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U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics For Massage Therapists
Source: United States Department of Labor
Occupational Outlook Handbook, 2010-11 Edition
- Nature of the Work
- Training, Other Qualifications, and Advancement
- Employment
- Job Outlook
- Projections
- Earnings
- Wages
- Related Occupations
- Sources of Additional Information
Full story at:
http://www.bls.gov/oco/ocos295.htm
And great related info at:
Views: 139
Replies to This Discussion
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Permalink Reply by Marissa on
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I have to say I like how it flat out states that it is a "physically demanding" profession. And the break down of wages is a real eye-opener! For those of us who have been in the profession for any length of time, it is old news. To those looking to get in a quick money making position....take off those blinders please. Thanks for posting this!
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Permalink Reply by Lisa on
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I also like how they state that it will grow faster than average. I think massage is about to bust open at the seams. so although the statistics of wages is sobering...if it continues to grow and become more widely accepted as a medical necessity, we will all do much better. i'm optimistic. :)
Marissa Macias said:I have to say I like how it flat out states that it is a "physically demanding" profession. And the break down of wages is a real eye-opener! For those of us who have been in the profession for any length of time, it is old news. To those looking to get in a quick money making position....take off those blinders please. Thanks for posting this!
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Permalink Reply by Emmanuel Bistas on
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It's not clear from reading the statistics, but I assume these are part-time earnings divided over full-time hours.
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Permalink Reply by Gloria Coppola on
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Much to say around town today "The Truth about Massage Wages" Today's Blog
http://massagecareers.blogspot.com/2010/02/truth-about-massage-wage...
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The numbers are reported as hourly rates, but it does not say how the DOL gets the info to calculate hourly earnings. As therapists we report annual earnings, but they are not correlated to a number of hours. As an employer, when I report earnings for my employees on the 940 or 941 forms, they are quarterly or annual, and there are no references to how many hours these people worked.
I would never tell a prospective student that they will make 60,000 a year, but these numbers don't sound right either. Without understanding how the numbers were collected and what methodology was used to calculate hourly rates they are not very meaningful.
Ezekiel OBrien said:Good point Emmanuel. If you look at it that way it makes sense and sounds just about right. So a massage therapist making 60,000 a year would be around the 90th percentile. Ah statistics. . .
Emmanuel Bistas said:It's not clear from reading the statistics, but I assume these are part-time earnings divided over full-time hours.
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I just noticed under "earnings" it says "the above wage data are from the occupational employment statistics (oes) survey program..."
Under frequently asked questions, the OES site says: "The OES Survey collects data from a sample of establishments and calculates employment estimates by occupation, industry, and geographic area. The survey covers all industries. Data are collected by the State Workforce Agencies in cooperation with the Bureau of Labor Statistics, US Department of Labor. The OES Program estimates employment and wages for nearly 800 occupations once a year for all 50 States, the District of Columbia, Puerto Rico, the US Virgin Islands, and Guam, as well as the nation as a whole. It also produces employment and wage estimates for Metropolitan Statistical Areas (MSAs), as well as for specific industries."
The information is collected via the "Occupational Employment Outlook" form, instructions for which can be found here.
So, it is the employer who enters the data. Only W2 wages are included. Self-employed individuals (1099s) and sub-contractors are not included. For full-time employees the annual salary is entered, for part-timers the employer enters the annual earnings and the number of hours worked. Tips do not seem part of the calculation either.
This explains why the numbers seem so low.
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Permalink Reply by Mike Hinkle on
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Good analysis!
Emmanuel Bistas said:I just noticed under "earnings" it says "the above wage data are from the occupational employment statistics (oes) survey program..."
Under frequently asked questions, the OES site says: "The OES Survey collects data from a sample of establishments and calculates employment estimates by occupation, industry, and geographic area. The survey covers all industries. Data are collected by the State Workforce Agencies in cooperation with the Bureau of Labor Statistics, US Department of Labor. The OES Program estimates employment and wages for nearly 800 occupations once a year for all 50 States, the District of Columbia, Puerto Rico, the US Virgin Islands, and Guam, as well as the nation as a whole. It also produces employment and wage estimates for Metropolitan Statistical Areas (MSAs), as well as for specific industries."
The information is collected via the "Occupational Employment Outlook" form, instructions for which can be found here.
So, it is the employer who enters the data. Only W2 wages are included. Self-employed individuals (1099s) and sub-contractors are not included. For full-time employees the annual salary is entered, for part-timers the employer enters the annual earnings and the number of hours worked. Tips do not seem part of the calculation either.
This explains why the numbers seem so low.
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The AMTA numbers are more in line with my personal observations and what our graduates are reporting.
Those MTs who have clients and work at least 16 hours per week seem to do okay. The self-employed ones earn $45/hr for all massage-related work, meaning after massage-related activities are taken into consideration, which is also pretty good. What's missing from the AMTA numbers is the struggling MTs, but the struggling does not seem to be due to lack of demand or low wages, so the question that logically follows these numbers is "why are many MTs struggling?" :)
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