Handlers, equipment cleaners,
helpers, and laborers .................
Stock handlers and baggers ...
Machine feeders and
offbearers .........................
Freight, stock, and material
handlers, n.e.c. .................
Hand packers and packagers
Laborers, except construction,
n.e.c. .................................
Service ...................................................
Protective service .......................
Food service ...............................
Other food service ....................
Food preparation, n.e.c. .........
Health service .............................
Nursing aides, orderlies and
attendants .........................
Cleaning and building service .....
Janitors and cleaners .............
Personal service .........................

$26,952

0.1

2,080

$26,952

0.1

2,080

–

–

–

22,227

.0

2,080

22,227

.0

2,080

–

–

–

26,807

.7

2,080

26,807

.7

2,080

–

–

–

26,435

5.0

2,080

26,435

5.0

2,080

–

–

–

24,942

3.0

2,080

24,942

3.0

2,080

–

–

–

28,755

6.1

2,080

28,755

6.1

2,080

–

–

–

26,316
25,665
30,914

4.2
8.8
1.8

1,888
2,035
2,080

26,316
25,665
30,914

4.2
8.8
1.8

1,888
2,035
2,080

–
–
–

–
–
–

–
–
–

29,728

8.8

2,073

29,728

8.8

2,073

–

–

–

24,111

9.7

2,031

24,111

9.7

2,031

–

–

–

34,463
41,668

13.8
5.5

2,135
2,170

34,990
43,073

14.2
4.0

2,137
2,176

–
–

–
–

–
–

24,075
25,254

5.2
4.3

2,097
2,080

24,746
25,254

4.8
4.3

2,099
2,080

–
–

–
–

–
–

21,159

1.8

2,075

21,159

1.8

2,075

–

–

–

22,567
19,040

3.1
5.1

2,078
2,034

22,567
19,040

3.1
5.1

2,078
2,034

–
–

–
–

–
–

21,982

6.3

2,080

23,838

2.8

2,080

–

–

–

25,108
–
20,023
20,023
22,443
21,323

12.4
–
3.2
3.2
5.0
1.4

2,058
–
2,080
2,080
2,080
2,038

19,427
–
19,688
19,688
–
21,151

4.9
–
3.0
3.0
–
3.5

2,020
–
2,080
2,080
–
1,993

17.8
–
–
–
–
–

2,101
–
–
–
–
–

21,290
37,506
20,276
–

1.5
31.0
3.7
–

2,037
2,080
2,080
–

21,151
24,983
21,440
–

3.5
14.3
6.3
–

1,993
2,080
2,080
–

–
–
–
–

–
–
–
–

1 Earnings are the straight-time annual wages or salaries paid to employees.
They include incentive pay, cost-of-living adjustments, and hazard pay. Excluded
are premium pay for overtime, vacations, 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 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 A classification system including about 480 individual occupations is used to

$31,371
–
–
–
–
–
–
–
–
–

cover all workers in the civilian economy. See appendix B for more information.
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 appendix A.
5 Mean annual hours are the hours an employee is scheduled to work in a year,
exclusive of overtime.
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.

11

Table 4-1. Selected occupations1 and levels,2 all workers:3 Mean hourly earnings,4 private industry and State and
local government, National Compensation Survey, Hickory-Morganton-Lenoir, NC, January 2005
Total
Occupation and level

Private industry

State and local
government

Mean

Relative
error5
(percent)

Mean

Relative
error5
(percent)

Mean

Relative
error5
(percent)

All .............................................................................................
All excluding sales ............................................................

$15.09
15.04

2.9
2.9

$14.49
14.42

2.6
2.6

$18.03
18.03

6.4
6.4

White collar .........................................................................
2 ......................................................................
3 ......................................................................
4 ......................................................................
5 ......................................................................
6 ......................................................................
7 ......................................................................
8 ......................................................................
9 ......................................................................
10 ......................................................................
Not able to be leveled .......................................
White collar excluding sales .........................................
2 ......................................................................
3 ......................................................................
4 ......................................................................
5 ......................................................................
6 ......................................................................
7 ......................................................................
8 ......................................................................
9 ......................................................................
10 ......................................................................
Not able to be leveled .......................................

19.87
9.67
11.49
12.97
16.95
17.72
21.90
23.43
34.00
30.84
20.31
20.18
9.67
11.49
13.04
15.18
17.85
21.90
23.43
28.89
30.84
22.30

4.5
5.1
4.4
2.3
8.4
3.9
3.5
2.5
8.8
4.7
14.4
3.8
5.1
4.6
2.3
7.4
3.9
3.5
2.5
.8
4.7
15.8

18.98
11.00
11.49
12.91
18.73
17.95
20.45
22.33
34.00
30.84
19.11
19.33
11.00
11.49
12.99
16.85
18.12
20.45
22.33
28.89
30.84
21.69

5.8
1.8
4.4
2.6
7.0
4.1
8.1
2.7
8.8
4.7
19.9
4.5
1.8
4.6
2.7
8.3
4.0
8.1
2.7
.8
4.7
23.0

21.49
–
–
–
–
–
22.22
24.40
–
–
–
21.49
–
–
–
–
–
22.22
24.40
–
–
–

6.6
–
–
–
–
–
3.1
3.3
–
–
–
6.6
–
–
–
–
–
3.1
3.3
–
–
–

Professional specialty and technical ............................
Professional specialty ...................................................
7 ......................................................................
8 ......................................................................
Engineers, architects, and surveyors .......................
Health related ...........................................................
8 ......................................................................
Registered nurses ................................................
8 ......................................................................
Teachers, college and university ..............................
Teachers, except college and university ..................
Librarians, archivists, and curators ...........................
Social scientists and urban planners ........................
Social, recreation, and religious workers ..................
Writers, authors, entertainers, athletes, and
professionals, n.e.c. ............................................
Technical ......................................................................
5 ......................................................................
6 ......................................................................
Licensed practical nurses .....................................
Health technologists and technicians, n.e.c. ........

23.94
25.42
22.14
24.69
–
31.23
24.65
28.52
22.75
–
–
–
–
–

5.3
6.4
3.4
2.5
–
12.4
6.0
13.8
1.3
–
–
–
–
–

24.25
27.86
–
24.56
–
30.17
23.26
30.48
22.75
–
–
–
–
–

10.8
11.8
–
4.4
–
12.4
2.5
14.1
1.3
–
–
–
–
–

23.72
24.26
22.44
–
–
–
–
–
–
–
–
–
–
–

4.3
6.1
2.8
–
–
–
–
–
–
–
–
–
–
–

–
19.13
18.47
18.28
18.53
16.05

–
3.8
8.7
7.2
8.0
9.0

–
19.19
18.47
–
18.53
–

–
4.7
8.7
–
8.0
–

–
–
–
–
–
–

–
–
–
–
–
–

Executive, administrative, and managerial ..................
Not able to be leveled .......................................
Executives, administrators, and managers ...............
Not able to be leveled .......................................
Managers and administrators, n.e.c. ....................
Management related .................................................

30.63
25.34
32.04
25.34
28.71
28.01

8.3
17.5
10.1
17.5
8.8
8.6

29.17
–
30.46
–
28.71
–

7.5
–
7.5
–
8.8
–

–
–
–
–
–
–

–
–
–
–
–
–

Sales ................................................................................

16.82

27.3

16.82

27.3

–

–

Administrative support, including clerical ...................
2 ......................................................................
3 ......................................................................
4 ......................................................................
5 ......................................................................
6 ......................................................................
Order clerks ..........................................................
4 ......................................................................
Bookkeepers, accounting and auditing clerks ......

12.63
9.53
11.43
13.11
13.73
17.46
12.42
12.22
10.88

3.1
4.9
4.6
2.3
1.7
3.8
3.1
6.5
7.3

13.07
–
11.43
13.06
–
17.46
12.42
12.22
–

2.1
–
4.6
2.6
–
3.8
3.1
6.5
–

11.22
–
–
–
–
–
–
–
–

7.9
–
–
–
–
–
–
–
–

See footnotes at end of table.

12

Table 4-1. Selected occupations1 and levels,2 all workers:3 Mean hourly earnings,4 private industry and State and
local government, National Compensation Survey, Hickory-Morganton-Lenoir, NC, January 2005 — Continued
Total
Occupation and level

Private industry

State and local
government

Mean

Relative
error5
(percent)

Mean

Relative
error5
(percent)

Mean

Relative
error5
(percent)

Administrative support, including clerical –Continued
Production coordinators ........................................
Traffic, shipping and receiving clerks ...................
General office clerks .............................................

$13.75
12.93
12.56

3.4
6.3
4.3

$13.75
12.93
–

3.4
6.3
–

–
–
–

–
–
–

Blue collar ...........................................................................
1 ......................................................................
2 ......................................................................
3 ......................................................................
4 ......................................................................
5 ......................................................................
6 ......................................................................
7 ......................................................................
Not able to be leveled .......................................

13.85
9.42
11.12
13.92
15.48
16.42
18.69
19.32
21.23

3.2
2.8
3.0
9.0
3.2
3.9
5.4
2.2
12.7

13.96
9.51
11.13
13.94
15.57
16.56
18.88
19.32
21.23

3.2
2.9
3.1
9.1
3.2
4.1
5.6
2.2
12.7

–
–
–
–
–
–
–
–
–

–
–
–
–
–
–
–
–
–

Precision production, craft, and repair ........................
3 ......................................................................
4 ......................................................................
5 ......................................................................
6 ......................................................................
7 ......................................................................
Not able to be leveled .......................................
Industrial machinery repairers ..............................
Machinery maintenance .......................................
Mechanics and repairers, n.e.c. ...........................
Supervisors, production ........................................
Not able to be leveled .......................................
Upholsterers .........................................................
4 ......................................................................
5 ......................................................................
6 ......................................................................

