County Employment and Wages Summary

For release 10:00 a.m. (ET) Wednesday, August 23, 2023		USDL-23-1855

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 2023

From March 2022 to March 2023, employment increased in 325 of the 360 largest U.S. counties, the 
U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics reported today. In March 2023, national employment increased to 151.4 
million, a 2.5-percent increase over the year, as measured by the Quarterly Census of Employment and 
Wages (QCEW) program. Midland, TX, had the largest over-the-year increase in employment, with a 
gain of 8.5 percent. Employment data in this release are presented for March 2023, and average weekly 
wage data are presented for first quarter 2023.

Among the 360 largest counties, 353 had over-the-year increases in average weekly wages. In the first 
quarter of 2023, average weekly wages for the nation increased to $1,465, a 6.6-percent increase over 
the year. Clayton, GA, had the largest first quarter over-the-year wage gain at 24.3 percent. (See table 
1.)

Large County Employment in March 2023

Midland, TX, had the largest over-the-year percentage increase in employment (+8.5 percent). Within 
Midland, the largest employment increase occurred in natural resources and mining, which rose by 
3,636 (+13.0 percent).

Elkhart, IN, had the largest over-the-year percentage decrease in employment (-4.6 percent). Within 
Elkhart, the largest employment decrease occurred in manufacturing, which fell by 7,297 (-9.5 percent).

Large County Average Weekly Wage in First Quarter 2023

Clayton, GA, had the largest over-the-year percentage increase in average weekly wages (+24.3 
percent). Within Clayton, an average weekly wage gain of $466 (+29.2 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 (-6.3 percent). 
Within Elkhart, an average weekly wage loss of $139 (-10.3 percent) in manufacturing made the largest 
contribution to the county's decrease in average weekly wages.

Average weekly wages may be subject to periodic and sometimes large fluctuations. See the technical 
note for more information.

Ten Largest Counties

All of the 10 largest counties had over-the-year percentage increases in employment. In March 2023, 
Harris, TX, had the largest over-the-year employment percentage gain (+3.9 percent). Within Harris, 
education and health services had the largest employment increase and rose by 15,733 (+5.1 percent). 
(See table 2.)

Nine of the 10 largest counties had over-the-year percentage increases in average weekly wages. In first 
quarter 2023, Harris, TX, experienced the largest over-the-year percentage gain in average weekly 
wages (+9.8 percent). Within Harris, professional and business services had the largest impact, with an 
average weekly wage increase of $201 (+9.1 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. March 2023 employment and first quarter 2023 
average weekly wages for all states are provided in table 3 of this release.

The QCEW Technical Note is available at www.bls.gov/cew/news-release-technical-note.htm.

QCEW response rate tables are available at www.bls.gov/cew/response-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 first quarter 2023 is scheduled to be 
released on Wednesday, September 6, 2023, at 10:00 a.m. (ET).

The County Employment and Wages news release for second quarter 2023 is scheduled to be 
released on Tuesday, November 21, 2023, at 10:00 a.m. (ET).



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		County Changes for the 2023 County Employment and Wages News Releases

	Counties with annual average employment of 75,000 or more in 2022 are included in this release 
	and will be included in future 2023 releases. Five counties have been added to the publication 
	tables: Napa, CA; York, ME; Gaston, NC; Orange, NC; and Merrimack, NH. No counties were dropped 
	from the publication tables.
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