County Employment and Wages Summary
Technical information:(202) 691-6567 USDL 08-1014 http://www.bls.gov/cew/ For release: 10:00 A.M. EDT Media contact: 691-5902 Thursday, July 24, 2008 COUNTY EMPLOYMENT AND WAGES: FOURTH QUARTER 2007 In December 2007, Fort Bend County, Texas, had the largest over- the-year percentage increase in employment among the largest counties in the U.S., according to preliminary data released today by the Bureau of Labor Statistics of the U.S. Department of Labor. Fort Bend County, which contains a portion of southwest Houston, experienced an over-the-year employment gain of 7.4 percent, compared with national job growth of 0.8 percent. Pulaski County, Ark., which includes Little Rock, had the largest over-the-year gain in average weekly wages in the fourth quarter of 2007, with an increase of 26.2 percent due to gains in the information supersector. The U.S. average weekly wage rose by 4.2 percent over the same time span. Of the 328 largest counties in the United States, as measured by 2006 annual average employment, 126 had over-the-year percentage growth in employment above the national average (0.8 percent) in December 2007; 182 large counties experienced changes below the national average. The percent change in average weekly wages was higher than the national average (4.2 percent) in 128 of the largest U.S. counties, but was below the national average in 186 counties. Table A. Top 10 large counties ranked by December 2007 employment, December 2006-07 employment growth, and December 2006-07 percent growth in employment -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Employment in large counties -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- December 2007 employment | Growth in employment, | Percent growth in employment, (thousands) | December 2006-07 | December 2006-07 | (thousands) | -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- | | United States 137,027.3| United States 1,089.1| United States 0.8 -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- | | Los Angeles, Calif. 4,293.4| Harris, Texas 73.2| Fort Bend, Texas 7.4 Cook, Ill. 2,556.2| New York, N.Y. 52.0| Monterey, Calif. 5.2 New York, N.Y. 2,419.9| King, Wash. 35.2| Williamson, Tenn. 4.5 Harris, Texas 2,061.4| Los Angeles, Calif. 32.9| Madison, Ala. 4.0 Maricopa, Ariz. 1,848.2| Dallas, Texas 31.3| San Francisco, Calif. 4.0 Orange, Calif. 1,517.7| San Francisco, Calif. 21.8| Wake, N.C. 3.9 Dallas, Texas 1,504.8| Bexar, Texas 18.8| Hidalgo, Texas 3.9 San Diego, Calif. 1,340.3| Tarrant, Texas 17.3| Harris, Texas 3.7 King, Wash. 1,194.1| Wake, N.C. 17.1| Tulare, Calif. 3.6 Miami-Dade, Fla. 1,032.1| Travis, Texas 16.4| Denton, Texas 3.6 | | Arlington, Va. 3.6 | | | | -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- The employment and 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 every employer subject to unemployment insurance (UI) laws. The 9.1 million employer reports cover 137.0 million full- and part-time workers. The attached tables contain data for the nation and for the 328 U.S. counties with annual average employment levels of 75,000 or more in 2006. December 2007 employment and 2007 fourth- quarter average weekly wages for all states are provided in table 4 of this release. Final data for all states, metropolitan statistical areas, counties, and the nation through the fourth quarter of 2006 are available on the BLS Web site at http://www.bls.gov/cew/. Preliminary data for first, second, and third quarter 2007 also are available on the BLS Web site. Updated data for first, second, and third quarter 2007 and preliminary data for fourth quarter 2007 will be available later in July on the BLS Web site. Large County Employment In December 2007, national employment, as measured by the QCEW program, was 137.0 million, up by 0.8 percent from December 2006. The 328 U.S. counties with 75,000 or more employees accounted for 71.2 percent of total U.S. employment and 77.2 percent of total wages. These 328 counties had a net job gain of 666,400 over the year, accounting for 61.2 percent of the overall U.S. employment increase. Employment rose in 201 of the large counties from December 2006 to December 2007. Fort Bend County, Texas, had the largest over-the-year percentage increase in employment (7.4 percent). Monterey, Calif., had the next largest increase, 5.2 percent, followed by the counties of Williamson, Tenn. (4.5 percent), and Madison, Ala., and San Francisco, Calif. (4.0 percent each). Employment declined in 98 counties from December 2006 to December 2007. The largest percentage decline in employment was in Trumbull County, Ohio (-5.7 percent). Lee, Fla., had the next largest employment decline (-5.5 percent), followed by the counties of Collier, Fla. (-5.1 percent), Sarasota, Fla. (-4.1 percent), and Manatee, Fla., and Saginaw, Mich. (-3.7 percent each). The largest gains in the level of employment from December 2006 to December 2007 were recorded in the counties of Harris, Texas (73,200), New York, N.Y. (52,000), King, Wash. (35,200), Los Angeles, Calif. (32,900), and Dallas, Texas (31,300). (See table A.) The largest decline in employment levels occurred in Orange, Calif. (-25,300), followed by the counties of Wayne, Mich. (-19,900), Lee, Fla. (-12,700), Pinellas, Fla. (-11,500), and Oakland, Mich.(-9,100). Table B. Top 10 large counties ranked by fourth quarter 2007 average weekly wages, fourth quarter 2006-07 growth in average weekly wages, and fourth quarter 2006-07 percent growth in average weekly wages -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Average weekly wage in large counties -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Average weekly wage, | Growth in average weekly | Percent growth in average fourth quarter 2007 | wage, fourth quarter 2006-07 | weekly wage, fourth | | quarter 2006-07 -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- | | United States $898| United States $36| United States 4.2 -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- | | New York, N.Y. $1,862| Pulaski, Ark. $205| Pulaski, Ark. 26.2 Santa Clara, Calif. 