17.06
12.47
15.37
16.15
18.75
19.17
17.40
16.51
13.72
19.08
18.68
17.40
19.48
18.32
20.33
20.31

1.9
3.2
5.5
6.0
5.2
2.1
4.3
7.7
4.1
7.0
3.3
4.3
.0
4.6
3.8
8.4

17.37
12.47
15.81
16.42
18.98
19.17
17.40
16.51
13.72
19.08
18.68
17.40
19.48
18.32
20.33
20.31

1.6
3.6
5.2
6.6
5.5
2.1
4.3
7.7
4.1
7.0
3.3
4.3
.0
4.6
3.8
8.4

–
–
–
–
–
–
–
–
–
–
–
–
–
–
–
–

–
–
–
–
–
–
–
–
–
–
–
–
–
–
–
–

Machine operators, assemblers, and inspectors ........
1 ......................................................................
2 ......................................................................
3 ......................................................................
4 ......................................................................
5 ......................................................................
Grinding, abrading, buffing, and polishing
machine operators ..........................................
Winding and twisting machine operators ..............
Knitting, looping, taping, and weaving machine
operators ........................................................
Textile sewing machine operators ........................
2 ......................................................................
3 ......................................................................
4 ......................................................................
Painting and paint spraying machine operators ...
2 ......................................................................
Slicing and cutting machine operators ..................
Miscellaneous machine operators, n.e.c. .............
2 ......................................................................
3 ......................................................................
4 ......................................................................
5 ......................................................................
Assemblers ...........................................................
1 ......................................................................
2 ......................................................................
3 ......................................................................
Hand cutting and trimming ....................................
Miscellaneous hand working, n.e.c. ......................
1 ......................................................................
Production inspectors, checkers and examiners ..

12.81
9.59
11.32
12.49
15.30
15.60

1.4
2.4
4.5
1.4
3.1
3.1

12.81
9.59
11.32
12.49
15.30
15.60

1.4
2.4
4.5
1.4
3.1
3.1

–
–
–
–
–
–

–
–
–
–
–
–

12.96
10.69

.1
.0

12.96
10.69

.1
.0

–
–

–
–

12.89
12.65
9.37
13.14
16.20
11.99
11.12
13.82
13.94
12.24
12.44
15.64
15.50
12.61
9.88
13.75
12.50
14.86
14.34
10.02
11.87

.7
4.4
14.7
1.4
3.2
3.0
2.5
6.1
4.2
5.9
.1
8.7
1.4
7.1
1.6
11.5
1.8
1.8
9.1
3.7
4.8

12.89
12.65
9.37
13.14
16.20
11.99
11.12
13.82
13.94
12.24
12.44
15.64
15.50
12.61
9.88
13.75
12.50
14.86
14.34
10.02
11.87

.7
4.4
14.7
1.4
3.2
3.0
2.5
6.1
4.2
5.9
.1
8.7
1.4
7.1
1.6
11.5
1.8
1.8
9.1
3.7
4.8

–
–
–
–
–
–
–
–
–
–
–
–
–
–
–
–
–
–
–
–
–

–
–
–
–
–
–
–
–
–
–
–
–
–
–
–
–
–
–
–
–
–

White collar –Continued

See footnotes at end of table.

13

Table 4-1. Selected occupations1 and levels,2 all workers:3 Mean hourly earnings,4 private industry and State and
local government, National Compensation Survey, Hickory-Morganton-Lenoir, NC, January 2005 — Continued
Total
Occupation and level

Private industry

State and local
government

Mean

Relative
error5
(percent)

Mean

Relative
error5
(percent)

Mean

Relative
error5
(percent)

Machine operators, assemblers, and inspectors
–Continued
Production inspectors, checkers and examiners
–Continued
2 ......................................................................
3 ......................................................................

$9.77
10.75

5.2
3.5

$9.77
10.75

5.2
3.5

–
–

–
–

Transportation and material moving ............................
2 ......................................................................
4 ......................................................................
Truck drivers .........................................................
4 ......................................................................

16.00
10.51
16.27
18.95
17.83

15.3
5.4
9.7
9.3
4.3

16.22
–
16.27
19.51
17.83

15.8
–
9.7
8.7
4.3

–
–
–
–
–

–
–
–
–
–

Handlers, equipment cleaners, helpers, and laborers
1 ......................................................................
2 ......................................................................
3 ......................................................................
Stock handlers and baggers .................................
2 ......................................................................
Machine feeders and offbearers ...........................
2 ......................................................................
Freight, stock, and material handlers, n.e.c. .........
1 ......................................................................
2 ......................................................................
Hand packers and packagers ...............................
1 ......................................................................
Laborers, except construction, n.e.c. ....................
1 ......................................................................
2 ......................................................................

11.13
9.40
11.14
12.46
10.46
10.88
10.20
10.30
10.42
9.91
11.37
9.36
8.86
10.57
9.49
12.61

5.1
3.5
2.0
1.5
13.6
11.1
1.6
3.3
4.0
4.2
5.7
4.5
3.1
6.3
5.0
3.3

11.37
9.52
11.14
12.46
10.46
10.88
10.20
10.30
10.42
9.91
11.37
9.36
8.86
11.46
10.29
12.61

4.9
3.9
2.0
1.5
13.6
11.1
1.6
3.3
4.0
4.2
5.7
4.5
3.1
2.8
1.9
3.3

–
–
–
–
–
–
–
–
–
–
–
–
–
–
–
–

–
–
–
–
–
–
–
–
–
–
–
–
–
–
–
–

Service .................................................................................
1 ......................................................................
2 ......................................................................
3 ......................................................................
4 ......................................................................
Not able to be leveled .......................................
Protective service .....................................................
Food service .............................................................
1 ......................................................................
Other food service ..................................................
1 ......................................................................
Food preparation, n.e.c. .......................................
1 ......................................................................
Health service ...........................................................
Nursing aides, orderlies and attendants ...............
Cleaning and building service ...................................
Janitors and cleaners ...........................................
Personal service .......................................................

11.13
7.37
8.25
9.82
10.32
24.38
12.02
8.31
6.39
9.29
7.46
9.13
7.44
10.50
10.49
18.03
9.75
–

11.8
4.1
12.2
1.7
3.0
27.0
14.2
7.6
9.8
4.8
7.4
11.8
8.7
2.5
2.6
31.0
3.7
–

8.72
6.96
8.12
9.85
9.97
–
–
8.11
6.26
9.15
7.35
8.71
–
10.68
10.68
12.01
10.31
–

5.6
5.0
14.4
1.8
8.4
–
–
8.2
10.2
5.5
7.4
15.2
–
4.7
4.7
14.3
6.3
–

$14.88
–
–
–
–
–
–
–
–
–
–
–
–
–
–
–
–
–

17.8
–
–
–
–
–
–
–
–
–
–
–
–
–
–
–
–
–

Blue collar –Continued

1 A classification system including about 480 individual occupations is
used to cover all workers in the civilian economy. See appendix B for more
information.
2 Each occupation for which data are collected in an establishment is
evaluated based on four factors, including knowledge, job controls and
complexity, contacts, and physical environment. The knowledge factor is
tailored to 24 families of closely related jobs. Points are assigned based on
the occupation’s rank within each factor. The points are summed to
determine the overall level of the occupation. See appendix A for more
information.
3 All workers include full-time and part-time workers.
4 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, 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.
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 appendix
A.
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.

14

Table 4-2. Selected occupations1 and levels,2 full-time workers:3 Mean hourly earnings,4 private industry and
State and local government, National Compensation Survey, Hickory-Morganton-Lenoir, NC, January 2005
Total
Occupation and level

Private industry

State and local
government

Mean

Relative
error5
(percent)

Mean

Relative
error5
(percent)

Mean

Relative
error5
(percent)

All .............................................................................................
All excluding sales ............................................................

$15.45
15.35

2.8
2.8

$14.90
14.77

2.6
2.6

$17.97
17.97

6.5
6.5

White collar .........................................................................
2 ......................................................................
3 ......................................................................
4 ......................................................................
5 ......................................................................
6 ......................................................................
7 ......................................................................
8 ......................................................................
9 ......................................................................
10 ......................................................................
Not able to be leveled .......................................
White collar excluding sales .........................................
2 ......................................................................
3 ......................................................................
4 ......................................................................
5 ......................................................................
6 ......................................................................
7 ......................................................................
8 ......................................................................
9 ......................................................................
10 ......................................................................
Not able to be leveled .......................................

20.17
9.67
11.37
12.96
17.04
17.74
21.88
23.01
34.31
30.84
20.91
20.15
9.67
11.36
13.03
15.24
17.87
21.88
23.01
29.12
30.84
22.30

4.3
5.2
4.4
2.3
8.5
3.9
3.6
2.8
8.5
4.7
16.2
3.9
5.2
4.6
2.4
7.6
3.9
3.6
2.8
1.5
4.7
15.8

19.47
–
11.37
12.89
18.93
17.97
20.45
22.07
34.31
30.84
19.86
19.35
–
11.36
12.96
17.09
18.15
20.45
22.07
29.12
30.84
21.69

5.6
–
4.4
2.6
6.8
4.1
8.1
3.2
8.5
4.7
22.8
4.7
–
4.6
2.7
8.5
3.9
8.1
3.2
1.5
4.7
23.0

21.37
–
–
–
–
–
22.20
23.84
–
–
–
21.37
–
–
–
–
–
22.20
23.84
–
–
–

6.6
–
–
–
–
–
3.2
2.8
–
–
–
6.6
–
–
–
–
–
3.2
2.8
–
–
–

Professional specialty and technical ............................
Professional specialty ...................................................
7 ......................................................................
8 ......................................................................
Engineers, architects, and surveyors .......................
Health related ...........................................................
Registered nurses ................................................
Teachers, college and university ..............................
Teachers, except college and university ..................
Librarians, archivists, and curators ...........................
Social scientists and urban planners ........................
Social, recreation, and religious workers ..................
Writers, authors, entertainers, athletes, and
professionals, n.e.c. ............................................
Technical ......................................................................
Health technologists and technicians, n.e.c. ........

23.91
25.36
22.12
24.18
–
31.27
28.77
–
–
–
–
–

5.6
6.7
3.5
2.4
–
13.9
14.5
–
–
–
–
–

24.39
28.07
–
24.27
–
30.36
30.78
–
–
–
–
–

11.5
12.7
–
4.6
–
13.9
14.8
–
–
–
–
–

23.57
24.10
22.43
–
–
–
–
–
–
–
–
–

4.3
6.1
2.9
–
–
–
–
–
–
–
–
–

–
19.22
16.21

–
4.0
10.0

–
19.32
–

–
5.0
–

–
–
–

–
–
–

Executive, administrative, and managerial ..................
Not able to be leveled .......................................
Executives, administrators, and managers ...............
Not able to be leveled .......................................
Managers and administrators, n.e.c. ....................
Management related .................................................

