News Release Information
PLS-4829
Monday, October 17, 2011
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County Employment and Wages in Pennsylvania – First Quarter 2011
Employment Gains in Washington and Butler Counties Rank Among Top Ten in the Nation
Employment rose in 18 of the 19 largest counties in Pennsylvania from March 2010 to March 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.) Sheila Watkins, the Bureau’s regional commissioner, noted that Washington County recorded the fastest employment gain in Pennsylvania, up 4.3 percent—the 3rd-fastest growth among the 322 largest counties nationwide. Butler County followed closely, up 4.2 percent and ranking 6th among the nation’s large counties. One other county, Erie, was also among the fastest-growing large counties in the United States, posting a job gain of 3.2 percent and ranking 15th in the nation. Lackawanna County recorded the only employment decline among Pennsylvania’s large counties, down 0.4 percent.
Nationally, employment grew 1.3 percent during this 12-month period, as 256 of the 322 large counties nationwide gained jobs. Elkhart County, Ind., experienced the largest percentage increase in employment, up 6.2 percent over the year. Sacramento, Calif., had the largest employment decrease with a loss of 1.6 percent.
Among the 19 largest counties in Pennsylvania, employment was highest in Allegheny County (666,800), which contains the city of Pittsburgh, in March 2011. One other county, Philadelphia, had employment above 600,000. Together, Pennsylvania’s large counties accounted for 76.6 percent of total employment within the Commonwealth. Nationwide, the 322 largest counties made up 70.7 percent of total U.S. employment.
The average weekly wage in Butler County rose 9.3 percent from the first quarter of 2010 to the first quarter of 2011—the fastest increase among Pennsylvania’s largest counties and the 9th-fastest rate of growth nationwide. Pennsylvania’s second-highest growth rate was in Washington County, where average weekly wages increased 8.8 percent. Montgomery County had the highest average weekly wage among the 19 largest counties in the Commonwealth at $1,198, followed by the counties of Chester ($1,164) and Philadelphia ($1,079). (See table 1.) Nationally, the average weekly wage rose 5.2 percent over the year to $935 in the first quarter of 2011.
Employment and wage levels (but not over-the-year changes) are also available for the 48 counties in Pennsylvania with employment below 75,000. Forty-six of these smaller counties had average weekly wages below the national average. (See table 2.)
Large county wage changes
Five of Pennsylvania’s 19 large counties recorded wage increases larger than or equal to the national advance of 5.2 percent since the first quarter of 2010. Wage growth in two of these counties, Butler and Washington, ranked in the top tenth of the 322 large counties nationwide (9th and 11th, respectively). Pennsylvania’s 14 remaining large counties all experienced wage gains greater than 2.0 percent over the year.
Of the 322 largest counties, 315 had over-the-year increases in average weekly wages. Peoria, Ill., led the nation in average weekly wage growth with an increase of 18.9 percent from the first quarter of 2010. Santa Clara, Calif., was second with a gain of 12.4 percent, followed by the counties of Macomb, Mich. (12.0 percent), Clayton, Ga. (11.9 percent), and Wayne, Mich. (11.3 percent).
Nationwide, three large counties recorded decreases in average weekly wages over the year. Williamson, Texas, had the largest decrease in wages with a decline of 3.8 percent from the first quarter of 2010. Smaller declines were reported in Hudson, N.J. (-1.5 percent) and Durham, N.C. (-0.5 percent).
Large county average weekly wages
The average weekly wage in one of Pennsylvania’s 19 large counties, Montgomery, ranked 28th in the nation, placing it in the top tenth of all 322 large counties. Chester and Philadelphia also ranked in the top 50 nationwide. In addition to these three counties, Delaware and Allegheny Counties also had wages above the U.S. average of $935.
In five other large counties in the Commonwealth, the average weekly wages placed in the bottom fourth of the national ranking. Four of these counties—Lackawanna, Luzerne, Erie, and Westmoreland—ranked among the bottom 50 in the United States.
