Internet: www.bls.gov/ro5/ FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE:
GENERAL INFORMATION: (312) 353-1880 Wednesday, September 3, 2008
MEDIA CONTACT: Paul LaPorte 
(312) 353-1138  

 County Employment and Wages in Nebraska, Fourth Quarter 2007

The average weekly wage in Douglas County increased 5.5 percent from the fourth quarter of 2006 to the fourth quarter of 2007, well above the national average of 4.2 percent.  Wages in Lancaster County, the State’s only other county with employment of 75,000 or more as measured by 2006 annual average employment, increased 3.2 percent over the year.  Douglas County had the higher average weekly wage at $860 compared to $700 in Lancaster County.  (See table 1.)  Regional Commissioner Jay A. Mousa noted that wages in both Nebraska’s large counties were below the $898 national average in the fourth quarter of 2007. 


Nationally, there were 328 large counties, of which 222 had average weekly wages below the U.S. average in the fourth quarter of 2007.  Douglas County’s wage placed it 137th, in the second quartile of the national ranking.  On the other hand, Douglas’ faster-than-average wage growth ranked much higher—50th among the largest counties.  Lancaster County’s average weekly wage placed it 293rd, in the bottom quartile of the national rankings, and placed 198th in wage growth.

Employment in Douglas County rose 1.2 percent from December 2006 to December 2007, the 97th fastest gain among the 328 largest counties.  Nationwide, employment grew at a slower pace over the year at 0.8 percent. 


Wage levels (but not over-the-year changes) are also available for the 91 counties in Nebraska with employment below 75,000.  Only one of these counties registered average weekly wages above that for the nation in the fourth quarter of 2007—Stanton ($924).  Arthur County reported the lowest wage level in the State at $354. (See table 2.)


When all 93 counties in Nebraska were considered, slightly less than one-third (29) had wages below $500.  Thirty-eight counties reported weekly wages between $500 and $600.  The remaining 26 counties had weekly wages greater than $600.  (See table 2.) 


Large County Average Weekly Wages


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 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).


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).


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).


State Average Weekly Wages


The average weekly wage in Nebraska was $723 in the fourth quarter of 2007, $175 below that for the nation.  Ten states averaged lower weekly wages than Nebraska.  The three states that ranked just below Nebraska were Oklahoma ($721), South Carolina ($716), and Arkansas ($712).  The five highest wage levels in the U.S. were in the District of Columbia ($1,506), New York ($1,152), Connecticut ($1,149), Massachusetts ($1,133), and New Jersey ($1,092).  (See table 3.)


Average weekly wages in Nebraska rose 5.2 percent over the year, ranking it 12th among the fifty states and the District of Columbia.  Arkansas experienced a wage gain of 9.2 percent in the fourth quarter of 2007, higher than any other state. North Dakota was second with a 7.3-percent growth, followed by Wyoming at 7.1 percent.  In fourth place was Nevada at 6.7 percent.  New Hampshire was the only state to register an over-the-year decline, down 0.3 percent.


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 summaries of employment and total pay of workers covered by state and federal unemployment insurance (UI) legislation and provided by State Workforce Agencies (SWAs).  The 9.1 million employer reports cover 137.0 million full- and part-time workers.  The average weekly wage 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.


Additional statistics and other information


An annual bulletin, Employment and Wages, features comprehensive information by detailed industry on establishments, employment, and wages for the nation and all states.  The 2006 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 first quarter 2007 version of this news release.  As with the 2005 edition, this edition includes the data on a CD for enhanced access and usability with the printed booklet containing selected graphic representation of QCEW data; the data tables themselves are published exclusively in electronic formats as PDF.  The 2006 bulletin is available in a portable document format (PDF) on the BLS Web site at www.bls.gov/cew/cewbultn06.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 Midwest Information Office in Chicago at (312) 353-1880 from 8:00 a.m. to 4:00 p.m. CT.


TECHNICAL NOTE


QCEW data are not designed as a time series.  QCEW data are simply the sums of individual establishment records reflecting the number of establishments that exist in a county or industry at a point in time.  Establishments can move in or out of a county or industry for a number of reasons--some reflecting economic events, others reflecting administrative changes.

