The U.S. rig count was 874 in July 2015, up from 859 in June 2015; Texas rig count was 375 in July 2015, up from 361 in June 2015; The Eagle Ford Shale rig count was 98 in July 2015, down from 103 in June 2015.
Source:Baker Hughes
In this post, we look at the weekly overtime (OT) hours typically worked by those who work in retail sales occupations, specifically in electronics stores. Many of the employees that work in these jobs are not exempt from FLSA overtime pay and earn 1.5 times pay for hours worked over 40 in a given week. The tabulations below are based on U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) survey data. The BLS job title groups are insightful, generally containing more specific job titles with similar knowledge, skills, and abilities (KSA), but can be more broad than a particular company’s job title listing. Also, some companies may have the job title listed here as exempt from FLSA or state OT due to their specific job assignments. The BLS does not make a distinction as to if the job title is exempt or non-exempt from OT.
| Occupational Group Title | Percent of OT Workers | Average Hours of OT | 1 out of every 4 (25%) OT workers works at least: |
| Retail Sales Workers in Electronics Stores | 17.95% | 12.14 hours | 60 hours |
U.S. BLS data indicates that approximately 17.95% of retail salespersons in electronic stores work overtime hours in a given week. On average, these workers that have FLSA overtime work approximately 12.14 hours a week in OT. The average regular or straight time pay rate of these workers in the U.S. is approximately $13.89 an hour. The average FLSA OT rate, not including supplemental pay such as non-discretionary bonus pay, is $20.84 an hour.
Source: BLS (CPS March)
Working with wage and hour data and employment data, like we do on a daily basis involves the analysis of very large data sets. Big data and employment data are often one in the same. STATA has a very useful command that allows you to load in large Excel 2007/2010 spreadsheet files. It is:
set excelxlsxlargefile on
This simple command allows the user to bypass the pre-set limit on spreadsheet size.
Just remember, STATA and your computer will be unresponsive during the load. So be patient and let it all load up.
Median rent increased in San Antonio, Laredo, and Corpus Christi from April 2015 to May 2015.
Median house prices fall for San Antonio and Laredo, while Corpus Christi median house prices rose from April 2015 to May 2015.
Image source: http://www.asemooni.com/news/economic-news/the-president-agreed-with-the-increase-in-housing
The number of job openings in Texas for “petroleum engineers” and “geological and petroleum technicians” decreased from 661 in April 2015 to 639 in May 2015, while the searcher-to-job opening ratio increased from 1.97 to 2.16 in the same span.
The number of job openings in Texas for “derrick operators” and “roustabouts” decreased from 181 in April 2015 to 171 in May 2015, while the searcher-to-job opening ratio increased from 2.29 to 2.54 in the same span.
Source: BLS
Image source: http://wonderfulengineering.com/what-is-petroleum-engineering/
All 4 of the largest MSAs (metropolitan statistical areas) in California experienced a decrease in job openings for the month of May.
Los Angeles-Long Beach-Anaheim
The Los Angeles-Long Beach-Anaheim MSA experienced a decrease of 12,517 job openings in May 2015, a 7.61% change from April 2015.
| Month | Total Openings | Percent Monthly Change |
| Jun-14 | 129,782 | 0.19 |
| Jul-14 | 137,333 | 5.82 |
| Aug-14 | 136,939 | -0.29 |
| Sep-14 | 112,657 | -17.73 |
| Oct-14 | 121,598 | 7.94 |
| Nov-14 | 108,123 | -11.08 |
| Dec-14 | 104,302 | -3.53 |
| Jan-15 | 140,013 | 34.24 |
| Feb-15 | 137,967 | -1.46 |
| Mar-15 | 141,983 | 2.91 |
| Apr-15 | 164,525 | 15.88 |
| May-15 | 152,008 | -7.61 |
San Francisco-Oakland-Fremont
The San Francisco-Oakland-Fremont MSA experienced a decrease of 6,240 job openings in May 2015, an 7.39% change from April 2015.
| Month | Total Openings | Percent Monthly Change |
| Jun-14 | 66,213 | 0.65 |
| Jul-14 | 69,790 | 5.4 |
| Aug-14 | 69,209 | -0.83 |
| Sep-14 | 58,567 | -15.38 |
| Oct-14 | 63,065 | 7.68 |
| Nov-14 | 56,940 | -9.71 |
| Dec-14 | 54,986 | -3.43 |
| Jan-15 | 72,089 | 31.11 |
| Feb-15 | 70,884 | -1.67 |
| Mar-15 | 72,887 | 2.83 |
| Apr-15 | 84,472 | 15.89 |
| May-15 | 78,232 | -7.39 |
Riverside-San Bernardino-Ontario
The Riverside-San Bernardino-Ontario MSA experienced a decrease of 4,167 job openings in May 2015, an 6.72% change from April 2015.
| Month | Total Openings | Percent Monthly Change |
| Jun-14 | 49,141 | 0.42 |
| Jul-14 | 52,360 | 6.55 |
| Aug-14 | 51,924 | -0.83 |
| Sep-14 | 40,018 | -22.93 |
| Oct-14 | 42,870 | 7.13 |
| Nov-14 | 38,138 | -11.04 |
| Dec-14 | 37,377 | -2.00 |
| Jan-15 | 52,811 | 41.29 |
| Feb-15 | 52,141 | -1.27 |
| Mar-15 | 53,849 | 3.27 |
| Apr-15 | 62,004 | 15.15 |
| May-15 | 57,837 | -6.72 |
San Diego-Carlsbad-San Marcos
The San Diego-Carlsbad-San Marcos MSA experienced a decrease of 4,027 job openings in May 2015, an 6.97% change from April 2015.
| Month | Total Openings | Percent Monthly Change |
| Jun-14 | 46,681 | 0.71 |
| Jul-14 | 49,258 | 5.52 |
| Aug-14 | 49,007 | -0.51 |
| Sep-14 | 41,343 | -15.64 |
| Oct-14 | 44,408 | 7.41 |
| Nov-14 | 39,956 | -10.02 |
| Dec-14 | 38,937 | -2.55 |
| Jan-15 | 49,272 | 26.54 |
| Feb-15 | 48,492 | -1.58 |
| Mar-15 | 49,955 | 3.02 |
| Apr-15 | 57,749 | 15.6 |
| May-15 | 53,722 | -6.97 |
Source: BLS
The U.S. rig count was 859 in June 2015, down from 875 in May 2015; Texas rig count was 361 in June 2015, down from 369 in May 2015; The Eagle Ford Shale rig count was 103 in June 2015, down from 110 in May 2015.
Source:Baker Hughes
Police and Sheriff’s Patrol Officers experienced the largest increase of new openings of all occupations in the US for the month of May with 999 new job openings.
May 2015
| Occupation | Total Openings | New Openings |
| Police and Sheriff’s Patrol Officers | 21,181 | 999 |
Source: BLS
The Bowling Green, KY MSA (metropolitan statistical area) experienced the largest increase of job openings of all MSAs in the United States for the month of May with 164 new openings.
| Month | MSA | Total Openings | New Openings |
| May 2015 | Bowling Green, KY | 2,478 | 164 |
Source: BLS
The number of job openings in California for “Innovation Type Jobs” decreased from 29,183 in April 2015 to 27,484 in May 2015. The searcher-to-job opening ratio increased from 1.34 to 1.40 in the same span.
Innovation jobs definition: http://www.employstats.com/blog/2014/09/26/1233/
Image source: http://www.bizjournals.com/sacramento/news/2013/09/23/symposium-innovation-ecosystems-jobs-wea.html
Source: BLS
