Average weekly wages in New York County, more commonly known as the borough of Manhattan, jumped 12.0 percent from the first quarter of 2013 to the first quarter of 2014, the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics reported today. Chief Regional Economist Martin Kohli attributed the increase to higher wages in the financial activities sector. Manhattan’s wage growth ranked second among the nation’s 339 largest counties, those with 75,000 or more jobs. Nationally, wages rose 3.8 percent over the year. (See chart 1.)

Manhattan’s average weekly wages grew to $2,749, the highest among the nation’s 339 large counties. Queens led the four other New York City boroughs with a weekly wage of $911, which was 11 percent below the national average of $1,027.

The fastest employment gain among the City’s boroughs was in Brooklyn (Kings County), up 4.6 percent, followed by Staten Island (Richmond County), up 3.1 percent. (See table 1.) Nationally, employment grew 1.7 percent from March 2013 to March 2014. (See chart 2.)

 

Over-the-year wage changes

Although average weekly wages increased in all five New York City boroughs, only Manhattan registered wage growth that exceeded the national average. The Bronx’s 2.2-percent increase ranked second among the five boroughs and 199^th among the nation’s 339 largest counties. Wage gains in Staten Island, Queens, and Brooklyn ranked among the bottom third of the nation’s large counties.

In Manhattan, all 10 supersectors with 1,000 or more employees reported over-the-year gains in average weekly wages. Financial activities experienced the fastest wage growth, up 21.0 percent, and contributed the most to the over-the-year advance in the borough’s average weekly wage. Manufacturing had the second-fastest wage gain at 16.0 percent. Two other supersectors registered wage gains of at least 5.0 percent—information (9.0 percent) and professional and business services (6.4 percent).

Nationally, the largest increase in average weekly wages also occurred in financial activities (10.0 percent), followed by information (7.1 percent). Professional and business services (with a 4.2-percent rise) and financial activities were the largest contributors to the over-the-year increase in average weekly wages at the national level.

Among the 339 largest U.S. counties, 323 posted gains in average wages over the year; 15 experienced declines. Chester County, Pa., had the largest wage gain at 13.9 percent. Benton, Ark., recorded the largest decline, 3.2 percent.

Average weekly wages

Manhattan’s average weekly wage during the year ending in the first quarter of 2014 was more than two and a half times the national average—$2,749 compared to $1,027. No other county in New York City had an average weekly wage above that of the nation. Brooklyn was the lowest-paying borough, with average wages below $800 per week. (See chart 3.)

Within Manhattan, the financial activities supersector had the highest first-quarter average weekly wage, $9,261. (See table 2.) Natural resources and mining had the second-highest average wage ($3,901), followed by information ($3,207) and professional and business services ($2,603). Manhattan’s leisure and hospitality supersector had the lowest average weekly wage, $809. Wages in every supersector were higher in Manhattan than their respective national averages.

Among the 339 largest counties in the nation, Santa Clara, Calif., trailed Manhattan with the second highest average weekly wage, $2,074, followed by San Mateo, Calif., $2,058, and Somerset, N.J., $2,048. Four of the 10 counties with the highest wages in the nation were located in the greater New York area (New York, N.Y., Somerset, N.J., Fairfield, Conn., and Morris, N.J.), while the rest were located in or around the San Francisco area, the Washington, D.C. area, and the Boston area.

Employment

From March 2013 to March 2014, the five New York City counties gained jobs at rates faster than the national average of 1.7 percent. Brooklyn’s employment growth of 4.6 percent ranked 13^th among the nation’s 339 large counties, and Staten Island’s 3.1-percent gain ranked 58^th. Manhattan and Queens each registered annual job gains of 2.5 percent, placing them in the top third of large counties nationwide. Within Manhattan, among supersectors with 1,000 or more employees, leisure and hospitality reported the largest employment growth (5.1 percent), and manufacturing reported the largest decline (-1.6 percent). Employment in the Bronx increased 1.9 percent over the year.

Nationally, employment increased in 281 of the 339 largest U.S. counties from March 2013 to March 2014. Weld, Colo., posted the largest increase, with a gain of 7.5 percent over the year. Conversely, employment declined in 50 of the large counties. Peoria, Ill., had the largest over-the-year percentage decrease in employment (-2.6 percent).

