Internet Address: http://www.bls.gov/ro2/ FOR RELEASE: March 4, 2009 Media Contact: Michael L. Dolfman,(212) 337-2500 Information: Martin Kohli,(646) 264-3620
COUNTY EMPLOYMENT AND WAGES IN NEW YORK: SECOND QUARTER 2008
Employment growth in Queens leads State
Queens County recorded over-the-year employment growth of 1.4 percent in
June 2008, the largest increase among New York's 18 large counties, those
with 75,000 or more jobs (as measured by 2007 average annual employment),
according to the U.S. Department of Labor's Bureau of Labor Statistics.
(See chart A.) Erie County followed with an increase of 1.2 percent.
Regional Commissioner Michael L. Dolfman noted that 10, or 56 percent, of
the State's large counties recorded job growth from June 2007 to June 2008.
Nationwide, only 37 percent of the 334 large counties in the country
experienced employment gains over this 12-month period.
In the second quarter of 2008, average weekly wages in Dutchess and
Rockland Counties increased by 4.4 and 4.1 percent respectively over the
year, the fastest rates among New York's large counties. (See chart B.)
These two counties also ranked among the top 50 in wage growth in the
nation, Dutchess at 35th and Rockland at 49th. Nine, or one-half, of New
York's large counties reported wage growth above the national increase of
2.6 percent.
Among the State's large counties, New York (more commonly known as
Manhattan) recorded the highest average weekly wage at $1,569 in the second
quarter of 2008, followed by Westchester at $1,140. New York County's
average weekly wage also ranked 1st among the 334 large counties
nationwide. Seven of the largest counties in the State reported average
weekly wages above the U.S. average of $841. Nationally, 157 of the 334
large counties reported wages above that for the nation.
Wage and employment levels (but not over-the-year changes) are also
available for the 44 other counties in New York State with employment below
75,000. The vast majority of these counties (40) had an average wage below
the U.S. average. (See table 2.)
Large County Employment
Employment in New York's large counties ranged from a high of 2,392,500
in Manhattan to a low of 79,400 in Saratoga in June 2008. All together,
New York's large counties accounted for 84 percent of the statewide
employment. Nationally, large counties accounted for 71 percent of
employment.
Ten of New York's large counties recorded over the-year increases in
employment, with five reporting growth of 0.9 percent or more. Queens and
Erie Counties ranked 34th and 41st highest in employment growth,
respectively, among the nation's largest counties. New York, Kings, and
Bronx Counties were also among the top 60 nationally. In contrast, seven
counties reported employment losses; however, six of these-Monroe,
Richmond, Suffolk, Nassau, Onondaga, and Westchester-had decreases that
either matched or were less than the national decline of 0.3 percent.
Dutchess (-1.4 percent) was the only large county in New York to report a
drop steeper than the national average.
Nationally, employment declined in 188 of the 334 large counties from
June 2007 to June 2008. Lee, Fla., had the largest over-the-year
percentage decrease in employment (-8.8 percent) followed by Collier, Fla.
(-6.8 percent), Sarasota, Fla. and Elkhart, Ind. (-6.5 percent each), and
Marion, Fla. (-6.0 percent). Employment rose in 125 of the large counties.
Orleans County, La., which includes the city of New Orleans, had the
largest over-the-year increase in employment (5.6 percent).
Large County Wage Changes
In the second quarter of 2008, wage growth in 10 of the 18 large
counties in New York matched or exceeded the 2.6 percent national increase.
Two of these counties had growth above 4.0 percent, Dutchess and Rockland,
and six had growth between 3.0 and 3.9 percent-Orange, Richmond, Suffolk,
Broome, Onondaga, and Erie-placing all eight in the upper one-third of the
national ranking. Seven counties posted below-average wage growth, with
Nassau County reporting the smallest gain, 0.6 percent. Queens County (-
4.3 percent) was the only large county in the State to record a decline in
its average weekly wage.
