Bureau of Labor Statistics
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CONTACT: Media Interviews (415) 625-2245 (415) 625-2270 Internet address: http://www.bls.gov/ro9/news.htm |
BLS 07-56 |
AVERAGE WEEKLY WAGES IN CALIFORNIA: FOURTH QUARTER 2006
The average weekly wage in Santa Cruz County increased 10.1 percent from the fourth quarter of 2005 to the fourth quarter of 2006, the largest advance among California’s 26 counties with 75,000 or more jobs (as measured by the 2005 annual average employment) according to the U.S. Department of Labor’s Bureau of Labor Statistics. Regional Commissioner Richard J. Holden noted that 14 of California’s 26 largest counties reported average weekly wages above the 4.2 percent national average. (See table 1.) Santa Clara County recorded the highest average weekly wage in California, $1,569; in addition, six other counties in the State had wages above $1,000 and five more exceeded the U.S. average of $861.
Wage Levels
Of the State’s seven counties with wages surpassing $1,000 in the fourth quarter of 2006, six were located in the San Francisco area—Santa Clara, San Francisco, San Mateo, Marin, Alameda, and Contra Costa, the exception being Los Angeles Santa Clara County’s average weekly wage of $1,569 was 82 percent above that for the nation, ranking second highest among the 325 largest counties in the U.S. San Francisco ($1,460) and San Mateo ($1,402) Counties ranked fifth and eighth in the nation, respectively. The other four counties all placed in the top 50 nationally. At the other end of the wage spectrum, the counties of Tulare and Fresno, which have a high concentration of agricultural employment, recorded the lowest average weekly wage among the State’s largest counties at $593 and $688, respectively.
Average weekly wages were higher than the national average of $861 in 105 of the largest 325 counties in the United States. New York County, N.Y., held the top position with an average weekly wage of $1,781, followed by Santa Clara, Fairfield, Conn. ($1,515), Suffolk, Mass. ($1,481), and San Francisco.
The lowest average weekly wage in the nation was reported in Cameron County, Texas ($527), followed by the counties of Hidalgo, Texas ($542), Yakima, Wash. ($570), Webb, Texas ($571), and Horry, S.C. ($578).
Wage Changes
More than half (14) of California’s large counties recorded wage growth above the 4.2-percent nationwide average in the fourth quarter of 2006. Santa Cruz County’s wage gain of 10.1 percent led the State and ranked sixth highest in the nation. Placer and Ventura Counties had wage growth of 7.0 and 6.4 percent, respectively, placing 16th and 25th among the nation’s large counties. The counties of Monterey (6.1 percent) and San Francisco (6.0 percent) also had wage gains ranked among the top 35 in the nation. The other nine counties with above-average wage growth—Alameda, Contra Costa, Kern, Los Angeles, Riverside, Sacramento, Santa Clara, Solano, and Yolo—had rate increases in the range of 4.3 to 5.3 percent. Among the 12 large California counties with below-average wage growth, Marin (0.5 percent) and Santa Barbara (1.3 percent) had the slowest growth rates in the State, ranking them in the bottom quartile nationally, at 308th and 301st.
Nationwide, the county of Rockingham, N.H., led the nation in wage growth with an annual increase of 18.0 percent in the fourth quarter of 2006. Sedgwick, Kan., and Trumbull, Ohio, tied for second with wage gains of 14.0 percent each. Rounding out the top five large counties with the fastest-growing wages were Travis County, Tex. (10.9 percent), and Waukesha, Wis. (10.4 percent).
Across the nation, eight large counties experienced over-the-year declines in average weekly wages. New Castle, Del., had the largest decrease (-5.7 percent), followed by the counties of Elkhart, Ind. (-5.3 percent), Orleans, La. (-4.4 percent), York, Pa. (-4.3 percent) and Harrison, Miss. (-2.4 percent).
State Average Weekly Wages
The statewide average weekly wage in California was $987, $126 above the national average, ranking 6th among the 50 states and the District of Columbia. (See table 2.) Across the country, the five highest average wage levels were in the District of Columbia ($1,424), New York ($1,104), Connecticut ($1,101), Massachusetts ($1,072), and New Jersey ($1,055). Average weekly wages in this group were 22 percent or more above the national average. In contrast, four states had average weekly wage levels that were less than 75 percent of the national average: South Dakota ($614), Montana ($625), Mississippi ($630) and North Dakota ($643).