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 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 2013 edition of this publication contains selected data produced by Business Employment Dynamics (BED) on job gains and losses, as well as selected data from the first quarter 2014 version of the national news release. Tables and additional content from Employment and Wages Annual Averages 2013 are now available online at www.bls.gov/cew/publications/employment-and-wages-annual-averages/2013/home.htm.

County employment and wage data for the second quarter 2014 are scheduled to be released on Thursday, December 18, 2014.

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 9.4 million employer reports cover 134.6 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 (see Technical Note below) 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.

Information in this release will be made available to sensory impaired individuals upon request. Voice phone: (202) 691-5200; Federal Relay Service: (800) 877-8339.

 

Table 1. Covered employment and wages in the United States, New York State, and five counties of New York City, first quarter 2014

Area	Employment		Average weekly wage(1)
	March 2014 (thousands)	Percent change, March 2013-14(2)	Average weekly wage	National ranking by level(3)	Percent change, first quarter 2013-14(2)	National ranking by percent change(3)
United States(4)	134,555.0	1.7	$1,027	--	3.8	--
New York State	8,699.5	1.6	1,460	2	7.3	1
Bronx	249.2	1.9	881	179	2.2	199
Kings	556.1	4.6	760	301	0.8	296
New York	2,453.1	2.5	2,749	1	12.0	2
Queens	539.3	2.5	911	165	1.3	268
Richmond	97.4	3.1	802	265	1.8	230
Footnotes: (1) Average weekly wages were calculated using unrounded data. (2) Percent changes were computed from quarterly employment and pay data adjusted for noneconomic county reclassifications. (3) Ranking does not include data for Puerto Rico or the Virgin Islands. (4) Totals for the United States do not include data for Puerto Rico or the Virgin Islands.
Note: Covered employment and wages includes workers covered by Unemployment Insurance (UI) and Unemployment Compensation for Federal Employees (UCFE) programs. Data are preliminary.

 

Table 2. Covered employment and wages in the United States and New York County, first quarter 2014

Area	Employment		Average weekly wage(1)
	March 2014 (thousands)	Percent change, March 2013-14(2)	Average weekly wage	Percent change, first quarter 2013-14(2)
United States(3)	134,555.0	1.7	$1,027	3.8
Private industry	113,150.6	2.1	1,035	4.1
Natural resources and mining	1,920.1	2.5	1,249	6.4
Construction	5,721.2	4.2	1,002	2.6
Manufacturing	12,033.7	0.9	1,266	3.4
Trade, transportation, and utilities	25,564.3	2.1	842	3.1
Information	2,710.2	0.6	1,905	7.1
Financial activities	7,588.3	0.7	2,115	10.0
Professional and business services	18,631.2	2.4	1,346	4.2
Education and health services	20,451.4	1.3	852	1.9
Leisure and hospitality	14,134.7	3.0	388	1.8
Other services	4,172.3	1.7	641	3.2
Government	21,404.4	-0.2	983	2.5
New York, NY	2,453.1	2.5	2,749	12.0
Private industry	2,020.4	2.9	3,092	12.5
Natural resources and mining	0.2	9.5	3,901	61.5
Construction	33.1	-0.4	1,702	2.0
Manufacturing	25.1	-1.6	1,736	16.0
Trade, transportation, and utilities	255.9	1.3	1,339	3.6
Information	145.9	1.8	3,207	9.0
Financial activities	354.2	1.7	9,261	21.0
Professional and business services	509.7	3.1	2,603	6.4
Education and health services	324.1	3.3	1,206	1.8
Leisure and hospitality	269.8	5.1	809	2.5
Other services	96.0	2.3	1,086	4.3
Government	432.7	0.4	1,147	2.6
Footnotes: (1) Average weekly wages were calculated using unrounded data. (2) Percent changes were computed from quarterly employment and pay data adjusted for noneconomic county reclassifications. (3) Totals for the United States do not include data for Puerto Rico or the Virgin Islands.
Note: Covered employment and wages includes workers covered by Unemployment Insurance (UI) and Unemployment Compensation for Federal Employees (UCFE) programs. Data are preliminary.

