Employment rose 1.4 percent in Nevada’s largest county, Clark, from September 2010 to September 2011, the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics reported today. In Nevada’s only other large county, Washoe, employment increased 0.5 percent in the third quarter of 2011. (Large counties are defined as those with employment of 75,000 or more as measured by 2010 annual average employment.) Regional Commissioner Richard J. Holden noted that the over-the-year employment increases in both large counties were less than the nation as whole. (See table 1.)

Nationally, employment grew 1.6 percent during this 12-month period, as 271 of the 322 large counties nationwide gained jobs. Williamson, Tenn. experienced the largest percentage increase in employment in the nation, up 5.4 percent over the year. Frederick, Md. had the largest employment decrease of 2.6 percent.

Employment in Clark County (804,300) and Washoe County (186,500) in September 2011 accounted for 88.3 percent of total employment within the state. 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 Washoe County was $849 in the third quarter of 2011, an increase of 4.8 percent from the third quarter of 2010. Nationally, the average weekly wage rose 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 15 counties in Nevada with employment below 75,000. Average weekly wages in these counties ranged from $1,535 to $653 during the third quarter of 2011. (See table 2.)

Large county wage changes

Washoe County’s 4.8-percent wage gain ranked 164th nationally among large counties. Clark County’s 2.8-percent wage advance placed 284th. Of the 322 largest counties in the U.S., 315 had over-the-year increases in average weekly wages. Lake, Ohio, led the nation in average weekly wage growth with an increase of 17.1 percent from the third quarter of 2010. Santa Clara, Calif. was 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).

Nationwide, three large counties recorded decreases in average weekly wages over the year. Clay, Mo. had the largest decrease in wages with a decline of 2.3 percent from the third quarter of 2010. Smaller declines were reported in Alachua, Fla. (-0.8 percent) and Leon, Fla. (-0.1 percent).

Large county average weekly wages

Average weekly wages in both of Nevada’s large counties placed in the middle range of the national ranking in the third quarter of 2011. Washoe County ($849) ranked 168th and Clark County ($833) placed 186th. Nationwide, 109 large counties registered weekly wages at or above the U.S. average of $916 in the third quarter of 2011. 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 the counties of Arlington, Va. ($1,550), Washington, D.C. ($1,527), and San Francisco, Calif. ($1,457).

Nearly two-thirds of the largest U.S. counties (212) reported weekly wages below the national average. Horry County, S.C., reported the lowest wage ($561), followed by the counties of Cameron, Texas ($591), Hidalgo, Texas ($602), Yakima, Wash. ($619), and Webb, Texas ($629).

Average weekly wages in Nevada’s smaller counties

Twelve of the 15 counties in Nevada with employment below 75,000 had average weekly wages lower than the national average of $916. Eureka ($1535), Lander ($1206), and Humboldt ($977) were the only counties in the state with wages above the national average. (See table 2.)

When all 17 counties in Nevada were considered, 4 had wages $900 or more. Nine counties had average weekly wages from $800 to $899. Three counties reported average weekly wages from $700 to $799, and one had wages below $699.

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 http://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 Online, 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 West Information Office in San Francisco at 415-625-2270.

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 covered 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 BLS 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 two large counties in Nevada, third quarter 2011 (2)

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	--
Nevada	1,122.0	1.3	--	845	22	3.8	47
Clark, Nev.	804.3	1.4	143	833	186	2.8	284
Washoe, Nev.	186.5	0.5	226	849	168	4.8	164
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.

 

Last Modified Date: April 25, 2012