The preliminary QCEW data presented in this release may differ from data released by the individual states as well as from the data presented on the BLS Web site.  These potential differences result from the states’ continuing receipt, review and editing of UI data over time.  On the other hand, differences between data in this release and the data found on the BLS Web site are the result of adjustments made to improve over-the-year comparisons.  Specifically, these adjustments account for administrative (noneconomic) changes such as a correction to a previously reported location or industry classification.  Adjusting for these administrative changes allows users to more accurately assess changes of an economic nature (such as a firm moving from one county to another or changing its primary economic activity) over a 12-month period.  Currently, adjusted data are available only from BLS press releases. 

 

 

 

Table 1. Covered (1) employment and wages in the United States and the 2 largest counties in Nebraska, fourth quarter 2007(2)
Area Employment Average Weekly Wage (3)
December 2007 (thousands) Percent change, December 2006-07(5) Average weekly wage National ranking by level (4) Percent change, fourth quarter 2006-07 (5) National ranking by percent change (4)

United States (6)

 137,027.3 0.8 $898 -- 4.2 --

Nebraska

 925.2 1.3 723 41 5.2 12

Douglas, Neb.

 323.0 1.2 860 137 5.5 50

Lancaster, Neb.

 159.0 (7) 700 293 3.2 198
  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. Ranking does not include the county of San Juan, Puerto Rico.
  5. Percent changes were computed from quarterly employment and pay data adjusted for noneconomic county reclassifications.
  6. Totals for the United States do not include data for Puerto Rico or the Virgin Islands. 
  7. Data do not meet BLS or State agency disclosure standards.
 
Table 2. Covered (1) employment and wages in the United States and all of the counties in Nebraska, fourth quarter 2007 (2)
Area Employment December 2007  Average weekly wage (3)

United States (4)

 137,027,300 $898

Nebraska

 925,204 723

Adams

 15,368 645

Antelope

 1,960 521

Arthur

 90 354

Banner

 161 621

Blaine

 134 464

Boone

 2,124 523

Box Butte

 4,072 561

Boyd

 521 411

Brown

 1,280 496

Buffalo

 25,953 637

Burt

 1,861 527

Butler

 2,530 518

Cass

 4,900 546

Cedar

 2,549 544

Chase

 1,587 528

Cherry

 2,211 445

Cheyenne

 5,999 689

Clay

 2,452 652

Colfax

 4,612 602

Cuming

 3,740 552

Custer

 3,864 543

Dakota

 11,218 659

Dawes

 3,691 455

Dawson

 11,119 598

Deuel

 524 473

Dixon

 1,787 509

Dodge

 16,789 593

Douglas

 323,040 860

Dundy

 581 573

Fillmore

 2,225 571

Franklin

 835 520

Frontier

 786 502

Furnas

 1,809 539

Gage

 9,766 542

Garden

 496 438

Garfield

 768 435

Gosper

 420 502

Grant

 237 602

Greeley

 636 446

Hall

 33,491 634

Hamilton

 3,448 629

Harlan

 865 476

Hayes

 176 465

Hitchcock

 775 537

Holt

 4,235 551

Hooker

 365 366

Howard

 1,367 494

Jefferson

 3,366 638

Johnson

 1,825 547

Kearney

 2,060 538

Keith

 3,308 515

Keya

 121 384

Kimball

 1,454 539

Knox

 2,842 450

Lancaster

 159,016 700

Lincoln

 14,907 565

Logan

 193 486

Loup

 103 429

Madison

 21,100 616

McPherson

 53 395

Merrick

 2,102 546

Morrill

 1,473 586

Nance

 898 507

Nemaha

 3,327 744

Nuckolls

 1,414 482

Otoe County

 6,541 557

Pawnee

 782 499

Perkins

 958 556

Phelps

 4,560 645

Pierce

 2,043 536

Platte

 18,929 668

Polk

 1,431 543

Red Willow

 5,168 555

Richardson

 2,452 483

Rock

 459 428

Saline

 6,880 648

Sarpy

 61,086 689

Saunders

 4,721 551

Scotts

 17,262 611

Seward

 5,768 614

Sheridan

 1,773 445

Sherman

 795 424

Sioux

 143 420

Stanton

 1,325 924

Thayer

 2,299 635

Thomas

 260 430

Thurston

 2,750 653

Valley

 1,802 487

Washington

 8,197 813

Wayne

 4,200 505

Webster

 979 457

Wheeler

 242 539

York

 8,056 616
  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.
 