Average weekly wages in Pennsylvania’s smaller counties
Forty-six of the 48 counties in Pennsylvania with employment below 75,000 had average weekly wages lower than the national average of $935. The exceptions were Montour ($1,014) and Greene ($964). Centre County had the third-highest wage, $770. Perry reported the lowest weekly wage among the smaller counties as well as the Commonwealth as a whole, averaging $516 in the first quarter of 2011. (See table 2.)
When all 67 counties in Pennsylvania were considered, 60 had wages below the national average of $935. Forty-three reported wages below $700, 17 had wages from $701 to $900, 5 had wages from $901 to $1,100, and 2 had wages above $1,100. (See chart 1.) Four of the seven counties that recorded above-average wages are concentrated in the Philadelphia metropolitan area, and another contains the city of Pittsburgh.
Additional statistics and other information
QCEW 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 Annual Averages, features comprehensive information by detailed industry on establishments, employment, and wages for the nation and all states. The 2009 edition of this bulletin contains selected data produced by Business Employment Dynamics (BED) on job gains and losses, as well as selected data from the first quarter 2010 version of the national news release. Tables and additional content from the 2009 Employment and Wages Annual Bulletin are now available online at www.bls.gov/cew/cewbultn09.htm. This web-only publication has replaced the annual print bulletin, Employment and Wages Annual Averages. The March 2010 issue of this annual bulletin was the final one to be issued on paper.
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 Mid-Atlantic Information Office at 215-597-3282 from 8:30 a.m. to 12:00 p.m. and 1:00 p.m. to 3:30 p.m. ET.
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 127.9 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) | |||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
March 2011 (thousands) | Percent change, March 2010-11(4) | National ranking by percent change(5) | Average weekly wage | National ranking by level(5) | Percent change, first quarter 2010-11(4) | National ranking by percent change(5) | |
United States(6) |
127,851.0 | 1.3 | -- | $935 | -- | 5.2 | -- |
Pennsylvania |
5,459.3 | 1.5 | -- | 896 | 16 | 4.6 | 19 |
Allegheny, Pa. |
666.8 | 1.5 | 106 | 997 | 65 | 5.2 | 85 |
Berks, Pa. |
161.7 | 1.4 | 118 | 780 | 210 | 4.0 | 165 |
Bucks, Pa. |
244.9 | 0.5 | 206 | 855 | 143 | 3.1 | 226 |
Butler, Pa. |
80.2 | 4.2 | 6 | 799 | 189 | 9.3 | 9 |
Chester, Pa. |
233.3 | 1.1 | 148 | 1,164 | 34 | 2.9 | 242 |
Cumberland, Pa. |
120.5 | 1.1 | 148 | 815 | 174 | 3.7 | 183 |
Dauphin, Pa. |
173.3 | 0.4 | 216 | 889 | 125 | 4.6 | 116 |
Delaware, Pa. |
