December 2002, Vol. 125, No.12
Labor month in review
The December
Review
Employment by county in 2001
Annual pay in 2001
Quality changes in cars and light trucks
Our articles this month are on topics that sometimes receive what some might call "bad press." Christopher Kask, David Kiernan, and Brian Friedman research productivity growth among "middle-men," or more accurately, in the wholesale trade industry. Their key finding is that information and communication technology are changing the very nature and structure of the industry, while sharper competition has put many smaller local and regional wholesalers at risk. As a result of technological changes, increased competition, and other factors, labor productivity increased at an average rate of 3.4 percent per year, compared with the 2.1-percent rate of growth in the aggregate business sector.
Paul D. Staudohar chronicles the negotiations leading to a new contract between major league baseball players and the team owners. To the restrained delight of baseball fans, the parties reached agreement without a strike or lockout. Moreover, according to Staudohar, the agreement improved the economics of the game in general and that all parties, including the fans, will benefit.
Michael K. Lettau, Mark A. Loewenstein, and Steve P. Paben follow up on the potential impact the method chosen to aggregate the Employment Cost Index (ECI) might have. The ECI is a quarterly index measuring changes in the cost of wages and benefits, controlling for the industry-occupation mix of jobs. Such indexes can be affected by the method used to add up the individual cells, generally depending, among other things, on the degree of price substitution that occurs among cells. In the case of compensation, the choice of aggregation has little effect, a result that may be contrasted to the often significant effects that have been found in price measures such as the Consumer Price Index.
The 248 U.S. counties with 100,000 or more employees accounted for about two-thirds of total U.S. employment covered by Unemployment Insurance and Unemployment Compensation for Federal Employees programs in 2001. Placer County, CA, had the largest over-the-year percentage increase in employment (6.0 percent), followed by the counties of Collier, FL (5.9 percent), Collin, TX (5.7 percent), Manatee, FL (5.1 percent), and Lee, FL (4.7 percent). The median employment increase among the largest counties was 0.1 percent in 2001.
The largest absolute gains were recorded in the counties of Harris, TX (30,999), San Diego, CA (24,326), Los Angeles, CA (22,633), Clark, NV (22,362), and Orange, CA (20,580).
More than 100 of the 248 largest counties recorded employment declines in 2001. Of the 111 that experienced declines in employment, the largest percentage decline was in Elkhart County, IN (�8 percent). The counties of Lorain and Mahoning, OH, had the next largest decline (�5 percent each), followed by San Francisco County, CA, and Macomb County, MI (�4 percent each).
The largest absolute declines in employment in 2001 occurred in Cook County, IL (�,351), New York County, NY (�,910), Wayne County, MI (�,974), Santa Clara County, CA (�,112), and San Francisco County, CA (�,423).
Among metropolitan areas, the largest percentage increase in average annual pay from 2000 to 2001 occurred in Lafayette, LA (8.1 percent). The next largest increase occurred in Dutchess County, NY (7.4 percent). Four metropolitan areas reported 6.8-percent increases in average annual pay: Enid, OK, Fresno, CA, Odessa-Midland, TX, and Pensacola, FL. In comparison, average annual pay of employees in metropolitan areas nationwide increased by 2.4 percent from 2000 to 2001.
Despite experiencing the largest decline (�.5 percent) in average annual pay among the 10 metropolitan areas with decreases in 2001, San Jose, CA, retained its position as the metropolitan area with the highest average annual pay ($65,926).
San Francisco, CA, had the second highest average annual pay level ($59,761), followed by New York, NY ($58,963), New Haven-Bridgeport-Stamford-Waterbury-Danbury, CT ($52,177), and Middlesex-Somerset-Hunterdon, NJ ($49,830). Average pay levels in these five metropolitan areas ranged from 31 to 74 percent above the average for all metropolitan areas in the Nation. Annual pay in metropolitan areas averaged $37,897 in 2001, up from $37,017 in 2000.
Quality changes in cars and light trucks
The retail equivalent value of quality changes for the 2003 model year domestic light trucks averaged $232.65, or 39.9 percent of the average $583.03 over-the-year increase in manufacturer抯 suggested list prices. Of the $232.65 value, $126.80 was for federally mandated and nonmandated safety improvements and $105.85 was for nonmandated quality changes.
The retail equivalent value of quality changes for the 2003 model year domestic passenger cars averaged $25.08. This represents 5.4 percent of the average $465.63 over-the-year increase in manufacturer抯 suggested list prices.
Communications regarding the Monthly Labor Review may be sent to the Editor-in-Chief by e-mail to mlr@bls.gov, by mail at 2 Massachusetts Avenue NE, Room 2850, Washington, DC, 20212, or by fax to (202) 691–7890.
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