Bend Average Hourly Wage Below National Figure

Businesswoman

Enlarge

BEND, OR -- According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, the Bend area had an average hourly wage of $19.29 in May 2009. That figure was roughly 8% below the national average of $20.90 an hour. Five of the 22 major occupational groups, including healthcare practitioner, protective service, health care support, reported higher figures than the national average. Todd Johnson, economist with BLS, told KBNW the figures were complied by looking only at those with jobs, which means unemployment statistics will not hurt the income figure. He added while the hour wage mean sounds high, each category contains a mix of jobs, affecting the outcome.

"You might have, particularly in the food preparation and related, you going to have some lower cost occupations, so lower priced occupations. But, then there are some higher ones, such as cooks. They're going to be making higher than that $10.89 wage."

BLS also found that food preparation, sales, construction made up the largest portion of local employment. For the complete breakdown of employment and wages in Bend, visit the BLS's Website.

If you see local news happen, call the Horizon Broadcasting Group News Tip Hotline at 541-323-NEWS, or email us.