Across the country, Rock Island, Ill., led the nation in average weekly
wage growth with an increase of 10.5 percent from the second quarter of
2007. Weld, Colo., ranked second with 10.4 percent, followed by the
counties of Utah, Utah (9.4 percent), Whatcom, Wash. (8.3 percent), and
East Baton Rouge, La. (7.8 percent). Twenty-six large counties experienced
over-the-year declines in average weekly wages. Clayton, Ga., had the
largest decline (-43.7 percent), followed by Boone, Ky. (-10.0 percent),
Ventura, Calif., and Trumbull, Ohio (-4.8 percent each), and Queens, N.Y. (-
4.3 percent).
Large County Average Weekly Wages
Seven of New York's large counties reported average weekly wages above
the national average in the second quarter of 2008, with two surpassing
$1,100-New York and Westchester-and three exceeding $900- Nassau, Rockland,
and Suffolk. Wages in these five counties ranked in the upper one-quarter
of the national ranking. Albany ($881) and Dutchess ($880) were the only
other large counties to report wages above that for the nation. Broome and
Oneida Counties had the lowest average weekly wage at $688 and $678,
respectively, placing them in the bottom quarter of the nationwide ranking.
Nationally, Santa Clara, Calif. ($1,529), and Washington, D.C. ($1,433)
followed New York in average weekly earnings. The lowest average weekly
wage was reported in Cameron County, Texas ($535), followed by the counties
of Hidalgo, Texas ($538), Horry, S.C. ($539), Webb, Texas ($562), and
Yakima, Wash. ($580).
Employment and Average Wages in New York's Small Counties
Employment and average weekly wages (but not over-the-year changes) are
also available for New York's 44 small counties, those with employment
below 75,000. These counties accounted for 16 percent of statewide
employment. Among the small counties, Niagara reported the highest
employment in June 2008 with 74,400, followed by Schenectady with 66,500,
and Ulster with 61,900. Hamilton County had the fewest jobs-2,000.
The average weekly wage in Steuben, at $934, was the highest among the
small counties, exceeding the national average by more than $90. Tioga,
Schenectady, and Putnam, with wages of $887, $879, and $876, respectively,
also exceeded the national average. Seven counties--Tompkins, Rennselaer,
Franklin, Clinton, Ulster, Chemung, and Oswego--recorded below-average
weekly wages ranging from $799 to $700. The remaining 33 small counties
had average weekly wages at or below $700. Yates County, in western New
York, and Hamilton County, in the Adirondacks, reported the lowest average
weekly wages at $531 and $529, respectively. (See chart 1.)
When all 62 counties in New York are considered, 11 had an average
weekly wage above the $841 national average. With the exception of
Schenectady, Steuben, and Tioga, these counties were clustered in New York
City, on Long Island, or in the Hudson River valley.
Average weekly wage data by county are compiled under the Quarterly
Census of Employment and Wages (QCEW) program, also known as the ES-202
program. The data are derived from summaries of employment and total pay of
workers covered by state and federal unemployment insurance (UI)
legislation and provided by State Workforce Agencies (SWAs). The 9.1
million employer reports cover 136.6 million full- and part-time workers.
The average weekly wage values are calculated by dividing quarterly total
wages by the average of the three monthly employment levels of those
covered by UI programs. The result is then divided by 13, the number of
weeks in a quarter. It is to be noted, therefore, that over-the-year wage
changes for geographic areas may reflect shifts in the composition of
employment by industry, occupation, and such other factors as hours of
work. Thus, wages may vary among counties, metropolitan areas, or states
for reasons other than changes in the average wage level. Data for all
states, Metropolitan Statistical Areas, counties, and the nation are
available on the BLS Web site at http://www.bls.gov/cew/; however, data in
QCEW press releases have been revised (see Technical Note below) and may
not match the data contained on the Bureau's Web site.
Additional Statistics and Other Information
An annual bulletin, Employment and Wages, features comprehensive
information by detailed industry on establishments, employment, and wages
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 quarter 2008 version of
the national news release. Tables and additional content from the 2007
Employment and Wages Annual Bulletin are now available online at
www.bls.gov/cew/cewbultn07.htm. These tables present final 2007 annual
averages. The tables will also be included on the CD which accompanies the
hardcopy version of the Annual Bulletin. Employment and Wages Annual
Averages, 2007 will be available for sale by the end of the first quarter
in 2009 from the United States Government Printing Office, Superintendent
of Documents, P.O. Box 37194, 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.
