Employment increased in 15 of the 21 large counties in Florida from September 2010 to September 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 advances ranged from 0.2 percent in Escambia County to 3.7 percent in Collier County. Five of Florida’s large counties had over-the-year employment decreases of 0.5 percent or less. (See table 1.)

Nationally, employment rose 1.6 percent during the 12-month period as 271 of the 322 largest U.S. counties gained jobs. Williamson, Tenn., posted the largest over-the-year percentage increase with a gain of 5.4 percent, while Frederick, Md., experienced the largest employment decline at 2.6 percent.

Among the 21 largest counties in Florida, employment was highest in Miami-Dade County (970,300) in September 2011. Two other counties—Broward and Orange—had employment levels exceeding 600,000. Together, Florida’s 21 large counties accounted for 84.2 percent of total employment within the state. (See table 1.) Nationwide, the 322 largest counties made up 70.5 percent of total U.S. employment, which stood at 130.5 million in September 2011.

The average weekly wage in Brevard County rose 6.6 percent from the third quarter of 2010 to the third quarter of 2011, the largest increase among Florida’s 21 large counties. Four other large counties experienced wage growth of at least 5.0 percent—Pinellas (5.8 percent), Seminole (5.6 percent), Escambia (5.2 percent), and Hillsborough (5.1 percent). Brevard County had the highest average weekly wage in the State among the 21 largest counties at $893, followed by the counties of Hillsborough ($885), Miami-Dade ($880), Palm Beach ($876), and Duval ($869). Nationally, the average weekly wage advanced 5.3 percent over the year to $916 in the third quarter of 2011. (See table 1.)

Employment and wage levels (but not over-the-year changes) are also available for the 46 counties in Florida with employment levels below 75,000. All of these smaller counties had average weekly wages below the national average in the third quarter of 2011. (See table 2.)

Large county wage changes

Average weekly wages increased in 19 of the 21 largest counties in Florida from the third quarter of 2010 to the third quarter of 2011. Brevard County’s 6.6-percent wage growth ranked 52th among the nation’s 322 largest counties. Four other counties placed in the top half of the rankings—Pinellas (5.8 percent, 90th), Seminole (5.6 percent, 101st), Escambia (5.2 percent, 130rd), and Hillsborough (5.1 percent, 139th). (See table 1.)

Nationwide, 315 large counties experienced growth in average weekly wages. Lake, Ohio, ranked first with an increase of 17.1 percent from the third quarter of 2010. Santa Clara, Calif., ranked second with a gain of 11.7 percent, followed by the counties of Oklahoma, Okla. (11.5 percent), Williamson, Texas (10.2 percent), and Sacramento, Calif. (9.8 percent).

Among the 322 largest counties, 3 experienced over-the-year decreases in average weekly wages. Clay, Mo., had the largest decrease in the nation (-2.3 percent), followed by the counties of Alachua, Fla. (-0.8 percent) and Leon, Fla. (-0.1 percent).

Large county average weekly wages

Average weekly wages in 6 of Florida’s 21 largest counties place in the top half of the national ranking among the 322 largest counties in the third quarter of 2011. However, none of these counties had an average weekly wage above the national average of $916. The four counties with the lowest average weekly wages in the state—Marion ($634, 316th), Pasco ($636, 315th), Lake ($638, 314th), and Volusia ($650, 313th)—placed among the 10 lowest in the United States. (See table 1.)

Nationally, average weekly wages were higher than average in 109 of the 322 largest counties. Santa Clara, Calif., recorded the highest average weekly wage at $1,857. New York, N.Y., was second with an average weekly wage of $1,647, followed by Arlington, Va. ($1,550), Washington, D.C. ($1,527), and San Francisco, Calif. ($1,457).

There were 212 large counties with an average weekly wage below the U.S. average in the third quarter of 2011. Horry, S.C. ($561), reported the lowest wage, followed by the counties of Cameron, Texas ($591), Hidalgo, Texas ($602), Yakima, Wash. ($619), and Webb, Texas ($629).

Average weekly wages in Florida’s smaller counties

All 46 of Florida’s counties with employment below 75,000 had average weekly wages lower than the national average of $916. Okaloosa County led all small counties with an average weekly wage of $762. Holmes County reported the lowest weekly wage among all counties in the State, averaging $494 in the third quarter of 2011. (See table 2.)

When all 67 counties in Florida were considered, 19 reported average weekly wages under $600, including 1 under $500, 24 reported wages from $600 to $699, 16 had wages from $700 to $799, and 8 had wages above $800. (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/.

An annual bulletin, Employment and Wages, features comprehensive information by detailed industry on establishments, employment, and wages for the nation and all states. The 2010 edition of this bulletin, which was published in November 2011, contains selected data produced by the 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 the 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.

For personal assistance or further information on the Quarterly Census of Employment and Wages Program, as well as other Bureau programs, contact the Southeast Information Office in Atlanta at 404-893-4222.

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 9.1 million employer reports cover 130.5 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.