County Employment and Wages in Georgia-Fourth Quarter 2011

Employment rose in eight of the nine large counties in Georgia from December 2010 to December 2011, the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics reported today. (Large counties are defined as those with employment of 75,000 or more as measured by 2010 annual average employment.) Regional Commissioner Janet S. Rankin noted that employment increases ranged from 1.9 percent in Cobb County to 0.2 percent in Richmond County. Employment in Clayton County was unchanged over the year. (See table 1.)

Nationally, employment increased 1.4 percent during the 12-month period, as 266 of the 322 large U.S. counties gained jobs. Kern, Calif., posted the largest percentage increase with a gain of 5.3 percent over the year. Benton, Wash., experienced the largest over-the-year percentage decrease in employment with a loss of 3.4 percent.

Among the largest counties in Georgia, employment was highest in Fulton County (735,500) in December 2011. Three other counties—Gwinnett, Cobb, and De Kalb—had employment levels exceeding 275,000. Together, Georgia's nine large counties accounted for 55.5 percent of total employment within the state. Nationwide, the 322 largest counties made up 70.7 percent of total U.S. employment, which stood at 131.3 million in December 2011.

Average weekly wages decreased in each of Georgia's nine largest counties from the fourth quarter of 2010 to the fourth quarter of 2011. Fulton County recorded the largest wage decrease (-3.9 percent), followed by Cobb County (-3.1 percent). Despite recording the largest over-the-year decline in wages, Fulton County had the highest average weekly wage in the state at $1,238, followed by the counties of De Kalb ($979), Cobb ($975), and Gwinnett ($922). Nationally, the average weekly wage decreased 1.7 percent over the year to $955 in the fourth quarter of 2011. (See table 1.)

Employment and wage levels (but not over-the-year changes) are also available for the 150 counties with employment levels below 75,000 in Georgia. Average weekly wages in these counties ranged from $894 to $420. (See table 2.)

Large county wage changes

As noted, average weekly wages declined in all of Georgia's large counties from the fourth quarter of 2010 to the fourth quarter of 2011. Clayton County's 0.5-percent wage decline ranked 58th among the nation's 322 large counties, followed by De Kalb County (-1.0 percent, 95th). Wage declines among the remaining seven large counties in the state ranged from 3.9 percent to 1.9 percent and placed in the bottom half of the national ranking. (See table 1.)

Among the 322 largest U.S. counties, 282 had over-the-year decreases in average weekly wages in the fourth quarter of 2011. Olmsted, Minn., had the largest decrease (-21.3 percent), followed by the counties of Douglas, Colo. (-8.6 percent), Williamson, Tenn. (-6.7 percent), Durham, N.C. (-6.5 percent), and St. Clair, Ill. (-6.2 percent).

Nationwide, 36 large counties experienced growth in average weekly wages. Tulsa, Okla., ranked first with an over-the-year increase of 8.6 percent. Harford, Md., had the second largest increase (5.8 percent), followed by the counties of Lake, Ohio (4.9 percent), Snohomish, Wash. (3.0 percent), and Westmoreland, Pa. (2.9 percent).

Large county average weekly wages

Average weekly wages in 4 of Georgia's 9 largest counties place in the top half of the national ranking among the 322 largest counties in the fourth quarter of 2011. The highest-paid counties—Fulton, DeKalb, and Cobb —were all above the U.S. average of $955 and ranked in the top 100 nationwide. Gwinnet County with an average weekly wage of $922 ranked 130th. Average weekly wages in the remaining five large counties placed in the bottom third of the national ranking. (See table 1.)

Nationally, average weekly wages were lower than average in 219 of the 322 largest counties. Horry, S.C. ($569), reported the lowest wage, followed by the counties of Cameron, Texas ($597), Hidalgo, Texas ($601), Yakima, Wash. ($648), and Lake, Fla. ($649).

There were 103 large counties with an average weekly wage above the U.S. average in the fourth quarter of 2011. New York, N.Y., recorded the highest average weekly wage at $1,889, followed by Santa Clara, Calif., at $1,836. Rounding out the top five were Washington, D.C. ($1,668), Suffolk, Mass. ($1,599), San Francisco, Calif., ($1,597).

Average weekly wages in Georgia’s smaller counties

Among the 150 counties in Georgia with employment below 75,000, none registered an average weekly wage above the national average of $955. Chattahoochee County ($894) reported the highest weekly wage among the smaller counties, followed by the counties of Forsyth and Burke ($886 each), and Wilkinson ($835). Echols County reported the lowest weekly in the state, averaging $420 in the fourth quarter of 2011. (See table 2.)

When all 159 counties in Georgia were considered, 75 reported average weekly wages under $600, including 7 under $500, 49 reported wages from $600 to $699, 20 had wages from $700 to $799, 11 had wages from $800 to $899, and 4 had wages at or above $900. (See chart 1.)

Additional statistics and other information

Quarterly data for states have 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/.

