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Economic News Release
PRINT:Print
QCEW QCEW Program Links

County Employment and Wages News Release

For release 10:00 a.m. (EDT), Friday, October 16, 2009          USDL-09-1241

Technical Information:	(202) 691-6567  *  QCEWInfo@bls.gov  *  www.bls.gov/cew
Media Contact:   	(202) 691-5902  *  PressOffice@bls.gov


                      COUNTY EMPLOYMENT AND WAGES
                          First Quarter 2009


From March 2008 to March 2009, employment declined in 323 of the 334 largest 
U.S. counties according to preliminary data, the U.S. Bureau of Labor 
Statistics reported today. Elkhart County, Ind., located about 100 miles 
east of Chicago, posted the largest percentage decline, with a loss of 23.4 
percent over the year, compared with a national job decrease of 4.2 percent.  
Nearly 80 percent of the employment decline in Elkhart occurred in 
manufacturing, which lost 22,100 jobs over the year. Arlington County, Va., 
experienced the largest over-the-year percentage increase in employment 
among the largest counties in the U.S., with a gain of 2.6 percent.

The U.S. average weekly wage fell by 2.5 percent in the first quarter of 
2009. This is the largest over-the-year decline in U.S. average weekly wages 
dating back to 1978, when these quarterly data were first comparable. (See 
Technical Note.) The financial activities supersector sustained the largest 
decline in average weekly wages, with a decrease of 15.9 percent. Total 
wages for this industry fell by $37.9 billion over the year. New York 
County, N.Y., had the largest over-the-year decrease in average weekly wages 
in the first quarter of 2009, with a loss of 23.4 percent. The area’s 
substantial over-the-year wage declines, which were largely attributable to 
lower bonus payments in financial activities, had a significant impact on 
the national average weekly wage trend in the first quarter of 2009. 
Excluding New York County, the national average weekly wage decrease is 1.3 
percent--a difference of 1.2 percentage points.

Table A.  Top 10 large counties ranked by March 2009 employment, March 2008-09 employment 
decrease, and March 2008-09 percent decrease in employment

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
                                       Employment in large counties
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
       March 2009 employment      |      Decrease in employment,     |  Percent decrease in employment, 
            (thousands)           |           March 2008-09          |           March 2008-09
                                  |            (thousands)           |                  
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
                                  |                                  |                                  
 United States           128,992.2| United States            -5,676.3| United States                -4.2
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
                                  |                                  |                                  
 Los Angeles, Calif.       3,996.3| Los Angeles, Calif.        -206.5| Elkhart, Ind.               -23.4
 Cook, Ill.                2,381.5| Maricopa, Ariz.            -133.9| Macomb, Mich.               -10.8
 New York, N.Y.            2,290.3| Cook, Ill.                 -108.4| Marion, Fla.                -10.5
 Harris, Texas             2,028.4| Orange, Calif.             -102.8| Washoe, Nev.                -10.4
 Maricopa, Ariz.           1,671.0| New York, N.Y.              -84.9| Horry, S.C.                 -10.2
 Dallas, Texas             1,425.7| Clark, Nev.                 -83.3| Seminole, Fla.               -9.7
 Orange, Calif.            1,399.5| Miami-Dade, Fla.            -62.8| Ottawa, Mich.                -9.7
 San Diego, Calif.         1,263.0| San Diego, Calif.           -61.6| Catawba, N.C.                -9.7
 King, Wash.               1,135.9| Wayne, Mich.                -59.0| Lee, Fla.                    -9.5
 Miami-Dade, Fla.            963.9| Broward, Fla.               -58.6| Sarasota, Fla.               -9.5
                                  |                                  |                                  
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Of the 334 largest counties in the United States (as measured by 2008 annual 
average employment), 154 had over-the-year percentage changes in employment 
equal to or below the national average (-4.2 percent) in March 2009; 178 
large counties experienced changes above the national average. The percent 
change in average weekly wages was equal to or lower than the national 
average (-2.5 percent) in 76 of the largest U.S. counties but was above the 
national average in 255 counties.

The employment and 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 reports submitted by every 
employer subject to unemployment insurance (UI) laws. The 9.1 million 
employer reports cover 129 million full- and part-time workers.

Large County Employment

In March 2009, national employment, as measured by the QCEW program, was 129 
million, down by 4.2 percent from March 2008. The 334 U.S. counties with 
75,000 or more employees accounted for 71.5 percent of total U.S. employment 
and 77.7 percent of total wages. These 334 counties had a net job decline of 
4,160,200 over the year, accounting for 73.3 percent of the overall U.S. 
employment decrease.

Employment declined in 323 counties from March 2008 to March 2009. The 
largest percentage decline in employment was in Elkhart, Ind. (-23.4 
percent). Macomb, Mich., had the next largest percentage decline (-10.8 
percent), followed by the counties of Marion, Fla. (-10.5 percent), Washoe, 
Nev. (-10.4 percent), and Horry, S.C. (-10.2 percent). The largest decline 
in employment levels occurred in Los Angeles, Calif. (-206,500), followed by 
the counties of Maricopa, Ariz. (-133,900), Cook, Ill. (-108,400), Orange,
Calif. (-102,800), and New York, N.Y. (-84,900). (See table A.) Combined 
employment losses in these five counties over the year totaled 636,500 or
11.2 percent of the employment decline for the U.S. as a whole.

Employment rose in eight of the large counties from March 2008 to March 
2009. None of the large counties grew by more than three percent over the 
year. Arlington, Va., had the largest over-the-year percentage increase in 
employment (2.6 percent) among the largest counties in the U.S. Montgomery, 
Texas, had the next largest increase (1.5 percent), followed by the counties 
of Fort Bend, Texas (1.2 percent), Bronx, N.Y. (1.1 percent), and Anchorage, 
Alaska, and East Baton Rouge, La. (0.3 percent each). The largest gains in 
the level of employment from March 2008 to March 2009 were recorded in the 
counties of Arlington, Va. (3,900), Bronx, N.Y. (2,400), Montgomery, Texas 
(1,900), Fort Bend, Texas (1,500), and East Baton Rouge, La. (900).

Table B.  Top 10 large counties ranked by first quarter 2009 average weekly wages, first quarter 2008-09 
decrease in average weekly wages, and first quarter 2008-09 percent decrease in average weekly wages

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
                                  Average weekly wage in large counties
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
        Average weekly wage,      |    Decrease in average weekly    |    Percent decrease in average 
         first quarter 2009       |    wage, first quarter 2008-09   |         weekly wage, first
                                  |                                  |          quarter 2008-09
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
                                  |                                  |                                  
 United States                $882| United States                -$23| United States                -2.5
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
                                  |                                  |                                  
 New York, N.Y.             $2,149| New York, N.Y.              -$657| New York, N.Y.              -23.4
 San Mateo, Calif.           1,786| Fairfield, Conn.             -192| Mecklenburg, N.C.           -10.3
 Fairfield, Conn.            1,735| Suffolk, Mass.               -155| Fairfield, Conn.            -10.0
 Somerset, N.J.              1,734| Hudson, N.J.                 -150| Hudson, N.J.                 -9.7
 Suffolk, Mass.              1,558| Mecklenburg, N.C.            -121| Suffolk, Mass.               -9.0
 San Francisco, Calif.       1,523| San Francisco, Calif.        -100| Westmoreland, Pa.            -8.9
 Santa Clara, Calif.         1,519| Westchester, N.Y.             -92| Elkhart, Ind.                -8.7
 Arlington, Va.              1,472| Hennepin, Minn.               -80| Trumbull, Ohio               -7.1
 Washington, D.C.            1,461| Union, N.J.                   -72| Westchester, N.Y.            -7.0
 Hudson, N.J.                1,394| Santa Clara, Calif.           -70| Hennepin, Minn.              -6.7
 Morris, N.J.                1,394|                                  |                                  
                                  |                                  |                                  
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Large County Average Weekly Wages

Average weekly wages for the nation fell 2.5 percent over the year in the 
first quarter of 2009. This is the largest over-the-year decline in U.S. 
average weekly wages dating back to 1978. During that time span, over-the-
year declines in average weekly wages occurred in only two other quarters: 
first quarter 1993 (-0.9 percent) and fourth quarter 1994 (-1.1 percent). 
The average weekly wages in those two quarters declined because employment 
growth outpaced total wage growth; in the first quarter of 2009, both 
employment and wages decreased.

Among the 334 largest counties, 202 had over-the-year decreases in average 
weekly wages this quarter. The largest wage losses occurred in New York, 
N.Y., with a decline of 23.4 percent from the first quarter of 2008. 
Mecklenburg, N.C., had the second largest decline (-10.3 percent), followed 
by the counties of Fairfield, Conn. (-10.0 percent), Hudson, N.J. (-9.7 
percent), and Suffolk, Mass. (-9.0 percent). (See table B.)

Of the 334 largest counties, 120 experienced growth in average weekly wages. 
San Mateo, Calif., led the nation in growth in average weekly wages with an 
increase of 23.7 percent from the first quarter of 2008. Benton, Ark., was 
second with a gain of 16.7 percent, followed by the counties of Solano, 
Calif. (16.0 percent), Pulaski, Ark. (10.7 percent), and Peoria, Ill. (6.2 
percent).

The national average weekly wage in the first quarter of 2009 was $882. 
Average weekly wages were higher than the national average in 103 of the 334 
largest U.S. counties. Three of the five counties with the highest average 
weekly wages in the nation were also among the five counties with the 
largest over-the-year losses in average weekly wages. Despite suffering the 
largest average weekly wage losses in the nation, New York, N.Y., held the 
top position among the highest-paid large counties with an average weekly 
wage of $2,149. San Mateo, Calif., was second with an average weekly wage of 
$1,786, followed by Fairfield, Conn. ($1,735), Somerset, N.J. ($1,734), and 
Suffolk, Mass. ($1,558). There were 230 counties with an average weekly wage 
below the national average in the first quarter of 2009. The lowest average 
weekly wage was reported in Horry, S.C. ($525), followed by the counties of 
Cameron, Texas ($527), Hidalgo, Texas ($538), Webb, Texas ($552), and Lake, 
Fla. ($576). (See table 1.)