1,700| Lake, Ill. 171| Williamson, Texas 16.5 Fairfield, Conn. 1,575| Williamson, Texas 134| Lake, Ill. 15.6 Suffolk, Mass. 1,546| Santa Clara, Calif. 126| Douglas, Colo. 12.6 San Francisco, Calif. 1,529| Somerset, N.J. 123| Westmoreland, Pa. 9.8 San Mateo, Calif. 1,513| San Mateo, Calif. 112| Olmsted, Minn. 9.4 Washington, D.C. 1,506| Douglas, Colo. 110| Somerset, N.J. 9.2 Somerset, N.J. 1,461| Middlesex, Mass. 94| Williamson, Tenn. 8.2 Arlington, Va. 1,458| Washington, D.C. 82| San Mateo, Calif. 8.0 Fairfax, Va. 1,358| Olmsted, Minn. 79| Santa Clara, Calif. 8.0 | | | | -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Large County Average Weekly Wages The national average weekly wage in the fourth quarter of 2007 was $898. Average weekly wages were higher than the national average in 106 of the largest 328 U.S. counties. New York, N.Y., held the top position among the highest-paid large counties with an average weekly wage of $1,862. Santa Clara, Calif., was second with an average weekly wage of $1,700, followed by Fairfield, Conn. ($1,575), Suffolk, Mass. ($1,546), and San Francisco, Calif. ($1,529). (See table B.) There were 222 counties with an average weekly wage below the national average in the fourth quarter of 2007. The lowest average weekly wage was reported in Cameron County, Texas ($555), followed by the counties of Hidalgo, Texas ($562), Horry, S.C. ($582), Webb, Texas ($590), and Yakima, Wash. ($596). (See table 1.) Over the year, the national average weekly wage rose by 4.2 percent. Among the largest counties, Pulaski County, Ark., led the nation in growth in average weekly wages, with an increase of 26.2 percent from the fourth quarter of 2006. Williamson, Texas, was second with growth of 16.5 percent, followed by the counties of Lake, Ill. (15.6 percent), Douglas, Colo. (12.6 percent), and Westmoreland, Pa. (9.8 percent). Eight large counties experienced over-the-year declines in average weekly wages. Among the five largest decreases in wages, Rockingham, N.H., had the greatest decline (-12.4 percent), followed by the counties of Trumbull, Ohio (-7.2 percent), Sedgwick, Kan. (-4.1 percent), Lake, Fla. (-3.9 percent), and Montgomery, Ohio (-2.4 percent). Ten Largest U.S. Counties Six of the 10 largest counties (based on 2006 annual average employment levels) experienced over-the-year percent increases in employment in December 2007. Harris, Texas, experienced the largest percent gain in employment among the 10 largest counties with a 3.7 percent increase. Within Harris County, the largest gains in employment were in construction (6.9 percent) and other services (4.7 percent). King, Wash., had the next largest increase in employment, 3.0 percent, followed by New York, N.Y. (2.2 percent). Orange, Calif., experienced the largest decline in employment among the 10 largest counties with a 1.6 percent decrease. Within Orange County, four industry groups experienced employment declines, with financial activities experiencing the largest drop, -12.4 percent. Maricopa, Ariz., and Cook, Ill., had the next largest decline in employment (-0.1 percent each). (See table 2.) Each of the 10 largest U.S. counties saw an over-the-year increase in average weekly wages. Harris, Texas, had the fastest growth in wages among the 10 largest counties, with a gain of 5.9 percent. Within Harris County, average weekly wages increased the most in the natural resources and mining industry (14.2 percent), followed by the manufacturing industry (12.5 percent). Cook, Ill., was second in wage growth with a gain of 4.8 percent, followed by San Diego, Calif. (4.4 percent). The smallest wage gain among the 10 largest counties occurred in Miami-Dade, Fla. (0.6 percent), followed by Maricopa, Ariz. (2.0 percent), and Orange, Calif. (2.8 percent). Largest County by State Table 3 shows December 2007 employment and the 2007 fourth quarter average weekly wage in the largest county in each state, which is based on 2006 annual average employment levels. (This table includes two counties--Yellowstone, Mont., and Laramie, Wyo.--that had employment levels below 75,000 in 2006.) The employment levels in the counties in table 3 in December 2007 ranged from approximately 4.29 million in Los Angeles County, Calif., to 43,500 in Laramie County, Wyo. The highest average weekly wage of these counties was in New York, N.Y. ($1,862), while the lowest average weekly wage was in Yellowstone, Mont. ($729). For More Information For additional information about the quarterly employment and wages data, please read the Technical Note or visit the QCEW Web site at http://www.bls.gov/cew/. Additional information about the QCEW data also 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 first quarter 2008 is scheduled to be released on Friday, October 17, 2008.
- County Employment and Wages Technical Note
- Table 1. Covered (1) establishments, employment, and wages in the 329 largest counties, fourth quarter 2007 (2)
- Table 2. Covered (1) establishments, employment, and wages in the 10 largest counties, fourth quarter 2007 (2)
- Table 3. Covered (1) establishments, employment, and wages in the largest county by state, fourth quarter 2007 (2)
- Table 4. Covered (1) establishments, employment, and wages by state, fourth quarter 2007 (2)
- HTML version of the entire news release
The PDF version of the news release
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Last Modified Date: July 24, 2008