News Release Information
12-648-KAN
Wednesday, April 04, 2012
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Technical information:
- (816) 285-7000
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County Employment and Wages in Missouri – Third Quarter 2011
Employment rose in six of the seven largest counties in Missouri from September 2010 to September 2011, the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) reported today. (Large counties are defined as those with employment of 75,000 or more as measured by 2010 annual average employment. The independent city of St. Louis has been designated a county by the Quarterly Census of Employment and Wages program.) Regional Commissioner Stanley W. Suchman noted that Boone County reported the largest increase at 2.4 percent followed by Greene County, 1.6 percent, and St. Charles County, 1.5 percent.
Nationally, employment grew 1.6 percent, as 271 of the 322 large counties added jobs from September 2010 to September 2011. Williamson County, Tenn., posted the largest percentage increase, with a gain of 5.4 percent over the year. Frederick County, Md., experienced the largest over-the-year decrease in employment with a loss of 2.6 percent.
Among the seven largest counties in Missouri, employment was highest in St. Louis County (564,300) in September 2011. Two other counties, Jackson and St. Louis City, had employment levels exceeding 200,000. Together, Missouri’s seven large counties accounted for roughly 60.2 percent of total employment within the State. Nationwide, the 322 largest counties made up 70.5 percent of total U.S. employment.
Average weekly wages rose in all but one of the large counties in Missouri from the third quarter of 2010 to the third quarter of 2011. Wages in St. Louis City rose 7.3 percent, the largest increase among Missouri’s large counties and well above the 5.3-percent increase for the nation. St. Louis City also had the highest average weekly wage among the largest counties in the State at $1,013, followed by the counties of St. Louis ($970) and Jackson ($925). Average weekly wages in all three of these counties exceeded the national average of $916. Greene County recorded the lowest average weekly wage among the seven large counties at $714. (See table 1.)
Employment and wage levels (but not over-the-year changes) are also available for the 108 counties in Missouri with employment below 75,000. All of these smaller counties had average weekly wages below the national average. (See table 2.)
Large county wage changes
Six out of the seven large counties in Missouri recorded wage growth from the third quarter of 2010 to the third quarter of 2011; three grew faster than the U.S. average of 5.3 percent. (See table 1.) As mentioned, St. Louis City had the largest wage gain at 7.3 percent, placing 36th in the national ranking. St. Louis County’s average weekly wage rose 6.4 percent over the year, ranking 59th while Jackson County’s 6.0 percent increase ranked 78th. Clay County (-2.3 percent) was one of only three counties nationwide to register a decline in average weekly wages. The loss was led by a decline in manufacturing wages due to an acquisition that boosted wages in the third quarter of 2010.
Among the 322 largest counties, 315 had over-the-year increases in average weekly wages. Lake County, Ohio, had the largest wage gain among the largest U.S. counties (17.1 percent). Santa Clara, Calif., had the second largest increase (11.7 percent), followed by Oklahoma, Okla., (11.5 percent). Clay County, Mo., had the largest wage decline with a loss of 2.3 percent over the year.
Large county average weekly wages
Two of the State’s large counties had average weekly wages that placed in the top 100 among the 322 largest counties in the United States in the third quarter of 2011. Average wages in St. Louis City ($1,013) and St. Louis County ($970) ranked 57th and 75th, respectively. Jackson County’s average weekly wage of $925 was also above the national average of $916 and ranked 102nd. The average weekly wages in Missouri’s four other large counties were below average with Greene County ranking among the lowest 10 percent in the nation.
Nationally, average weekly wages were higher than average in 109 of the 322 largest U.S. counties. Santa Clara, Calif., held the top position among the highest-paid large counties with an average weekly wage of $1,857. New York, N.Y., was second at $1,647, followed by Arlington, Va. ($1,550), Washington, D.C. ($1,527), and San Francisco, Calif. ($1,457).
Among the 212 large counties with an average weekly wage below the U.S. average in the third quarter of 2011, 2 had wages below $600. Horry, S.C. ($561) reported the lowest wage, followed by Cameron County, Texas ($591).