Average weekly wages in California increased 4.4 percent from the fourth quarter of 2005, ranking it 27th in terms of change among the 50 states and District of Columbia. The highest over-the-year percentage increase in wages was recorded by Wyoming (11.3 percent) followed by New Hampshire (8.1 percent). The only state to record an over-the-year decline in wages was Delaware (-4.1 percent). (See table 2.)
Additional Statistics and Other Information
Average weekly wage data by county are compiled under the Quarterly Census of Employment and Wages (QCEW) program, also known as the ES-202 program. The data are derived from reports submitted by employers subject to state and federal unemployment insurance (UI) laws. The 8.8 million employer reports cover 135.0 million full- and part-time workers. The average weekly values are calculated by dividing quarterly total wages by the average of the three monthly employment levels of those covered by UI programs. The result is then divided by 13, the number of weeks in a quarter. It is to be noted, therefore, that over-the-year wage changes for geographic areas may reflect shifts in the composition of employment by industry, occupation, and such other factors as hours of work. Thus, wages may vary among counties, metropolitan areas, or states for reasons other than changes in the average wage level. Data for all states, Metropolitan Statistical Areas (MSAs), counties, and the nation are available on the BLS Web site at www.bls.gov/cew/; however, data in QCEW press releases have been revised (see Technical Note below) and may not match the data contained on the Bureau’s Web site.
An annual bulletin, Employment and Wages, features comprehensive information by detailed industry on establishments, employment, and wages for the nation and all states. The 2005 edition of this bulletin contains selected data produced by Business Employment Dynamics (BED) on job gains and losses, as well as selected data from the fourth quarter 2005 version of this news release. This edition is the first to include the data on a CD for enhanced access and usability. As a result of this change, the printed booklet contains only selected graphic representation of QCEW data; the data tables themselves are published exclusively in electronic formats as PDF and fixed-width text files. Employment and Wages Annual Averages, 2005 is now available for sale from the United States Government Printing Office, Superintendent of Documents, P.O. Box 371954, Pittsburgh, PA 15250, telephone 866-512-1800, outside of Washington, D.C. Within Washington, D.C., the telephone number is 202-512-1800. The fax number is 202-512-2104. Also, the 2005 bulletin is available in a portable document format (PDF) on the BLS Web site at www.bls.gov/cew/cewbultn05.htm.
QCEW-based news releases issued by other regional offices have been placed at one convenient Web site location, www.bls.gov/cew/cewregional.htm. Information in this release will be made available to sensory impaired individuals upon request. Voice phone: 202-691-5200; TDD message referral phone number: 1-800-877-8339.
For personal assistance or further information on the Quarterly Census of Employment and Wages Program, as well as other Bureau programs, contact the Western Information Office in San Francisco at (415) 625-2270 from 9:00 a.m. to 11:30 a.m. and 1:30 p.m. to 4:00 p.m. PDT.
The employment and wages reported in this news release reflect the impact of Hurricane Katrina and ongoing labor market trends in certain counties. The effects of Hurricane Katrina, which hit the Gulf Coast on August 29, 2005, were first apparent in the September QCEW employment counts and in the wage totals for the third quarter of 2005. This catastrophic storm continued to affect monthly employment and quarterly wage totals in parts of Louisiana and Mississippi in the fourth quarter of 2006. For more information, see the QCEW section of the Katrina coverage on the BLS Web site at www.bls.gov/katrina/qcewquestions.htm.