Average weekly wages are affected not only by changes in total wages but 
also by employment changes in high- and low-paying industries. (See 
Technical Note.)  The 2.5-percent over-the-year decrease in average weekly 
wages for the nation was partially due to large employment declines in high-
paying industries such as manufacturing. (See table 2.)

Ten Largest U.S. Counties

All of the 10 largest counties (based on 2008 annual average employment 
levels) experienced over-the-year percent declines in employment in March 
2009. Maricopa, Ariz., experienced the largest decline in employment among 
the 10 largest counties with a 7.4 percent decrease. Within Maricopa, every 
private industry group except education and health services experienced 
employment declines, with construction experiencing the largest decline 
(-30.7 percent). (See table 2.) Orange, Calif., had the next largest decline 
in employment, -6.8 percent, followed by Miami-Dade, Fla. (-6.1 percent). 
Harris, Texas, experienced the smallest decline in employment (-1.1 percent) 
among the 10 largest counties. Dallas, Texas (-3.3 percent), and New York, 
N.Y. (-3.6 percent), had the second and third smallest employment losses, 
respectively.

Nine of the 10 largest U.S. counties saw an over-the-year decrease in 
average weekly wages. The nation-leading 23.4-percent wage decrease in New 
York, N.Y., was fueled by significant wage losses in the finance industry 
(-35.2 percent). New York’s average weekly wage loss was followed by Cook, 
Ill. (-5.4 percent), and Dallas, Texas (-3.3 percent). San Diego, Calif., 
had the smallest decrease in wages (-1.1 percent), followed by Miami-Dade, 
Fla. (-1.2 percent). The only wage increase occurred in King, Wash. (0.2 
percent).

Largest County by State

Table 3 shows March 2009 employment and the 2009 first quarter average 
weekly wage in the largest county in each state, which is based on 2008 
annual average employment levels. The employment levels in the counties in 
table 3 in March 2009 ranged from approximately four million in Los Angeles 
County, Calif., to 42,900 in Laramie County, Wyo. The highest average weekly 
wage of these counties was in New York, N.Y. ($2,149), while the lowest 
average weekly wage was in Yellowstone, Mont. ($697).

For More Information

The tables included in this release contain data for the nation and for the 
334 U.S. counties with annual average employment levels of 75,000 or more in 
2008. March 2009 employment and 2009 first-quarter average weekly wages for 
all states are provided in table 4 of this release.

For additional information about the quarterly employment and wages data, 
please read the Technical Note. Data for the first quarter of 2009 and final 
data for 2008 will be available later at http://www.bls.gov/cew/. Additional 
information about the QCEW data may be obtained by calling (202) 691-6567.

Several BLS regional offices are issuing QCEW news releases targeted to 
local data users. For links to these releases, see 
http://www.bls.gov/cew/cewregional.htm.

_____________           
The County Employment and Wages release for second quarter 2009 is scheduled 
to be released on Wednesday, January 13, 2010.

   ----------------------------------------------------------------------
  |                                                                      |
  |                      County Changes for the 2009                     |
  |               County Employment and Wages News Releases              |
  |                                                                      |
  | Counties with annual average employment of 75,000 or more in 2008    |
  | are included in this release and will be included in future 2009     |
  | releases.  For 2009 data, two counties have been added to the        |
  | publication tables: Johnson, Iowa, and Gregg, Texas. Two counties,   |
  | Boone, Ky., and St. Tammany, La., will be excluded from 2009         |
  | releases.                                                            |
  |                                                                      |
   ----------------------------------------------------------------------





Technical Note


 These data are the product of a federal-state cooperative program, 
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 unem-
ployment insurance (UI) legislation and provided by State Workforce 
Agencies (SWAs). The summaries are a result of the administration of 
state unemployment insurance programs that require most employers to 
pay quarterly taxes based on the employment and wages of workers cov-
ered by UI. QCEW data in this release are based on the 2007 North 
American Industry Classification System. Data for 2009 are preliminary 
and subject to revision.

 For purposes of this release, large counties are defined as having 
employment levels of 75,000 or greater. In addition, data for San 
Juan, Puerto Rico, are provided, but not used in calculating U.S. av-
erages, rankings, or in the analysis in the text. Each year, these 
large counties are selected on the basis of the preliminary annual av-
erage of employment for the previous year. The 335 counties presented 
in this release were derived using 2008 preliminary annual averages of 
employment. For 2009 data, two counties have been added to the publi-
cation tables: Johnson, Iowa, and Gregg, Texas. These counties will be 
included in all 2009 quarterly releases. Two counties, Boone, Ky., and 
St. Tammany, La., which were published in the 2008 releases, will be 
excluded from this and future 2009 releases because their 2008 annual 
average employment levels were less than 75,000. The counties in table 
2 are selected and sorted each year based on the annual average em-
ployment from the preceding year.

 The preliminary QCEW data presented in this release may differ from 
data released by the individual states. These potential differences 
result from the states' continuing receipt of UI data over time and 
ongoing review and editing. The individual states determine their data 
release timetables.
  
Differences between QCEW, BED, and CES employment measures

 The Bureau publishes three different establishment-based employment 
measures for any given quarter. Each of these measures--QCEW, Business 
Employment Dynamics (BED), and Current Employment Statistics (CES)--
makes use of the quarterly UI employment reports in producing data; 
however, each measure has a somewhat different universe coverage, es-
timation procedure, and publication product.

 Differences in coverage and estimation methods can result in somewhat 
different measures of employment change over time. It is important to 
understand program differences and the intended uses of the program 
products. (See table.) Additional information on each program can be 
obtained from the program Web sites shown in the table.

Summary of Major Differences between QCEW, BED, and CES Employment Measures
 ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------                                     
            |         QCEW        |         BED          |         CES
 -----------|---------------------|----------------------|------------------------
 Source     |--Count of UI admini-|--Count of longitudi- |--Sample survey:
            |  strative records   |  nally-linked UI ad- |  400,000 establish-
            |  submitted by 9.1   |  ministrative records|  ments
            |  million establish- |  submitted by 7.0    |
            |  ments in first     |  million private-sec-|
            |  quarter 2009       |  tor employers       |
 -----------|---------------------|----------------------|------------------------
 Coverage   |--UI and UCFE cover- |--UI coverage, exclud-|Nonfarm wage and sal-
            |  age, including all |  ing government, pri-|  ary jobs:
            |  employers subject  |  vate households, and|--UI coverage, exclud-
            |  to state and fed-  |  establishments with |  ing agriculture, pri-
            |  eral UI laws       |  zero employment     |  vate households, and
            |                     |                      |  self-employed workers
            |                     |                      |--Other employment, in-
            |                     |                      |  cluding railroads, 
            |                     |                      |  religious organiza-
            |                     |                      |  tions, and other non-
            |                     |                      |  UI-covered jobs
 -----------|---------------------|----------------------|------------------------
 Publication|--Quarterly          |--Quarterly           |--Monthly 
 frequency  |  -7 months after the|  -8 months after the |  -Usually first Friday
            |   end of each quar- |   end of each quarter|   of following month
            |   ter               |                      |
 -----------|---------------------|----------------------|------------------------
 Use of UI  |--Directly summarizes|--Links each new UI   |--Uses UI file as a sam-
 file       |  and publishes each |  quarter to longitu- |  pling frame and annu-
            |  new quarter of UI  |  dinal database and  |  ally realigns (bench-
            |  data               |  directly summarizes |  marks) sample esti-
            |                     |  gross job gains and |  mates to first quar-
            |                     |  losses              |  ter UI levels
 -----------|---------------------|----------------------|------------------------
 Principal  |--Provides a quarter-|--Provides quarterly  |--Provides current month-
 products   |  ly and annual uni- |  employer dynamics   |  ly estimates of employ-
            |  verse count of es- |  data on establish-  |  ment, hours, and earn-
            |  tablishments, em-  |  ment openings, clos-|  ings at the MSA, state,
            |  ployment, and wages|  ings, expansions,   |  and national level by
            |  at the county, MSA,|  and contractions at |  industry
            |  state, and national|  the national level  |
            |  levels by detailed |  by NAICS supersec-  |
            |  industry           |  tors and by size of |
            |                     |  firm, and at the    |
            |                     |  state private-sector|
            |                     |  total level         |
            |                     |--Future expansions   |
            |                     |  will include data   |
            |                     |  with greater indus- |
            |                     |  try detail and data |
            |                     |  at the county and   |  
            |                     |  MSA level           |
 -----------|---------------------|----------------------|------------------------
 Principal  |--Major uses include:|--Major uses include: |--Major uses include:
 uses       |  -Detailed locality |  -Business cycle     |  -Principal national
            |   data              |   analysis           |   economic indicator
            |  -Periodic universe |  -Analysis of employ-|  -Official time series 
            |   counts for bench- |   er dynamics under- |   for employment change
            |   marking sample    |   lying economic ex- |   measures
            |   survey estimates  |   pansions and con-  |  -Input into other ma-
            |  -Sample frame for  |   tractions          |   jor economic indi-
            |   BLS establishment |  -Analysis of employ-|   cators
            |   surveys           |   ment expansion and |
            |                     |   contraction by size|   
            |                     |   of firm            |
            |                     |                      |
 -----------|---------------------|----------------------|------------------------
 Program    |--www.bls.gov/cew/   |--www.bls.gov/bdm/    |--www.bls.gov/ces/
 Web sites  |                     |                      |
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 



Coverage

 Employment and wage data for workers covered by state UI laws are 
compiled from quarterly contribution reports submitted to the SWAs by 
employers. For federal civilian workers covered by the Unemployment 
Compensation for Federal Employees (UCFE) program, employment and wage 
data are compiled from quarterly reports submitted by four major fed-
eral payroll processing centers on behalf of all federal agencies, 
with the exception of a few agencies which still report directly to 
the individual SWA. In addition to the quarterly contribution reports, 
employers who operate multiple establishments within a state complete 
a questionnaire, called the "Multiple Worksite Report," which provides 
detailed information on the location and industry of each of their es-
tablishments. QCEW employment and wage data are derived from microdata 
summaries of 9.1 million employer reports of employment and wages sub-
mitted by states to the BLS in 2008. These reports are based on place 
of employment rather than place of residence.

