Internet: www.bls.gov/ro3/ | PLS - 4477 FOR RELEASE: TUESDAY, NOVEMBER 25, 2008 |
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INFORMATION: | Gerald Perrins (215) 597-3282 |
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MEDIA CONTACT: | Sheila Watkins (215) 861-5600 |
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County Employment and Wages in Virginia: First Quarter 2008 (PDF)Arlington County ranked 9th highest in wages in the nationIn the first quarter of 2008, Arlington County had an average weekly wage level of $1,473, the highest among Virginia’s 12 counties with employment of 75,000 or more. Fairfax County was a close second with an average weekly wage of $1,376, followed by Alexandria City ($1,180), Richmond City ($1,114), and Loudoun County ($1,105). The average weekly wage in Newport News City increased by 4.6 percent over the year, the largest advance among Virginia’s large counties.  Richmond City’s 4.4-percent wage growth was the second fastest in the Commonwealth. Sheila Watkins, the Bureau’s regional commissioner, noted that among Virginia’s 12 large counties, 6 recorded wages above the national average of $905, and 7 had wage growth above the national rate of 2.4 percent. (See table 1.) Virginia’s counties had some of the highest average weekly wages in the country. Arlington County ranked 9th; Fairfax County, 12th; and Alexandria City, 25th when wage levels were compared for all 334 large counties nationwide, placing them in the top 10 percent in the United States. Counties in Virginia also recorded high rates of wage growth compared to other large counties in the nation: Newport News City ranked 42nd, followed by the cities of Richmond and Alexandria which ranked 48th and 62nd, respectively. These three counties were among the top one-fifth of large counties nationwide in wage growth. Employment and wage levels (but not over-the-year changes) are also available for the 122 counties in Virginia with employment below 75,000. All but 7 (Goochland, Surry, King George, Falls Church City, Manassas City, Fairfax City, and Louisa) of these 122 counties had average weekly wages below the national level. (See table 2.) County Wage LevelsAmong Virginia’s 12 large counties, 6 had average weekly wages exceeding the national level of $905 in the first quarter of 2008─Arlington, Fairfax, Alexandria City, Richmond City, Loudoun, and Henrico. Wages in these six large counties, four of which are located in the Washington-Arlington-Alexandria, D.C.-Va.-Md.-W.Va. metropolitan area, ranged from 10 percent higher than the national average in Henrico to 63 percent higher in Arlington. At the other end of the wage spectrum, Chesapeake City ($672) and Virginia Beach City ($683) reported the lowest average weekly wage levels among the large counties in the Commonwealth. (See chart 1.) These two counties, both of which are located in the Virginia Beach-Norfolk-Newport News, Va.-N.C. metropolitan area, had wages in the bottom fifth of the national ranking, at 304th and 291st, respectively. Average weekly wages in the four remaining large areas (Prince William County, Chesterfield County, Newport News City, and Norfolk City) were all below the national level. New York, N.Y., held the top position among the highest-paid large counties with an average weekly wage of $2,805. Fairfield, Conn., was second with an average weekly wage of $1,905, followed by Somerset, N.J. ($1,765), Suffolk, Mass. ($1,708), and San Francisco, Calif. ($1,639). Of the 10 counties with the highest wages in the United States, 4 were located in the greater New York metropolitan area (New York, N.Y., Fairfield, Conn., Somerset, N.J., and Hudson, N.J.), 3 others were located in or around the San Francisco area (San Francisco, Santa Clara, and San Mateo, all in California), and 2 more were located in the Washington, D.C. metropolitan area (Washington, D.C., and Arlington, Va.).  