30.63
25.34
32.04
25.34
28.71
28.01

8.3
17.5
10.1
17.5
8.8
8.6

29.17
–
30.46
–
28.71
–

7.5
–
7.5
–
8.8
–

–
–
–
–
–
–

–
–
–
–
–
–

Sales ................................................................................

20.46

29.0

20.46

29.0

–

–

Administrative support, including clerical ...................
2 ......................................................................
3 ......................................................................
4 ......................................................................
5 ......................................................................
6 ......................................................................
Order clerks ..........................................................
4 ......................................................................
Bookkeepers, accounting and auditing clerks ......
Production coordinators ........................................
Traffic, shipping and receiving clerks ...................
General office clerks .............................................

12.59
9.54
11.29
13.09
13.73
17.46
12.42
12.22
10.88
13.75
12.93
12.56

3.0
5.0
4.6
2.3
1.7
3.8
3.1
6.5
7.3
3.4
6.3
4.3

13.03
–
11.29
13.03
–
17.46
12.42
12.22
–
13.75
12.93
–

2.1
–
4.6
2.6
–
3.8
3.1
6.5
–
3.4
6.3
–

11.22
–
–
–
–
–
–
–
–
–
–
–

7.9
–
–
–
–
–
–
–
–
–
–
–

See footnotes at end of table.

15

Table 4-2. Selected occupations1 and levels,2 full-time workers:3 Mean hourly earnings,4 private industry and
State and local government, National Compensation Survey, Hickory-Morganton-Lenoir, NC, January 2005 —
Continued
Total
Occupation and level

Private industry

State and local
government

Mean

Relative
error5
(percent)

Mean

Relative
error5
(percent)

Mean

Relative
error5
(percent)

Blue collar ...........................................................................
1 ......................................................................
2 ......................................................................
3 ......................................................................
4 ......................................................................
5 ......................................................................
6 ......................................................................
7 ......................................................................
Not able to be leveled .......................................

$13.98
9.65
11.13
13.92
15.48
16.42
18.69
19.32
21.23

3.2
2.4
3.0
9.0
3.2
3.9
5.4
2.2
12.7

$14.11
9.78
11.14
13.94
15.57
16.56
18.88
19.32
21.23

3.2
2.2
3.1
9.1
3.2
4.1
5.6
2.2
12.7

–
–
–
–
–
–
–
–
–

–
–
–
–
–
–
–
–
–

Precision production, craft, and repair ........................
3 ......................................................................
4 ......................................................................
5 ......................................................................
6 ......................................................................
7 ......................................................................
Not able to be leveled .......................................
Industrial machinery repairers ..............................
Machinery maintenance .......................................
Mechanics and repairers, n.e.c. ...........................
Supervisors, production ........................................
Not able to be leveled .......................................
Upholsterers .........................................................
4 ......................................................................
5 ......................................................................
6 ......................................................................

17.06
12.47
15.37
16.15
18.75
19.17
17.40
16.51
13.72
19.08
18.68
17.40
19.48
18.32
20.33
20.31

1.9
3.2
5.5
6.0
5.2
2.1
4.3
7.7
4.1
7.0
3.3
4.3
.0
4.6
3.8
8.4

17.37
12.47
15.81
16.42
18.98
19.17
17.40
16.51
13.72
19.08
18.68
17.40
19.48
18.32
20.33
20.31

1.6
3.6
5.2
6.6
5.5
2.1
4.3
7.7
4.1
7.0
3.3
4.3
.0
4.6
3.8
8.4

–
–
–
–
–
–
–
–
–
–
–
–
–
–
–
–

–
–
–
–
–
–
–
–
–
–
–
–
–
–
–
–

Machine operators, assemblers, and inspectors ........
1 ......................................................................
2 ......................................................................
3 ......................................................................
4 ......................................................................
5 ......................................................................
Grinding, abrading, buffing, and polishing
machine operators ..........................................
Winding and twisting machine operators ..............
Knitting, looping, taping, and weaving machine
operators ........................................................
Textile sewing machine operators ........................
3 ......................................................................
4 ......................................................................
Painting and paint spraying machine operators ...
2 ......................................................................
Slicing and cutting machine operators ..................
Miscellaneous machine operators, n.e.c. .............
2 ......................................................................
3 ......................................................................
4 ......................................................................
5 ......................................................................
Assemblers ...........................................................
1 ......................................................................
2 ......................................................................
3 ......................................................................
Hand cutting and trimming ....................................
Miscellaneous hand working, n.e.c. ......................
1 ......................................................................
Production inspectors, checkers and examiners ..
2 ......................................................................
3 ......................................................................

12.81
9.59
11.34
12.49
15.30
15.60

1.5
2.4
4.5
1.4
3.1
3.1

12.81
9.59
11.34
12.49
15.30
15.60

1.5
2.4
4.5
1.4
3.1
3.1

–
–
–
–
–
–

–
–
–
–
–
–

12.96
10.69

.1
.0

12.96
10.69

.1
.0

–
–

–
–

12.89
12.71
13.14
16.20
11.99
11.12
13.82
13.94
12.24
12.44
15.64
15.50
12.61
9.88
13.75
12.50
14.86
14.34
10.02
11.87
9.77
10.75

.7
5.0
1.4
3.2
3.0
2.5
6.1
4.2
5.9
.1
8.7
1.4
7.1
1.6
11.5
1.8
1.8
9.1
3.7
4.8
5.2
3.5

12.89
12.71
13.14
16.20
11.99
11.12
13.82
13.94
12.24
12.44
15.64
15.50
12.61
9.88
13.75
12.50
14.86
14.34
10.02
11.87
9.77
10.75

.7
5.0
1.4
3.2
3.0
2.5
6.1
4.2
5.9
.1
8.7
1.4
7.1
1.6
11.5
1.8
1.8
9.1
3.7
4.8
5.2
3.5

–
–
–
–
–
–
–
–
–
–
–
–
–
–
–
–
–
–
–
–
–
–

–
–
–
–
–
–
–
–
–
–
–
–
–
–
–
–
–
–
–
–
–
–

Transportation and material moving ............................
4 ......................................................................
Truck drivers .........................................................
4 ......................................................................

16.14
16.27
19.20
17.83

15.6
9.7
9.1
4.3

16.37
16.27
19.79
17.83

16.1
9.7
8.5
4.3

–
–
–
–

–
–
–
–

See footnotes at end of table.

16

Table 4-2. Selected occupations1 and levels,2 full-time workers:3 Mean hourly earnings,4 private industry and
State and local government, National Compensation Survey, Hickory-Morganton-Lenoir, NC, January 2005 —
Continued
Total
Occupation and level

Private industry

State and local
government

Mean

Relative
error5
(percent)

Mean

Relative
error5
(percent)

Mean

Relative
error5
(percent)

Handlers, equipment cleaners, helpers, and laborers
1 ......................................................................
2 ......................................................................
3 ......................................................................
Stock handlers and baggers .................................
Machine feeders and offbearers ...........................
2 ......................................................................
Freight, stock, and material handlers, n.e.c. .........
1 ......................................................................
Hand packers and packagers ...............................
1 ......................................................................
Laborers, except construction, n.e.c. ....................
1 ......................................................................
2 ......................................................................

$11.48
9.68
11.20
12.46
12.14
10.20
10.30
10.86
10.51
9.36
8.86
10.57
9.49
12.61

4.8
3.2
1.5
1.5
4.3
1.6
3.3
3.6
5.1
4.5
3.1
6.3
5.0
3.3

$11.79
9.91
11.20
12.46
12.14
10.20
10.30
10.86
10.51
9.36
8.86
11.46
10.29
12.61

4.3
3.1
1.5
1.5
4.3
1.6
3.3
3.6
5.1
4.5
3.1
2.8
1.9
3.3

–
–
–
–
–
–
–
–
–
–
–
–
–
–

–
–
–
–
–
–
–
–
–
–
–
–
–
–

Service .................................................................................
1 ......................................................................
2 ......................................................................
3 ......................................................................
4 ......................................................................
Protective service .....................................................
Food service .............................................................
Other food service ..................................................
Food preparation, n.e.c. .......................................
Health service ...........................................................
Nursing aides, orderlies and attendants ...............
Cleaning and building service ...................................
Janitors and cleaners ...........................................
Personal service .......................................................

12.20
8.18
9.71
9.42
10.53
–
9.63
9.63
10.79
10.46
10.45
18.03
9.75
–

12.2
4.5
6.8
2.5
2.2
–
3.2
3.2
5.0
2.5
2.6
31.0
3.7
–

9.62
7.78
9.89
9.42
–
–
9.47
9.47
–
10.61
10.61
12.01
10.31
–

3.9
4.6
8.2
2.7
–
–
3.0
3.0
–
5.0
5.0
14.3
6.3
–

$14.93
–
–
–
–
–
–
–
–
–
–
–
–
–

17.9
–
–
–
–
–
–
–
–
–
–
–
–
–

Blue collar –Continued

1 A classification system including about 480 individual occupations is
used to cover all workers in the civilian economy. See appendix B for more
information.
2 Each occupation for which data are collected in an establishment is
evaluated based on four factors, including knowledge, job controls and
complexity, contacts, and physical environment. The knowledge factor is
tailored to 24 families of closely related jobs. Points are assigned based on
the occupation’s rank within each factor. The points are summed to
determine the overall level of the occupation. See appendix A for more
information.
3 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.
4 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, 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.
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 appendix
A.
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.

17

Table 4-3. Selected occupations1 and levels,2 part-time workers:3 Mean hourly earnings,4 private industry and
State and local government, National Compensation Survey, Hickory-Morganton-Lenoir, NC, January 2005
Total
Occupation and level

Private industry

State and local
government

Mean

Relative
error5
(percent)

Mean

Relative
error5
(percent)

Mean

Relative
error5
(percent)

All .............................................................................................
All excluding sales ............................................................

$8.44
8.71

9.6
9.8

$7.99
8.19

9.2
9.5

–
–

–
–

White collar .........................................................................
White collar excluding sales .........................................