205.3 | 1.7 | 86 | 1,003 | 62 | 3.7 | 183 |
Erie, Pa. |
121.9 | 3.2 | 15 | 695 | 292 | 6.8 | 38 |
Lackawanna, Pa. |
96.4 | -0.4 | 277 | 665 | 304 | 2.9 | 242 |
Lancaster, Pa. |
214.0 | 0.4 | 216 | 734 | 263 | 4.7 | 111 |
Lehigh, Pa. |
170.4 | 2.0 | 65 | 879 | 130 | 3.8 | 180 |
Luzerne, Pa. |
136.3 | 1.0 | 158 | 684 | 297 | 4.1 | 157 |
Montgomery, Pa. |
456.4 | 0.2 | 242 | 1,198 | 28 | 2.1 | 285 |
Northampton, Pa. |
97.6 | 0.6 | 196 | 791 | 199 | 4.6 | 116 |
Philadelphia, Pa. |
628.0 | 1.2 | 139 | 1,079 | 46 | 4.5 | 125 |
Washington, Pa. |
80.2 | 4.3 | 3 | 867 | 139 | 8.8 | 11 |
Westmoreland, Pa. |
128.8 | 1.1 | 148 | 716 | 278 | 6.1 | 57 |
York, Pa. |
168.2 | 1.6 | 97 | 789 | 204 | 3.5 | 197 |
Footnotes: |
Area | Employment March 2011 | Average weekly wage(3) |
---|---|---|
United States(4) |
127,850,997 | $935 |
Pennsylvania |
5,459,261 | 896 |
Adams |
31,753 | 639 |
Allegheny |
666,795 | 997 |
Armstrong |
17,395 | 698 |
Beaver |
53,625 | 735 |
Bedford |
14,979 | 575 |
Berks |
161,661 | 780 |
Blair |
57,323 | 646 |
Bradford |
23,856 | 713 |
Bucks |
244,858 | 855 |
Butler |
80,185 | 799 |
Cambria |
56,240 | 638 |
Cameron |
2,126 | 635 |
Carbon |
16,675 | 533 |
Centre |
64,239 | 770 |
Chester |
233,289 | 1,164 |
Clarion |
13,586 | 585 |
Clearfield |
30,188 | 617 |
Clinton |
12,883 | 656 |
Columbia |
24,228 | 636 |
Crawford |
29,709 | 624 |
Cumberland |
120,491 | 815 |
Dauphin |
173,300 | 889 |
Delaware |
205,283 | 1,003 |
Elk |
14,860 | 667 |
Erie |
121,875 | 695 |
Fayette |
40,379 | 621 |
Forest |
2,154 | 683 |
Franklin |
54,096 | 661 |
Fulton |
4,503 | 669 |
Greene |
14,110 | 964 |
Huntingdon |
12,743 | 589 |
Indiana |
32,575 | 733 |
Jefferson |
15,381 | 621 |
Juniata |
6,010 | 547 |
Lackawanna |
96,370 | 665 |
Lancaster |
213,986 | 734 |
Lawrence |
28,485 | 663 |
Lebanon |
47,704 | 660 |
Lehigh |
170,414 | 879 |
Luzerne |
136,262 | 684 |
Lycoming |
51,501 | 689 |
Mc Kean |
15,751 | 692 |
Mercer |
46,699 | 659 |
Mifflin |
14,888 | 595 |
Monroe |
54,850 | 733 |
Montgomery |
456,392 | 1,198 |
Montour |
15,742 | 1,014 |
Northampton |
97,606 | 791 |
Northumberland |
27,700 | 632 |
Perry |
7,845 | 516 |
Philadelphia |
627,974 | 1,079 |
Pike |
9,724 | 566 |
Potter |
5,310 | 668 |
Schuylkill |
49,249 | 643 |
Snyder |
14,799 | 557 |
Somerset |
25,269 | 620 |
Sullivan |
1,634 | 544 |
Susquehanna |
8,854 | 588 |
Tioga |
13,032 | 627 |
Union |
15,878 | 677 |
Venango |
20,357 | 678 |
Warren |
14,780 | 614 |
Washington |
80,174 | 867 |
Wayne |
14,483 | 612 |
Westmoreland |
128,774 | 716 |
Wyoming |
9,552 | 728 |
York |
168,226 | 789 |
Footnotes: |
State | Employment | Average weekly wage(3) | ||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
March 2011 (thousands) | Percent change, March 2010-11 | Average weekly wage | National ranking by level | Percent change, first quarter 2010-11 | National ranking by percent change | |