Rounding out the top 10 was Suffolk County, Mass., part of the Boston metropolitan area.  The lowest average weekly wage was reported in Cameron County, Texas ($523), followed by the counties of Hidalgo, Texas ($532), Horry, S.C. ($534), Webb, Texas ($554), and Yakima, Wash. ($587). County Wage ChangesOf Virginia’s 12 large counties, 7 recorded wage growth above the national increase of 2.4 percent from the first quarter of 2007 to the first quarter of 2008. As mentioned, Newport News City’s 4.6-percent wage gain was the largest increase in the Commonwealth and 42nd in the nation, followed by Richmond City’s 4.4-percent gain (48th). The cities of Alexandria and Virginia Beach and the counties of Chesterfield, Prince William, and Loudoun also had growth rates above the national average, ranging from 2.5 to 4.0 percent. Henrico County and Norfolk City were the only two counties in the Commonwealth to have over-the-year declines in wages in the first quarter of 2008, down 0.8 and 0.2 percent, respectively. Three other Virginia counties posted wage growth rates below that for the nation—Fairfax, Chesapeake City, and Arlington—ranging from 0.4 to 1.7 percent.  All five of these counties ranked among the bottom one-third of large U.S. counties in wage growth. Among the largest counties, Westmoreland, Pa., led the nation in growth in average weekly wages, with an increase of 14.9 percent from the first quarter of 2007.  Williamson, Texas, was second with growth of 10.8 percent, followed by the counties of Somerset, N.J. (9.0 percent), San Luis Obispo, Calif. (8.3 percent), and Jefferson, Texas (7.9 percent). Thirty-four large counties experienced over-the-year declines in average weekly wages.  Trumbull, Ohio, had the largest decrease (-17.2 percent), followed by the counties of Saginaw, Mich. (-4.4 percent), Rockingham, N.H. (-3.9 percent), Fairfield, Conn. (-3.8 percent), and Mecklenburg, N.C. (-3.4 percent). Wage levels in Virginia’s smaller countiesAs mentioned, all but 7 of the 122 counties in Virginia with employment below 75,000 had average weekly wages below the national level. Highland County reported the lowest wage level at $447. The highest wage among Virginia’s 122 small counties was Goochland County’s $1,525, followed by Surry County’s $1,506. When all 134 counties in Virginia are considered, only 9 had average wages below $500 per week. Nine counties had wages above $1,100, while five others had wages ranging from $901 to $1,100. Most of the higher-paid counties were located in the Washington and Richmond metropolitan areas. Eighty-seven, or over three-fifths, of the counties in Virginia reported average weekly wages from $501 to $700 in the first quarter of 2008. (See chart 1.) State Average Weekly WagesAt the state level, the average weekly wage in Virginia was $918, which was $13 above the nationwide level and ranked 11th highest among the 50 states and the District of Columbia. (See table 3.) Nationally, 8 of the 12 areas with above-average weekly wage levels were located in a contiguous band along the east