Average weekly wages in Missouri’s smaller counties
Of the 108 counties in Missouri with employment below 75,000, Platte County recorded the highest average weekly wage at $732. Shannon County reported weekly wages below $400 and was the lowest among all of the counties in the State. (See table 2.)
When all 115 counties in Missouri were considered, all but 3 had wages below the national average of $916. Thirty-one reported average weekly wages under $500, 48 reported wages from $500 to $599, 24 had wages from $600 to $699, and 12 had wages of $700 and above. (See chart 1.) Of the twelve counties with wages of $700 or higher, half were located in the major metropolitan areas of Kansas City and St. Louis.
Additional statistics and other information
Quarterly 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/.
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.
For personal assistance or further information on the Quarterly Census of Employment and Wages Program, as well as other Bureau programs, contact the Mountain-Plains Information Office in Kansas City at (816) 285-7000.
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.
Area | Employment | Average Weekly Wage (3) | |||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
September 2011 (thousands) | Percent change, September 2010-11 (4) | National ranking by percent change (5) | Average weekly wage | National ranking by level (5) | Percent change, third quarter 2010-11 (4) | National ranking by percent change (5) | |
United States (6) |
130,524.7 | 1.6 | -- | $916 | -- | 5.3 | -- |
Missouri |
2,610.3 | 0.6 | -- | 804 | 32 | 5.2 | 24 |
Boone, Mo. |
84.4 | 2.4 | 69 | 733 | 287 | 4.3 | 204 |
Clay, Mo. |
90.2 | 0.9 | 193 | 844 | 173 | -2.3 | 318 |
Greene, Mo. |
149.4 | 1.6 | 128 | 714 | 301 | 4.4 | 197 |
Jackson, Mo. |
340.4 | -0.4 | 296 | 925 | 102 | 6.0 | 78 |
St. Charles, Mo. |
124.4 | 1.5 | 134 | 731 | 289 | 4.4 | 197 |
St. Louis City, Mo. |
219.1 | 0.6 | 216 | 1,013 | 57 | 7.3 | 36 |
St. Louis, Mo. |
564.3 | 0.4 | 236 | 970 | 75 | 6.4 | 59 |
Footnotes: |
Area | Employment September 2011 | Average weekly wage (3) | Area | Employment September 2011 | Average weekly wage (3) | |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
United States (4) |
130,524,677 | $916 | ||||
Missouri |
2,610,285 | 804 | Linn | 3,868 | 581 | |
Adair |
9,895 | 539 | Livingston | 5,879 | 574 | |
Andrew |
2,544 | 509 | McDonald | 6,996 | 523 | |
Atchison |
1,653 | 496 | Macon | 4,830 | 536 | |
Audrain |
9,308 | 612 | Madison | 3,373 | 512 | |
Barry |
14,581 | 649 | Maries | 1,399 | 583 | |
Barton |
3,452 | 521 | Marion | 14,132 | 634 | |
Bates |
3,512 | 512 | Mercer | 1,798 | 573 | |
Benton |
3,541 | 488 | Miller | 5,820 | 543 | |
Bollinger |
