Each summer, the federal Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) office in Dallas releases average hourly wages in 22 occupations in the twin cities from the prior year. There was a significant change in the pay of one professional category between 2015 and 2016.
Lawyers and others in the “legal” category based in Bryan and College Station took a pay cut of more than 20 percent, or more than eight dollars per hour. The hourly rate in the legal occupation dropped from more than $40 dollars per hour in 2015 to just under $32 dollars per hour in 2016. That compares with a national average of $51 dollars per hour.
Six other professions saw their pay decrease in a range between 14 cents and a dollar and eight cents per hour.
There were pay increases in 14 professions of up to a dollar and eight cents per hour, while those in architecture and engineering had an average increase of two dollars per hour.
The BLS report also indicated locals working in two of 22 categories made more than the national average.
The hourly average for locals working in education and training made $32.59 per hour, which is six dollars more than the national average. Locals working in the group that includes the arts, entertainment, sports, and the media, made 16 cents per hour more.
The largest pay disparity, in terms of dollars and cents, are employees in the legal profession. The local average…at almost $32 dollars per hour…is $19 dollars an hour less than the national average. That’s followed by a gap of more than $11 dollars per hour in the computer and mathematics and the life, physical, and social sciences categories.
Additional information from the Dallas office of the Bureau of Labor Statistics:
Workers in the College Station-Bryan Metropolitan Statistical Area had an average (mean) hourly wage of $20.23 in May 2016, about 15 percent below the nationwide average of $23.86, according to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics.
Assistant Commissioner for Regional Operations Stanley W. Suchman noted that, after testing for statistical significance, wages in the local area were lower than their respective national averages in 16 of the 22 major occupational groups, including legal; life, physical, and social science; and computer and mathematical.
Only one group – education, training, and library – had wages that were measurably higher than the national average. Local wage levels in the remaining occupational groups were not statistically different from their respective national averages.
When compared to the nationwide distribution, College Station employment was more highly concentrated in 4 of the 22 occupational groups including; education, training, and library; office and administrative support; and life, physical, and social science.
Conversely, 12 groups had employment shares significantly below their national representation, including transportation and material moving; management; and business and financial operations.