Employment and Wages Annual Averages Online features comprehensive information by detailed industry on establishments, employment, and wages for the nation and all states. The 2010 edition of this publication, which was published in November 2011, contains selected data produced by Business Employment Dynamics (BED) on job gains and losses, as well as selected data from the first quarter 2011 version of the national news release. Tables and additional content from Employment and Wages Annual Averages 2010 are now available online at www.bls.gov/cew/cewbultn10.htm. The 2011 edition of Employment and Wages Annual Averages Online will be available later in 2012.

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.

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 131.3 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.

Table 1. Covered (1) employment and wages in the United States and the 9 largest counties in Georgia, fourth quarter 2011 (2)

Area	Employment			Average Weekly Wage (3)
	December 2011 (thousands)	Percent change, December 2010-11 (4)	National ranking by percent change (5)	Average weekly wage	National ranking by level (5)	Percent change, fourth quarter 2010-11 (4)	National ranking by percent change (5)
United States (6)	131,254.2	1.4	--	$955	--	-1.7	--
Georgia	3,826.9	1.0	--	885	20	-2.2	39
Bibb, Ga.	80.6	1.3	119	742	292	-2.2	195
Chatham, Ga.	131.2	1.1	144	806	245	-1.9	167
Clayton, Ga.	102.0	0.0	267	823	228	-0.5	58
Cobb, Ga.	297.0	1.9	83	975	91	-3.1	254
De Kalb, Ga.	278.6	1.2	130	979	89	-1.0	95
Fulton, Ga.	735.5	1.8	89	1,238	20	-3.9	283
Gwinnett, Ga.	305.4	1.6	97	922	130	-2.6	224
Muscogee, Ga.	94.1	1.1	144	761	281	-2.6	224
Richmond, Ga.	98.9	0.2	248	804	248	-2.1	185
Footnotes: (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) Percent changes were computed from quarterly employment and pay data adjusted for noneconomic county reclassifications. (5) Ranking does not include the county of San Juan, Puerto Rico. (6) Totals for the United States do not include data for Puerto Rico or the Virgin Islands.

Table 2. Covered (1) employment and wages in the United States and all counties in Georgia, 4th quarter 2011 (2)

Area	Employment December 2011	Average Weekly Wage (3)
United States (4)	131254162	$955
Georgia	3826905	885
Appling	6364	728
Atkinson	1484	597
Bacon	3140	590
Baker	455	628
Baldwin	15390	584
Banks	4482	563
Barrow	14932	648
Bartow	31726	740
Ben Hill	5518	542
Berrien	3906	590
Bibb	80600	742
Bleckley	3359	562
Brantley	1994	535
Brooks	3253	523
Bryan	5784	602
Bulloch	21899	603
Burke	6227	886
Butts	5634	608
Calhoun	1308	531
Camden	14100	730
Candler	2607	529
Carroll	36185	725
Catoosa	13151	628
Charlton	2212	643
Chatham	131170	806
Chattahoochee	2321	894
Chattooga	5755	550
Cherokee	45006	717
Clarke	65241	747
Clay	635	537
Clayton	102001	823
Clinch	2146	602
Cobb	296961	975
Coffee	14688	585
Colquitt	15039	558
Columbia	29541	673
Cook	3979	504
Coweta	30645	681
Crawford	1072	596
Crisp	7153	566
Dade	2922	606
Dawson	7816	507
Decatur	8271	552
De Kalb	278615	979
Dodge	5488	523
Dooly	3020	575
Dougherty	48117	736
Douglas	35390	650
Early	4170	798
Echols	616	420
Effingham	8987	734
Elbert	5684	590
Emanuel	6734	555
Evans	4185	553
Fannin	5190	546
Fayette	37700	782
Floyd	36252	757
Forsyth	56530	886
Franklin	6570	575
Fulton	735468	1238
Gilmer	6856	528
Glascock	411	447
Glynn	34696	744
Gordon	19649	678
Grady	5740	573
Greene	4883	646
Gwinnett	305449	922
Habersham	12592	598
Hall	71159	825
Hancock	1221	526
Haralson	7107	673
Harris	3742	549
Hart	5959	677
Heard	2041	834
Henry	48714	675
Houston	58591	812
Irwin	2000	545
Jackson	18317	669
Jasper	1968	562
Jeff Davis	4103	560
Jefferson	4687	629
Jenkins	1193	527
Johnson	1678	547
Jones	3323	589
Lamar	3321	595
Lanier	1345	553
Laurens	17032	662
Lee	5297	589
Liberty	18235	749
Lincoln	1320	545
Long	895	512
Lowndes	45642	639
Lumpkin	6117	623
McDuffie	6649	600
McIntosh	1732	536
Macon	2895	675
Madison	3145	564
Marion	1526	522
Meriwether	4407	591
Miller	1620	559
Mitchell	8046	549
Monroe	6317	671
Montgomery	1560	537
Morgan	5941	591
Murray	8968	643
Muscogee	94108	761
Newton	20028	718
Oconee	7993	711
Oglethorpe	1593	486
Paulding	19279	612
Peach	8166	642
Pickens	6894	640
Pierce	3710	562
Pike	2226	579
Polk	10899	621
Pulaski	2764	639
Putnam	5421	622
Quitman	436	493
Rabun	4268	544
Randolph	1774	594
Richmond	98872	804
Rockdale	29405	826
Schley	1008	655
Screven	3335	624
Seminole	2127	617
Spalding	20691	628
Stephens	8773	654
Stewart	1132	659
Sumter	10401	575
Talbot	823	509
Taliaferro	168	451
Tattnall	5741	601
Taylor	1632	630
Telfair	3503	484
Terrell	2186	631
Thomas	20825	685
Tift	17658	640
Toombs	10923	601
Towns	3079	511
Treutlen	1119	492
Troup	34195	781
Turner	2139	533
Twiggs	997	653
Union	6005	595
Upson	6945	603
Walker	12678	595
Walton	18685	675
Ware	13939	628
Warren	1078	569
Washington	6790	646
Wayne	8081	713
Webster	561	579
Wheeler	1411	595
White	5974	569
Whitfield	52805	722
Wilcox	1187	546
Wilkes	2879	563
Wilkinson	2824	835
Worth	3500	579
Footnotes: (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 2011 (2)

