For release 10:00 a.m. (EDT), Thursday, March 28, 2013 USDL-13-0542
Technical Information: (202) 691-6567 * QCEWInfo@bls.gov * www.bls.gov/cew
Media Contact: (202) 691-5902 * PressOffice@bls.gov
County Employment and Wages
Third Quarter 2012
From September 2011 to September 2012, employment increased in 276 of
the 328 largest U.S. counties, the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics
reported today. Elkhart, Ind., posted the largest increase, with a
gain of 6.9 percent over the year, compared with national job growth
of 1.6 percent. Within Elkhart, the largest employment increase
occurred in manufacturing, which gained 4,734 jobs over the year
(10.1 percent). Benton, Wash., had the largest over-the-year decrease
in employment among the largest counties in the U.S. with a loss of
5.2 percent. County employment and wage data are compiled under the
Quarterly Census of Employment and Wages (QCEW) program, which
produces detailed information on county employment and wages within 7
months after the end of each quarter.
The U.S. average weekly wage decreased over the year by 1.1 percent
to $906 in the third quarter of 2012. This is one of only six over-
the-year average weekly wage declines dating back to 1978, when the
first comparable quarterly data are available. (See Technical Note.)
Average weekly wages declined in every industry except for
information, in which wages increased by 1.3 percent. Wage declines
were also widespread across states, with the notable exception of a
6.3 percent increase in North Dakota. Yolo, Calif., had the largest
over-the-year decrease in average weekly wages with a loss of 7.0
percent. Within Yolo, a total wage decline of $102.9 million (-19.1
percent) in government had the largest contribution to the decrease
in average weekly wages. San Mateo, Calif., experienced the largest
increase in average weekly wages with a gain of 7.3 percent over the
year.
Table A. Large counties ranked by September 2012 employment, September 2011-12 employment
increase, and September 2011-12 percent increase in employment
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Employment in large counties
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September 2012 employment | Increase in employment, | Percent increase in employment,
(thousands) | September 2011-12 | September 2011-12
| (thousands) |
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| |
United States 132,624.7| United States 2,024.9| United States 1.6
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| |
Los Angeles, Calif. 3,983.5| Los Angeles, Calif. 81.6| Elkhart, Ind. 6.9
Cook, Ill. 2,424.6| Harris, Texas 78.6| Rutherford, Tenn. 6.8
New York, N.Y. 2,385.9| New York, N.Y. 52.4| Kern, Calif. 5.9
Harris, Texas 2,128.2| Maricopa, Ariz. 40.0| Montgomery, Texas 5.5
Maricopa, Ariz. 1,674.5| Dallas, Texas 38.3| Utah, Utah 5.3
Dallas, Texas 1,478.5| Santa Clara, Calif. 28.9| Fort Bend, Texas 4.3
Orange, Calif. 1,407.6| Orange, Calif. 28.6| Lexington, S.C. 4.2
San Diego, Calif. 1,283.3| King, Wash. 27.7| Cass, N.D. 4.1
King, Wash. 1,171.9| Cook, Ill. 24.6| Travis, Texas 3.9
Miami-Dade, Fla. 990.7| San Diego, Calif. 22.8| Washington, Ark. 3.8
| | Denver, Colo. 3.8
| | Delaware, Ohio 3.8
| | Harris, Texas 3.8
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Large County Employment
In September 2012, national employment, as measured by the QCEW
program, was 132.6 million, up by 1.6 percent or 2.0 million, from
September 2011. The 328 U.S. counties with 75,000 or more jobs
accounted for 71.0 percent of total U.S. employment and 76.3 percent
of total wages. These 328 counties had a net job growth of 1.5
million over the year, accounting for 74.3 percent of the overall
U.S. employment increase.
Elkhart, Ind., had the largest percentage increase in employment (6.9
percent) among the largest U.S. counties. The five counties with the
largest increases in employment level were Los Angeles, Calif.;
Harris, Texas; New York, N.Y.; Maricopa, Ariz.; and Dallas, Texas.
These counties had a combined over-the-year employment gain of
290,900, or 14.4 percent of the overall job increase for the U.S.
(See table A.)
Employment declined in 49 of the large counties from September 2011
to September 2012. Benton, Wash., had the largest over-the-year
percentage decrease in employment (-5.2 percent). Within Benton,
professional and business services was the largest contributor to the
decrease in employment with a loss of 3,677 jobs (-15.8 percent).
Jefferson, Texas, had the second largest percentage decrease in
employment, followed by Vanderburgh, Ind.; Sangamon, Ill.; and Hinds,
Miss. (See table 1.)