Table 3. Covered (1) employment and wages by state, fourth quarter 2007 (2)
State Employment Average weekly wage (3)
December 2007 (thousands) Percent change, December 2006-07 Average weekly wage National ranking by level Percent change, fourth quarter 2006-07 National ranking by percent change

United States (4)

 137,027.3 0.8 $898 - 4.2 -

Alabama

 1,971.0 1.2 762 33 3.3 39

Alaska

 299.4 1.0 877 16 4.9 15

Arizona

 2,693.3 -0.1 827 22 2.6 46

Arkansas

 1,187.6 0.7 712 44 9.2 1

California

 15,794.7 0.8 1,035 6 4.8 18

Colorado

 2,329.9 2.0 927 9 5.7 7

Connecticut

 1,717.8 0.7 1,149 3 4.5 26

Delaware

 428.8 0.3 926 10 3.3 39

District of Columbia

 681.6 0.7 1,506 1 5.8 6

Florida

 8,024.3 -1.3 810 25 2.8 43

Georgia

 4,111.5 0.6 835 21 2.8 43

Hawaii

 637.2 0.7 793 28 4.1 29

Idaho

 660.2 1.7 686 47 2.1 50

Illinois

 5,933.0 0.6 975 8 5.1 13

Indiana

 2,929.1 0.1 745 35 3.0 42

Iowa

 1,498.5 0.7 732 39 4.9 15

Kansas

 1,372.7 1.2 745 35 2.6 46

Kentucky

 1,830.5 0.8 732 39 3.4 38

Louisiana

 1,903.1 2.3 783 29 4.7 20

Maine

 608.8 0.8 707 45 4.1 29

Maryland

 2,580.1 0.4 986 7 4.7 20

Massachusetts

 3,270.9 0.7 1,133 4 5.4 8

Michigan

 4,194.9 -1.2 873 17 2.5 49

Minnesota

 2,708.7 0.8 883 15 5.1 13

Mississippi

 1,148.9 0.7 654 50 3.8 34

Missouri

 2,746.2 0.3 780 30 5.3 11

Montana

 440.4 2.1 659 49 5.4 8

Nebraska

 925.2 1.3 723 41 5.2 12

Nevada

 1,290.8 0.4 872 19 6.7 4

New Hampshire

 638.8 0.3 914 12 -0.3 51

New Jersey

 4,027.4 0.2 1,092 5 3.5 36

New Mexico

 831.7 1.1 738 38 4.8 18

New York

 8,762.7 1.4 1,152 2 4.2 27

North Carolina

 4,127.7 1.5 777 31 3.5 36

North Dakota

 347.7 2.0 690 46 7.3 2

Ohio

 5,336.8 -0.2 795 27 2.8 43

Oklahoma

 1,556.1 1.3 721 42 6.2 5

Oregon

 1,740.5 0.9 798 26 4.6 22

Pennsylvania

 5,712.8 0.5 873 17 4.2 27

Rhode Island

 480.9 -1.5 838 20 2.6 46

South Carolina

 1,904.0 1.0 716 43 4.1 29

South Dakota

 393.5 1.7 647 51 5.4 8

Tennessee

 2,790.3 0.9 813 24 4.0 33

Texas

 10,460.8 3.0 911 13 4.6 22

Utah

 1,241.8 2.8 758 34 4.6 22

Vermont

 309.1 -0.2 743 37 4.9 15

Virginia

 3,709.0 0.7 921 11 3.8 34

Washington

 2,936.0 2.6 885 14 4.6 22

West Virginia

 716.8 0.4 683 48 4.1 29

Wisconsin

 2,803.9 0.3 769 32 3.1 41

Wyoming

 279.6 3.0 815 23 7.1 3

Puerto Rico

 1,055.2 -1.4 517 (5) 4.4 (5)

Virgin Islands

 46.0 0.6 738 (5) 3.9 (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.

 

Last Modified Date: September 3, 2008