For release 10:00 a.m. (EDT), Wednesday, March 28, 2012 USDL-12-0549
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 2011
From September 2010 to September 2011, employment increased in 271 of
the 322 largest U.S. counties, the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics
reported today. Williamson, Tenn., posted the largest increase, with
a gain of 5.4 percent over the year, compared with national job
growth of 1.6 percent. Within Williamson, the largest employment
increase occurred in professional and business services, which gained
1,743 jobs over the year (9.0 percent). Frederick, Md., experienced
the largest over-the-year decrease in employment among the largest
counties in the U.S. with a loss of 2.6 percent.
The U.S. average weekly wage increased over the year by 5.3 percent
to $916 in the third quarter of 2011. Among the large counties in the
U.S., Lake, Ohio, had the largest over-the-year increase in average
weekly wages with a gain of 17.1 percent. Within Lake, a total wage
increase of $124.7 million (48.5 percent) in the manufacturing
industry had the largest impact on the county’s over-the-year
increase in average weekly wages. A third quarter acquisition in this
industry resulted in large payouts, which may include bonuses and
stock options. Clay, Mo., experienced the largest decline in average
weekly wages with a loss of 2.3 percent over the year. County
employment and wage data are compiled under the Quarterly Census of
Employment and Wages (QCEW) program.
Table A. Large counties ranked by September 2011 employment, September 2010-11 employment
increase, and September 2010-11 percent increase in employment
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Employment in large counties
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
September 2011 employment | Increase in employment, | Percent increase in employment,
(thousands) | September 2010-11 | September 2010-11
| (thousands) |
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
| |
United States 130,524.7| United States 2,040.9| United States 1.6
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
| |
Los Angeles, Calif. 3,872.5| Harris, Texas 62.3| Williamson, Tenn. 5.4
Cook, Ill. 2,402.7| New York, N.Y. 60.6| Weld, Colo. 4.8
New York, N.Y. 2,332.5| Cook, Ill. 48.5| Montgomery, Texas 4.8
Harris, Texas 2,054.1| Maricopa, Ariz. 46.0| Utah, Utah 4.5
Maricopa, Ariz. 1,641.4| Dallas, Texas 37.9| Washington, Pa. 4.4
Dallas, Texas 1,448.7| King, Wash. 31.7| Webb, Texas 4.4
Orange, Calif. 1,372.4| Los Angeles, Calif. 31.1| Loudoun, Va. 4.4
San Diego, Calif. 1,252.4| Hennepin, Minn. 28.2| Kern, Calif. 4.2
King, Wash. 1,150.7| Miami-Dade, Fla. 27.6| Fort Bend, Texas 4.2
Miami-Dade, Fla. 970.3| Santa Clara, Calif. 26.4| San Francisco, Calif. 4.1
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Large County Employment
In September 2011, national employment, as measured by the QCEW
program, was 130.5 million, up by 1.6 percent or 2.0 million workers,
from September 2010. The 322 U.S. counties with 75,000 or more
employees accounted for 70.5 percent of total U.S. employment and
75.9 percent of total wages. These 322 counties had a net job growth
of 1.5 million over the year, accounting for 71.5 percent of the
overall U.S. employment increase.
Williamson, Tenn., had the largest percentage increase in employment
among the largest U.S. counties (5.4 percent). The five counties with
the largest increases in employment level were Harris, Texas; New
York, N.Y.; Cook, Ill.; Maricopa, Ariz.; and Dallas, Texas. These
counties had a combined over-the-year gain of 255,300, or 12.5
percent of the overall employment increase for the U.S.
Employment declined in 39 of the large counties from September 2010
to September 2011. Frederick, Md., had the largest over-the-year
percentage decrease in employment (-2.6 percent). Within Frederick,
financial activities was the largest contributor to the decrease in
employment with a loss of 2,168 jobs (-27.2 percent). Broome, N.Y.,
had the second largest employment decrease, followed by Monmouth,
N.J., Mobile, Ala., and Montgomery, Ala. (See table 1.)
Table B. Large counties ranked by third quarter 2011 average weekly wages, third quarter 2010-11
increase in average weekly wages, and third quarter 2010-11 percent increase in average weekly wages
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Average weekly wage in large counties
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Average weekly wage, | Increase in average weekly | Percent increase in average
third quarter 2011 | wage, third quarter 2010-11 | weekly wage, third
| | quarter 2010-11
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
| |
United States $916| United States $46| United States 5.3
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
| |
Santa Clara, Calif. $1,857| Santa Clara, Calif. $195| Lake, Ohio 17.1
New York, N.Y. 1,647| Lake, Ohio 123| Santa Clara, Calif. 11.7
Arlington, Va. 1,550| Mercer, N.J. 97| Oklahoma, Okla. 11.5
Washington, D.C. 1,527| Durham, N.C. 96| Williamson, Texas 10.2
San Francisco, Calif. 1,457| Fairfield, Conn. 93| Sacramento, Calif. 9.8
Fairfax, Va. 1,440| Oklahoma, Okla. 93| Yolo, Calif. 9.7
Fairfield, Conn. 1,432| Sacramento, Calif. 91| St. Louis, Minn. 9.5
San Mateo, Calif. 1,426| King, Wash. 90| York, Pa. 9.3
Suffolk, Mass. 1,419| Williamson, Texas 86| Tulsa, Okla. 9.0
Somerset, N.J. 1,338| San Francisco, Calif. 84| Kitsap, Wash. 9.0
| Yolo, Calif. 84|
| Lake, Ill. 84|
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Large County Average Weekly Wages
Average weekly wages for the nation increased by 5.3 percent over the
year in the third quarter of 2011. Among the 322 largest counties,
315 had over-the-year increases in average weekly wages. Lake, Ohio,
had the largest wage gain among the largest U.S. counties (17.1
percent).
Of the 322 largest counties, 3 experienced declines in average weekly
wages. Clay, Mo., had the largest wage decline with a loss of 2.3
percent over the year due to a 23.8 percent decline (-$49.7 million)
in manufacturing wages. In the third quarter of 2010, an acquisition
in manufacturing had boosted wages. Alachua, Fla., and Leon, Fla.,
had the second and third largest declines in average weekly wages.
Orleans, La., and Richmond, N.Y., were tied for the smallest over-
the-year increase in average weekly wages. (See table 1.)
Ten Largest U.S. Counties
All of the 10 largest counties experienced over-the-year percent
increases in employment in September 2011. Harris, Texas, experienced
the largest gain in employment (3.1 percent). Within Harris,
professional and business services had the largest over-the-year
level increase among all private industry groups with a gain of
19,560 workers (6.1 percent). Los Angeles, Calif., had the smallest
percent increase in employment among the 10 largest counties. (See
table 2.)
All of the 10 largest U.S. counties had an over-the-year increase in
average weekly wages. San Diego, Calif., experienced the largest
increase in average weekly wages with a gain of 7.5 percent, largely
due to significant total wage gains over the year in professional and
business services ($261.6 million or 7.8 percent). Miami-Dade, Fla.,
had the smallest average weekly wage increase.
For More Information
The tables included in this release contain data for the nation and
for the 322 U.S. counties with annual average employment levels of
75,000 or more in 2010. September 2011 employment and 2011 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 9.1 million employer reports cover 130.5 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 2011 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 2011 is
scheduled to be released on Thursday, June 28, 2012.
