July 09, 2004 (The Editor’s Desk is updated each business day.)

Counties with fastest growing pay, fourth quarter 2003

Among the Nation’s largest counties—those with employment levels of at least 75,000—Collier County, Florida, led the nation in growth in average weekly wages with an increase of 9.7 percent between the fourth quarter of 2002 and the fourth quarter of 2003.

[Chart data—TXT]

Madison County, Illinois, was second with 8.8 percent growth, followed by the counties of Washington, Oregon (8.5 percent), Genesee, Michigan (8.0 percent), and Peoria, Illinois (7.6 percent).

In the U.S. overall, average weekly wages were 3.6 percent higher in the fourth quarter of 2003 than in the fourth quarter of 2002.

The BLS Quarterly Census of Employment and Wages program produced these data. Pay data presented here are for all workers covered by State and Federal unemployment insurance programs. There are 315 U.S. counties with employment levels of 75,000 or more. Find more about pay and employment in large counties in "County Employment and Wages: Fourth Quarter 2003" (PDF) (TXT), news release USDL 04–1200.