coast, stretching from Massachusetts to Virginia. The five highest average wages at the state level were in the District of Columbia ($1,488), New York ($1,399), Connecticut ($1,254), Massachusetts ($1,143), and New Jersey ($1,133). Average weekly wages in this group were 25 percent or more above that for the nation. At the other end of the scale, seven states had wage levels 75 percent or less of national earnings:  Montana ($625), South Dakota ($632), Mississippi ($634), Idaho ($635), North Dakota ($652), Arkansas ($667), and West Virginia ($679). Wyoming experienced wage growth of 6.7 percent from the first quarter of 2007 to the first quarter of 2008, higher than that of any other state. North Dakota was second with 6.2-percent growth, followed by South Dakota, averaging 5.2 percent.  Connecticut was the only state to experience an over-the-year wage decline, down 0.6 percent. Wages in Delaware and New York were virtually unchanged over the year, up just 0.1 percent.  Virginia’s average wage growth of 2.0 percent was below the nation’s 2.4-percent advance. 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 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 134.8 million full- and part-time workers. The average weekly wage values are computed 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 Note below) and will not match the data contained on the Bureau’s Web site. Additional statistics and other informationAn 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 the Business Employment Dynamics (BED) on job gains and losses, as well as selected data from the first quarter 2007 version of this news release. This edition includes the data on CD for enhanced access and usability with the printed booklet containing selected graphic representation of QCEW data; the data tables themselves will be published exclusively in the electronic PDF formats 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 Mid-Atlantic Information Office at 215-597-3282 from 8:30 a.m. to 12:00 p.m. and 1:00 p.m. to 3:30 p.m. ET. QCEW-based news releases issued by other regional offices have been placed at one convenient Web site location, www.bls.gov/cew/cewregional.htm. Technical NoteQCEW data are the sums of individual establishment records reflecting the number of establishments that exist in a county or industry at a point in time. For this reason, county and industry data are not designed to be used as a time series. 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. The potential differences result from several causes. Differences between BLS and State published data may be due to the 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. |
Area | Employment | Average weekly wage(3) | ||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
March 2008 (thousands) | Percent change, March 2007-08(5) | Average weekly wage | National ranking by level(4) | Percent change, first quarter 2007-08(5) | National ranking by percent change(4) | |
United States (6) |
134,761.1 | 0.4 | $905 | -- | 2.4 | -- |
Virginia |
3,644.6 | 1.0 | 901 | 10 | 4.4 | 27 |
Alexandria City, Va. |
99.8 | 0.3 | 1,180 | 25 | 4.0 | 62 |
Arlington, Va. |
153.1 | 1.0 | 1,473 | 9 | 1.7 | 224 |
Chesapeake City, Va. |
99.3 | -1.3 | 672 | 304 | 1.4 | 233 |
Chesterfield, Va. |
120.1 | -0.8 | 790 | 180 | 3.3 | 112 |
Fairfax, Va. |
585.0 | 0.8 | 1,376 | 12 | 0.4 | 279 |
Henrico, Va. |
179.6 | 0.4 | 998 | 56 | -0.8 | 309 |
Loudoun, Va. |
130.2 | 1.9 | 1,105 | 39 | 2.5 | 177 |
Newport News City, Va. |
