FOR FURTHER INFORMATION:                                                                      FOR RELEASE:
Cheryl Abbot, Regional Economist                                                              February 2, 2009    
(214) 767-6970                                                   
http://www.bls.gov/ro6/                 


                           COUNTY EMPLOYMENT AND WAGES IN OKLAHOMA: SECOND QUARTER 2008
                     Two Largest Counties Experienced Above-Average Employment and Wage Growth

     Employment in Tulsa County rose 1.1 percent from June 2007 to June 2008 and in Oklahoma County, 0.7 percent, 
both counter to the national employment decline of 0.3 percent during this period, according to data released by the 
U.S. Department of Labor’s Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS).  Regional Commissioner Stanley W. Suchman noted that 
over-the-year wage growth in both of the State’s large counties also outpaced the nationwide average.  Oklahoma 
County’s average wage increased 6.0 percent to $777 and Tulsa County’s rose 3.2 percent to $766.  Nationally, wages 
were up 2.6 percent from June 2007.  Oklahoma and Tulsa were the only two large counties in the State, that is, they 
had 75,000 or more jobs as measured by 2007 annual average employment.  (See table A.)  

     Employment and wage levels (but not over-the-year changes) are also available for the 75 counties in Oklahoma 
with employment below 75,000.  Among these smaller counties, the highest average weekly wage was $793 in Washington 
and the lowest was $447 in Cimarron.  When all 77 counties in the State were considered, 7 had average weekly wages 
of $700 or more, 25 had wages from $600 to $699, 38 averaged $500 to $599, and 7 were below $500.  (See table 1.)


Large County Employment
     Tulsa and Oklahoma Counties were among 125 large counties nationwide with over-the-year employment growth.  
Tulsa’s 1.1-percent job growth ranked 48th among all 334 large counties, and Oklahoma’s 0.7-percent increase ranked 
71st, placing both in the nation’s top one-fourth.  Combined, the two counties accounted for one-half of the State’s 
employment gain.  (See table A.)

     Nationally, Orleans County, La., had the largest over-the-year percentage increase in employment (5.6 percent).  
Williamson, Texas, had the next largest increase, 4.3 percent, followed by the counties of Fort Bend, Texas (4.2 
percent), Tulare, Calif. (4.0 percent), and Montgomery, Texas (3.8 percent).  Employment declined in 188 counties 
during this period, with the largest percentage decline occurring in Lee, Fla. (-8.8 percent).  Collier, Fla., had 
the next largest percentage decline (-6.8 percent), followed by the counties of Sarasota, Fla., and Elkhart, Ind. 
(-6.5 percent each), and Marion, Fla. (-6.0 percent).


Large County Average Weekly Wages
     Of the 334 largest counties in the United States, 224 had average weekly wages below the national average of 
$841. Oklahoma County’s $777 average weekly wage ranked 168th and Tulsa County’s $766 placed 183rd.

     New York County, N.Y., led the nation with an average weekly wage of $1,569.  Santa Clara, Calif., was second 
at $1,529, followed by Washington, D.C. ($1,433), Arlington, Va. ($1,376), and San Francisco, Calif. ($1,334).

     At the other end of the spectrum, wages averaged less than $600 per week in six large counties in the United 
States.  The lowest average weekly wage was reported in Cameron, Texas ($535), followed by Hidalgo, Texas ($538), 
Horry, S.C. ($539), Webb, Texas ($562), Yakima, Wash. ($580), and Tulare, Calif. ($591).  Wages in these lowest-
ranked counties were less than 40 percent of the average weekly wage reported for the highest-ranked county, New York.


Over-the-year Wage Changes
     Although Oklahoma's two large counties had average weekly wages that were below the national average, their 
over-the-year wage growth exceeded that of the nation (2.6 percent).  In fact, Oklahoma’s 6.0-percent wage gain 
ranked 9th nationally while Tulsa’s 3.2-percent increase ranked 109th.

     Rock Island, Ill., led the nation in growth in average weekly wages, with an increase of 10.5 percent from the 
second quarter of 2007. Weld, Colo., was second with growth of 10.4 percent, followed by the counties of Utah, Utah 
(9.4 percent), Whatcom, Wash. (8.3 percent), and East Baton Rouge, La. (7.8 percent). 

     Twenty-six large counties experienced over-the-year declines in average weekly wages. Clayton, Ga., had the 
largest decrease (-43.7 percent), followed by the counties of Boone, Ky. (-10.0 percent), Ventura, Calif., and 
Trumbull, Ohio (-4.8 percent each), and Queens, N.Y. (-4.3 percent).


State Average Weekly Wages
     On a statewide level, Oklahoma’s average weekly wage of $701 ranked 40th among the 50 states and the District of 
Columbia in the second quarter of 2008.  Oklahoma's weekly wage was above that of neighboring Arkansas ($661, 46th), 
but below that of Kansas ($720, 33rd), Texas, ($849, 14th) and Colorado ($858, 13th).  The District of Columbia had 
the highest weekly wage at $1,433 and South Dakota had the lowest at $606.  (See table 2.)

     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 136.6 million full- and part-time jobs.  The average weekly 
wage values are calculated by dividing total quarterly 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, counties, and the nation are available on the BLS Web site at http://www.bls.gov/cew/;
however, data in QCEW press releases have been adjusted (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 2007 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 2008 version of the national news release.  Tables and additional content from the 2007 Employment 
and Wages Annual Bulletin are now available online at www.bls.gov/cew/cewbultn07.htm.  These tables present final 
2007 annual averages.  The tables will also be included on the CD which accompanies the hardcopy version of the 
Annual Bulletin.  Employment and Wages Annual Averages, 2007 will be available for sale as a chartbook by the end of
the first quarter 2009 from the United States Government Printing Office, Superintendent of Documents, P.O. Box 
371954, Pittsburgh, PA 15250, telephone 866-512-1800, outside Washington, D.C.  Within Washington, D.C., the 
telephone number is 202-512-1800.  The fax number is 202-512-2104.

     QCEW-based news releases issued by other regional offices have been placed at one convenient BLS 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 Covered Employment and Wages Program, as well as other 
Bureau programs, contact the Dallas Information Office at 214-767-6970 from 8:00 a.m. to 11:00 a.m. and 1:00 p.m. to 
4:00 p.m. CT.  This release is available in text and PDF format on the Dallas BLS Web site at 
www.bls.gov/ro6/home.htm.


                                                   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.

Last Modified Date: February 2, 2009