12.28
22.06

28.5
15.5

10.15
18.19

24.4
9.1

–
–

–
–

Professional specialty and technical ............................
Professional specialty ...................................................
Health related ...........................................................
Writers, authors, entertainers, athletes, and
professionals, n.e.c. ............................................
Technical ......................................................................

25.25
28.15
30.79

18.4
20.3
19.6

20.27
–
–

14.7
–
–

–
–
–

–
–
–

–
–

–
–

–
–

–
–

–
–

–
–

Sales ................................................................................

–

–

–

–

–

–

Administrative support, including clerical ...................

–

–

–

–

–

–

10.8
9.3

–
–

–
–

Blue collar ...........................................................................
1 ......................................................................

8.64
7.92

10.8
9.3

8.64
7.92

Machine operators, assemblers, and inspectors ........

–

–

–

–

–

–

Transportation and material moving ............................

–

–

–

–

–

–

Handlers, equipment cleaners, helpers, and laborers
1 ......................................................................
Freight, stock, and material handlers, n.e.c. .........

8.37
8.02
9.46

12.1
10.6
7.7

8.37
8.02
9.46

12.1
10.6
7.7

–
–
–

–
–
–

Service .................................................................................
1 ......................................................................
Protective service .....................................................
Food service .............................................................
1 ......................................................................
Other food service ..................................................
Food preparation, n.e.c. .......................................
Health service ...........................................................
Personal service .......................................................

6.88
6.18
–
6.59
6.06
8.61
7.35
–
–

16.9
10.0
–
23.0
12.3
13.1
9.0
–
–

6.83
6.04
–
6.52
–
8.56
–
–
–

17.2
10.5
–
23.6
–
13.8
–
–
–

–
–
–
–
–
–
–
–
–

–
–
–
–
–
–
–
–
–

1 A classification system including about 480 individual occupations is
used to cover all workers in the civilian economy. See appendix B for more
information.
2 Each occupation for which data are collected in an establishment is
evaluated based on four factors, including knowledge, job controls and
complexity, contacts, and physical environment. The knowledge factor is
tailored to 24 families of closely related jobs. Points are assigned based on
the occupation’s rank within each factor. The points are summed to
determine the overall level of the occupation. See appendix A for more
information.
3 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.
4 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, 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.
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 appendix
A.
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.

18

Table 5-1. Selected worker characteristics: Mean hourly earnings1 by occupational group,2 National
Compensation Survey, Hickory-Morganton-Lenoir, NC, January 2005
Private industry and State and local government
Occupational group

Full-time
workers3

Part-time
workers3

Union4

Nonunion4

Time5

Incentive5

Mean
All occupations .......................................................................
All excluding sales ........................................................

$15.45
15.35

$8.44
8.71

–
–

$14.93
14.88

$14.72
14.80

$17.47
16.67

White collar .........................................................................
White-collar excluding sales .........................................

20.17
20.15

12.28
22.06

–
–

19.87
20.18

19.57
20.18

–
–

Professional specialty and technical .................................
Professional specialty ...................................................
Technical ......................................................................
Executive, administrative, and managerial .......................
Sales .................................................................................
Administrative support, including clerical ..........................

23.91
25.36
19.22
30.63
20.46
12.59

25.25
28.15
–
–
–
–

–
–
–
–
–
–

23.94
25.42
19.13
30.63
16.82
12.63

23.94
25.42
19.13
30.63
9.89
12.63

–
–
–
–
–
–

Blue collar ...........................................................................
Precision production, craft, and repair ..............................
Machine operators, assemblers, and inspectors ..............
Transportation and material moving .................................
Handlers, equipment cleaners, helpers, and laborers ......

13.98
17.06
12.81
16.14
11.48

8.64
–
–
–
8.37

–
–
–
–
–

13.54
17.04
12.77
14.16
11.12

13.11
16.26
12.07
15.04
11.13

16.67
19.72
15.06
–
–

Service .................................................................................

12.20

6.88

–

11.13

11.13

–

Relative error6 (percent)
All occupations .......................................................................
All excluding sales ........................................................

2.8
2.8

9.6
9.8

–
–

2.5
2.6

3.6
3.5

1.4
2.8

White collar .........................................................................
White-collar excluding sales .........................................

4.3
3.9

28.5
15.5

–
–

4.5
3.8

4.1
3.8

–
–

Professional specialty and technical .................................
Professional specialty ...................................................
Technical ......................................................................
Executive, administrative, and managerial .......................
Sales .................................................................................
Administrative support, including clerical ..........................

5.6
6.7
4.0
8.3
29.0
3.0

18.4
20.3
–
–
–
–

–
–
–
–
–
–

5.3
6.4
3.8
8.3
27.3
3.1

5.3
6.4
3.8
8.3
15.1
3.1

–
–
–
–
–
–

Blue collar ...........................................................................
Precision production, craft, and repair ..............................
Machine operators, assemblers, and inspectors ..............
Transportation and material moving .................................
Handlers, equipment cleaners, helpers, and laborers ......

3.2
1.9
1.5
15.6
4.8

10.8
–
–
–
12.1

–
–
–
–
–

1.8
2.0
1.7
5.0
5.1

4.5
2.2
1.5
24.0
5.3

2.8
.8
4.4
–
–

Service .................................................................................

12.2

16.9

–

11.8

11.8

–

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, 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 A classification system including about 480 individual occupations is
used to cover all workers in the civilian economy. See appendix B for more
information.
3 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.

4 Union workers are those whose wages are determined through
collective bargaining.
5 Time workers’ wages are based solely on an 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 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 appendix
A.
NOTE: Dashes indicate that no data were reported or that data did not
meet publication criteria.

19

Table 5-2. Major industry division: Mean hourly earnings1 by occupational group,2 private industry, National Compensation
Survey, Hickory-Morganton-Lenoir, NC, January 2005
Full-time and part-time workers
Goods-producing industries3
Occupational group

All private
industries

Total

Mining

Construction

Manufacturing

Service-producing industries4

Total

TransportFinance,
Wholesale
ation and
insurance,
and retail
public utiland real
trade
ities
estate

Services

Mean
All occupations .............................................................
All excluding sales ..............................................

$14.49
14.42

$14.31
14.15

–
–

–
–

$14.28 $14.79
14.11 14.91

$17.48
17.72

$10.95
10.40

–
–

$14.87
14.87

White collar ...............................................................
White-collar excluding sales ...............................

18.98
19.33

18.96
18.07

–
–

–
–

18.95
18.04

18.99
20.65

17.41
19.94

13.20
–

–
–

21.15
21.15

Professional specialty and technical .......................
Professional specialty .........................................
Technical ............................................................
Executive, administrative, and managerial .............
Sales .......................................................................
Administrative support, including clerical ................

24.25
27.86
19.19
29.17
16.82
13.07

23.83
–
–
27.89
–
12.78

–
–
–
–
–
–

–
–
–
–
–
–

23.83
–
–
27.89
–
12.53

24.32
27.76
19.35
–
12.92
13.54

–
–
–
–
–
–

–
–
–
–
13.09
–

–
–
–
–
–
–

23.86
27.33
18.76
–
–
12.10

Blue collar .................................................................
Precision production, craft, and repair ....................
Machine operators, assemblers, and inspectors ....
Transportation and material moving .......................
Handlers, equipment cleaners, helpers, and
laborers .............................................................

13.96
17.37
12.81
16.22

13.54
17.38
12.87
13.09

–
–
–
–

–
–
–
–

13.50
17.44
12.87
12.83

15.29
17.32
10.73
16.82

17.49
18.04
–
18.02

12.79
–
–
14.23

–
–
–
–

11.01
–
–
–

11.37

11.12

–

–

11.10

11.84

15.38

9.42

–

–

Service .......................................................................

8.72

10.91

–

–

10.91

8.48

–

7.29

–

9.13

Relative error5 (percent)
All occupations .............................................................
All excluding sales ..............................................

2.6
2.6

0.9
.2

–
–

–
–

1.0
.1

7.1
7.5

17.4
17.9

10.3
4.8

–
–

7.9
7.9

White collar ...............................................................
White-collar excluding sales ...............................

5.8
4.5

8.5
4.2

–
–

–
–

8.7
4.3

8.0
7.6

18.1
18.2

25.0
–

–
–

8.4
8.4

Professional specialty and technical .......................
Professional specialty .........................................
Technical ............................................................
Executive, administrative, and managerial .............
Sales .......................................................................
Administrative support, including clerical ................

10.8
11.8
4.7
7.5
27.3
2.1

8.8
–
–
8.1
–
2.0

–
–
–
–
–
–

–
–
–
–
–
–

8.8
–
–
8.1
–
.6

12.7
13.9
5.5
–
22.8
4.6

–
–
–
–
–
–

–
–
–
–
29.0
–

–
–
–
–
–
–

13.7
15.0
5.2
–
–
7.5

Blue collar .................................................................
Precision production, craft, and repair ....................
Machine operators, assemblers, and inspectors ....
Transportation and material moving .......................
Handlers, equipment cleaners, helpers, and
laborers .............................................................

3.2
1.6
1.4
15.8

.9
.6
1.5
4.3

–
–
–
–

–
–
–
–

.9
.6
1.5
4.7

12.7
6.8
15.6
18.5

19.2
13.9
–
23.1

11.0
–
–
7.3

–
–
–
–

7.3
–
–
–

4.9

4.2

–

–

4.4

12.7

16.1

16.2

–

–

Service .......................................................................

5.6

15.2

–

–

15.2

5.9

–

7.4

–

6.5

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, 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 A classification system including about 480 individual occupations is used to cover
all workers in the civilian economy. See appendix B for more information.
3 Goods-producing industries include mining, construction, and manufacturing.

4 Service-producing industries include transportation and public utilities; wholesale
and retail trade; finance, insurance, and real estate; and services.
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 appendix A.
NOTE: Dashes indicate that no data were reported or that data did not meet publication
criteria.

20

Table 5-3. Establishment employment size: Mean hourly earnings1 by occupational group,2 private
industry, National Compensation Survey, Hickory-Morganton-Lenoir, NC, January 2005
Full-time and part-time workers
100 workers or more
Occupational group

All private
industry
workers

50 - 99
workers3

Total

100 - 499
workers

500
workers or
more

Mean
All occupations .......................................................................
All excluding sales ........................................................