99.5 | -0.1 | 794 | 177 | 4.6 | 42 |
Norfolk City, Va. |
143.6 | -0.7 | 826 | 144 | -0.2 | 297 |
Prince William, Va. |
102.6 | 0.2 | 761 | 210 | 2.6 | 163 |
Richmond City, Va. |
157.8 | 0.7 | 1,114 | 37 | 4.4 | 48 |
Virginia Beach City, Va. |
172.7 | -0.7 | 683 | 291 | 3.8 | 73 |
Footnotes: |
Area | Employment March 2008 (thousands) | Average weekly wage (3) |
---|---|---|
United States (4) |
134,761.1 | $905 |
Virginia |
3,653.5 | 918 |
Accomack |
12.8 | 558 |
Albemarle |
50.0 | 847 |
Alleghany |
4.4 | 590 |
Amelia |
2.9 | 554 |
Amherst |
9.7 | 610 |
Appomattox |
3.4 | 549 |
Arlington |
153.1 | 1,473 |
Augusta |
25.5 | 658 |
Bath |
2.3 | 622 |
Bedford |
15.3 | 605 |
Bland |
2.0 | 709 |
Botetourt |
10.9 | 644 |
Brunswick |
4.9 | 568 |
Buchanan |
8.0 | 739 |
Buckingham |
3.3 | 576 |
Campbell |
15.6 | 589 |
Caroline |
5.7 | 670 |
Carroll |
6.4 | 480 |
Charles City |
1.6 | 682 |
Charlotte |
2.8 | 513 |
Chesterfield |
120.1 | 790 |
Clarke |
4.2 | 691 |
Craig |
0.7 | 515 |
Culpeper |
15.5 | 662 |
Cumberland |
1.4 | 529 |
Dickenson |
3.7 | 666 |
Dinwiddie |
8.6 | 698 |
Essex |
4.1 | 535 |
Fairfax County |
585.0 | 1,376 |
Fauquier |
21.5 | 739 |
Floyd |
2.8 | 460 |
Fluvanna |
4.1 | 617 |
Franklin |
14.7 | 523 |
Frederick |
23.6 | 714 |
Giles |
4.7 | 692 |
Gloucester |
10.0 | 549 |
Goochland |
10.7 | 1,525 |
Grayson |
2.4 | 476 |
Greene |
3.0 | 564 |
Greensville |
4.8 | 610 |
Halifax |
12.6 | 586 |
Hanover |
45.8 | 701 |
Henrico |
179.6 | 998 |
Henry |
15.8 | 552 |
Highland |
0.5 | 447 |
Isle of Wight |
12.0 | 698 |
James City |
26.9 | 648 |
King and Queen |
1.0 | 697 |
King George |
9.2 | 1,203 |
King William |
3.8 | 713 |
Lancaster |
4.9 | 553 |
Lee |
5.5 | 537 |
Loudoun |
130.2 | 1,105 |
Louisa |
7.1 | 949 |
Lunenburg |
2.8 | 506 |
Madison |
3.1 | 532 |
Mathews |
1.7 | 451 |
Mecklenburg |
13.1 | 518 |
Middlesex |
3.4 | 505 |
Montgomery |
40.0 | 660 |
Nelson |
3.7 | 523 |
New Kent |
3.8 | 633 |
Northampton |
4.9 | 566 |
Northumberland |
2.5 | 519 |
Nottoway |
5.9 | 554 |
Orange |
9.2 | 590 |
Page |
5.8 | 506 |
Patrick |
5.2 | 468 |
Pittsylvania |
11.6 | 542 |
Powhatan |
6.4 | 638 |
Prince Edward |
9.0 | 528 |
Prince George |
11.3 | 847 |
Prince William |
102.6 | 761 |
Pulaski |
11.3 | 669 |
Rappahannock |
1.5 | 829 |
Richmond County |
3.2 | 568 |
Roanoke County |
35.5 | 647 |
Rockbridge |
6.8 | 534 |
Rockingham |
29.4 | 659 |
Russell |
7.4 | 585 |
Scott |
5.0 | 514 |
Shenandoah |
14.4 | 562 |
Smyth |
12.8 | 559 |
Southampton |
4.3 | 576 |
Spotsylvania |
30.1 | 635 |
Stafford |
34.6 | 810 |
Surry |
2.1 | 1,506 |
Sussex |
3.7 | 594 |
Tazewell |
17.8 | 545 |
Warren |
11.9 | 602 |
Washington |
20.1 | 635 |
Westmoreland |
3.7 | 503 |
Wise |
14.3 | 634 |
Wythe |
12.4 | 535 |
York |
21.4 | 619 |
Alexandria City |
99.8 | 1,180 |
Bedford City |
3.7 | 601 |
Bristol City |
13.0 | 596 |
Buena Vista City |
2.4 | 519 |
Charlottesville City |
36.3 | 813 |
Chesapeake City |
99.3 | 672 |
Colonial Heights City |
10.5 | 497 |
Covington City |
4.1 | 784 |
Danville City |
28.1 | 590 |
Emporia City |
4.1 | 488 |
Fairfax City |
20.4 | 963 |
Falls Church City |
12.3 | 1,102 |
Franklin City |
4.3 | 509 |
Fredericksburg City |
26.4 | 665 |
Galax City |
6.8 | 479 |
Hampton City |
59.5 | 761 |
Harrisonburg City |
31.3 | 636 |
Hopewell City |
8.3 | 877 |
Lexington City |
5.1 | 624 |
Lynchburg City |
55.0 | 744 |
Manassas City |
24.2 | 1,025 |
Manassas Park City |
3.5 | 808 |
Martinsville City |
12.3 | 518 |
Newport News City |
99.5 | 794 |
Norfolk City |
143.6 | 826 |
