Maine’s only large county, Cumberland, reported an employment gain of 1.9 percent 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 Deborah A. Brown noted that Cumberland ranked 100th among the 322 large counties for employment growth nationally.

Nationally, employment increased 1.6 percent during this 12-month period, as 271 of the 322 largest U.S. counties gained jobs. The largest over-the-year percentage increase in employment in the nation was recorded in Williamson, Tenn. (5.4 percent); Frederick, Md., experienced the largest over-the-year decrease (-2.6 percent).

Employment in Cumberland County stood at 171,500 in September 2011 and accounted for 28.8 percent of total employment within the state. Nationwide, the 322 largest counties made up 70.5 percent of total U.S. employment.

The average weekly wage in Cumberland County rose 2.8 percent to $813 in the third quarter of 2011. (See table 1.) Nationally, the average weekly wage increased 5.3 percent over the year to $916.

Employment and wage levels (but not over-the-year changes) are also available for the 15 counties in Maine 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

The 2.8-percent wage gain in Cumberland County ranked 284th among the 322 largest U.S. counties. Nationwide, 315 large counties experienced over-the-year increases in average weekly wages from the third quarter of 2010.  Lake, Ohio, had the largest wage gain with an increase of 17.1 percent followed by Santa Clara, Calif. (11.7 percent), and Oklahoma, Okla. (11.5 percent).

Of the 322 largest counties, 3 experienced declines in average weekly wages over the year. Clay, Mo., had the largest wage decline with a loss of 2.3 percent, followed by Alachua, Fla., and Leon, Fla., which saw wage declines of 0.8 and 0.1 percent, respectively.

Large county average weekly wages

Cumberland County’s average weekly wage of $813 placed in the middle-third of the national ranking at 208th in the third quarter of 2011. Among the 213 counties with average weekly wages at or below the national average, 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).

Nationally, average weekly wages were higher than the national average in 109 of 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 with an average weekly wage of $1,647, followed by Arlington, Va. ($1,550), and Washington, D.C. ($1,527). 

Average weekly wages in Maine's smaller counties

All 15 counties in Maine with employment below 75,000 had average weekly wages lower than the national average of $916. Lincoln reported the lowest weekly wage among the smaller counties, averaging $579, followed by Piscataquis at $583. Sagadahoc reported the highest weekly wage of any county in Maine, averaging $845 per week.

When all 16 counties in Maine were considered, all had weekly wages that were lower than national average. Two reported average weekly wages at or below $599, nine reported wages from $600 to $699, three had wages from $700 to $799, and two had wages above $800. (See chart 1.) The higher paid counties were concentrated along the southern Atlantic coastline and New Hampshire border.

Additional statistics and other Information

QCEW 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/.

An annual bulletin, Employment and Wages Annual Averages, 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 Business Employment Dynamics (BED) on job gains and losses, as well as selected data from the first quarter 2011 version of the news release. Tables and additional content from the 2010 Employment and Wages Annual Bulletin are now available online at www.bls.gov/cew/cewbultn10.htm.

Information in this release will be made available to sensory impaired individuals upon request. Voice phone: (617) 565-2072; Federal Relay Services: 1-800-877-8339.

For personal assistance or further information on the QCEW program, as well as other Bureau programs, contact the New England Information Office at (617) 565-2327. This release is available in PDF and HTML format on the New England BLS Web site at www.bls.gov/ro1/meqcew.htm.

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.