 UI and UCFE coverage is broad and has been basically comparable from 
state to state since 1978, when the 1976 amendments to the Federal Un-
employment Tax Act became effective, expanding coverage to include 
most State and local government employees. In 2008, UI and UCFE pro-
grams covered workers in 134.8 million jobs. The estimated 129.4 mil-
lion workers in these jobs (after adjustment for multiple jobholders) 
represented 95.5 percent of civilian wage and salary employment. Cov-
ered workers received $6.142 trillion in pay, representing 93.8 per-
cent of the wage and salary component of personal income and 42.5 per-
cent of the gross domestic product.

 Major exclusions from UI coverage include self-employed workers, most 
agricultural workers on small farms, all members of the Armed Forces, 
elected officials in most states, most employees of railroads, some 
domestic workers, most student workers at schools, and employees of 
certain small nonprofit organizations.

 State and federal UI laws change periodically. These changes may have 
an impact on the employment and wages reported by employers covered 
under the UI program. Coverage changes may affect the over-the-year 
comparisons presented in this news release.
  
Concepts and methodology

 Monthly employment is based on the number of workers who worked dur-
ing or received pay for the pay period including the 12th of the 
month. With few exceptions, all employees of covered firms are re-
ported, including production and sales workers, corporation officials, 
executives, supervisory personnel, and clerical workers.  Workers on 
paid vacations and part-time workers also are included.

 Average weekly wage values are calculated by dividing quarterly total 
wages by the average of the three monthly employment levels (all em-
ployees, as described above) and dividing the result by 13, for the 13 
weeks in the quarter. These calculations are made using unrounded em-
ployment and wage values. The average wage values that can be calcu-
lated using rounded data from the BLS database may differ from the av-
erages reported. Included in the quarterly wage data are non-wage cash 
payments such as bonuses, the cash value of meals and lodging when 
supplied, tips and other gratuities, and, in some states, employer 
contributions to certain deferred compensation plans such as 401(k) 
plans and stock options. Over-the-year comparisons of average weekly 
wages may reflect fluctuations in average monthly employment and/or 
total quarterly wages between the current quarter and prior year le-
vels.

 Average weekly wages are affected by the ratio of full-time to part-
time workers as well as the number of individuals in high-paying and 
low-paying occupations and the incidence of pay periods within a quar-
ter. For instance, the average weekly wage of the work force could in-
crease significantly when there is a large decline in the number of 
employees that had been receiving below-average wages. Wages may in-
clude payments to workers not present in the employment counts because
they did not work during the pay period including the 12th of the 
month. When comparing average weekly wage levels between industries, 
states, or quarters, these factors should be taken into consideration.

 Federal government pay levels are subject to periodic, sometimes 
large, fluctuations due to a calendar effect that consists of some 
quarters having more pay periods than others. Most federal employees 
are paid on a biweekly pay schedule. As a result of this schedule, in 
some quarters, federal wages contain payments for six pay periods, 
while in other quarters their wages include payments for seven pay pe-
riods. Over-the-year comparisons of average weekly wages may reflect 
this calendar effect. Higher growth in average weekly wages may be at-
tributed, in part, to a comparison of quarterly wages for the current 
year, which include seven pay periods, with year-ago wages that re-
flect only six pay periods. An opposite effect will occur when wages 
in the current period, which contain six pay periods, are compared 
with year-ago wages that include seven pay periods. The effect on 
over-the-year pay comparisons can be pronounced in federal government 
due to the uniform nature of federal payroll processing. This pattern 
may exist in private sector pay; however, because there are more pay 
period types (weekly, biweekly, semimonthly, monthly) it is less pro-
nounced. The effect is most visible in counties with large concentra-
tions of federal employment.

 In order to ensure the highest possible quality of data, states veri-
fy with employers and update, if necessary, the industry, location, 
and ownership classification of all establishments on a 4-year cycle. 
Changes in establishment classification codes resulting from this 
process are introduced with the data reported for the first quarter of 
the year. Changes resulting from improved employer reporting also are 
introduced in the first quarter.

 QCEW data are not designed as a time series. QCEW data are simply the 
sums of individual establishment records and reflect the number of es-
tablishments 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 adminis-
trative changes. For example, economic change would come from a firm 
relocating into the county; administrative change would come from a 
company correcting its county designation.

 The over-the-year changes of employment and wages presented in this 
release have been adjusted to account for most of the administrative 
corrections made to the underlying establishment reports. This is done 
by modifying the prior-year levels used to calculate the over-the-year 
changes. Percent changes are calculated using an adjusted version of 
the final 2008 quarterly data as the base data. The adjusted prior-
year levels used to calculate the over-the-year percent change in em-
ployment and wages are not published. These adjusted prior-year levels 
do not match the unadjusted data maintained on the BLS Web site. Over-
the-year change calculations based on data from the Web site, or from 
data published in prior BLS news releases, may differ substantially 
from the over-the-year changes presented in this news release.

 The adjusted data used to calculate the over-the-year change measures 
presented in this release account for most of the administrative 
changes--those occurring when employers update the industry, location, 
and ownership information of their establishments. The most common ad-
justments for administrative change are the result of updated informa- 
tion about the county location of individual establishments. Included 
in these adjustments are administrative changes involving the classi-
fication of establishments that were previously reported in the un-
known or statewide county or unknown industry categories. Beginning 
with the first quarter of 2008, adjusted data account for administra-
tive changes caused by multi-unit employers who start reporting for 
each individual establishment rather than as a single entity.

 The adjusted data used to calculate the over-the-year change measures 
presented in any County Employment and Wages news release are valid 
for comparisons between the starting and ending points (a 12-month pe-
riod) used in that particular release. Comparisons may not be valid 
for any time period other than the one featured in a release even if 
the changes were calculated using adjusted data.

 County definitions are assigned according to Federal Information 
Processing Standards Publications (FIPS PUBS) as issued by the Nation-
al Institute of Standards and Technology, after approval by the Secre-
tary of Commerce pursuant to Section 5131 of the Information Technolo-
gy Management Reform Act of 1996 and the Computer Security Act of 
1987, Public Law 104-106. Areas shown as counties include those desig-
nated as independent cities in some jurisdictions and, in Alaska, 
those designated as census areas where counties have not been created. 
County data also are presented for the New England states for compara-
tive purposes even though townships are the more common designation 
used in New England (and New Jersey). The regions referred to in this 
release are defined as census regions.
  
Additional statistics and other information

 An annual bulletin, Employment and Wages, features comprehensive in-
formation by detailed industry on establishments, employment, and wag-
es for the nation and all states. The 2007 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 quar-
ter 2008 version of this news release. Tables and additional content 
from the 2007 Employment and Wages Annual Bulletin are now available 
online at http://www.bls.gov/cew/cewbultn07.htm. These tables present 
final 2007 annual averages.  The tables are included on the 
CD which accompanies the hardcopy version of the Annual Bulletin.  Em-
ployment and Wages Annual Averages, 2007 is available for sale as a 
chartbook from the United States Government Printing Office, Superin-
tendent of Documents, P.O. Box 371954, Pittsburgh, PA 15250, telephone 
(866) 512-1800, outside Washington, D.C. Within Washington, D.C., the 
telephone number is (202) 512-1800. The fax number is (202) 512-2104.

 News releases on quarterly measures of gross job flows also are 
available upon request from the Division of Administrative Statistics 
and Labor Turnover (Business Employment Dynamics), telephone (202) 
691-6467; (http://www.bls.gov/bdm/); (e-mail: BDMInfo@bls.gov).

 Information in this release will be made available to sensory im-
paired individuals upon request. Voice phone: (202) 691-5200; TDD mes-
sage referral phone number: 1-800-877-8339.










Table 1. Covered(1) establishments, employment, and wages in the 335 largest counties,
first quarter 2009(2)
                                                                                                       
                                                                                                       
                                                     Employment               Average weekly wage(4)   
                                                                                                       
                          Establishments,                                                              
        County(3)          first quarter                Percent   Ranking            Percent   Ranking 
                                2009         March      change,      by    Average   change,      by   
                            (thousands)       2009       March    percent   weekly    first    percent 
                                          (thousands) 2008-09(5)   change    wage    quarter    change 
                                                                                   2008-09(5)          
                                                                                                       
                                                                                                       
United States(6).........       9,113.9     128,992.2      -4.2         -     $882      -2.5         - 
                                                                                                       
Jefferson, AL............          18.6         341.2      -5.1       242      890      -2.5       256 
Madison, AL..............           8.9         178.7      -1.8        38      930       1.3        49 
Mobile, AL...............          10.0         168.9      -4.1       174      713       0.4        96 
Montgomery, AL...........           6.5         131.4      -5.2       249      726       0.4        96 
Shelby, AL...............           5.0          72.1      -5.1       242      867      -1.0       183 
Tuscaloosa, AL...........           4.4          83.4      -3.7       137      731       2.0        30 
Anchorage Borough, AK....           8.1         144.8       0.3         5      928       1.3        49 
Maricopa, AZ.............         104.0       1,671.0      -7.4       304      854      -1.3       200 
Pima, AZ.................          21.2         356.5      -5.1       242      746      -3.7       290 
Benton, AR...............           5.6          91.4      -4.6       211    1,029      16.7         2 
                                                                                                       
Pulaski, AR..............          15.0         244.7      -2.3        62      877      10.7         4 
Washington, AR...........           5.8          88.8      -3.3       111      684      -1.0       183 
Alameda, CA..............          54.4         647.7      -6.1       276    1,109      -3.1       275 
Butte, CA................           8.1          71.2      -5.4       259      654       2.5        21 
Contra Costa, CA.........          30.5         324.8      -5.0       235    1,088      -1.6       229 
Fresno, CA...............          31.0         327.1      -4.3       189      688      -0.3       137 
Kern, CA.................          18.4         258.0      -3.8       148      767       1.1        59 
Los Angeles, CA..........         431.2       3,996.3      -4.9       229      967      -2.4       252 
Marin, CA................          11.9         103.2      -5.3       255    1,051      -1.9       240 
Monterey, CA.............          12.9         151.1      -6.1       276      789      -0.9       178 
                                                                                                       