QCEW-based news releases issued by other regional offices have been
placed at one convenient BLS Web site location,
http://www.bls.gov/cew/cewregional.htm.
Information in this release will be made available to sensory impaired
individuals upon request. Voice phone: 202-691-5200; TDD message referral
phone number: 1-800-877-8339.
For personal assistance or further information on the Quarterly Census
of Employment and Wages Program, as well as other Bureau programs, contact
the New York-New Jersey Information Office at (646) 264-3600 from 9:00 a.m.
to 12:30 p.m. and 1:30 p.m. to 4:30 p.m. ET.
TECHNICAL NOTE
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. For this reason, county and industry data are not designed to be
used as a time series.
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.
NYLS -7366 Labor - New York
02/26/09
Table 1. Covered1 employment and wages in the United States, New York State, and large counties,
second quarter 20082
Employment Average weekly wage3
----------------------- ----------------------------------------
Percent National
June change, National Percent rank by
2008 June Level rank by change percent
(thousands) 2007-084 2008 level5 2007-084 change5
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
United States6 136,631.8 -0.3 $841 - 2.6 -
New York 8,758.2 0.6 1,040 3 2.3 39
Albany 230.1 0.1 881 83 2.7 145
Bronx 227.4 0.9 820 130 2.6 158
Broome 97.4 0.1 688 284 3.5 79
Dutchess 117.8 -1.4 880 85 4.4 35
Erie 466.1 1.2 747 209 3.2 109
Kings 482.5 1.1 728 232 2.1 203
Monroe 386.5 -0.1 823 125 2.2 194
Nassau 615.4 -0.3 962 47 0.6 281
New York 2,392.5 1.0 1,569 1 2.0 212
Oneida 113.1 0.1 678 293 2.4 175
Onondaga 256.1 -0.3 786 158 3.3 94
Orange 134.0 0.0 752 202 3.6 72
Queens 508.3 1.4 840 111 -4.3 323
Richmond 94.5 -0.2 755 199 3.6 72
Rockland 118.9 0.1 932 57 4.1 49
Saratoga 79.4 0.1 719 247 1.8 228
Suffolk 642.6 -0.2 922 62 3.6 72
Westchester 430.8 -0.3 1,140 14 2.2 194
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
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 any noneconomic
county reclassifications.
5 Ranking does not include the county of San Juan, Puerto Rico.
6 Totals for the United States do not include data for Puerto Rico or the Virgin Islands.
Table 2. Covered1 employment and wages in the United States and counties in
New York, second quarter, 20082
Employment Employment
June Average June Average
2008 weekly 2007 weekly
Area (thousands) wage3 Area (thousands) wage3
---------------------------------------------------------------------------------
United States4 136,631.8 $841 New York 2,392.5 $1,569
Niagara 74.4 674
New York 8,758.2 1,040 Oneida 113.1 678
Onondaga 256.1 786
Albany 230.1 881 Ontario 51.1 678
Allegany 14.5 669 Orange 134.0 752
Bronx 227.4 820 Orleans 13.4 664
Broome 97.4 688 Oswego 34.6 700
Cattaraugus 32.0 657 Otsego 25.4 655
Cayuga 27.3 664 Putnam 27.0 876
Chautauqua 56.5 623
Chemung 40.0 704 Queens 508.3 840
Chenango 16.8 682 Rennselaer 53.8 787
Clinton 35.4 710 Richmond 94.5 755
Rockland 118.9 932
Columbia 21.5 646 Saratoga 79.4 719
Cortland 17.5 634 Schenectady 66.5 879
Delaware 17.2 675 Schoharie 9.3 616
Dutchess 117.8 880 Schuyler 5.1 616
Erie 466.1 747 Seneca 11.6 671
Essex 15.2 660 St. Lawrence 37.6 686
Franklin 19.2 713
Fulton 18.7 643 Steuben 39.5 934
Genesee 25.5 603 Suffolk 642.6 922
Greene 15.2 667 Sullivan 27.1 682
Tioga 15.5 887
Hamilton 2.0 529 Tompkins 51.7 794
Herkimer 17.3 584 Ulster 61.9 706
Jefferson 43.9 648 Warren 41.6 641
Kings 482.5 728 Washington 16.4 694
Lewis 7.0 639 Wayne 31.3 686
Livingston 20.8 644 Westchester 430.8 1,140
Madison 22.2 628
Monroe 386.5 823 Wyoming 14.7 664
Montgomery 19.8 641 Yates 7.0 531
Nassau 615.4 962
---------------------------------------------------------------------------------
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.
