Three of the four large counties in Iowa reported employment growth from June 2018 to June 2019, the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics reported today. (Large counties are those with annual average employment levels of 75,000 or more in 2018.) Assistant Commissioner for Regional Operations Charlene Peiffer noted that Polk County had the largest increase, up 0.6 percent, followed by Scott (0.3 percent) and Linn (0.1 percent) Counties. Johnson County had an over-the-year employment decrease of 0.7 percent. Nationally, employment increased 1.1 percent. (See table 1.)

Among the four largest counties in Iowa, employment was highest in Polk County (307,300) in June 2019. Collectively, Iowa’s four large counties accounted for 39.0 percent of total employment within the state. Nationwide, the 355 largest counties made up 73.4 percent of total U.S. employment, which stood at 149.1 million in June 2019.

The average weekly wage in Scott County rose 3.0 percent from the second quarter of 2018 to the second quarter of 2019, the largest increase among Iowa’s large counties. Polk County had the highest average weekly wage in the state at $1,059. (See table 1.) Nationally, the average weekly wage rose 3.8 percent over the year to $1,095 in the second quarter of 2019.

Employment and wage levels (but not over-the-year changes) are also available for the 95 counties in Iowa with employment below 75,000. All of these smaller counties had average weekly wages below the national average. (See table 2.)

Large county wage changes

All four of Iowa’s large counties recorded wage growth below the national increase of 3.8 percent from the second quarter of 2018 to the second quarter of 2019. (See table 1.) Scott County’s 3.0-percent increase in average weekly wages ranked 220^th among the 355 largest U.S. counties. The state’s remaining three large counties all placed in the lowest quintile of the national ranking.

Among the 355 largest U.S. counties, 347 had over-the-year increases in average weekly wages in the second quarter of 2019. Benton, AR, ranked first in average weekly wage growth with a gain of 16.3 percent, followed by San Francisco, CA, at 15.5 percent.

Eight of the 355 largest U.S. counties experienced over-the-year decreases in average weekly wages. McLean, IL, had the largest over-the-year percentage decrease in average weekly wages with a loss of 5.8 percent.

Large county average weekly wages

Average weekly wages in all four large Iowa counties were below the national average of $1,095 in the second quarter of 2019. As noted, Polk County ($1,059) had the highest average weekly wage in the state and ranked 123^rd among the 355 largest U.S. counties. Scott County ($867) reported the lowest average weekly wage among Iowa’s large counties and ranked 303^rd nationwide.

Nationwide, weekly wages were higher than the U.S. average of $1,095 in 93 of the largest U.S. counties. Santa Clara, CA, held the top position with an average weekly wage of $2,612. San Francisco, CA, was second at $2,430, followed by San Mateo, CA ($2,373), and New York, NY ($2,109).

Nationwide, 260 large U.S. counties reported average weekly wages below the national average. Horry, SC ($649) reported the lowest weekly wage, followed by the Texas counties of Hidalgo ($657), Cameron ($659), and Webb ($697).

Average weekly wages in Iowa’s smaller counties

All of the 95 smaller counties in Iowa, those with employment below 75,000, had average weekly wages below the national average of $1,095. Among these smaller counties, Dallas County had the highest average weekly wage at $1,055 and Decatur County had the lowest at $651. (See table 2.)

When all 99 counties in Iowa were considered, 36 reported average weekly wages of $749 or lower, 28 reported wages from $750 to $799, 18 had wages from $800 to $849, and 17 had wages of $850 or higher. (See chart 1.)

Additional statistics and other information

QCEW data for states have been included in this release in table 3. For additional information about quarterly employment and wages data, please read the Technical Note or visit www.bls.gov/cew.