Orange, CA...............         102.3       1,399.5      -6.8       294      992      -2.7       260 
Placer, CA...............          11.0         127.5      -7.7       308      844       1.1        59 
Riverside, CA............          48.8         575.6      -8.3       318      743      -0.7       160 
Sacramento, CA...........          55.1         605.3      -4.5       205      970       0.6        86 
San Bernardino, CA.......          51.0         619.9      -6.4       284      735      -0.7       160 
San Diego, CA............          99.6       1,263.0      -4.7       216      934      -1.1       187 
San Francisco, CA........          52.5         551.7      -3.5       122    1,523      -6.2       319 
San Joaquin, CA..........          18.2         207.8      -5.0       235      723      -0.8       173 
San Luis Obispo, CA......           9.9         100.9      -4.8       221      753       1.1        59 
San Mateo, CA............          24.2         326.4      -4.8       221    1,786      23.7         1 
                                                                                                       
Santa Barbara, CA........          14.4         177.6      -4.7       216      826       0.9        73 
Santa Clara, CA..........          61.4         863.3      -5.3       255    1,519      -4.4       301 
Santa Cruz, CA...........           9.1          88.7      -4.2       179      818       0.2       109 
Solano, CA...............          10.3         121.1      -4.4       200    1,016      16.0         3 
Sonoma, CA...............          18.9         178.0      -7.3       301      807      -1.3       200 
Stanislaus, CA...........          15.2         160.5      -6.3       283      717       0.7        83 
Tulare, CA...............           9.7         136.9      -4.7       216      603      -0.7       160 
Ventura, CA..............          24.0         304.7      -5.7       267      912      -1.7       234 
Yolo, CA.................           6.1          96.9      -3.8       148      808       0.2       109 
Adams, CO................           9.1         149.7      -4.6       211      798      -1.4       206 
                                                                                                       
Arapahoe, CO.............          19.3         270.7      -4.2       179    1,074      -0.2       134 
Boulder, CO..............          12.9         153.5      -3.7       137    1,016      -4.0       296 
Denver, CO...............          25.6         424.1      -4.3       189    1,139      -2.7       260 
Douglas, CO..............           9.5          88.9      -3.8       148      990       3.9         8 
El Paso, CO..............          17.3         234.2      -4.1       174      797       1.1        59 
Jefferson, CO............          18.3         203.7      -3.1       103      894      -1.2       196 
Larimer, CO..............          10.2         124.9      -2.6        75      762       0.8        77 
Weld, CO.................           6.0          80.5      -2.7        79      723       1.0        68 
Fairfield, CT............          33.0         401.5      -4.0       169    1,735     -10.0       329 
Hartford, CT.............          25.6         488.4      -3.1       103    1,142      -3.9       294 
                                                                                                       
New Haven, CT............          22.6         350.6      -4.4       200      911      -1.1       187 
New London, CT...........           7.0         125.9      -2.4        69      941       0.0       121 
New Castle, DE...........          18.2         268.1      -5.2       249    1,114      -0.8       173 
Washington, DC...........          33.3         679.2      -0.1        10    1,461      -1.9       240 
Alachua, FL..............           6.8         116.6      -5.0       235      740       2.4        24 
Brevard, FL..............          14.9         192.1      -6.9       298      788       1.7        35 
Broward, FL..............          64.1         699.1      -7.7       308      812      -0.7       160 
Collier, FL..............          12.2         122.6      -8.6       320      722      -3.9       294 
Duval, FL................          27.3         444.0      -5.2       249      848      -4.3       299 
Escambia, FL.............           8.2         120.0      -7.4       304      678       0.6        86 
                                                                                                       
Hillsborough, FL.........          38.0         585.9      -7.5       306      859       1.8        32 
Lake, FL.................           7.5          82.7      -6.8       294      576      -2.9       268 
Lee, FL..................          19.5         201.9      -9.5       323      694      -3.3       278 
Leon, FL.................           8.3         139.1      -4.2       179      726       1.7        35 
Manatee, FL..............           9.5         114.8      -6.0       274      646      -1.8       237 
Marion, FL...............           8.4          94.2     -10.5       330      608       0.2       109 
Miami-Dade, FL...........          84.7         963.9      -6.1       276      858      -1.2       196 
Okaloosa, FL.............           6.1          77.1      -4.0       169      693       1.6        37 
Orange, FL...............          36.0         653.8      -7.7       308      785      -1.5       217 
Palm Beach, FL...........          50.2         510.7      -7.8       311      844      -1.5       217 
                                                                                                       
Pasco, FL................          10.2          96.8      -7.3       301      603       1.5        41 
Pinellas, FL.............          31.6         402.3      -6.7       291      740      -0.4       143 
Polk, FL.................          12.8         197.8      -6.5       286      652      -1.2       196 
Sarasota, FL.............          15.1         140.5      -9.5       323      718       0.0       121 
Seminole, FL.............          14.5         161.6      -9.7       325      735      -0.9       178 
Volusia, FL..............          14.1         155.3      -7.8       311      606      -1.6       229 
Bibb, GA.................           4.7          80.8      -4.3       189      691       0.3       102 
Chatham, GA..............           7.8         129.7      -5.9       268      734       1.8        32 
Clayton, GA..............           4.5         108.4      -4.8       221      772      -4.9       307 
Cobb, GA.................          21.0         302.6      -5.4       259      951      -1.2       196 
                                                                                                       
De Kalb, GA..............          18.0         282.7      -5.1       242      939      -1.1       187 
Fulton, GA...............          39.6         711.1      -5.0       235    1,212      -3.7       290 
Gwinnett, GA.............          24.1         300.0      -6.8       294      853      -2.3       250 
Muscogee, GA.............           4.8          92.5      -4.5       205      693      -1.7       234 
Richmond, GA.............           4.8          99.6      -2.8        87      728       0.3       102 
Honolulu, HI.............          24.8         438.9      -3.4       117      801       0.4        96 
Ada, ID..................          14.8         194.0      -7.3       301      749       0.7        83 
Champaign, IL............           4.2          88.3      -3.5       122      729       3.1        12 
Cook, IL.................         141.1       2,381.5      -4.4       200    1,084      -5.4       311 
Du Page, IL..............          36.2         556.2      -5.5       264    1,028      -3.4       281 
                                                                                                       
Kane, IL.................          12.8         192.7      -7.2       300      755      -0.7       160 
Lake, IL.................          21.2         311.0      -5.0       235    1,120      -1.4       206 
McHenry, IL..............           8.5          94.3      -5.9       268      705      -3.3       278 
McLean, IL...............           3.7          84.3      -1.4        29      893      -2.7       260 
Madison, IL..............           5.9          91.9      -4.3       189      714       1.4        46 
Peoria, IL...............           4.8         100.5      -4.3       189      895       6.2         5 
Rock Island, IL..........           3.5          75.5      -4.8       221      888       2.9        15 
St. Clair, IL............           5.5          94.2      -2.3        62      696       3.6        10 
Sangamon, IL.............           5.3         126.3      -1.9        44      863       1.6        37 
Will, IL.................          14.1         187.2      -3.7       137      749      -1.1       187 
                                                                                                       
Winnebago, IL............           7.0         126.1      -6.7       291      743      -1.1       187 
Allen, IN................           9.1         169.4      -5.1       242      717      -1.5       217 
Elkhart, IN..............           5.0          92.0     -23.4       332      642      -8.7       325 
Hamilton, IN.............           7.9         108.1      -3.1       103      837      -6.5       321 
Lake, IN.................          10.4         184.2      -4.6       211      756       0.4        96 
Marion, IN...............          24.2         547.1      -4.2       179      932      -2.5       256 
St. Joseph, IN...........           6.1         115.1      -6.2       281      715      -3.2       277 
Tippecanoe, IN...........           3.3          73.7      -2.7        79      764       0.0       121 
Vanderburgh, IN..........           4.8         102.9      -3.6       126      709      -2.7       260 
Johnson, IA..............           3.5          74.9       0.2         7      769       1.3        49 
                                                                                                       
Linn, IA.................           6.3         123.9      -0.2        12      825      -1.1       187 
Polk, IA.................          14.9         265.9      -2.0        48      892      -1.3       200 
Scott, IA................           5.3          84.7      -3.9       161      695      -0.1       130 
Johnson, KS..............          20.6         302.4      -3.6       126      906      -3.5       284 
Sedgwick, KS.............          12.3         251.6      -2.8        87      789      -5.4       311 
Shawnee, KS..............           4.9          93.1      -1.5        32      748       1.9        31 
Wyandotte, KS............           3.2          78.4      -1.4        29      771      -4.2       298 
Fayette, KY..............           9.3         168.0      -4.5       205      776       1.4        46 
Jefferson, KY............          22.0         407.6      -4.3       189      841      -0.9       178 
Caddo, LA................           7.4         122.4      -2.4        69      699       0.6        86 
                                                                                                       
Calcasieu, LA............           4.9          86.0      -1.4        29      758       2.2        26 
East Baton Rouge, LA.....          14.4         263.0       0.3         5      829       1.5        41 
Jefferson, LA............          13.9         195.3      -2.1        51      799       0.4        96 
Lafayette, LA............           8.9         133.8      -0.7        15      827       1.3        49 
Orleans, LA..............          10.5         168.9      -0.6        14      959      -4.7       304 
Cumberland, ME...........          12.2         163.7      -3.4       117      794      -3.5       284 
Anne Arundel, MD.........          14.5         225.0      -3.5       122      929      -0.3       137 
Baltimore, MD............          21.4         363.1      -3.8       148      887      -1.4       206 
Frederick, MD............           6.0          91.3      -3.3       111      886       2.7        18 
Harford, MD..............           5.6          79.9      -2.5        74      810      -1.5       217 
                                                                                                       