United States(4) |
127,851.0 | 1.3 | $935 | -- | 5.2 | -- |
Alabama |
1,808.5 | 0.3 | 766 | 34 | 4.2 | 30 |
Alaska |
310.1 | 2.0 | 912 | 15 | 3.8 | 36 |
Arizona |
2,392.1 | 0.7 | 837 | 21 | 4.9 | 17 |
Arkansas |
1,133.5 | 0.3 | 715 | 47 | 6.1 | 6 |
California |
14,413.8 | 1.2 | 1,066 | 6 | 6.2 | 5 |
Colorado |
2,179.8 | 1.3 | 952 | 11 | 4.4 | 27 |
Connecticut |
1,589.2 | 1.4 | 1,282 | 3 | 6.3 | 4 |
Delaware |
396.0 | 2.1 | 1,026 | 7 | 5.7 | 11 |
District of Columbia |
702.3 | 2.5 | 1,540 | 1 | 2.4 | 51 |
Florida |
7,235.9 | 1.2 | 794 | 28 | 3.8 | 36 |
Georgia |
3,771.0 | 1.4 | 885 | 17 | 5.7 | 11 |
Hawaii |
593.8 | 1.2 | 790 | 30 | 3.1 | 47 |
Idaho |
590.3 | -0.1 | 659 | 48 | 4.1 | 31 |
Illinois |
5,472.4 | 1.2 | 1,003 | 9 | 6.0 | 7 |
Indiana |
2,717.1 | 1.9 | 772 | 33 | 4.5 | 22 |
Iowa |
1,419.3 | 0.6 | 738 | 40 | 4.5 | 22 |
Kansas |
1,293.3 | 0.6 | 748 | 36 | 4.0 | 33 |
Kentucky |
1,715.6 | 1.5 | 737 | 42 | 3.7 | 40 |
Louisiana |
1,841.3 | 0.9 | 798 | 27 | 4.5 | 22 |
Maine |
558.6 | 0.1 | 723 | 43 | 4.8 | 18 |
Maryland |
2,452.1 | 1.3 | 1,010 | 8 | 3.6 | 41 |
Massachusetts |
3,116.5 | 1.2 | 1,159 | 5 | 5.8 | 10 |
Michigan |
3,757.7 | 2.2 | 872 | 19 | 7.1 | 2 |
Minnesota |
2,530.7 | 1.4 | 935 | 14 | 6.0 | 7 |
Mississippi |
1,074.8 | 0.6 | 650 | 51 | 3.2 | 46 |
Missouri |
2,562.3 | 0.3 | 786 | 31 | 3.0 | 49 |
Montana |
412.2 | 0.4 | 656 | 50 | 3.6 | 41 |
Nebraska |
886.2 | 0.7 | 721 | 46 | 3.9 | 35 |
Nevada |
1,102.6 | 0.4 | 802 | 26 | 3.0 | 49 |
New Hampshire |
596.3 | 1.1 | 876 | 18 | 5.2 | 15 |
New Jersey |
3,701.1 | 0.0 | 1,160 | 4 | 3.5 | 43 |
New Mexico |
776.5 | -0.1 | 738 | 40 | 3.1 | 47 |
New York |
8,336.5 | 1.2 | 1,368 | 2 | 6.7 | 3 |
North Carolina |
3,809.6 | 1.6 | 825 | 22 | 4.3 | 29 |
North Dakota |
364.5 | 5.0 | 748 | 36 | 9.5 | 1 |
Ohio |
4,870.6 | 1.4 | 819 | 23 | 4.6 | 19 |
Oklahoma |
1,491.5 | 1.0 | 739 | 39 | 5.3 | 13 |
Oregon |
1,590.3 | 1.3 | 812 | 24 | 4.6 | 19 |
Pennsylvania |
5,459.3 | 1.5 | 896 | 16 | 4.6 | 19 |
Rhode Island |
438.1 | 0.1 | 863 | 20 | 3.4 | 44 |
South Carolina |
1,767.2 | 1.4 | 722 | 45 | 4.5 | 22 |
South Dakota |
382.3 | 1.3 | 659 | 48 | 4.1 | 31 |
Tennessee |
2,575.9 | 1.7 | 793 | 29 | 3.8 | 36 |
Texas |
10,324.3 | 2.2 | 946 | 13 | 5.9 | 9 |
Utah |
1,156.9 | 2.0 | 753 | 35 | 3.4 | 44 |
Vermont |
291.9 | 0.9 | 741 | 38 | 3.8 | 36 |
Virginia |
3,539.9 | 1.5 | 968 | 10 | 4.0 | 33 |
Washington |
2,785.3 | 1.2 | 947 | 12 | 5.2 | 15 |
West Virginia |
689.3 | 1.0 | 723 | 43 | 4.5 | 22 |
Wisconsin |
2,609.5 | 1.6 | 779 | 32 | 5.3 | 13 |
Wyoming |
265.2 | 1.0 | 808 | 25 | 4.4 | 27 |
Puerto Rico |
923.0 | -2.6 | 500 | (5) | 0.8 | (5) |
Virgin Islands |
45.1 | 0.4 | 738 | (5) | 1.0 | (5) |
Footnotes: |
Last Modified Date: October 17, 2011