$14.49
14.42

$11.56
11.72

$15.07
14.93

$14.93
14.72

$15.50
15.58

White collar .........................................................................
White-collar excluding sales .........................................

18.98
19.33

14.01
15.80

20.13
20.00

19.58
18.92

21.40
22.54

Professional specialty and technical .................................
Professional specialty ...................................................
Technical ......................................................................
Executive, administrative, and managerial .......................
Sales .................................................................................
Administrative support, including clerical ..........................

24.25
27.86
19.19
29.17
16.82
13.07

–
–
–
–
–
13.27

25.25
29.27
19.39
30.15
21.19
13.02

24.15
26.25
20.26
29.98
25.06
13.05

26.33
32.91
18.74
–
–
12.90

Blue collar ...........................................................................
Precision production, craft, and repair ..............................
Machine operators, assemblers, and inspectors ..............
Transportation and material moving .................................
Handlers, equipment cleaners, helpers, and laborers ......

13.96
17.37
12.81
16.22
11.37

12.09
15.65
9.68
15.97
9.53

14.26
17.64
13.20
16.28
11.72

14.37
18.40
12.92
16.43
11.97

13.89
15.67
14.22
–
11.25

Service .................................................................................

8.72

7.05

9.56

9.60

9.38

Relative error4 (percent)
All occupations .......................................................................
All excluding sales ........................................................

2.6
2.6

8.7
8.6

2.7
2.6

3.5
3.2

5.1
5.0

White collar .........................................................................
White-collar excluding sales .........................................

5.8
4.5

12.8
11.1

6.4
5.3

7.4
4.7

13.7
13.5

Professional specialty and technical .................................
Professional specialty ...................................................
Technical ......................................................................
Executive, administrative, and managerial .......................
Sales .................................................................................
Administrative support, including clerical ..........................

10.8
11.8
4.7
7.5
27.3
2.1

–
–
–
–
–
9.0

10.4
10.0
5.3
12.2
30.3
3.0

5.0
6.5
7.9
13.5
34.0
3.6

19.3
16.2
6.5
–
–
4.4

Blue collar ...........................................................................
Precision production, craft, and repair ..............................
Machine operators, assemblers, and inspectors ..............
Transportation and material moving .................................
Handlers, equipment cleaners, helpers, and laborers ......

3.2
1.6
1.4
15.8
4.9

8.5
7.0
2.5
13.4
15.7

3.1
2.2
1.4
17.3
5.2

4.0
2.4
1.5
19.9
7.4

3.6
5.6
6.4
–
4.2

Service .................................................................................

5.6

13.2

5.7

6.4

9.3

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,
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 A classification system including about 480 individual
occupations is used to cover all workers in the civilian economy. See
appendix B for more information.
3 Establishments classified with 50-99 workers may contain

establishments with fewer than 50 due to staff reductions between
survey sampling and collection.
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 appendix A.
NOTE: Dashes indicate that no data were reported or that data did
not meet publication criteria.

21

Table 6-1. Hourly wage percentiles for establishment jobs,1 all workers:2 Selected occupations, all
industries, National Compensation Survey, Hickory-Morganton-Lenoir, NC, January 2005
Occupation3

10

25

Median
50

75

90

All .............................................................................................
All excluding sales ............................................................

$8.59
8.75

$10.25
10.25

$12.99
13.00

$17.29
17.29

$25.10
25.00

White collar .........................................................................
White collar excluding sales .........................................

9.96
10.22

12.25
12.69

17.13
17.43

24.64
25.00

31.23
31.23

Professional specialty and technical ............................
Professional specialty ...................................................
Engineers, architects, and surveyors .......................
Health related ...........................................................
Registered nurses ................................................
Teachers, college and university ..............................
Teachers, except college and university ..................
Librarians, archivists, and curators ...........................
Social scientists and urban planners ........................
Social, recreation, and religious workers ..................
Writers, authors, entertainers, athletes, and
professionals, n.e.c. ............................................
Technical ......................................................................
Licensed practical nurses .....................................
Health technologists and technicians, n.e.c. ........

14.91
16.17
–
18.87
18.99
–
–
–
–
–

18.46
19.82
–
21.48
21.30
–
–
–
–
–

22.43
23.94
–
25.28
24.76
–
–
–
–
–

27.32
27.67
–
38.27
37.02
–
–
–
–
–

34.01
37.02
–
50.05
43.81
–
–
–
–
–

–
12.06
12.74
11.19

–
14.76
17.00
12.62

–
18.89
18.66
14.48

–
22.28
21.19
18.88

–
27.32
22.05
24.67

Executive, administrative, and managerial ..................
Executives, administrators, and managers ...............
Managers and administrators, n.e.c. ....................
Management related .................................................

16.68
15.24
12.63
16.93

19.94
19.94
15.24
27.90

29.80
31.14
19.94
29.80

37.58
48.08
31.14
31.00

48.08
54.27
54.27
32.30

Sales ................................................................................

6.00

7.75

11.54

19.08

26.08

Administrative support, including clerical ...................
Order clerks ..........................................................
Bookkeepers, accounting and auditing clerks ......
Production coordinators ........................................
Traffic, shipping and receiving clerks ...................
General office clerks .............................................

9.00
10.88
9.00
11.63
9.85
10.00

10.35
11.20
9.00
11.81
10.35
10.84

12.25
12.00
9.80
12.40
12.95
12.69

14.41
13.37
11.99
16.69
15.10
14.12

16.00
14.34
14.90
17.85
15.80
14.55

Blue collar ...........................................................................

9.00

10.46

12.57

16.05

20.74

Precision production, craft, and repair ........................
Industrial machinery repairers ..............................
Machinery maintenance .......................................
Mechanics and repairers, n.e.c. ...........................
Supervisors, production ........................................
Upholsterers .........................................................

11.50
13.63
10.68
10.75
15.00
12.89

13.63
13.63
12.70
15.52
15.67
15.45

16.04
15.50
13.59
19.63
19.25
19.00

20.00
20.58
15.68
24.50
20.74
22.49

23.86
21.10
16.34
25.99
23.57
26.52

Machine operators, assemblers, and inspectors ........
Grinding, abrading, buffing, and polishing
machine operators ..........................................
Winding and twisting machine operators ..............
Knitting, looping, taping, and weaving machine
operators ........................................................
Textile sewing machine operators ........................
Painting and paint spraying machine operators ...
Slicing and cutting machine operators ..................
Miscellaneous machine operators, n.e.c. .............
Assemblers ...........................................................
Hand cutting and trimming ....................................
Miscellaneous hand working, n.e.c. ......................
Production inspectors, checkers and examiners ..

9.20

10.49

12.15

14.77

17.29

7.50
8.00

10.82
8.50

12.97
11.12

15.68
11.92

16.68
13.07

11.26
7.80
10.59
10.97
10.09
9.61
10.97
8.84
8.35

11.40
10.24
11.17
12.31
11.65
10.25
11.47
10.13
10.10

12.34
12.15
11.58
12.45
13.35
10.89
14.43
12.95
11.39

14.16
14.44
13.36
16.00
15.75
13.44
18.00
17.50
14.93

15.86
18.04
13.85
17.84
17.85
16.20
19.05
21.98
15.39

Transportation and material moving ............................
Truck drivers .........................................................

9.20
9.87

10.50
13.48

14.49
17.74

20.02
25.35

25.35
25.35

Handlers, equipment cleaners, helpers, and laborers
Stock handlers and baggers .................................
Machine feeders and offbearers ...........................
Freight, stock, and material handlers, n.e.c. .........
Hand packers and packagers ...............................
Laborers, except construction, n.e.c. ....................

8.00
5.75
9.67
8.00
7.73
8.45

8.95
7.75
9.90
9.00
8.00
8.50

10.16
11.67
10.25
10.00
9.00
10.10

12.30
12.37
10.63
11.55
9.89
11.85

14.80
14.00
11.01
13.69
11.36
14.80

See footnotes at end of table.

22

Table 6-1. Hourly wage percentiles for establishment jobs,1 all workers:2 Selected occupations, all
industries, National Compensation Survey, Hickory-Morganton-Lenoir, NC, January 2005 — Continued
10

25

Median
50

75

90

$6.50
6.50
2.13
–
6.75
6.50
9.00
9.00
8.20
8.50
–

$8.13
9.50
7.00
–
8.00
7.00
9.52
9.52
8.89
8.79
–

$9.66
12.41
8.75
–
9.00
8.87
10.07
10.07
10.05
9.20
–

$12.02
13.90
10.00
–
10.40
10.56
11.19
11.18
35.00
10.05
–

$15.04
16.48
12.00
–
12.00
12.02
12.62
12.63
35.00
11.19
–

Occupation3

Service .................................................................................
Protective service .....................................................
Food service .............................................................
Waiters, waitresses, and bartenders ......................
Other food service ..................................................
Food preparation, n.e.c. .......................................
Health service ...........................................................
Nursing aides, orderlies and attendants ...............
Cleaning and building service ...................................
Janitors and cleaners ...........................................
Personal service .......................................................
1 Percentiles designate position in the earnings distribution and are
calculated from individual-worker earnings and the hours they are
scheduled to work. At the 50th percentile, the median, half of the hours
are paid the same as or more than the rate shown, and half are paid the
same as or less than the rate shown. At the 25th percentile, one-fourth
of the hours are paid the same as or less than the rate shown. At the
75th percentile, one-fourth are paid the same as or more than the rate
shown. The 10th and 90th percentiles follow the same logic. Hourly
wages are the straight-time 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.
2 All workers include full-time and part-time workers.
3 A classification system including about 480 individual occupations
is used to cover all workers in the civilian economy. See appendix B for
more information.
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.

23

Table 6-2. Hourly wage percentiles for establishment jobs,1 all workers:2 Selected occupations, private
industry, National Compensation Survey, Hickory-Morganton-Lenoir, NC, January 2005
Private industry
Occupation3
10

25

Median
50

75

90

All .............................................................................................
All excluding sales ............................................................

$8.50
8.50

$10.21
10.24

$12.60
12.62

$16.61
16.60

$22.89
22.66

White collar .........................................................................
White collar excluding sales .........................................

