Employment declined in one of Mississippi’s two large counties from June 2010 to June 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 Hinds County declined 1.1 percent, while Harrison County registered a 0.7-percent increase. (See table 1.)

Nationally, employment increased 0.9 percent during the 12-month period as 215 of the 322 largest U.S. counties gained jobs. Ottawa, Mich., posted the largest increase, with a gain of 4.7 percent, while San Joaquin, Calif., experienced the biggest employment decline at 4.0 percent.

Among the state’s two largest counties, employment was highest in Hinds (121,900) in June 2011. Together, Mississippi’s large counties accounted for 19.1 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 June 2011.

Hinds County posted a 2.0-percent wage gain from the second quarter of 2010 to the second quarter of 2011 while wages in Harrison County increased 0.6 percent. Nationally, average weekly wages advanced 3.0 percent. Average weekly wages in both Hinds County ($777) and Harrison County ($669) were well below the national average of $891. (See table 1.)

Employment and wage levels (but not over-the-year changes) are also available for the 80 counties in Mississippi with employment below 75,000. One of these smaller counties, Claiborne ($955), had average weekly wages above the national average. (See table 2.)

Large county wage changes

Hinds County’s 2.0-percent wage growth from the second quarter of 2010 to the second quarter of 2011 ranked 218th among the 322 largest counties. Harrison County (0.6 percent) ranked 298th among the nation’s large counties. (See table 1.)

Nationwide, 307 large counties experienced growth in average weekly wages. Williamson, Texas, ranked first with an increase of 18.0 percent from the second quarter of 2010 to the second quarter of 2011. Middlesex, Mass., ranked second with a gain of 10.2 percent, followed by the counties of Hartford, Md. (8.8 percent), Santa Clara, Calif. (8.5 percent), and Butler, Pa. (7.5 percent).

Among the 322 largest counties, 11 experienced over-the-year decreases in average weekly wages. Champaign, Ill., had the largest decrease in the nation (-3.6 percent), followed by the counties of Benton, Ark. (-2.7 percent), Rutherford, Tenn. (-2.2 percent), New York, N.Y. (-1.1 percent), and Elkhart, Ind. (-1.0 percent).

Large county average weekly wages

Average weekly wages in both of Mississippi’s large counties placed in the bottom half of the national rankings in the second quarter of 2011. Hinds County ($777) ranked 223rd and Harrison County ($669) ranked 309th.

Nationally, average weekly wages were higher than average in 107 of the 322 largest counties. Santa Clara, Calif., recorded the highest average weekly wage at $1,743. New York, N.Y., was second with an average weekly wage of $1,645, followed by Arlington, Va. ($1,553), Washington, D.C. ($1,541), and Fairfield, Conn. ($1,469).

There were 215 large counties with an average weekly wage below the U.S. average in the second quarter of 2011. Horry, S.C. ($526), reported the lowest wage, followed by the counties of Hidalgo, Texas ($571), Cameron, Texas ($572), Yakima, Wash. ($610), and Webb, Texas ($616).

Average weekly wages in Mississippi’s smaller counties

Among the 80 counties in Mississippi with employment below 75,000, all but 1 had average weekly wages below the national average of $891. The lone exception was Claiborne ($955). (See table 2.) Issaquena reported the lowest weekly wage among all the counties in the state, averaging $403 in the second quarter of 2011.

When all 82 counties in Mississippi were considered, 5 reported average weekly wages under $500, 50 reported wages from $500-$599, 19 had wages from $600-$699, 5 had wages from $700-$799, and 3 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 2009 edition of this bulletin contains selected data produced by the 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. 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. Tables and additional content from the 2009 Employment and Wages Annual Bulletin are now available online at www.bls.gov/cew/cewbultn09.htm.

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.

Last Modified Date: January 31, 2012