Table 3. Covered1 employment and wages by state and territory, second quarter 20082
Employment Average weekly wage3
---------- --------------------------------------------
National
Area June Average National Percent rank
2008 weekly rank by change, by percent
(thousands) wage level4 2007-08 change4
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
United States5 136,631.8 $841 - 2.6 -
Alabama 1,955.4 720 33 3.3 15
Alaska 330.6 860 12 3.1 16
Arizona 2,543.9 806 19 2.4 34
Arkansas 1,183.5 661 46 3.4 11
California 15,760.3 955 6 2.2 42
Colorado 2,346.3 858 13 3.1 16
Connecticut 1,722.3 1,036 4 0.3 49
Delaware 427.3 862 10 -0.8 51
District of Columbia 691.4 1,433 1 5.9 1
Florida 7,620.1 762 26 2.6 30
Georgia 4,059.7 787 22 -0.6 50
Hawaii 623.9 764 24 3.9 9
Idaho 671.9 636 48 1.6 46
Illinois 5,930.0 893 8 2.3 39
Indiana 2,906.5 715 38 1.9 43
Iowa 1,521.2 683 42 2.9 23
Kansas 1,389.1 720 33 2.4 34
Kentucky 1,818.9 718 35 2.6 30
Louisiana 1,900.3 750 29 5.5 3
Maine 620.3 676 44 2.7 28
Maryland 2,577.7 920 7 2.8 26
Massachusetts 3,310.4 1,044 2 3.6 10
Michigan 4,163.3 825 18 2.4 34
Minnesota 2,733.9 849 14 1.8 45
Mississippi 1,139.1 635 49 4.4 7
Missouri 2,761.6 752 28 3.4 11
Montana 450.3 629 50 2.9 23
Nebraska 936.1 676 44 3.4 11
Nevada 1,271.8 797 20 2.7 28
New Hampshire 641.9 835 16 1.5 48
New Jersey 4,054.4 1,004 5 1.6 46
New Mexico 837.2 715 38 4.2 8
New York 8,758.2 1,040 3 2.3 39
North Carolina 4,083.6 735 31 2.4 34
North Dakota 356.4 654 47 5.8 2
Ohio 5,315.0 757 27 2.3 39
Oklahoma 1,556.0 701 40 5.3 5
Oregon 1,747.4 764 24 3.0 20
Pennsylvania 5,743.3 827 17 3.1 16
Rhode Island 481.6 796 21 2.8 26
South Carolina 1,907.5 681 43 2.4 34
South Dakota 409.0 606 51 2.9 23
Tennessee 2,752.7 745 30 1.9 43
Texas 10,510.3 849 14 2.5 33
Utah 1,234.3 716 37 2.6 30
Vermont 305.6 $718 35 3.0 20
Virginia 3,720.4 885 9 3.0 20
Washington 3,000.9 862 10 3.4 11
West Virginia 715.3 695 41 5.1 6
Wisconsin 2,836.8 730 32 3.1 16
Wyoming 296.7 780 23 5.4 4
Puerto Rico 997.8 475 6 3.5 6
Virgin Islands 45.9 703 6 -0.6 6
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
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 Ranking does not include Puerto Rico or the Virgin Islands.
5 Totals for the United States do not include data for Puerto Rico or the Virgin Islands.
6 Data not included in the national ranking.
Last Modified Date: March 6, 2009