9.96
10.30

11.68
12.21

15.24
15.80

22.99
24.56

32.88
32.88

Professional specialty and technical ............................
Professional specialty ...................................................
Engineers, architects, and surveyors .......................
Health related ...........................................................
Registered nurses ................................................
Teachers, college and university ..............................
Social scientists and urban planners ........................
Social, recreation, and religious workers ..................
Writers, authors, entertainers, athletes, and
professionals, n.e.c. ............................................
Technical ......................................................................
Licensed practical nurses .....................................

12.18
16.75
–
18.81
19.12
–
–
–

17.00
19.23
–
21.48
21.56
–
–
–

22.27
26.50
–
25.28
25.28
–
–
–

28.60
36.78
–
38.27
38.27
–
–
–

37.98
42.50
–
49.96
49.96
–
–
–

–
11.19
12.74

–
14.12
17.00

–
18.22
18.66

–
22.66
21.19

–
28.60
22.05

Executive, administrative, and managerial ..................
Executives, administrators, and managers ...............
Managers and administrators, n.e.c. ....................
Management related .................................................

15.24
15.24
12.63
–

19.94
19.94
15.24
–

29.80
29.02
19.94
–

32.30
40.78
31.14
–

40.78
54.27
54.27
–

Sales ................................................................................

6.00

7.75

11.54

19.08

26.08

Administrative support, including clerical ...................
Order clerks ..........................................................
Production coordinators ........................................
Traffic, shipping and receiving clerks ...................

9.92
10.88
11.63
9.85

11.04
11.20
11.81
10.35

12.60
12.00
12.40
12.95

14.62
13.37
16.69
15.10

16.98
14.34
17.85
15.80

Blue collar ...........................................................................

9.00

10.49

12.78

16.15

20.83

Precision production, craft, and repair ........................
Industrial machinery repairers ..............................
Machinery maintenance .......................................
Mechanics and repairers, n.e.c. ...........................
Supervisors, production ........................................
Upholsterers .........................................................

11.95
13.63
10.68
10.75
15.00
12.89

13.79
13.63
12.70
15.52
15.67
15.45

16.11
15.50
13.59
19.63
19.25
19.00

20.58
20.58
15.68
24.50
20.74
22.49

24.33
21.10
16.34
25.99
23.57
26.52

Machine operators, assemblers, and inspectors ........
Grinding, abrading, buffing, and polishing
machine operators ..........................................
Winding and twisting machine operators ..............
Knitting, looping, taping, and weaving machine
operators ........................................................
Textile sewing machine operators ........................
Painting and paint spraying machine operators ...
Slicing and cutting machine operators ..................
Miscellaneous machine operators, n.e.c. .............
Assemblers ...........................................................
Hand cutting and trimming ....................................
Miscellaneous hand working, n.e.c. ......................
Production inspectors, checkers and examiners ..

9.20

10.49

12.15

14.77

17.29

7.50
8.00

10.82
8.50

12.97
11.12

15.68
11.92

16.68
13.07

11.26
7.80
10.59
10.97
10.09
9.61
10.97
8.84
8.35

11.40
10.24
11.17
12.31
11.65
10.25
11.47
10.13
10.10

12.34
12.15
11.58
12.45
13.35
10.89
14.43
12.95
11.39

14.16
14.44
13.36
16.00
15.75
13.44
18.00
17.50
14.93

15.86
18.04
13.85
17.84
17.85
16.20
19.05
21.98
15.39

Transportation and material moving ............................
Truck drivers .........................................................

9.20
12.00

10.50
15.00

15.00
18.91

20.76
25.35

25.35
25.35

Handlers, equipment cleaners, helpers, and laborers
Stock handlers and baggers .................................
Machine feeders and offbearers ...........................
Freight, stock, and material handlers, n.e.c. .........
Hand packers and packagers ...............................
Laborers, except construction, n.e.c. ....................

7.75
5.75
9.67
8.00
7.73
8.50

9.00
7.75
9.90
9.00
8.00
10.10

10.45
11.67
10.25
10.00
9.00
11.41

12.37
12.37
10.63
11.55
9.89
12.90

14.80
14.00
11.01
13.69
11.36
14.80

Service .................................................................................
Protective service .....................................................
Food service .............................................................

6.00
–
2.13

7.50
–
6.85

8.75
–
8.50

10.06
–
9.65

12.00
–
12.00

See footnotes at end of table.

24

Table 6-2. Hourly wage percentiles for establishment jobs,1 all workers:2 Selected occupations, private
industry, National Compensation Survey, Hickory-Morganton-Lenoir, NC, January 2005 — Continued
Private industry
Occupation3

Service –Continued
Food service –Continued
Waiters, waitresses, and bartenders ......................
Other food service ..................................................
Food preparation, n.e.c. .......................................
Health service ...........................................................
Nursing aides, orderlies and attendants ...............
Cleaning and building service ...................................
Janitors and cleaners ...........................................
Personal service .......................................................

10

25

Median
50

75

90

–
$6.75
6.25
8.60
8.60
7.73
7.73
–

–
$8.00
6.75
9.11
9.11
8.81
8.81
–

–
$9.00
8.00
10.50
10.50
9.80
9.78
–

–
$10.00
9.88
12.05
12.05
15.10
10.83
–

–
$12.00
12.08
13.48
13.48
15.10
15.10
–

1 Percentiles designate position in the earnings distribution and are
calculated from individual-worker earnings and the hours they are
scheduled to work. At the 50th percentile, the median, half of the hours
are paid the same as or more than the rate shown, and half are paid the
same as or less than the rate shown. At the 25th percentile, one-fourth
of the hours are paid the same as or less than the rate shown. At the
75th percentile, one-fourth are paid the same as or more than the rate
shown. The 10th and 90th percentiles follow the same logic. Hourly
wages are the straight-time 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.
2 All workers include full-time and part-time workers.
3 A classification system including about 480 individual occupations
is used to cover all workers in the civilian economy. See appendix B for
more information.
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.

25

Table 6-3. Hourly wage percentiles for establishment jobs,1 all workers:2 Selected occupations, State and
local government, National Compensation Survey, Hickory-Morganton-Lenoir, NC, January 2005
State and local
government
Occupation3
10

25

Median
50

75

90

All .............................................................................................
All excluding sales ............................................................

$8.95
8.95

$10.62
10.62

$14.89
14.89

$22.80
22.80

$29.50
29.50

White collar .........................................................................
White collar excluding sales .........................................

10.00
10.00

14.67
14.67

20.82
20.82

25.29
25.29

29.97
29.97

Professional specialty and technical ............................
Professional specialty ...................................................
Health related ...........................................................
Teachers, college and university ..............................
Teachers, except college and university ..................
Librarians, archivists, and curators ...........................
Social scientists and urban planners ........................
Social, recreation, and religious workers ..................
Technical ......................................................................

16.06
16.17
–
–
–
–
–
–
–

19.40
20.10
–
–
–
–
–
–
–

22.43
22.80
–
–
–
–
–
–
–

26.02
26.42
–
–
–
–
–
–
–

29.50
29.51
–
–
–
–
–
–
–

Executive, administrative, and managerial ..................
Executives, administrators, and managers ...............
Management related .................................................

–
–
–

–
–
–

–
–
–

–
–
–

–
–
–

Administrative support, including clerical ...................

8.26

9.09

10.98

13.47

14.40

Blue collar ...........................................................................

–

–

–

–

–

Precision production, craft, and repair ........................

–

–

–

–

–

Transportation and material moving ............................

–

–

–

–

–

Handlers, equipment cleaners, helpers, and laborers

–

–

–

–

–

9.09
–
–
–
–
–

9.81
–
–
–
–
–

12.02
–
–
–
–
–

14.47
–
–
–
–
–

35.00
–
–
–
–
–

Service .................................................................................
Protective service .....................................................
Food service .............................................................
Other food service ..................................................
Health service ...........................................................
Cleaning and building service ...................................
1 Percentiles designate position in the earnings distribution and are
calculated from individual-worker earnings and the hours they are
scheduled to work. At the 50th percentile, the median, half of the hours
are paid the same as or more than the rate shown, and half are paid the
same as or less than the rate shown. At the 25th percentile, one-fourth
of the hours are paid the same as or less than the rate shown. At the
75th percentile, one-fourth are paid the same as or more than the rate
shown. The 10th and 90th percentiles follow the same logic. Hourly
wages are the straight-time 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.
2 All workers include full-time and part-time workers.
3 A classification system including about 480 individual occupations
is used to cover all workers in the civilian economy. See appendix B for
more information.
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.

26

Table 6-4. Hourly wage percentiles for establishment jobs,1 full-time workers:2 Selected occupations, all
industries, National Compensation Survey, Hickory-Morganton-Lenoir, NC, January 2005
Occupation3

10

25

Median
50

75

90

All .............................................................................................
All excluding sales ............................................................

$9.00
9.00

$10.50
10.49

$13.34
13.27

$17.54
17.48

$25.28
25.23

White collar .........................................................................
White collar excluding sales .........................................

10.22
10.21

12.55
12.67

17.31
17.51

24.85
25.00

31.23
31.23

Professional specialty and technical ............................
Professional specialty ...................................................
Engineers, architects, and surveyors .......................
Health related ...........................................................
Registered nurses ................................................
Teachers, college and university ..............................
Teachers, except college and university ..................
Librarians, archivists, and curators ...........................
Social scientists and urban planners ........................
Social, recreation, and religious workers ..................
Writers, authors, entertainers, athletes, and
professionals, n.e.c. ............................................
Technical ......................................................................
Health technologists and technicians, n.e.c. ........

15.00
16.43
–
18.87
18.90
–
–
–
–
–

18.54
19.82
–
21.37
21.30
–
–
–
–
–

22.43
23.93
–
25.28
24.92
–
–
–
–
–

27.32
27.67
–
38.27
37.02
–
–
–
–
–

32.88
37.02
–
52.70
43.81
–
–
–
–
–

–
12.06
11.19

–
14.76
12.85

–
18.89
14.48

–
22.43
18.88

–
27.32
24.67

Executive, administrative, and managerial ..................
Executives, administrators, and managers ...............
Managers and administrators, n.e.c. ....................
Management related .................................................