Howard, MD...............           8.8         142.2      -3.7       137    1,038       0.9        73 
Montgomery, MD...........          32.7         444.0      -2.0        48    1,234      -0.6       153 
Prince Georges, MD.......          15.8         305.1      -3.0        99      921       1.1        59 
Baltimore City, MD.......          13.9         326.8      -3.6       126    1,011      -2.0       243 
Barnstable, MA...........           9.0          78.5      -5.2       249      742      -0.7       160 
Bristol, MA..............          15.3         204.9      -5.0       235      747      -2.9       268 
Essex, MA................          20.7         286.3      -3.5       122      895      -3.0       270 
Hampden, MA..............          14.6         191.4      -2.8        87      794      -3.6       287 
Middlesex, MA............          47.3         791.7      -3.0        99    1,276      -0.5       149 
Norfolk, MA..............          23.2         308.5      -3.1       103    1,020      -4.0       296 
                                                                                                       
Plymouth, MA.............          13.6         167.5      -3.4       117      787      -1.4       206 
Suffolk, MA..............          21.7         574.8      -2.4        69    1,558      -9.0       327 
Worcester, MA............          20.6         306.8      -3.7       137      858      -1.8       237 
Genesee, MI..............           7.7         127.1      -5.9       268      715      -4.4       301 
Ingham, MI...............           6.7         151.5      -5.4       259      812      -0.6       153 
Kalamazoo, MI............           5.5         108.3      -5.9       268      784       1.8        32 
Kent, MI.................          14.2         302.4      -8.1       315      780       0.8        77 
Macomb, MI...............          17.5         270.5     -10.8       331      849      -3.0       270 
Oakland, MI..............          38.8         618.3      -7.8       311      973      -4.8       306 
Ottawa, MI...............           5.7          95.9      -9.7       325      695      -2.1       246 
                                                                                                       
Saginaw, MI..............           4.3          77.6      -6.4       284      698      -2.8       264 
Washtenaw, MI............           8.1         181.7      -3.4       117      932      -1.3       200 
Wayne, MI................          31.8         671.7      -8.1       315      936       (7)         - 
Anoka, MN................           7.5         106.2      -5.3       255      796      -0.1       130 
Dakota, MN...............          10.3         166.4      -3.6       126      860      -1.1       187 
Hennepin, MN.............          41.2         800.8      -4.4       200    1,108      -6.7       322 
Olmsted, MN..............           3.4          87.3      -1.9        44      933       2.6        19 
Ramsey, MN...............          14.9         315.9      -3.8       148    1,011       0.7        83 
St. Louis, MN............           5.8          91.7      -4.3       189      710       2.6        19 
Stearns, MN..............           4.4          76.0      -5.4       259      697       1.6        37 
                                                                                                       
Harrison, MS.............           4.6          83.3      -4.2       179      676       1.3        49 
Hinds, MS................           6.3         126.2      -0.7        15      759       0.9        73 
Boone, MO................           4.5          80.5      -2.6        75      661       1.1        59 
Clay, MO.................           4.9          86.5      -3.6       126      785      -3.4       281 
Greene, MO...............           8.1         150.1      -3.6       126      644       0.8        77 
Jackson, MO..............          18.4         357.0      -3.7       137      897       0.3       102 
St. Charles, MO..........           8.2         118.3      -3.3       111      714      -4.3       299 
St. Louis, MO............          32.2         578.1      -3.9       161      960       0.6        86 
St. Louis City, MO.......           8.5         222.0      -5.3       255    1,024      -1.3       200 
Yellowstone, MT..........           5.8          75.1      -2.7        79      697       0.1       114 
                                                                                                       
Douglas, NE..............          15.7         310.5      -2.1        51      855       4.9         6 
Lancaster, NE............           8.1         153.6      -2.4        69      681      -0.4       143 
Clark, NV................          50.4         834.2      -9.1       321      814      -4.7       304 
Washoe, NV...............          14.6         187.8     -10.4       329      785      -1.4       206 
Hillsborough, NH.........          12.2         187.9      -3.6       126      927      -5.5       314 
Rockingham, NH...........          10.7         128.9      -4.3       189      823      -2.1       246 
Atlantic, NJ.............           7.0         134.0      -6.2       281      745      -5.6       315 
Bergen, NJ...............          34.3         428.5      -3.9       161    1,109      -3.1       275 
Burlington, NJ...........          11.4         195.7      -3.9       161      915      -1.5       217 
Camden, NJ...............          13.0         197.1      -4.8       221      877       0.1       114 
                                                                                                       
Essex, NJ................          21.2         346.5      -3.8       148    1,153      -3.8       292 
Gloucester, NJ...........           6.3         100.4      -3.1       103      776      -1.1       187 
Hudson, NJ...............          14.0         232.5      -2.9        97    1,394      -9.7       328 
Mercer, NJ...............          11.1         224.9      -2.6        75    1,157      -5.3       310 
Middlesex, NJ............          21.9         380.5      -5.9       268    1,135      -1.5       217 
Monmouth, NJ.............          20.7         243.5      -4.3       189      918      -1.5       217 
Morris, NJ...............          18.0         272.7      -3.7       137    1,394      -1.6       229 
Ocean, NJ................          12.3         140.8      -3.8       148      721      -0.8       173 
Passaic, NJ..............          12.5         167.8      -5.9       268      909       1.2        58 
Somerset, NJ.............          10.3         167.8      -3.2       109    1,734      -2.0       243 
                                                                                                       
Union, NJ................          14.9         218.5      -5.5       264    1,116      -6.1       317 
Bernalillo, NM...........          17.8         317.7      -4.2       179      770       1.6        37 
Albany, NY...............          10.0         222.4      -1.8        38      881       2.1        27 
Bronx, NY................          16.3         228.7       1.1         4      803      -0.6       153 
Broome, NY...............           4.5          92.3      -3.0        99      692      -0.6       153 
Dutchess, NY.............           8.3         112.2      -2.7        79      900      -0.7       160 
Erie, NY.................          23.7         444.3      -2.1        51      759      -0.7       160 
Kings, NY................          47.4         474.9      -0.7        15      725      -1.0       183 
Monroe, NY...............          18.1         369.9      -1.8        38      828      -3.8       292 
Nassau, NY...............          52.5         582.9      -2.6        75      962       0.1       114 
                                                                                                       
New York, NY.............         119.1       2,290.3      -3.6       126    2,149     -23.4       331 
Oneida, NY...............           5.3         107.1      -2.2        57      678       0.1       114 
Onondaga, NY.............          12.8         243.0      -2.8        87      800       0.0       121 
Orange, NY...............          10.0         127.0      -2.8        87      726       0.3       102 
Queens, NY...............          44.0         489.5      -2.7        79      828      -2.8       264 
Richmond, NY.............           8.8          91.2      -2.3        62      733      -1.5       217 
Rockland, NY.............           9.9         111.7      -2.8        87      927      -0.7       160 
Saratoga, NY.............           5.4          73.2      -2.2        57      724      -1.8       237 
Suffolk, NY..............          50.5         597.4      -3.6       126      922       2.8        16 
Westchester, NY..........          36.4         401.9      -3.8       148    1,224      -7.0       323 
                                                                                                       
Buncombe, NC.............           8.2         110.5      -4.1       174      655      -0.3       137 
Catawba, NC..............           4.6          78.6      -9.7       325      625      -5.4       311 
Cumberland, NC...........           6.4         118.6      -0.4        13      659       0.3       102 
Durham, NC...............           7.2         181.9      -1.0        22    1,224      -2.8       264 
Forsyth, NC..............           9.3         179.4      -3.7       137      805      -3.0       270 
Guilford, NC.............          14.9         263.7      -6.0       274      757      -1.7       234 
Mecklenburg, NC..........          33.5         543.6      -4.6       211    1,058     -10.3       330 
New Hanover, NC..........           7.6          97.2      -6.8       294      706       0.6        86 
Wake, NC.................          29.3         432.4      -4.0       169      880       0.2       109 
Cass, ND.................           5.8          97.0      -1.1        23      717       0.1       114 
                                                                                                       
Butler, OH...............           7.4         137.3      -6.1       276      769      -0.5       149 
Cuyahoga, OH.............          37.6         693.4      -4.5       205      892      -1.5       217 
Franklin, OH.............          29.9         651.7      -3.1       103      897      -0.8       173 
Hamilton, OH.............          23.9         491.6      -3.8       148      949      -1.4       206 
Lake, OH.................           6.7          94.6      -4.1       174      720      -1.4       206 
Lorain, OH...............           6.3          92.5      -5.2       249      716      -0.3       137 
Lucas, OH................          10.8         198.6      -6.5       286      772       0.0       121 
Mahoning, OH.............           6.4          95.8      -4.3       189      622       0.8        77 
Montgomery, OH...........          12.8         244.1      -5.6       266      777      -3.0       270 
Stark, OH................           9.0         151.2      -5.4       259      677       0.4        96 
                                                                                                       
Summit, OH...............          15.0         257.0      -5.1       242      811      -0.2       134 
Trumbull, OH.............           4.7          69.3      -8.4       319      659      -7.1       324 
Warren, OH...............           4.3          72.2      -4.3       189      730      -1.6       229 
Oklahoma, OK.............          23.7         415.2      -1.9        44      790      -0.1       130 
Tulsa, OK................          19.5         337.5      -3.3       111      802      -2.0       243 
Clackamas, OR............          12.7         140.2      -7.1       299      779      -1.3       200 
Jackson, OR..............           6.5          75.3      -7.9       314      628       1.1        59 
Lane, OR.................          10.9         135.8      -9.3       322      655      -0.3       137 
Marion, OR...............           9.3         131.2      -5.1       242      689       2.1        27 
Multnomah, OR............          27.9         425.8      -4.9       229      873      -1.4       206 
                                                                                                       
Washington, OR...........          16.0         233.2      -6.5       286    1,006      -1.4       206 
Allegheny, PA............          35.2         664.9      -1.8        38      953       0.5        94 
Berks, PA................           9.1         160.9      -4.2       179      764      -0.7       160 
Bucks, PA................          19.8         249.5      -4.8       221      845      -0.7       160 
Butler, PA...............           4.8          77.3      -1.9        44      736      -0.7       160 
Chester, PA..............          15.2         235.7      -2.3        62    1,114      -0.4       143 
Cumberland, PA...........           6.0         121.0      -3.7       137      797       1.1        59 
Dauphin, PA..............           7.4         176.6      -2.2        57      848       0.6        86 
Delaware, PA.............          13.6         203.2      -2.8        87      941      -2.4       252 
Erie, PA.................           7.4         121.5      -3.3       111      688       0.6        86 
                                                                                                       
