County Employment and Wages in West Virginia: Third Quarter 2008 (PDF)

Kanawha County Wage Growth in the Top Tenth of Large Counties

Employment fell 0.5 percent in West Virginia’s only large county, Kanawha, from September 2007 to September 2008 according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics of the U.S. Department of Labor.  (Large counties are defined as those with employment of 75,000 or more as measured by 2007 annual average employment.)  Sheila Watkins, the Bureau’s regional commissioner, noted that employment declined in more than half of the 334 largest U.S. counties from September 2007 to September 2008. 

Nationally, employment decreased 0.8 percent over the 12 months ending September 2008.  Elkhart County, Ind., posted the largest percentage decline, with a loss of 10.8 percent over the year.  Lee, Fla., had the next largest percentage decline (-8.1 percent), followed by the counties of Collier, Fla. (-7.4 percent), Sarasota, Fla. (-7.1 percent), and Marion, Fla. (-6.4 percent).  Yakima County, Wash., had the largest over-the-year percentage increase in employment (3.2 percent).

Employment in Kanawha County stood at 108,500 in September 2008 and accounted for 15.1 percent of West Virginia’s total employment.  Nationwide, the largest 334 U.S. counties accounted for 71.2 percent of total U.S. employment, which stood at 135.2 million in September 2008.  These 334 counties had a net job decline of 891,159 over the year, accounting for 84.4 percent of the overall U.S. employment decrease.

The average weekly wage in Kanawha County grew 4.8 percent from the third quarter of 2007 to the third quarter of 2008.  This increase put Kanawha County in the top 10 percent of large counties for wage growth (33rd of 334).  Over the year, the national average weekly wage rose by 2.8 percent. Among the largest counties, Rutherford, Tenn., led the nation in average weekly wage growth with an increase of 17.3 percent from the third quarter of 2007.  Yolo, Calif., was second with growth of 9.7 percent, followed by the counties of Madison, Ill. (9.2 percent), Suffolk, N.Y. (8.6 percent), and Calcasieu, La. (7.8 percent).

Despite Kanawha County being among the wage growth leaders, its average weekly wage of $738 fell in the bottom third of the national ranking for average wages.  Nationally, the average weekly wage in the third quarter of 2008 was $841.  There were 226 counties with an average weekly wage below the U.S. average. The lowest average weekly wage was reported in Horry, S.C. ($537), followed by Cameron, Texas ($538), Hidalgo, Texas ($549), Webb, Texas ($559), and Yakima, Wash. ($580).  Average weekly wages were higher than the national average in 108 of the largest 334 U.S. counties.  New York, N.Y., held the top position among the highest-paid large counties with an average weekly wage of $1,552. Santa Clara, Calif., was second with an average weekly wage of $1,530. (See table 1.)

Average Weekly Wages in West Virginia’s Smaller Counties

Only 1 of West Virginia’s 54 counties with employment below 75,000 had an average weekly wage above the national average—Boone County at $851.  Wirt County, at $385, had the lowest average weekly wage in the State.  (See table 2.)

When all 55 counties in West Virginia were considered, 34, or approximately three-fifths, had wages averaging from $501 to $700.  Wages were lower than $501 in 11 counties.  (See chart 1.)  Boone, the only county with an above-average weekly wage, was a part of the Charleston, W.Va. Metropolitan Statistical Area (MSA).  Putnam ($774) and Kanawha ($738) Counties, which had the 4th and 5th highest average weekly wage, respectively, were also part of the Charleston MSA. 

Additional Statistics and other Information 

QCEW data for states has been included in this release in table 3.  For additional information about quarterly employment and wages data, please read the Technical Note or visit the QCEW Web site at www.bls.gov/cew/. 

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 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 is expected to be available for sale as a chartbook by the end of the second quarter of 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. 

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 Mid-Atlantic Information Office in Philadelphia at (215) 597-3282 from 8:30 a.m. to noon and 1:00 p.m. to 3:30 p.m. ET.

Technical Note

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 9.2 million employer reports cover 135.2 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 and may not match the data contained on the Bureau’s Web site.

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.