16.68
15.24
12.63
16.93

19.94
19.94
15.24
27.90

29.80
31.14
19.94
29.80

37.58
48.08
31.14
31.00

48.08
54.27
54.27
32.30

Sales ................................................................................

10.97

11.50

15.69

22.75

41.40

Administrative support, including clerical ...................
Order clerks ..........................................................
Bookkeepers, accounting and auditing clerks ......
Production coordinators ........................................
Traffic, shipping and receiving clerks ...................
General office clerks .............................................

9.00
10.88
9.00
11.63
9.85
10.00

10.35
11.20
9.00
11.81
10.35
10.84

12.25
12.00
9.80
12.40
12.95
12.69

14.30
13.37
11.99
16.69
15.10
14.12

16.00
14.34
14.90
17.85
15.80
14.55

Blue collar ...........................................................................

9.00

10.49

12.78

16.15

20.81

Precision production, craft, and repair ........................
Industrial machinery repairers ..............................
Machinery maintenance .......................................
Mechanics and repairers, n.e.c. ...........................
Supervisors, production ........................................
Upholsterers .........................................................

11.50
13.63
10.68
10.75
15.00
12.89

13.63
13.63
12.70
15.52
15.67
15.45

16.04
15.50
13.59
19.63
19.25
19.00

20.00
20.58
15.68
24.50
20.74
22.49

23.86
21.10
16.34
25.99
23.57
26.52

Machine operators, assemblers, and inspectors ........
Grinding, abrading, buffing, and polishing
machine operators ..........................................
Winding and twisting machine operators ..............
Knitting, looping, taping, and weaving machine
operators ........................................................
Textile sewing machine operators ........................
Painting and paint spraying machine operators ...
Slicing and cutting machine operators ..................
Miscellaneous machine operators, n.e.c. .............
Assemblers ...........................................................
Hand cutting and trimming ....................................
Miscellaneous hand working, n.e.c. ......................
Production inspectors, checkers and examiners ..

9.20

10.49

12.18

14.77

17.29

7.50
8.00

10.82
8.50

12.97
11.12

15.68
11.92

16.68
13.07

11.26
7.80
10.59
10.97
10.09
9.61
10.97
8.84
8.35

11.40
10.49
11.17
12.31
11.65
10.25
11.47
10.13
10.10

12.34
12.37
11.58
12.45
13.35
10.89
14.43
12.95
11.39

14.16
14.74
13.36
16.00
15.75
13.44
18.00
17.50
14.93

15.86
18.16
13.85
17.84
17.85
16.20
19.05
21.98
15.39

Transportation and material moving ............................
Truck drivers .........................................................

9.20
10.63

10.50
13.93

14.50
18.18

20.37
25.35

25.35
25.35

Handlers, equipment cleaners, helpers, and laborers
Stock handlers and baggers .................................
Machine feeders and offbearers ...........................
Freight, stock, and material handlers, n.e.c. .........
Hand packers and packagers ...............................
Laborers, except construction, n.e.c. ....................

8.45
9.65
9.67
8.75
7.73
8.45

9.00
11.60
9.90
9.24
8.00
8.50

10.45
12.35
10.25
10.66
9.00
10.10

12.37
12.55
10.63
11.75
9.89
11.85

14.80
14.00
11.01
13.69
11.36
14.80

Service .................................................................................

7.82

8.95

10.06

12.71

16.07

See footnotes at end of table.

27

Table 6-4. Hourly wage percentiles for establishment jobs,1 full-time workers:2 Selected occupations, all
industries, National Compensation Survey, Hickory-Morganton-Lenoir, NC, January 2005 — Continued
10

25

Median
50

75

90

–
$8.21
8.21
8.31
9.00
9.00
8.20
8.50
–

–
$8.50
8.50
9.22
9.52
9.52
8.89
8.79
–

–
$9.24
9.24
10.50
10.07
10.07
10.05
9.20
–

–
$10.25
10.25
12.02
11.15
11.05
35.00
10.05
–

–
$12.02
12.02
15.00
12.63
12.86
35.00
11.19
–

Occupation3

Service –Continued
Protective service .....................................................
Food service .............................................................
Other food service ..................................................
Food preparation, n.e.c. .......................................
Health service ...........................................................
Nursing aides, orderlies and attendants ...............
Cleaning and building service ...................................
Janitors and cleaners ...........................................
Personal service .......................................................
1 Percentiles designate position in the earnings distribution and are
calculated from individual-worker earnings and the hours they are
scheduled to work. At the 50th percentile, the median, half of the hours
are paid the same as or more than the rate shown, and half are paid the
same as or less than the rate shown. At the 25th percentile, one-fourth
of the hours are paid the same as or less than the rate shown. At the
75th percentile, one-fourth are paid the same as or more than the rate
shown. The 10th and 90th percentiles follow the same logic. Hourly
wages are the straight-time 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.
2 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 A classification system including about 480 individual occupations
is used to cover all workers in the civilian economy. See appendix B for
more information.
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.

28

Table 6-5. Hourly wage percentiles for establishment jobs,1 part-time workers:2 Selected occupations, all
industries, National Compensation Survey, Hickory-Morganton-Lenoir, NC, January 2005
Occupation3

10

25

Median
50

75

90

All .............................................................................................
All excluding sales ............................................................

$2.13
2.13

$6.25
6.35

$7.50
7.75

$9.55
10.00

$12.00
13.05

White collar .........................................................................
White collar excluding sales .........................................

5.65
13.32

6.15
15.10

7.47
16.67

15.10
25.28

25.00
38.57

Professional specialty and technical ............................
Professional specialty ...................................................
Health related ...........................................................
Writers, authors, entertainers, athletes, and
professionals, n.e.c. ............................................
Technical ......................................................................

13.32
14.38
20.45

15.03
20.45
23.00

23.00
25.00
25.65

34.76
34.76
38.57

45.00
45.00
45.00

–
–

–
–

–
–

–
–

–
–

Sales ................................................................................

–

–

–

–

–

Administrative support, including clerical ...................

–

–

–

–

–

5.75

6.70

8.50

9.70

Machine operators, assemblers, and inspectors ........

–

–

–

–

–

Transportation and material moving ............................

–

–

–

–

–

Handlers, equipment cleaners, helpers, and laborers
Freight, stock, and material handlers, n.e.c. .........

5.65
6.70

6.70
8.50

8.50
9.00

9.55
10.00

10.35
11.35

Service .................................................................................
Protective service .....................................................
Food service .............................................................
Waiters, waitresses, and bartenders ......................
Other food service ..................................................
Food preparation, n.e.c. .......................................
Health service ...........................................................
Personal service .......................................................

2.13
–
2.13
–
6.25
6.00
–
–

5.75
–
2.13
–
6.75
6.50
–
–

7.00
–
6.75
–
7.50
7.00
–
–

8.00
–
8.75
–
12.00
8.00
–
–

12.00
–
12.00
–
12.00
9.00
–
–

Blue collar ...........................................................................

1 Percentiles designate position in the earnings distribution and are
calculated from individual-worker earnings and the hours they are
scheduled to work. At the 50th percentile, the median, half of the hours
are paid the same as or more than the rate shown, and half are paid the
same as or less than the rate shown. At the 25th percentile, one-fourth
of the hours are paid the same as or less than the rate shown. At the
75th percentile, one-fourth are paid the same as or more than the rate
shown. The 10th and 90th percentiles follow the same logic. Hourly
wages are the straight-time 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.
2 Employees are classified as working either a full-time or a part-time

11.35

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 A classification system including about 480 individual occupations
is used to cover all workers in the civilian economy. See appendix B for
more information.
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.

29

Appendix A: Technical Note

T

Sample design
The sample for this survey area was selected using a twostage stratified design with probability proportional to employment sampling at each stage. The first stage of sample
selection was a probability sample of establishments. The
sample of establishments was drawn by first stratifying the
sampling frame by industry and ownership. The number of
sample establishments allocated to each stratum is approximately proportional to the stratum employment. Each
sampled establishment is 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 it represents similar units (by industry and employment size) in the economy that were not selected for collection. The second stage of sample selection, detailed below,
was a probability sample of occupations within a sampled
establishment.

his section provides basic information on the procedures and concepts used to produce the data contained
in this bulletin. It is divided into three parts: Planning for
the survey; data collection; and processing and analyzing
the data. Although this section answers some questions
commonly asked by data users, it is not a comprehensive
description of all of the steps required to produce the data.

Planning for the survey
The overall design of the National Compensation Survey
(NCS) includes questions of scope, frame, and sample selection.
Survey scope
This survey covered establishments employing 50 workers
or more in goods-producing industries (mining, construction and manufacturing); service-producing industries
(transportation, communications, electric, gas, and sanitary
services; wholesale trade; retail trade; finance, insurance,
and real estate; and services industries); and State and local
governments. Agriculture, private households, and the Federal Government were excluded from the scope of the survey. 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.
The Hickory–Morganton–Lenoir, NC, Metropolitan
Statistical Area includes Alexander, Burke, Caldwell, and
Catawba Counties.

Data collection
The collection of data from survey respondents required
detailed procedures. Field economists collected the data,
working out of the Bureau of Labor Statistics’ (BLS) Regional Offices and visiting each establishment surveyed.
Other contact methods, such as mail and telephone, were
used to follow up and update data.
Occupational selection and classification
Identification of the occupations for which wage data were
to be collected was a multistep 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-time versus parttime, union versus nonunion, and time versus incentive
4. Determination of the level of work of each job

Sampling frame
The list of establishments from which the survey sample
was selected (sampling frame) was developed from State
unemployment insurance reports. 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 sampling
frame was reviewed prior to the survey and, when necessary, missing establishments were added, out-of-business
and out-of-scope establishments were removed, and addresses, employment levels, industry classification, and
other information were updated. Approximately one-fifth
of the sample is reselected each year.

For each occupation, wage data were collected for those
workers whose jobs could be characterized by the criteria
identified in the last three steps. Special procedures were
developed for jobs for which a level could not be determined.