Lackawanna, PA...........           5.9          98.9      -2.8        87      646       0.0       121 
Lancaster, PA............          12.4         217.7      -4.2       179      720      -1.5       217 
Lehigh, PA...............           8.8         169.4      -3.8       148      858      -1.4       206 
Luzerne, PA..............           7.9         137.0      -1.8        38      668      -0.9       178 
Montgomery, PA...........          27.5         467.1      -3.7       137    1,162      -2.4       252 
Northampton, PA..........           6.5          96.7      -3.2       109      769      -0.1       130 
Philadelphia, PA.........          31.1         624.5      -1.1        23    1,050      -1.4       206 
Washington, PA...........           5.4          77.5      -1.3        26      783       2.5        21 
Westmoreland, PA.........           9.4         130.3      -2.7        79      689      -8.9       326 
York, PA.................           9.1         169.6      -4.1       174      756      -0.3       137 
                                                                                                       
Kent, RI.................           5.6          73.2      -6.6       290      758      -2.1       246 
Providence, RI...........          17.8         265.6      -4.9       229      865      -3.5       284 
Charleston, SC...........          12.0         201.7      -4.7       216      739       0.8        77 
Greenville, SC...........          12.5         226.2      -6.1       276      731      -0.7       160 
Horry, SC................           8.1         104.0     -10.2       328      525      -0.9       178 
Lexington, SC............           5.6          94.6      -3.9       161      629      -1.6       229 
Richland, SC.............           9.3         207.9      -4.2       179      782       1.0        68 
Spartanburg, SC..........           6.1         112.4      -8.2       317      749      -3.6       287 
Minnehaha, SD............           6.4         113.1      -0.7        15      720      -1.9       240 
Davidson, TN.............          18.5         420.5      -3.8       148      876      -1.1       187 
                                                                                                       
Hamilton, TN.............           8.6         180.0      -6.5       286      754       1.3        49 
Knox, TN.................          11.1         217.6      -4.8       221      715       0.1       114 
Rutherford, TN...........           4.3          93.4      -7.6       307      737      -0.5       149 
Shelby, TN...............          19.8         478.5      -4.8       221      861      -3.4       281 
Williamson, TN...........           6.1          84.8      -2.8        87      949       0.0       121 
Bell, TX.................           4.6         102.7       0.0         9      680       1.5        41 
Bexar, TX................          32.7         717.8      -1.5        32      774      -1.5       217 
Brazoria, TX.............           4.7          85.4      -2.8        87      821      -5.1       309 
Brazos, TX...............           3.9          86.6       (7)         -      644       (7)         - 
Cameron, TX..............           6.4         122.5      -2.3        62      527       0.8        77 
                                                                                                       
Collin, TX...............          17.3         283.2       (7)         -    1,030       (7)         - 
Dallas, TX...............          67.9       1,425.7      -3.3       111    1,085      -3.3       278 
Denton, TX...............          10.7         166.6      -1.6        34      763       0.1       114 
El Paso, TX..............          13.6         266.8      -2.1        51      603       0.3       102 
Fort Bend, TX............           8.5         129.9       1.2         3      956      -0.6       153 
Galveston, TX............           5.2          90.5      -6.7       291      864       3.1        12 
Gregg, TX................           4.0          72.9      -2.9        97      736      -0.4       143 
Harris, TX...............          97.9       2,028.4      -1.1        23    1,143      -2.6       258 
Hidalgo, TX..............          10.6         218.9      -1.7        35      538       1.3        49 
Jefferson, TX............           5.9         124.0      -0.8        19      863       1.1        59 
                                                                                                       
Lubbock, TX..............           6.8         123.1      -0.1        10      633       1.3        49 
McLennan, TX.............           4.8         101.0      -1.3        26      696       0.6        86 
Montgomery, TX...........           8.3         126.9       1.5         2      794      -1.0       183 
Nueces, TX...............           8.0         154.1      -1.3        26      734      -2.8       264 
Potter, TX...............           3.8          75.3       0.2         7      714      -0.4       143 
Smith, TX................           5.3          92.3      -1.8        38      720       1.3        49 
Tarrant, TX..............          37.3         752.4      -2.2        57      862      -2.3       250 
Travis, TX...............          29.3         563.2      -2.2        57      950      -2.6       258 
Webb, TX.................           4.8          86.4      -2.3        62      552      -0.4       143 
Williamson, TX...........           7.3         119.7      -1.7        35      857      -6.2       319 
                                                                                                       
Davis, UT................           7.2          97.5      -4.5       205      682       0.9        73 
Salt Lake, UT............          37.4         561.4      -4.2       179      820       1.0        68 
Utah, UT.................          12.8         164.5      -5.0       235      659       1.5        41 
Weber, UT................           5.6          90.7      -4.9       229      625       1.0        68 
Chittenden, VT...........           6.0          91.3      -2.4        69      869      -3.0       270 
Arlington, VA............           7.8         157.3       2.6         1    1,472       0.0       121 
Chesterfield, VA.........           7.6         115.0      -4.0       169      784      -0.8       173 
Fairfax, VA..............          34.2         568.5      -2.1        51    1,389       0.3       102 
Henrico, VA..............           9.7         173.4      -3.7       137      947      -5.0       308 
Loudoun, VA..............           9.2         128.2      -1.7        35    1,053      -4.6       303 
                                                                                                       
Prince William, VA.......           7.4         100.0      -3.0        99      773       1.4        46 
Alexandria City, VA......           6.2          98.0      -0.9        20    1,200       1.5        41 
Chesapeake City, VA......           5.8          94.7      -4.6       211      701       4.2         7 
Newport News City, VA....           4.0          96.0      -3.6       126      790      -0.5       149 
Norfolk City, VA.........           5.9         140.0      -2.1        51      851       3.0        14 
Richmond City, VA........           7.4         152.5      -3.9       161    1,035      -6.1       317 
Virginia Beach City, VA..          11.6         163.9      -4.7       216      687       1.0        68 
Clark, WA................          12.0         126.4      -4.0       169      772       0.5        94 
King, WA.................          75.4       1,135.9      -3.9       161    1,127       0.2       109 
Kitsap, WA...............           6.4          81.6      -2.7        79      771       3.8         9 
                                                                                                       
Pierce, WA...............          20.2         264.6      -3.6       126      797      -0.6       153 
Snohomish, WA............          17.5         241.2      -5.2       249      893      -0.2       134 
Spokane, WA..............          15.0         199.8      -4.4       200      724       3.3        11 
Thurston, WA.............           6.8          98.2      -2.3        62      786       2.1        27 
Whatcom, WA..............           6.7          79.5      -3.9       161      702       2.8        16 
Yakima, WA...............           7.9          94.2      -3.8       148      600       2.4        24 
Kanawha, WV..............           6.0         106.0      -0.9        20      785       2.5        21 
Brown, WI................           6.6         142.5      -3.4       117      775      -1.5       217 
Dane, WI.................          13.8         292.1      -2.7        79      840      -2.1       246 
Milwaukee, WI............          20.7         471.9      -4.5       205      882      -0.6       153 
                                                                                                       
Outagamie, WI............           5.0         100.0      -3.8       148      717      -2.4       252 
Racine, WI...............           4.1          70.7      -4.9       229      756      -3.6       287 
Waukesha, WI.............          12.9         220.5      -4.9       229      866       0.0       121 
Winnebago, WI............           3.7          86.6      -2.0        48      777      -5.7       316 
San Juan, PR.............          12.6         275.5      -2.7       (8)      593       0.2       (8) 

(1) Includes workers covered by Unemployment Insurance (UI) and Unemployment Compensation for Federal
Employees (UCFE) programs. These 334 U.S. counties comprise 71.5 percent of the total covered workers
in the U.S.
(2) Data are preliminary.
(3) Includes areas not officially designated as counties. See Technical Note.
(4) Average weekly wages were calculated using unrounded data.
(5) Percent changes were computed from quarterly employment and pay data adjusted for noneconomic
county reclassifications. See Technical Note.
(6) Totals for the United States do not include data for Puerto Rico or the Virgin Islands.
(7) Data do not meet BLS or State agency disclosure standards.
(8) This county was not included in the U.S. rankings.










Table 2. Covered(1) establishments, employment, and wages in the 10 largest counties,
first quarter 2009(2)
                                                                                                       
                                                                                                       
                                                                    Employment         Average weekly  
                                                                                           wage(3)     
                                              Establishments,                                          
                                               first quarter                                           
         County by NAICS supersector                2009                    Percent            Percent 
                                                (thousands)      March      change,  Average   change, 
                                                                  2009       March    weekly    first  
                                                              (thousands) 2008-09(4)   wage    quarter 
                                                                                             2008-09(4)
                                                                                                       
                                                                                                       
United States(5).............................       9,113.9     128,992.2      -4.2     $882      -2.5 
  Private industry...........................       8,819.8     106,866.1      -5.1      882      -3.3 
    Natural resources and mining.............         126.3       1,670.1      -3.8      993      -2.3 
    Construction.............................         860.9       5,937.8     -15.4      906       0.9 
    Manufacturing............................         356.4      12,096.6     -10.6    1,062      -1.3 
    Trade, transportation, and utilities.....       1,912.2      24,597.3      -5.5      733      -1.6 
    Information..............................         148.0       2,858.8      -5.0    1,439      -2.0 
    Financial activities.....................         853.1       7,651.3      -4.4    1,596     -15.9 
    Professional and business services.......       1,533.8      16,534.8      -6.4    1,129      -0.2 
    Education and health services............         861.3      18,245.7       2.2      776       1.2 
    Leisure and hospitality..................         739.1      12,715.3      -3.1      351      -2.2 
    Other services...........................       1,234.6       4,357.1      -2.1      543      -0.5 
  Government.................................         294.2      22,126.1       0.5      884       1.6 
                                                                                                       