1,774 | 428 | Mississippi | 3,983 | 503 | |
Boone |
84,392 | 733 | Moniteau | 4,188 | 519 | |
Buchanan |
45,674 | 724 | Monroe | 1,821 | 514 | |
Butler |
18,999 | 603 | Montgomery | 2,946 | 540 | |
Caldwell |
1,513 | 546 | Morgan | 3,920 | 463 | |
Callaway |
14,029 | 683 | New Madrid | 7,333 | 679 | |
Camden |
16,659 | 536 | Newton | 19,451 | 687 | |
Cape Girardeau |
39,777 | 709 | Nodaway | 8,050 | 600 | |
Carroll |
2,304 | 553 | Oregon | 2,307 | 404 | |
Carter |
1,619 | 435 | Osage | 3,237 | 530 | |
Cass |
22,891 | 595 | Ozark | 1,538 | 415 | |
Cedar |
3,499 | 486 | Pemiscot | 6,184 | 541 | |
Chariton |
2,080 | 588 | Perry | 9,123 | 612 | |
Christian |
14,584 | 554 | Pettis | 19,094 | 603 | |
Clark |
1,450 | 459 | Phelps | 17,443 | 647 | |
Clay |
90,165 | 844 | Pike | 5,983 | 553 | |
Clinton |
4,035 | 543 | Platte | 39,509 | 732 | |
Cole |
52,329 | 717 | Polk | 7,506 | 633 | |
Cooper |
5,499 | 568 | Pulaski | 14,793 | 654 | |
Crawford |
6,536 | 599 | Putnam | 1,011 | 465 | |
Dade |
1,729 | 469 | Ralls | 2,599 | 635 | |
Dallas |
2,377 | 455 | Randolph | 9,623 | 611 | |
Daviess |
1,541 | 473 | Ray | 3,981 | 586 | |
De Kalb |
3,280 | 536 | Reynolds | 1,543 | 455 | |
Dent |
4,086 | 544 | Ripley | 3,128 | 443 | |
Douglas |
2,396 | 449 | St. Charles | 124,401 | 731 | |
Dunklin |
10,068 | 446 | St. Clair | 1,747 | 453 | |
Franklin |
35,655 | 670 | Ste. Genevieve | 5,587 | 724 | |
Gasconade |
5,096 | 529 | St. Francois | 22,426 | 541 | |
Gentry |
2,253 | 473 | St. Louis | 564,322 | 970 | |
Greene |
149,426 | 714 | Saline | 8,902 | 601 | |
Grundy |
3,535 | 588 | Schuyler | 686 | 488 | |
Harrison |
2,549 | 468 | Scotland | 1,190 | 507 | |
Henry |
7,210 | 597 | Scott | 14,943 | 589 | |
Hickory |
1,068 | 458 | Shannon | 1,288 | 391 | |
Holt |
1,242 | 515 | Shelby | 1,873 | 496 | |
Howard |
2,275 | 484 | Stoddard | 10,546 | 543 | |
Howell |
14,775 | 568 | Stone | 5,154 | 464 | |
Iron |
3,481 | 684 | Sullivan | 2,483 | 563 | |
Jackson |
340,414 | 925 | Taney | 29,739 | 517 | |
Jasper |
56,173 | 676 | Texas | 6,002 | 516 | |
Jefferson |
46,351 | 619 | Vernon | 6,965 | 620 | |
Johnson |
15,213 | 620 | Warren | 6,757 | 591 | |
Knox |
1,098 | 471 | Washington | 4,937 | 494 | |
Laclede |
12,109 | 579 | Wayne | 2,763 | 440 | |
Lafayette |
8,965 | 512 | Webster | 6,349 | 547 | |
Lawrence |
8,560 | 584 | Worth | 343 | 416 | |
Lewis |
2,602 | 608 | Wright | 4,721 | 485 | |
Lincoln |
10,300 | 635 | St. Louis City | 219,079 | 1,013 | |
Footnotes: |
State | Employment | Average weekly wage (3) | ||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
September 2011 (thousands) | Percent change, September 2010-11 | Average weekly wage | National ranking by level | Percent change, third quarter 2010-11 | National ranking by percent change | |