 

Table 3. Covered employment and wages by state, first quarter 2014

State	Employment		Average weekly wage(1)
	March 2014 (thousands)	Percent change, March 2013-14	Average weekly wage	National ranking by level	Percent change, first quarter 2013-14	National ranking by percent change
United States(2)	134,555.0	1.7	$1,027	--	3.8	--
Alabama	1,849.5	0.6	825	38	1.6	50
Alaska	319.1	0.3	1,023	15	3.5	17
Arizona	2,540.8	1.9	918	22	3.1	26
Arkansas	1,152.6	0.3	784	46	2.5	37
California	15,572.9	2.8	1,165	6	4.5	5
Colorado	2,370.1	3.1	1,046	13	4.2	9
Connecticut	1,627.2	0.5	1,362	3	3.3	24
Delaware	412.5	2.0	1,110	7	3.9	13
District of Columbia	727.3	1.2	1,701	1	5.3	3
Florida	7,752.4	2.9	868	28	3.0	28
Georgia	3,974.8	2.6	972	18	3.4	18
Hawaii	624.9	1.2	857	32	1.9	42
Idaho	631.5	3.3	722	50	3.9	13
Illinois	5,651.2	0.9	1,104	8	4.2	9
Indiana	2,842.5	1.2	845	35	1.7	48
Iowa	1,485.4	1.5	824	39	3.0	28
Kansas	1,343.0	1.7	840	36	4.1	11
Kentucky	1,784.1	1.1	811	40	2.7	33
Louisiana	1,909.8	1.2	868	28	2.6	35
Maine	565.9	0.7	786	45	1.9	42
Maryland	2,512.8	0.1	1,086	9	1.8	47
Massachusetts	3,272.2	1.3	1,300	4	5.3	3
Michigan	4,013.5	1.7	950	20	3.1	26
Minnesota	2,652.3	0.8	1,036	14	3.4	18
Mississippi	1,096.8	0.6	707	51	1.7	48
Missouri	2,634.6	1.0	866	31	2.9	30
Montana	429.9	0.7	730	49	3.3	24
Nebraska	930.7	1.7	797	42	2.6	35
Nevada	1,183.5	3.4	867	30	2.7	33
New Hampshire	614.2	1.3	970	19	3.4	18
New Jersey	3,794.3	0.6	1,263	5	2.2	38
New Mexico	787.0	0.2	793	43	1.9	42
New York	8,699.5	1.6	1,460	2	7.3	1
North Carolina	4,003.2	1.7	914	23	3.4	18
North Dakota	428.9	3.3	944	21	6.7	2
Ohio	5,071.5	1.3	909	24	2.8	32
Oklahoma	1,565.2	0.7	854	34	3.9	13
Oregon	1,688.5	2.8	893	25	3.4	18
Pennsylvania	5,560.9	0.3	1,007	16	4.1	11
Rhode Island	449.7	1.1	996	17	4.4	8
South Carolina	1,873.6	2.7	787	44	1.9	42
South Dakota	400.2	1.4	741	48	4.5	5
Tennessee	2,718.2	1.7	874	27	2.2	38
Texas	11,220.6	2.6	1,062	11	4.5	5
Utah	1,270.8	3.1	831	37	3.4	18
Vermont	301.1	0.5	807	41	1.9	42
Virginia	3,613.2	0.0	1,050	12	2.2	38
Washington	2,966.3	2.6	1,068	10	3.8	16
West Virginia	694.6	-0.9	779	47	1.4	51
Wisconsin	2,694.5	1.0	856	33	2.9	30
Wyoming	275.4	1.0	877	26	2.1	41
Puerto Rico	914.9	-1.8	521	(3)	1.4	(3)
Virgin Islands	38.3	-3.6	744	(3)	2.6	(3)
Footnotes: (1) Average weekly wages were calculated using unrounded data. (2) Totals for the United States do not include data for Puerto Rico or the Virgin Islands. (3) Data not included in the national ranking.
Note: Covered employment and wages includes workers covered by Unemployment Insurance (UI) and Unemployment Compensation for Federal Employees (UCFE) programs. Data are preliminary.