A-1

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 its chance of
selection.
The number of jobs for which data were collected in
each establishment was based on the establishment’s employment size. Prior to 2002, the number of jobs selected
ranged from 8 to 20. Beginning in 2002, the number of
jobs selected followed this schedule:
Number
of employees

Number
of selected jobs

50–249
250 or more

6
8

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 the
1990 Census of Population. A selected job may fall into
any one 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.
Each occupational classification is an element of a
broader classification known as a major occupational group
(MOG). Occupations can fall into any of the following
MOGs:
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•

Professional specialty and technical
Executive, administrative, and managerial
Sales
Administrative support, including clerical
Precision production, craft, and repair
Machine operators, assemblers, and inspectors
Transportation and material moving
Handlers, equipment cleaners, helpers, and laborers
Service occupations

Appendix B contains a complete list of all individual
occupations, classified by the MOG to which they belong.
In step three, certain other job characteristics of the
chosen worker were identified. First, the worker was identified as holding either a full-time or part-time job, based
on the establishment’s definition of those terms. Then, the
worker was classified as having a time versus incentive job,
depending on whether any part of pay was directly based
on the actual production of the worker, rather than solely

A-2

on hours worked. Finally, the worker was identified as being in a union job or a nonunion job. See the “Definition of
terms” section on the following page for more detail.
Occupational leveling
In the last step before wage data were collected, the work
level of each selected job was determined using a “point
factor leveling” process. Point factor leveling matches certain aspects of a job to specific levels of work with assigned point values. Points for each factor are then totaled
to determine the overall work level for the job.
The NCS program is in the process of converting from a
nine-factor to a four-factor occupational leveling system.
The conversion is being phased in via annual NCS sample
replenishment groups and will require several years for full
implementation. The four occupational leveling factors
are:
•
•
•
•

Knowledge
Job controls and complexity
Contacts (nature and purpose)
Physical environment

Each factor consists of several levels, and each level has
an associated description and assigned points. The knowledge factor is tailored to 24 families of closely related occupations. A knowledge guide for each of the 24 families
contains short definitions of the point levels of knowledge
expected for the occupations and presents relevant examples. The other three factors use identical descriptions for
all occupational categories and contain a definition of each
point level within each factor.
The description within each factor best matching the job
is chosen. The point levels within each factor are designed
to describe the thresholds of distinct levels of work. When
a job does not meet the full description of a point level, the
next lowest point level is used. Points for the four factors
are totaled to determine the overall work level. NCS publishes data for up to 15 work levels.
Most supervisory occupations are evaluated based on
their duties and responsibilities. A modified approach is
used for professional and administrative supervisors when
they direct professional work and are paid primarily to supervise. Such supervisory occupations are leveled based
on the work level of the highest position reporting to them.
For a complete description of point factor leveling, refer
to the publication “National Compensation Survey: Guide
for Evaluating Your Firm’s Jobs and Pay,” available at the
BLS National Compensation Survey Internet site at
http://www.bls.gov/ncs/ocs/sp/ncbr0004.pdf.
Collection period
Survey data were collected over a 13-month period for 60
metropolitan areas in the NCS program. For 20 small metropolitan areas, data were collected over a 4-month period.

For each establishment in the survey, the data reflect the establishment’s most recent information at the time of collection. The payroll reference month shown in the tables reflects the average date of this information for all sample
units.
Earnings
Earnings were defined as regular payments from the employer to the employee as compensation for straight-time
hourly work, or for any salaried work performed. The following components were included as part of earnings:
•
•
•
•
•

Incentive pay, including commissions, production
bonuses, and piece rates
Cost-of-living allowances
Hazard pay
Payments of income deferred due to participation
in a salary reduction plan
Deadhead pay, defined as pay given to transportation workers returning in a vehicle without freight
or passengers

The following forms of payments were not considered
part of straight-time earnings:
•
•
•
•
•
•
•

Shift differentials, defined as extra payment for
working a schedule that varies from the norm, such
as night or weekend work
Premium pay for overtime, holidays, and weekends
Bonuses not directly tied to production (such as
Christmas and profit-sharing bonuses)
Uniform and tool allowances
Free room and board
Payments made by third parties (for example, tips,
bonuses given by manufacturers to department
store salespeople, referral incentives in real estate)
On-call pay

To calculate earnings for various periods (hourly,
weekly, and annual), data on work schedules also were collected. For hourly workers, scheduled hours worked per
day and per week, exclusive of overtime, were recorded.
Annual weeks worked were determined. Because salaried
workers who are exempt from overtime provisions often
work beyond the assigned work schedule, their typical
number of hours actually worked was collected.
Definition of terms
Full-time worker. Any employee whom the employer considers to be full time.
Incentive worker. Any employee whose earnings are tied,
at least in part, to commissions, piece rates, production bonuses, or other incentives based on production or sales.

A-3

Level. A ranking of an occupation based on the requirements of the position. (See the description in the technical
note on occupational leveling through point factor analysis
for more details on the leveling process.)
Nonunion worker. An employee in an occupation not
meeting the conditions for union coverage. (See below.)
Part-time worker. Any employee whom the employer considers to be part time.
Time-based worker. Any employee whose earnings are
tied to an hourly rate or salary, and not to a specific level of
production.
Union worker. Any employee is in a union occupation
when all of the following conditions are met:
•
•
•

A labor organization is recognized as the bargaining agent for all workers in the occupation
Wage and salary rates are determined through collective bargaining or negotiations
Settlement terms, which must include earnings provisions and may include benefit provisions, are embodied in a signed, mutually binding collective
bargaining agreement

Processing and analyzing the data
Data were processed and analyzed at the BLS National Office following collection.
Weighting and nonresponse
Sample weights were calculated for each establishment and
occupation in the survey. These weights reflected the relative size of the occupation within the establishment and of
the establishment within the sample universe. Weights
were used to aggregate data for the individual establishments or occupations into the various data series. Some of
the establishments surveyed could not supply or refused to
supply information. If data were not provided by a sample
member, the weights of responding sample members in the
same or similar “cells” were adjusted to account for the
missing data. This technique assumes that the mean value
of data for the nonrespondents equals the mean value of
data for the respondents at some detailed “cell” level. Responding and nonresponding establishments were classified
into these cells according to industry and employment size.
Responding and nonresponding occupations within responding establishments were classified into cells that were
additionally defined by major occupation group.
Establishments that were determined to be out of business or outside the scope of the survey had their weights
changed to zero. If only partial data were given by a sample establishment or occupation, or data were missing, the
response was treated as a refusal.

Survey response

Total in sampling frame
Total in sample
Responding
Out of business or not in survey scope
Unable or refused to provide data

dian, half of the hours are paid the same as or more than the
rate shown, and half are paid the same as or less than the
rate shown. At the 25th percentile, one-fourth of the hours
are paid the same as or less than the rate shown. At the
75th percentile, one-fourth are paid the same as or more
than the rate shown. The 10th and 90th percentiles follow
the same logic.

Establishments
615
202
142
25
35

In this survey, the nonresponse rates for all industries,
private industry, and State and local government were within regular survey standards.
Estimation
The wage series in the tables are computed by combining
the wages for each sampled occupation. Before being
combined, individual wage rates are weighted by the number of workers; the sample weight, adjusted for nonresponding establishments and other factors; and the occupation’s scheduled hours of work.
Not all calculated series met the criteria for publication.
Before any series was published, it was reviewed to make
sure that the number of observations underlying it was sufficient. This review prevented the publication of a series
that could have revealed information about a specific establishment.
Estimates of the number of workers represent the total
in all establishments within the scope of the study, and not
the number actually surveyed. Because occupational structures among establishments differ, estimates of the number
of workers obtained from the sample of establishments
serve to indicate only the relative importance of the occupational groups studied.
Percentiles
The percentiles presented in tables 6–1 through 6–5 are
computed using earnings reported for individual workers in
sampled establishment jobs and their scheduled hours of
work. Establishments in the survey may report only individual-worker earnings for each sampled job. For the calculation of percentile estimates, the individual-worker
hourly earnings are appropriately weighted and then arrayed from lowest to highest.
The published 10th, 25th, 50th, 75th, and 90th percentiles designate position in the earnings distribution within
each published occupation. At the 50th percentile, the me-

A-4

Data reliability
The data in this bulletin 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 each other.
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. RSE data are provided
alongside the earnings data in the bulletin tables.
The standard error can be used to calculate a “confidence interval” around a sample estimate. As an example,
suppose a table shows that mean hourly earnings for all
workers were $12.79, with a relative standard error of 3.6
percent for this estimate. At the 90-percent level, the confidence interval for this estimate is from $12.03 to $13.55
($12.79 minus and plus $0.76, where $0.76 is the product
of 1.645 times 3.6 percent times $12.79). 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 they were not specifically measured, the
nonsampling errors were expected to be minimal due to the
extensive training of the field economists who gathered the
survey data by personal visit, computer edits of the data,
and detailed data review.

Appendix table 1. Number of workers1 represented by the survey, by occupational group,2
National Compensation Survey, Hickory-Morganton-Lenoir, NC, January 2005
Full-time and part-time workers
Occupational group

State and local
government

Total

Private industry

All occupations .......................................................................
All excluding sales ........................................................

91,200
88,900

75,700
73,400

15,500
15,500

White collar .........................................................................
White-collar excluding sales .........................................

24,400
22,100

15,200
12,900

9,100
9,100

Professional specialty and technical .................................
Professional specialty ...................................................
Technical ......................................................................
Executive, administrative, and managerial .......................
Sales .................................................................................
Administrative support, including clerical ..........................

10,600
8,200
2,300
2,600
2,300
9,000

4,300
2,500
1,800
1,900
2,300
6,700

6,300
5,700
–
–
–
2,300

Blue collar ...........................................................................
Precision production, craft, and repair ..............................
Machine operators, assemblers, and inspectors ..............
Transportation and material moving .................................
Handlers, equipment cleaners, helpers, and laborers ......

53,100
10,800
24,800
7,500
10,100

51,100
9,900
24,800
7,200
9,200

Service .................................................................................

13,700

9,300

1 The number of workers represented by the survey are
rounded to the nearest 100. 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 to other statistical series to measure employment
trends or levels. Both full-time and part-time workers were
included in the survey.

–
–
–
–
–
4,400

2 A classification system including about 480 individual
occupations is used to cover all workers in the civilian economy.
See appendix B for more information.
NOTE: Dashes indicate that no data were reported or that data
did not meet publication criteria.

A-5