Los Angeles, CA..............................         431.2       3,996.3      -4.9      967      -2.4 
  Private industry...........................         427.3       3,395.0      -5.7      945      -3.0 
    Natural resources and mining.............           0.5          10.7      -6.2    1,479     -15.8 
    Construction.............................          14.0         123.3     -17.4      973       0.3 
    Manufacturing............................          14.4         401.4      -9.3    1,063      -1.8 
    Trade, transportation, and utilities.....          54.0         744.8      -7.2      776      -1.5 
    Information..............................           8.9         197.3      -7.3    1,755       1.8 
    Financial activities.....................          24.0         223.4      -6.8    1,577     -12.1 
    Professional and business services.......          43.3         541.8      -8.3    1,149      -2.1 
    Education and health services............          28.6         499.8       1.1      865       2.4 
    Leisure and hospitality..................          27.5         384.1      -3.9      519      -2.4 
    Other services...........................         202.9         258.5       3.0      424      -3.9 
  Government.................................           3.9         601.3      -0.3    1,090      -0.2 
                                                                                                       
Cook, IL.....................................         141.1       2,381.5      -4.4    1,084      -5.4 
  Private industry...........................         139.8       2,069.2      -5.0    1,093      -6.3 
    Natural resources and mining.............           0.1           0.9      -3.7      792     -12.8 
    Construction.............................          12.3          71.9     -14.4    1,317       0.5 
    Manufacturing............................           6.9         206.7      -9.5    1,013      -4.1 
    Trade, transportation, and utilities.....          27.5         438.8      -6.5      797      -4.3 
    Information..............................           2.6          53.5       (6)    1,644      -8.7 
    Financial activities.....................          15.6         197.7      -5.0    2,397     -17.4 
    Professional and business services.......          29.1         398.3      -8.0    1,403      -0.6 
    Education and health services............          14.1         385.9       3.1      839       1.0 
    Leisure and hospitality..................          11.9         216.4      -3.6      404      -2.9 
    Other services...........................          14.7          94.8      -1.4      729       1.1 
  Government.................................           1.4         312.3       0.0    1,022       1.6 
                                                                                                       
New York, NY.................................         119.1       2,290.3      -3.6    2,149     -23.4 
  Private industry...........................         118.8       1,837.8      -4.4    2,425     -24.9 
    Natural resources and mining.............           0.0           0.2       1.3    1,967     -16.9 
    Construction.............................           2.4          34.0      -7.2    1,479      -6.4 
    Manufacturing............................           2.9          30.4     -15.3    1,365      -8.3 
    Trade, transportation, and utilities.....          21.7         230.7      -6.6    1,136      -5.4 
    Information..............................           4.5         129.0      -4.7    2,449      -7.9 
    Financial activities.....................          19.0         355.9      -6.2    6,379     -35.2 
    Professional and business services.......          25.4         463.7      -5.6    2,095     -10.2 
    Education and health services............           8.8         293.9       0.7      998       0.8 
    Leisure and hospitality..................          11.9         208.9      -3.0      725      -5.0 
    Other services...........................          18.2          86.9      -1.3      999      -9.0 
  Government.................................           0.3         452.6       0.0    1,017       1.2 
                                                                                                       
Harris, TX...................................          97.9       2,028.4      -1.1    1,143      -2.6 
  Private industry...........................          97.4       1,766.7      -1.5    1,175      -3.1 
    Natural resources and mining.............           1.5          82.8       (6)    3,483      -5.5 
    Construction.............................           6.7         149.0      -6.5    1,051       0.0 
    Manufacturing............................           4.6         182.5      -2.0    1,411      -7.0 
    Trade, transportation, and utilities.....          22.3         418.9      -1.5    1,029      -3.1 
    Information..............................           1.4          31.3      -3.4    1,314      -3.2 
    Financial activities.....................          10.5         116.2      -3.9    1,511     -12.7 
    Professional and business services.......          19.6         321.4      -4.5    1,321       2.1 
    Education and health services............          10.4         224.3       3.9      851       1.3 
    Leisure and hospitality..................           7.7         179.8       1.2      374      -2.3 
    Other services...........................          11.9          59.1       0.3      628      -0.8 
  Government.................................           0.5         261.7       2.2      926       3.7 
                                                                                                       
Maricopa, AZ.................................         104.0       1,671.0      -7.4      854      -1.3 
  Private industry...........................         103.3       1,444.9      -8.6      852      -1.3 
    Natural resources and mining.............           0.5           8.5      -1.0      855     -14.2 
    Construction.............................          10.8         100.5     -30.7      877      -0.9 
    Manufacturing............................           3.5         111.9     -11.2    1,227      -2.1 
    Trade, transportation, and utilities.....          23.2         344.5      -7.7      801      -0.7 
    Information..............................           1.7          29.0      -5.0    1,166       0.0 
    Financial activities.....................          12.8         137.5      -4.9    1,145      -7.5 
    Professional and business services.......          23.0         270.4     -11.5      896       3.1 
    Education and health services............          10.3         214.8       3.6      875       0.0 
    Leisure and hospitality..................           7.5         178.1      -5.2      398      -1.7 
    Other services...........................           7.3          47.8      -6.5      567      -1.2 
  Government.................................           0.7         226.1       0.5      868      -1.3 
                                                                                                       
Dallas, TX...................................          67.9       1,425.7      -3.3    1,085      -3.3 
  Private industry...........................          67.3       1,257.6      -3.8    1,103      -3.9 
    Natural resources and mining.............           0.6           8.3       (6)    3,066     -13.0 
    Construction.............................           4.3          76.3      -9.8      942      -0.8 
    Manufacturing............................           3.1         123.7      -8.2    1,267      -3.8 
    Trade, transportation, and utilities.....          15.0         287.9       (6)      964      -4.1 
    Information..............................           1.7          46.7      -6.5    1,823       (6) 
    Financial activities.....................           8.7         140.3       (6)    1,632     -13.3 
    Professional and business services.......          14.8         255.0      -6.4    1,219      -2.5 
    Education and health services............           6.7         154.6       4.5      920       3.1 
    Leisure and hospitality..................           5.4         126.3       (6)      499      -1.4 
    Other services...........................           6.7          37.7      -3.0      624       0.8 
  Government.................................           0.5         168.0       0.7      950       3.6 
                                                                                                       
Orange, CA...................................         102.3       1,399.5      -6.8      992      -2.7 
  Private industry...........................         100.9       1,244.8      -7.4      967      -3.6 
    Natural resources and mining.............           0.2           5.1     -16.0      561      -3.4 
    Construction.............................           6.9          78.3     -18.1    1,072      -1.0 
    Manufacturing............................           5.3         159.9      -8.8    1,148      -3.1 
    Trade, transportation, and utilities.....          17.3         253.7      -8.5      916      -0.1 
    Information..............................           1.4          28.2      -4.8    1,567       0.8 
    Financial activities.....................          10.7         106.7       (6)    1,502     -12.0 
    Professional and business services.......          19.4         244.0     -10.4    1,121      -2.4 
    Education and health services............          10.2         150.7       1.7      873       1.6 
    Leisure and hospitality..................           7.2         167.0      -4.7      382      -3.3 
    Other services...........................          19.2          47.7      -3.0      513      -4.6 
  Government.................................           1.4         154.7      -1.8    1,188       1.5 
                                                                                                       
San Diego, CA................................          99.6       1,263.0      -4.7      934      -1.1 
  Private industry...........................          98.3       1,035.8      -5.5      916      -1.9 
    Natural resources and mining.............           0.7           9.7     -13.8      540       0.7 
    Construction.............................           7.0          64.1     -18.1      975      -0.3 
    Manufacturing............................           3.1          99.3       (6)    1,309       0.2 
    Trade, transportation, and utilities.....          14.4         197.1      -7.9      744       (6) 
    Information..............................           1.3          37.8      -1.2    1,604     -16.1 
    Financial activities.....................           9.4          71.4      -6.0    1,257      -5.6 
    Professional and business services.......          16.5         201.2      -6.9    1,208       2.7 
    Education and health services............           8.3         142.2       3.2      851       1.7 
    Leisure and hospitality..................           7.0         152.2      -5.6      393      -6.9 
    Other services...........................          27.6          57.4       0.2      466      -2.1 
  Government.................................           1.3         227.2      -0.4    1,017       2.7 
                                                                                                       
King, WA.....................................          75.4       1,135.9      -3.9    1,127       0.2 
  Private industry...........................          74.9         979.2      -4.6    1,136      -0.5 
    Natural resources and mining.............           0.4           2.8      -9.6    1,553      -1.2 
    Construction.............................           6.4          57.1     -18.7    1,130       4.1 
    Manufacturing............................           2.4         104.2      -7.2    1,366      -5.5 
    Trade, transportation, and utilities.....          14.7         206.7      -5.7      967       1.5 
    Information..............................           1.8          80.7       4.0    2,125      -0.9 
    Financial activities.....................           6.8          69.7      -6.7    1,579      -5.0 
    Professional and business services.......          13.6         176.9      -6.8    1,311       0.2 
    Education and health services............           6.6         130.4       5.1      857       2.4 
    Leisure and hospitality..................           6.1         105.0      -4.2      422      -5.8 
    Other services...........................          16.3          45.8       0.6      634       5.8 
  Government.................................           0.5         156.6       0.8    1,074       6.0 
                                                                                                       
Miami-Dade, FL...............................          84.7         963.9      -6.1      858      -1.2 
  Private industry...........................          84.4         813.6      -6.9      818      -1.8 
    Natural resources and mining.............           0.5          10.0      -8.8      403     -12.6 
    Construction.............................           6.1          37.7     -25.4      861       6.6 
    Manufacturing............................           2.6          38.4     -16.7      783       0.3 
    Trade, transportation, and utilities.....          23.0         238.8      -6.0      765      -0.6 
    Information..............................           1.5          18.5      -7.1    1,308      -3.5 
    Financial activities.....................           9.8          63.7      -9.0    1,353      -9.7 
    Professional and business services.......          17.7         124.5      -8.7      992       0.1 
    Education and health services............           9.4         144.1       1.8      801       1.0 
    Leisure and hospitality..................           5.9         102.0      -4.2      471      -1.5 
    Other services...........................           7.5          35.3      -5.5      529      -0.4 
  Government.................................           0.4         150.3      -1.7    1,074       0.8 

(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. See Technical Note.
(5) Totals for the United States do not include data for Puerto Rico or the Virgin Islands.
(6) Data do not meet BLS or State agency disclosure standards.










