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Economic News Release
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County Employment and Wages Summary

For release 10:00 a.m. (ET) Wednesday, February 21, 2024		USDL-24-0347

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

COUNTY EMPLOYMENT AND WAGES - THIRD QUARTER 2023

From September 2022 to September 2023, employment increased in 309 of the 360 largest U.S. counties,
the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics reported today. In September 2023, national employment increased
to 153.8 million, a 1.5-percent increase over the year, as measured by the Quarterly Census of
Employment and Wages (QCEW) program. Hall, GA, had the largest over-the-year increase in employment,
with a gain of 5.4 percent. Employment data in this release are presented for September 2023, and
average weekly wage data are presented for third quarter 2023.

Among the 360 largest counties, 169 had over-the-year increases in average weekly wages. In the
third quarter of 2023, average weekly wages for the nation increased to $1,334, a 0.1-percent
increase over the year. Clayton, GA, had the largest third quarter over-the-year wage gain at 7.7
percent. (See table 1.)

Large County Employment in September 2023

Hall, GA, had the largest over-the-year percentage increase in employment (+5.4 percent). Within
Hall, the largest employment increase occurred in manufacturing, which rose by 1,954 (+8.6 percent).

Elkhart, IN, had the largest over-the-year percentage decrease in employment (-7.3 percent). Within
Elkhart, the largest employment decrease occurred in manufacturing, which fell by 10,144 (-13.8
percent).

Large County Average Weekly Wage in Third Quarter 2023

Clayton, GA, had the largest over-the-year percentage increase in average weekly wages (+7.7
percent). Within Clayton, an average weekly wage gain of $141 (+10.0 percent) in trade,
transportation, and utilities made the largest contribution to the county's increase in average
weekly wages.

Elkhart, IN, had the largest over-the-year percentage decrease in average weekly wages (-6.0
percent). Within Elkhart, an average weekly wage loss of $91 (-7.6 percent) in manufacturing made
the largest contribution to the county's decrease in average weekly wages.

Ten Largest Counties

Nine of the 10 largest counties had over-the-year percentage increases in employment. In September
2023, Harris, TX, had the largest over-the-year employment percentage gain (+2.7 percent). Within
Harris, education and health services had the largest employment increase and rose by 16,206 (+5.1
percent). (See table 2.)

Four of the 10 largest counties had over-the-year percentage increases in average weekly wages. In
the third quarter of 2023, King, WA, experienced the largest over-the-year percentage gain in
average weekly wages (+1.8 percent). Within King, professional and business services had the largest
impact, with an average weekly wage increase of $140 (+5.1 percent).

For More Information

The tables included in this release contain data for the nation and for the 360 U.S. counties with
annual average employment levels of 75,000 or more in 2022. September 2023 employment and third
quarter 2023 average weekly wages for all states are provided in table 3 of this release.

Over-the-year changes of employment and wages presented in this news release are adjusted and may
differ from unadjusted data used in BLS data tools and interactive charts. More information is
available in the QCEW Technical Note at www.bls.gov/cew/news-release-technical-note.htm.

QCEW reporting rates tables are available at www.bls.gov/cew/reporting-rates/.

The most current news release on quarterly measures of gross job flows is available from QCEW
Business Employment Dynamics at www.bls.gov/news.release/pdf/cewbd.pdf.

Several BLS regional offices issue QCEW news releases targeted to local data users. Links to these
releases are available at www.bls.gov/cew/regional-resources.htm.

QCEW data are available in the Census Business Builder suite of web tools assisting business owners
and regional analysts in data-driven decision making at www.census.gov/data/data-tools/cbb.html.

The QCEW news release schedule is available at www.bls.gov/cew/release-calendar.htm.

If you are deaf, hard of hearing, or have a speech disability, please dial 7-1-1 to access
telecommunications relay services.

____________
The County Employment and Wages full data update for third quarter 2023 is scheduled to be released
on Wednesday, March 6, 2024, at 10:00 a.m. (ET).

The County Employment and Wages news release for fourth quarter 2023 is scheduled to be released on
Wednesday, May 22, 2024, at 10:00 a.m. (ET).



Last Modified Date: February 21, 2024