County Employment and Wages Summary

For release 10:00 a.m. (ET) Wednesday, November 20, 2024		USDL-24-2363

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

COUNTY EMPLOYMENT AND WAGES - SECOND QUARTER 2024

From June 2023 to June 2024, employment increased in 259 of the 369 largest U.S. counties, the U.S.
Bureau of Labor Statistics reported today. In June 2024, national employment increased to 155.7
million, a 0.8-percent increase over the year, as measured by the Quarterly Census of Employment and
Wages (QCEW) program. Kings, NY, had the largest over-the-year increase in employment, with a gain
of 4.0 percent. Employment data in this release are presented for June 2024, and average weekly wage
data are presented for second quarter 2024.

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			Suspension of Publication of Colorado Employment and Wage Data
	
	Effective with this release, the Quarterly Census of Employment and Wages (QCEW) is suspending
	publication of industry and substate employment and wage data for Colorado because of data
	quality issues. These issues are a result of a Colorado unemployment insurance system
	modernization. Statewide data for Colorado and statewide totals by ownership will continue to be
	published as scheduled. For more information, see www.bls.gov/cew/notices/2024/suspension-of-
	publication-of-colorado-employment-and-wage-data.htm.
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Among the 369 largest counties, 348 had over-the-year increases in average weekly wages. In the
second quarter of 2024, average weekly wages for the nation increased to $1,390, a 4.4-percent
increase over the year. Hamilton, IN, had the largest second quarter over-the-year wage gain at 33.4
percent. (See table 1.)

Large County Employment in June 2024

Kings, NY, had the largest over-the-year percentage increase in employment (+4.0 percent). Within
Kings, the largest employment increase occurred in education and health services, which rose by
37,473 (+10.3 percent).

Elkhart, IN, had the largest over-the-year percentage decrease in employment (-3.0 percent). Within
Elkhart, the largest employment decrease occurred in manufacturing, which fell by 3,243 (-5.0
percent).

Large County Average Weekly Wage in Second Quarter 2024

Hamilton, IN, had the largest over-the-year percentage increase in average weekly wages (+33.4
percent). Within Hamilton, an average weekly wage gain of $2,161 (+139.6 percent) in professional
and business services made the largest contribution to the county's increase in average weekly
wages.

Essex, MA, had the largest over-the-year percentage decrease in average weekly wages (-2.1 percent).
Within Essex, an average weekly wage loss of $644 (-25.7 percent) in professional and business
services 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 June 2024,
Miami-Dade, FL, had the largest over-the-year employment percentage gain (+1.5 percent). Within
Miami-Dade, leisure and hospitality had the largest employment increase and rose by 3,530 (+2.4
percent). (See table 2.)

All of the 10 largest counties had over-the-year percentage increases in average weekly wages. In
the second quarter of 2024, King, WA, experienced the largest over-the-year percentage gain in
average weekly wages (+10.4 percent). Within King, professional and business services had the
largest impact, with an average weekly wage increase of $774 (+24.5 percent).

For More Information

The tables included in this release contain data for the nation and for the 369 U.S. counties with
annual average employment levels of 75,000 or more in 2023. June 2024 employment and second quarter
2024 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.

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The County Employment and Wages full data update for second quarter 2024 is scheduled to be released
on Thursday, December 5, 2024, at 10:00 a.m. (ET).

The County Employment and Wages news release for third quarter 2024 is scheduled to be released on
Wednesday, February 19, 2025, at 10:00 a.m. (ET).