Table B. Large counties ranked by third quarter 2012 average weekly wages, third quarter 2011-12
decrease in average weekly wages, and third quarter 2011-12 percent decrease in average weekly wages
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Average weekly wage in large counties
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Average weekly wage, | Decrease in average weekly | Percent decrease in average
third quarter 2012 | wage, third quarter 2011-12 | weekly wage, third
| | quarter 2011-12
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| |
United States $906| United States -$10| United States -1.1
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| |
Santa Clara, Calif. $1,800| Benton, Wash. -$68| Yolo, Calif. -7.0
New York, N.Y. 1,626| Yolo, Calif. -66| Rockingham, N.H. -6.9
San Mateo, Calif. 1,537| Rockingham, N.H. -62| Lake, Ohio -6.9
Washington, D.C. 1,514| Fairfield, Conn. -58| Benton, Wash. -6.9
Arlington, Va. 1,488| Lake, Ohio -58| Montgomery, Ala. -5.9
San Francisco, Calif. 1,473| Arlington, Va. -57| York, Pa. -5.6
Fairfax, Va. 1,410| Hudson, N.J. -52| Brevard, Fla. -5.5
Suffolk, Mass. 1,397| Brevard, Fla. -49| Brown, Wis. -5.1
Fairfield, Conn. 1,371| Montgomery, Ala. -48| Erie, Pa. -4.6
King, Wash. 1,354| York, Pa. -48| Winnebago, Ill. -4.5
| | Monmouth, N.J. -4.5
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Large County Average Weekly Wages
Average weekly wages for the nation decreased by 1.1 percent during
the year ending in the third quarter of 2012. Among the 328 largest
counties, 274 had over-the-year declines in average weekly wages.
Yolo, Calif., had the largest wage decline among the largest U.S.
counties (-7.0 percent).
Of the 328 largest counties, 46 experienced over-the-year increases
in average weekly wages. San Mateo, Calif., had the largest average
weekly wage increase with a gain of 7.3 percent. Within San Mateo,
total wages in professional and business services grew by $439.3
million (25.7 percent) over the year. Douglas, Colo., had the second
largest increase in average weekly wages, followed by Pinellas, Fla.
Two counties, Clayton, Ga., and King, Wash., tied for the fourth
largest percentage increase. (See table 1.)
Ten Largest U.S. Counties
All of the 10 largest counties had over-the-year percentage increases
in employment in September 2012. Harris, Texas, had the largest gain
(3.8 percent). Within Harris, professional and business services had
the largest over-the-year level increase among all private industry
groups with a gain of 19,152 jobs (5.6 percent). Cook, Ill., had the
smallest percentage increase in employment (1.0 percent) among the 10
largest counties. (See table 2.)
Nine of the 10 largest U.S. counties had over-the-year decreases in
average weekly wages. Maricopa, Ariz., experienced the largest
decline in average weekly wages (-2.1 percent). Within Maricopa,
education and health services had the largest impact on the county’s
average weekly wage decline. Within this industry, employment grew by
5,374 (2.2 percent) while total wages paid to those workers decreased
by $59.9 million (-2.1 percent). King, Wash., had the only average
weekly wage increase (2.3 percent) among the 10 largest counties.
For More Information
The tables included in this release contain data for the nation and
for the 328 U.S. counties with annual average employment levels of
75,000 or more in 2011. September 2012 employment and 2012 third
quarter average weekly wages for all states are provided in table 3
of this release.
The employment and wage data by county are compiled under the QCEW
program, also known as the ES-202 program. The data are derived from
reports submitted by every employer subject to unemployment insurance
(UI) laws. The 9.2 million employer reports cover 132.6 million full-
and part-time workers. For additional information about the quarterly
employment and wages data, please read the Technical Note. Data for
the third quarter of 2012 will be available later at
http://www.bls.gov/cew/. Additional information about the QCEW data
may be obtained by calling (202) 691-6567.
Several BLS regional offices are issuing QCEW news releases targeted
to local data users. For links to these releases, see
http://www.bls.gov/cew/cewregional.htm.
_____________
The County Employment and Wages release for fourth quarter 2012 is
scheduled to be released on Thursday, June 27, 2013.
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| |
| Hurricane Sandy |
| |
| Hurricane Sandy made landfall in the United States on October 29, |
| 2012, after the QCEW third quarter reference period. Any impact will |
| be reflected in the fourth quarter release. This event did not |
| warrant changes to QCEW methodology. |
| |
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