United States (4) |
130,524.7 | 1.6 | $916 | -- | 5.3 | -- |
Alabama |
1,823.2 | 0.5 | 803 | 33 | 3.7 | 48 |
Alaska |
341.5 | 2.1 | 963 | 10 | 4.0 | 42 |
Arizona |
2,391.6 | 2.1 | 860 | 21 | 4.9 | 27 |
Arkansas |
1,151.0 | 0.4 | 715 | 47 | 4.5 | 36 |
California |
14,686.3 | 1.5 | 1,051 | 6 | 6.8 | 3 |
Colorado |
2,234.4 | 2.3 | 948 | 13 | 5.6 | 13 |
Connecticut |
1,626.5 | 0.9 | 1,118 | 2 | 4.7 | 31 |
Delaware |
406.1 | 0.2 | 949 | 12 | 5.4 | 19 |
District of Columbia |
708.1 | 2.1 | 1,527 | 1 | 3.9 | 45 |
Florida |
7,167.5 | 1.7 | 812 | 30 | 4.2 | 40 |
Georgia |
3,799.6 | 1.3 | 867 | 20 | 5.3 | 20 |
Hawaii |
593.6 | 1.2 | 836 | 23 | 4.0 | 42 |
Idaho |
623.8 | 1.1 | 697 | 48 | 4.7 | 31 |
Illinois |
5,629.1 | 1.6 | 958 | 11 | 4.6 | 35 |
Indiana |
2,797.5 | 2.1 | 785 | 35 | 5.8 | 9 |
Iowa |
1,466.9 | 1.6 | 760 | 42 | 5.6 | 13 |
Kansas |
1,311.7 | 1.1 | 772 | 40 | 5.6 | 13 |
Kentucky |
1,757.4 | 1.7 | 764 | 41 | 4.8 | 28 |
Louisiana |
1,852.3 | 0.9 | 821 | 27 | 3.9 | 45 |
Maine |
595.6 | 0.9 | 734 | 46 | 2.9 | 51 |
Maryland |
2,497.6 | 1.1 | 1,023 | 7 | 5.9 | 8 |
Massachusetts |
3,227.8 | 1.8 | 1,114 | 3 | 4.1 | 41 |
Michigan |
3,920.5 | 2.4 | 876 | 18 | 4.4 | 37 |
Minnesota |
2,642.8 | 2.5 | 916 | 15 | 4.8 | 28 |
Mississippi |
1,081.3 | 0.1 | 681 | 51 | 4.4 | 37 |
Missouri |
2,610.3 | 0.6 | 804 | 32 | 5.2 | 24 |
Montana |
433.9 | 1.3 | 687 | 49 | 6.2 | 4 |
Nebraska |
905.0 | 0.5 | 747 | 43 | 5.7 | 11 |
Nevada |
1,122.0 | 1.3 | 845 | 22 | 3.8 | 47 |
New Hampshire |
613.2 | 0.7 | 903 | 17 | 5.6 | 13 |
New Jersey |
3,774.1 | 0.6 | 1,069 | 5 | 4.3 | 39 |
New Mexico |
788.7 | 0.4 | 779 | 37 | 4.7 | 31 |
New York |
8,511.6 | 1.7 | 1,099 | 4 | 4.0 | 42 |
North Carolina |
3,863.6 | 1.3 | 809 | 31 | 5.3 | 20 |
North Dakota |
390.8 | 6.7 | 820 | 28 | 12.9 | 1 |
Ohio |
5,015.3 | 1.4 | 834 | 25 | 5.6 | 13 |
Oklahoma |
1,518.5 | 1.8 | 785 | 35 | 8.3 | 2 |
Oregon |
1,645.0 | 1.4 | 835 | 24 | 5.7 | 11 |
Pennsylvania |
5,550.9 | 0.9 | 912 | 16 | 6.2 | 4 |
Rhode Island |
456.8 | 0.3 | 871 | 19 | 5.3 | 20 |
South Carolina |
1,789.9 | 1.4 | 746 | 44 | 4.8 | 28 |
South Dakota |
398.9 | 1.3 | 684 | 50 | 3.6 | 49 |
Tennessee |
2,631.4 | 2.1 | 819 | 29 | 5.3 | 20 |
Texas |
10,480.4 | 2.7 | 931 | 14 | 6.2 | 4 |
Utah |
1,192.9 | 2.9 | 779 | 37 | 5.1 | 25 |
Vermont |
297.0 | 0.8 | 778 | 39 | 3.3 | 50 |
Virginia |
3,602.5 | 1.6 | 974 | 9 | 4.7 | 31 |
Washington |
2,905.4 | 1.7 | 1,011 | 8 | 6.1 | 7 |
West Virginia |
710.8 | 1.6 | 742 | 45 | 5.8 | 9 |
Wisconsin |
2,697.9 | 1.4 | 792 | 34 | 5.6 | 13 |
Wyoming |
284.0 | 1.6 | 832 | 26 | 5.1 | 25 |
Puerto Rico |
910.3 | -0.2 | 506 | (5) | 1.2 | (5) |
Virgin Islands |
42.7 | -1.5 | 718 | (5) | -5.2 | (5) |
Footnotes: |
Last Modified Date: April 4, 2012