Norton City |
4.2 | 672 |
Petersburg City |
14.6 | 662 |
Poquoson City |
2.0 | 516 |
Portsmouth City |
43.5 | 799 |
Radford City |
6.7 | 743 |
Richmond City |
157.8 | 1,114 |
Roanoke City |
70.4 | 703 |
Salem City |
22.5 | 784 |
Staunton City |
12.1 | 549 |
Suffolk City |
25.5 | 700 |
Virginia Beach City |
172.7 | 683 |
Waynesboro City |
10.7 | 644 |
Williamsburg City |
15.0 | 603 |
Winchester City |
27.1 | 728 |
Footnotes: |
State | Employment | Average weekly wage (3) | ||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
March 2008 (thousands) | Percent change, March 2007-08 |
Average weekly wage | National ranking by level | Percent change, first quarter 2006-07 |
National ranking by percent change | |
United States(4) |
134,761.1 | 0.4 | $905 | - | 2.4 | - |
Alabama |
1,947.0 | -0.2 | 740 | 34 | 3.2 | 27 |
Alaska |
303.0 | 1.0 | 866 | 16 | 4.2 | 11 |
Arizona |
2,639.7 | -1.3 | 820 | 22 | 2.4 | 34 |
Arkansas |
1,178.4 | -0.1 | 667 | 46 | 4.1 | 12 |
California |
15,561.5 | 0.1 | 1008 | 6 | 2.1 | 41 |
Colorado |
2,300.0 | 1.7 | 920 | 10 | 3.6 | 16 |
Connecticut |
1,683.9 | 1.2 | 1254 | 3 | -0.6 | 51 |
Delaware |
418.4 | 0.5 | 987 | 7 | 0.1 | 49 |
District of Columbia |
680.8 | 1.1 | 1488 | 1 | 4.3 | 9 |
Florida |
7,918.6 | -2.2 | 777 | 26 | 1.8 | 43 |
Georgia |
4,060.9 | 0.1 | 847 | 20 | 1.3 | 44 |
Hawaii |
628.1 | 0.2 | 773 | 28 | 3.5 | 19 |
Idaho |
645.3 | 0.2 | 635 | 48 | 0.3 | 48 |
Illinois |
5,796.1 | 0.1 | 980 | 8 | 2.6 | 33 |
Indiana |
2,858.7 | -0.7 | 757 | 33 | 2.4 | 34 |
Iowa |
1,469.8 | 0.9 | 710 | 40 | 3.6 | 16 |
Kansas |
1,363.2 | 1.0 | 737 | 35 | 2.4 | 34 |
Kentucky |
1,794.0 | 0.1 | 714 | 39 | 2.4 | 34 |
Louisiana |
1,887.3 | 1.3 | 765 | 30 | 4.8 | 4 |
Maine |
584.1 | 0.5 | 701 | 42 | 3.5 | 19 |
Maryland |
2,530.3 | 0.0 | 963 | 9 | 2.8 | 31 |
Massachusetts |
3,203.1 | 0.9 | 1143 | 4 | 3.3 | 23 |
Michigan |
4,058.8 | -1.8 | 857 | 18 | 0.9 | 47 |
Minnesota |
2,644.8 | 0.6 | 908 | 12 | 4.0 | 13 |
Mississippi |
1,138.2 | 0.8 | 634 | 49 | 3.3 | 23 |
Missouri |
2,708.0 | 0.0 | 768 | 29 | 3.5 | 19 |
Montana |
432.4 | 0.9 | 625 | 51 | 4.3 | 9 |
Nebraska |
912.2 | 1.4 | 687 | 44 | 3.2 | 27 |
Nevada |
1,266.3 | -1.2 | 839 | 21 | 4.7 | 5 |
New Hampshire |
621.2 | 0.3 | 863 | 17 | 3.4 | 22 |
New Jersey |
3,939.9 | 0.5 | 1133 | 5 | 3.3 | 23 |
New Mexico |
823.8 | 0.6 | 717 | 38 | 4.7 | 5 |
New York |
8,555.0 | 1.3 | 1399 | 2 | 0.1 | 49 |
North Carolina |
4,069.1 | 0.9 | 788 | 24 | 1.3 | 44 |
North Dakota |
343.3 | 2.6 | 652 | 47 | 6.2 | 2 |
Ohio |
5,189.1 | -1.0 | 798 | 23 | 1.0 | 46 |
Oklahoma |
1,560.0 | 1.6 | 707 | 41 | 4.7 | 5 |
Oregon |
1,713.1 | 0.3 | 776 | 27 | 2.9 | 30 |
Pennsylvania |
5,608.8 | 0.5 | 869 | 15 | 2.4 | 34 |
Rhode Island |
464.8 | -1.5 | 851 | 19 | 2.3 | 39 |
South Carolina |
1,888.3 | 0.1 | 695 | 43 | 2.8 | 31 |
South Dakota |
389.4 | 2.0 | 632 | 50 | 5.2 | 3 |
Tennessee |
2,746.4 | 0.6 | 761 | 31 | 3.3 | 23 |
Texas |
10,420.8 | 2.8 | 903 | 13 | 3.6 | 16 |
Utah |
1,220.2 | 1.4 | 718 | 37 | 3.2 | 27 |
Vermont |
300.8 | -0.3 | 735 | 36 | 4.4 | 8 |
Virginia |
3,653.5 | 0.2 | 918 | 11 | 2.0 | 42 |
Washington |
2,928.6 | 2.1 | 899 | 14 | 3.7 | 15 |
West Virginia |
700.3 | 0.3 | 679 | 45 | 4.0 | 13 |
Wisconsin |
2,734.3 | 0.2 | 760 | 32 | 2.2 | 40 |
Wyoming |
277.2 | 2.9 | 779 | 25 | 6.7 | 1 |
Puerto Rico |
1,004.5 | -1.6 | 489 | (5) | 2.7 | (5) |
Virgin Islands |
46.5 | 1.1 | 708 | (5) | 3.4 | (5) |
Footnotes: |
Chart 1. Â Average weekly wages by county in Virginia, first quarter 2008
Last Modified Date: November 25, 2008