Table 3. Covered(1) establishments, employment, and wages in the largest county by
state, first quarter 2009(2)
                                                                                   
                                                                                   
                                                Employment         Average weekly  
                                                                       wage(4)     
                          Establishments,                                          
                           first quarter                                           
        County(3)               2009                    Percent            Percent 
                            (thousands)      March      change,  Average   change, 
                                              2009       March    weekly    first  
                                          (thousands) 2008-09(5)   wage    quarter 
                                                                         2008-09(5)
                                                                                   
                                                                                   
United States(6).........       9,113.9     128,992.2      -4.2     $882      -2.5 
                                                                                   
Jefferson, AL............          18.6         341.2      -5.1      890      -2.5 
Anchorage Borough, AK....           8.1         144.8       0.3      928       1.3 
Maricopa, AZ.............         104.0       1,671.0      -7.4      854      -1.3 
Pulaski, AR..............          15.0         244.7      -2.3      877      10.7 
Los Angeles, CA..........         431.2       3,996.3      -4.9      967      -2.4 
Denver, CO...............          25.6         424.1      -4.3    1,139      -2.7 
Hartford, CT.............          25.6         488.4      -3.1    1,142      -3.9 
New Castle, DE...........          18.2         268.1      -5.2    1,114      -0.8 
Washington, DC...........          33.3         679.2      -0.1    1,461      -1.9 
Miami-Dade, FL...........          84.7         963.9      -6.1      858      -1.2 
                                                                                   
Fulton, GA...............          39.6         711.1      -5.0    1,212      -3.7 
Honolulu, HI.............          24.8         438.9      -3.4      801       0.4 
Ada, ID..................          14.8         194.0      -7.3      749       0.7 
Cook, IL.................         141.1       2,381.5      -4.4    1,084      -5.4 
Marion, IN...............          24.2         547.1      -4.2      932      -2.5 
Polk, IA.................          14.9         265.9      -2.0      892      -1.3 
Johnson, KS..............          20.6         302.4      -3.6      906      -3.5 
Jefferson, KY............          22.0         407.6      -4.3      841      -0.9 
East Baton Rouge, LA.....          14.4         263.0       0.3      829       1.5 
Cumberland, ME...........          12.2         163.7      -3.4      794      -3.5 
                                                                                   
Montgomery, MD...........          32.7         444.0      -2.0    1,234      -0.6 
Middlesex, MA............          47.3         791.7      -3.0    1,276      -0.5 
Wayne, MI................          31.8         671.7      -8.1      936       (7) 
Hennepin, MN.............          41.2         800.8      -4.4    1,108      -6.7 
Hinds, MS................           6.3         126.2      -0.7      759       0.9 
St. Louis, MO............          32.2         578.1      -3.9      960       0.6 
Yellowstone, MT..........           5.8          75.1      -2.7      697       0.1 
Douglas, NE..............          15.7         310.5      -2.1      855       4.9 
Clark, NV................          50.4         834.2      -9.1      814      -4.7 
Hillsborough, NH.........          12.2         187.9      -3.6      927      -5.5 
                                                                                   
Bergen, NJ...............          34.3         428.5      -3.9    1,109      -3.1 
Bernalillo, NM...........          17.8         317.7      -4.2      770       1.6 
New York, NY.............         119.1       2,290.3      -3.6    2,149     -23.4 
Mecklenburg, NC..........          33.5         543.6      -4.6    1,058     -10.3 
Cass, ND.................           5.8          97.0      -1.1      717       0.1 
Cuyahoga, OH.............          37.6         693.4      -4.5      892      -1.5 
Oklahoma, OK.............          23.7         415.2      -1.9      790      -0.1 
Multnomah, OR............          27.9         425.8      -4.9      873      -1.4 
Allegheny, PA............          35.2         664.9      -1.8      953       0.5 
Providence, RI...........          17.8         265.6      -4.9      865      -3.5 
                                                                                   
Greenville, SC...........          12.5         226.2      -6.1      731      -0.7 
Minnehaha, SD............           6.4         113.1      -0.7      720      -1.9 
Shelby, TN...............          19.8         478.5      -4.8      861      -3.4 
Harris, TX...............          97.9       2,028.4      -1.1    1,143      -2.6 
Salt Lake, UT............          37.4         561.4      -4.2      820       1.0 
Chittenden, VT...........           6.0          91.3      -2.4      869      -3.0 
Fairfax, VA..............          34.2         568.5      -2.1    1,389       0.3 
King, WA.................          75.4       1,135.9      -3.9    1,127       0.2 
Kanawha, WV..............           6.0         106.0      -0.9      785       2.5 
Milwaukee, WI............          20.7         471.9      -4.5      882      -0.6 
                                                                                   
Laramie, WY..............           3.2          42.9      -1.4      714       1.7 
                                                                                   
San Juan, PR.............          12.6         275.5      -2.7      593       0.2 
St. Thomas, VI...........           1.9          23.3      -3.5      629      -1.1 

(1) Includes workers covered by Unemployment Insurance (UI) and Unemployment
Compensation for Federal Employees (UCFE) programs.
(2) Data are preliminary.
(3) Includes areas not officially designated as counties. See Technical Note.
(4) Average weekly wages were calculated using unrounded data.
(5) Percent changes were computed from quarterly employment and pay data adjusted
for noneconomic county reclassifications. See Technical Note.
(6) Totals for the United States do not include data for Puerto Rico or the Virgin
Islands.
(7) Data do not meet BLS or State agency disclosure standards.










Table 4. Covered(1) establishments, employment, and wages by state, 
first quarter 2009(2)
                                                                                 
                                                                                 
                                                Employment        Average weekly 
                                                                      wage(3)    
                          Establishments,                                        
                           first quarter                                         
          State                 2009                    Percent           Percent
                            (thousands)      March      change,  Average  change,
                                              2009       March    weekly   first 
                                          (thousands)   2008-09    wage   quarter
                                                                          2008-09
                                                                                 
                                                                                 
United States(4).........       9,113.9     128,992.2      -4.2     $882     -2.5
                                                                                 
Alabama..................         119.2       1,844.6      -5.2      736     -0.4
Alaska...................          21.3         303.5       0.1      887      2.5
Arizona..................         164.6       2,459.7      -6.9      807     -1.3
Arkansas.................          86.4       1,144.5      -2.9      695      4.2
California...............       1,369.6      14,742.5      -5.0      994     -1.2
Colorado.................         176.6       2,211.0      -3.9      913     -0.8
Connecticut..............         113.0       1,620.1      -3.8    1,189     -5.6
Delaware.................          29.3         399.9      -5.1      975     -0.8
District of Columbia.....          33.3         679.2      -0.1    1,461     -1.9
Florida..................         612.2       7,352.2      -7.0      771     -0.8
                                                                                 
Georgia..................         274.4       3,835.9      -5.4      831     -1.4
Hawaii...................          39.2         599.1      -4.9      775      0.4
Idaho....................          56.7         603.4      -6.3      638      0.3
Illinois.................         372.2       5,552.0      -4.2      951     -3.0
Indiana..................         161.3       2,701.1      -5.6      739     -2.4
Iowa.....................          94.6       1,432.5      -2.5      709     -0.1
Kansas...................          87.3       1,326.2      -2.6      719     -2.3
Kentucky.................         109.1       1,710.0      -4.6      712     -0.3
Louisiana................         124.2       1,867.4      -1.1      772      0.8
Maine....................          51.0         563.1      -3.7      688     -1.9
                                                                                 
Maryland.................         164.5       2,452.8      -3.1      964      0.1
Massachusetts............         213.0       3,102.8      -3.3    1,101     -3.7
Michigan.................         253.8       3,765.9      -7.2      825     -3.7
Minnesota................         168.6       2,538.5      -4.0      882     -2.9
Mississippi..............          71.0       1,087.9      -4.5      633     -0.2
Missouri.................         173.7       2,618.3      -3.4      771      0.1
Montana..................          42.9         413.9      -4.2      628      0.5
Nebraska.................          59.6         894.8      -2.0      699      1.7
Nevada...................          76.6       1,150.8      -9.1      810     -3.5
New Hampshire............          48.8         601.2      -3.2      837     -3.0
                                                                                 
New Jersey...............         271.3       3,775.1      -4.0    1,100     -2.8
New Mexico...............          54.9         794.1      -3.5      723      0.7
New York.................         588.1       8,332.4      -2.6    1,207    -13.8
North Carolina...........         260.6       3,852.4      -5.2      766     -2.8
North Dakota.............          25.6         341.8      -0.4      666      2.0
Ohio.....................         293.6       4,937.1      -4.9      790     -1.0
Oklahoma.................         100.5       1,517.0      -2.0      709     -0.3
Oregon...................         130.7       1,602.8      -6.3      772     -0.6
Pennsylvania.............         342.4       5,449.4      -2.9      862     -0.7
Rhode Island.............          35.5         441.8      -4.9      831     -2.4
                                                                                 
South Carolina...........         115.3       1,779.4      -5.9      692     -0.4
South Dakota.............          30.6         382.9      -1.7      630     -0.3
Tennessee................         142.7       2,586.1      -5.7      751     -1.3
Texas....................         564.9      10,237.9      -1.8      886     -1.9
Utah.....................          85.3       1,162.2      -4.6      726      1.1
Vermont..................          24.8         291.7      -3.2      719     -2.0
Virginia.................         232.6       3,541.6      -3.0      920      0.1
Washington...............         216.4       2,810.6      -3.8      906      0.8
West Virginia............          48.4         690.2      -1.4      704      4.0
Wisconsin................         156.8       2,619.0      -4.3      747     -1.6
                                                                                 
Wyoming..................          25.1         272.1      -2.0      778     -0.1
                                                                                 
Puerto Rico..............          53.4         967.1      -4.1      496      1.4
Virgin Islands...........           3.6          44.6      -4.3      685     -3.1

(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) Totals for the United States do not include data for Puerto Rico or the
Virgin Islands.





Last Modified Date: October 16, 2009