Employment and Wages Annual Averages Online features comprehensive information by detailed industry on establishments, employment, and wages for the nation and all states. The 2018 edition of this publication, which was published in September 2019, contains selected data produced by Business Employment Dynamics (BED) on job gains and losses, as well as selected data from the first quarter 2019 version of the national news release. Tables and additional content from the 2018 edition of Employment and Wages Annual Averages are now available online at www.bls.gov/cew/publications/employment-and-wages-annual-averages/2018/home.htm. The 2019 edition of Employment and Wages Annual Online will be available in September 2020.

The County Employment and Wages release for third quarter 2019 is scheduled to be released on Thursday, February 20, 2020. The County Employment and Wages full data update for third quarter 2019 is scheduled to be released on Wednesday, March 4, 2020.

Technical Note

Average weekly wage data by county are compiled under the Quarterly Census of Employment and Wages (QCEW) program, also known as the ES-202 program. The data are derived from summaries of employment and total pay of workers covered by state and federal unemployment insurance (UI) legislation and provided by State Workforce Agencies (SWAs). The average weekly wage values are calculated by dividing quarterly total wages by the average of the three monthly employment levels of those covered by UI programs. 13, the number of weeks in a quarter, then divide the result. It is to be noted, therefore, that over-the-year wage changes for geographic areas may reflect shifts in the composition of employment by industry, occupation, and such other factors as hours of work. Thus, wages may vary among counties, metropolitan areas, or states for reasons other than changes in the average wage level. Data for all states, Metropolitan Statistical Areas (MSAs), counties, and the nation are available on the BLS Web site at www.bls.gov/cew; however, data in QCEW press releases have been revised and may not match the data contained on the Bureau’s Web site.

QCEW data are not designed as a time series. QCEW data are simply the sums of individual establishment records reflecting the number of establishments that exist in a county or industry at a point in time. Establishments can move in or out of a county or industry for a number of reasons–some reflecting economic events, others reflecting administrative changes.

The preliminary QCEW data presented in this release may differ from data released by the individual states as well as from the data presented on the BLS Web site. These potential differences result from the states’ continuing receipt, review and editing of UI data over time. On the other hand, differences between data in this release and the data found on the BLS Web site are the result of adjustments made to improve over-the-year comparisons. Specifically, these adjustments account for administrative (noneconomic) changes such as a correction to a previously reported location or industry classification. Adjusting for these administrative changes allows users to more accurately assess changes of an economic nature (such as a firm moving from one county to another or changing its primary economic activity) over a 12-month period. Currently, adjusted data are available only from BLS press releases.

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

Table 1. Covered employment and wages in the United States and the 4 largest counties in Iowa, second quarter 2019

Area	Employment			Average weekly wage (1)
	June 2019 (thousands)	Percent change, June 2018-19 (2)	National ranking by percent change (3)	Average weekly wage	National ranking by level (3)	Percent change, second quarter 2018-19 (2)	National ranking by percent change (3)
United States (4)	149,089.2	1.1	--	$1,095	--	3.8	--
Iowa	1,584.7	0.1	--	902	40	2.5	45
Johnson, Iowa	83.6	-0.7	330	991	181	1.0	340
Linn, Iowa	133.6	0.1	269	1,020	159	1.2	336
Polk, Iowa	307.3	0.6	209	1,059	123	1.0	340
Scott, Iowa	93.3	0.3	249	867	303	3.0	220
Footnotes: (1) Average weekly wages were calculated using unrounded data. (2) Percent changes were computed from quarterly employment and pay data adjusted for noneconomic county reclassifications. (3) Ranking does not include data for Puerto Rico or the Virgin Islands. (4) Totals for the United States do not include data for Puerto Rico or the Virgin Islands.
Note: Data are preliminary. Covered employment and wages includes workers covered by Unemployment Insurance (UI) and Unemployment Compensation for Federal Employees (UCFE) programs.