State	Employment		Average weekly wage (3)
	December 2011 (thousands)	Percent change, December 2010-11	Average weekly wage	National ranking by level	Percent change, fourth quarter 2010-11	National ranking by percent change
United States (4)	131,254.2	1.4	$955	--	-1.7	--
Alabama	1,828.3	0.2	832	31	-0.8	14
Alaska	311.3	1.6	982	11	-0.5	10
Arizona	2,458.4	1.7	882	21	-1.1	17
Arkansas	1,157.1	0.9	736	47	-1.2	19
California	14,731.8	1.3	1,100	6	-2.7	47
Colorado	2,250.1	2.1	975	13	-2.6	46
Connecticut	1,642.0	0.9	1,188	4	-3.1	49
Delaware	405.9	0.4	984	10	-1.6	26
District of Columbia	708.0	1.3	1,668	1	-1.2	19
Florida	7,364.1	1.4	847	29	-2.8	48
Georgia	3,826.9	1.0	885	20	-2.2	39
Hawaii	607.0	1.4	845	30	-1.5	23
Idaho	606.4	0.8	717	50	-2.2	39
Illinois	5,635.9	1.1	1,013	8	-2.1	35
Indiana	2,799.2	2.0	789	41	-1.9	32
Iowa	1,464.2	1.1	793	40	-0.8	14
Kansas	1,320.1	0.7	800	38	-1.5	23
Kentucky	1,770.2	1.3	786	42	-1.0	16
Louisiana	1,870.8	1.0	850	27	-1.7	28
Maine	580.9	0.4	755	46	-1.8	30
Maryland	2,516.4	1.1	1,058	7	-2.0	33
Massachusetts	3,230.8	1.3	1,192	3	-2.1	35
Michigan	3,911.8	2.4	933	18	-0.5	10
Minnesota	2,636.4	2.1	936	16	-3.9	51
Mississippi	1,083.8	0.3	699	51	-1.1	17
Missouri	2,617.0	0.8	825	32	-1.7	28
Montana	426.7	1.8	727	48	0.7	4
Nebraska	910.5	0.8	762	45	-1.3	21
Nevada	1,124.1	0.8	852	26	-3.2	50
New Hampshire	615.4	0.9	971	15	-0.7	13
New Jersey	3,811.6	0.6	1,138	5	-2.1	35
New Mexico	784.3	-0.3	799	39	-2.2	39
New York	8,618.4	1.4	1,197	2	-1.8	30
North Carolina	3,885.9	1.3	824	33	-2.0	33
North Dakota	397.0	7.6	871	23	7.7	1
Ohio	5,027.6	1.3	855	25	-1.3	21
Oklahoma	1,530.0	1.3	817	34	2.6	2
Oregon	1,629.8	1.2	850	27	-0.2	6
Pennsylvania	5,595.1	0.7	936	16	-1.6	26
Rhode Island	451.9	0.1	919	19	-2.1	35
South Carolina	1,796.1	1.3	763	44	-1.5	23
South Dakota	397.0	1.5	724	49	1.4	3
Tennessee	2,654.9	2.1	858	24	-2.3	42
Texas	10,607.9	2.4	973	14	-0.3	8
Utah	1,202.8	2.8	806	37	-2.5	45
Vermont	303.9	1.3	809	36	-0.5	10
Virginia	3,625.0	1.3	1,004	9	-2.4	43
Washington	2,843.6	1.4	979	12	-0.2	6
West Virginia	714.0	2.2	776	43	-0.3	8
Wisconsin	2,689.6	0.7	817	34	-2.4	43
Wyoming	276.9	2.3	876	22	0.6	5
Puerto Rico	960.9	0.1	552	(5)	-1.1	(5)
Virgin Islands	43.2	-4.0	772	(5)	-3.4	(5)
Footnotes: (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.

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