| State | Employment | Average weekly wage (3) | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| December 2006 (thousands) | Average weekly wage | National ranking by level | Percent change, fourth quarter 2005-06 | National ranking by percent change | |
United States (4) |
135,933.2 | $861 | - | 4.2 | - |
Alabama |
1,948.9 | 737 | 33 | 4.4 | 27 |
Alaska |
296.2 | 837 | 17 | 5.3 | 11 |
Arizona |
2,693.3 | 805 | 22 | 4.7 | 18 |
Arkansas |
1,179.3 | 652 | 47 | 2.8 | 43 |
California |
15,672.1 | 987 | 6 | 4.4 | 27 |
Colorado |
2,283.3 | 877 | 12 | 5.0 | 15 |
Connecticut |
1,706.3 | 1,101 | 3 | 2.0 | 50 |
Delaware |
427.5 | 896 | 10 | -4.1 | 51 |
District of Columbia |
675.0 | 1,424 | 1 | 5.0 | 15 |
Florida |
8,126.2 | 788 | 23 | 4.6 | 20 |
Georgia |
4,090.4 | 812 | 21 | 2.1 | 49 |
Hawaii |
632.3 | 762 | 27 | 3.5 | 38 |
Idaho |
649.8 | 672 | 45 | 7.0 | 4 |
Illinois |
5,899.5 | 928 | 8 | 4.6 | 20 |
Indiana |
2,924.3 | 723 | 36 | 2.6 | 45 |
Iowa |
1,486.3 | 697 | 40 | 3.7 | 35 |
Kansas |
1,358.9 | 725 | 34 | 6.5 | 5 |
Kentucky |
1,815.4 | 708 | 37 | 3.8 | 33 |
Louisiana |
1,855.1 | 748 | 30 | 5.1 | 14 |
Maine |
603.4 | 679 | 43 | 2.7 | 44 |
Maryland |
2,570.5 | 941 | 7 | 3.4 | 39 |
Massachusetts |
3,244.5 | 1,072 | 4 | 4.5 | 25 |
Michigan |
4,242.5 | 852 | 14 | 2.2 | 48 |
Minnesota |
2,683.1 | 840 | 16 | 4.0 | 32 |
Mississippi |
1,140.3 | 630 | 49 | 2.6 | 45 |
Missouri |
2,737.5 | 741 | 32 | 2.3 | 47 |
Montana |
431.6 | 625 | 50 | 5.8 | 6 |
Nebraska |
912.2 | 687 | 42 | 3.6 | 37 |
Nevada |
1,285.8 | 817 | 19 | 5.4 | 10 |
New Hampshire |
636.9 | 917 | 9 | 8.1 | 2 |
New Jersey |
4,023.6 | 1,055 | 5 | 4.4 | 27 |
New Mexico |
823.2 | 705 | 39 | 7.1 | 3 |
New York |
8,643.1 | 1,104 | 2 | 5.3 | 11 |
North Carolina |
4,054.0 | 751 | 29 | 4.6 | 20 |
North Dakota |
341.0 | 643 | 48 | 4.7 | 18 |
Ohio |
5,346.2 | 774 | 24 | 3.1 | 42 |
Oklahoma |
1,536.4 | 679 | 43 | 5.8 | 6 |
Oregon |
1,723.9 | 763 | 26 | 4.8 | 17 |
Pennsylvania |
5,680.8 | 837 | 17 | 4.4 | 27 |
Rhode Island |
488.4 | 817 | 19 | 3.8 | 33 |
South Carolina |
1,886.8 | 688 | 41 | 3.3 | 41 |
South Dakota |
387.1 | 614 | 51 | 4.2 | 31 |
Tennessee |
2,785.2 | 773 | 25 | 4.6 | 20 |
Texas |
10,164.2 | 871 | 13 | 5.8 | 6 |
Utah |
1,208.0 | 725 | 34 | 5.5 | 9 |
Vermont |
308.7 | 707 | 38 | 3.4 | 39 |
Virginia |
3,682.9 | 887 | 11 | 3.7 | 35 |
Washington |
2,863.7 | 846 | 15 | 5.2 | 13 |
West Virginia |
714.3 | 656 | 46 | 4.6 | 20 |
Wisconsin |
2,792.4 | 746 | 31 | 4.5 | 25 |
Wyoming |
270.9 | 759 | 28 | 11.3 | 1 |
Puerto Rico |
1,062.8 | 494 | (5) | 4.7 | (5) |
Virgin Islands |
45.5 | 711 | (5) | 7.2 | (5) |
| 1 Includes workers covered by Unemployment Insurance (UI) and Unemployment Compensation for Federal Employees (UCFE) programs. 2 Data are preliminary. 3 Average weekly wages were calculated using unrounded data. 4 Totals for the United States do not include data for Puerto Rico or the Virgin Islands. 5 Data not included in the national ranking. |
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Last Modified Date: December 12, 2005