Table 3. Covered employment and wages by state, second quarter 2019

State	Employment		Average weekly wage (1)
	June 2019 (thousands)	Percent change, June 2018-19	Average weekly wage	National ranking by level	Percent change, second quarter 2018-19	National ranking by percent change
United States (2)	149,089.2	1.1	$1,095	--	3.8	--
Alabama	1,993.7	1.1	911	36	3.4	28
Alaska	338.9	0.7	1,078	15	3.6	26
Arizona	2,843.3	2.6	1,010	23	3.8	16
Arkansas	1,222.5	0.6	862	47	4.6	4
California	17,717.4	1.5	1,325	4	4.7	3
Colorado	2,765.7	2.2	1,128	9	4.9	2
Connecticut	1,690.8	-0.8	1,266	6	3.9	11
Delaware	458.0	0.8	1,057	17	3.4	28
District of Columbia	780.4	0.5	1,778	1	3.8	16
Florida	8,722.9	1.8	968	26	3.9	11
Georgia	4,507.1	1.7	1,016	22	3.9	11
Hawaii	652.2	-1.2	992	24	3.7	22
Idaho	765.1	2.6	820	50	3.3	33
Illinois	6,074.7	0.3	1,122	10	2.4	47
Indiana	3,089.8	0.5	910	38	3.1	39
Iowa	1,584.7	0.1	902	40	2.5	45
Kansas	1,403.0	0.6	905	39	2.8	42
Kentucky	1,909.7	0.3	911	36	3.3	33
Louisiana	1,920.2	-0.2	923	35	2.4	47
Maine	639.6	0.4	874	45	3.7	22
Maryland	2,733.6	0.7	1,178	8	3.3	33
Massachusetts	3,690.1	0.9	1,377	2	4.3	5
Michigan	4,419.7	0.1	1,018	21	2.4	47
Minnesota	2,952.6	0.8	1,101	13	2.6	44
Mississippi	1,135.9	0.4	767	51	2.0	51
Missouri	2,836.7	0.3	948	30	2.5	45
Montana	483.1	1.0	843	48	3.3	33
Nebraska	991.5	0.1	889	42	3.5	27
Nevada	1,408.8	2.6	961	29	3.2	38
New Hampshire	676.1	0.8	1,090	14	4.0	10
New Jersey	4,182.5	0.7	1,236	7	3.0	41
New Mexico	834.0	1.0	888	44	4.3	5
New York	9,682.8	1.0	1,347	3	3.9	11
North Carolina	4,527.3	2.0	970	25	3.9	11
North Dakota	431.8	1.3	1,026	20	4.1	7
Ohio	5,486.7	0.4	965	27	3.4	28
Oklahoma	1,618.5	0.5	900	41	3.1	39
Oregon	1,976.5	1.3	1,036	18	3.8	16
Pennsylvania	5,972.1	0.8	1,070	16	3.8	16
Rhode Island	494.5	0.7	1,034	19	3.4	28
South Carolina	2,144.2	1.3	867	46	3.7	22
South Dakota	441.8	0.4	838	49	3.8	16
Tennessee	3,047.8	1.8	964	28	3.3	33
Texas	12,585.6	2.0	1,102	12	3.8	16
Utah	1,526.1	3.0	936	32	4.1	7
Vermont	314.0	0.0	929	34	2.7	43
Virginia	3,981.6	1.0	1,113	11	3.7	22
Washington	3,500.6	1.8	1,288	5	5.9	1
West Virginia	700.4	-0.6	889	42	2.4	47
Wisconsin	2,945.3	0.3	940	31	4.1	7
Wyoming	287.6	1.7	932	33	3.4	28
Puerto Rico	867.7	1.5	531	(3)	-1.8	(3)
Virgin Islands	37.0	10.0	919	(3)	8.8	(3)
Footnotes: (1) Average weekly wages were calculated using unrounded data. (2) Totals for the United States do not include data for Puerto Rico or the Virgin Islands. (3) Data not included in the national ranking.
Note: Data are preliminary. Covered employment and wages includes workers covered by Unemployment Insurance (UI) and Unemployment Compensation for Federal Employees (UCFE) programs.