Employment rose in 6 of the 8 large counties in Maryland from June 2013 to June 2014, the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics reported today. (Large counties are defined as those with employment of 75,000 or more as measured by 2013 annual average employment.) Sheila Watkins, the Bureau’s regional commissioner, noted that Montgomery and Prince George’s Counties recorded the largest employment gain, both up 1.2 percent over the year. Harford and Frederick Counties recorded the only declines, down 0.7 percent and 0.4 percent, respectively.

Nationally, employment rose 2.0 percent during this 12-month period as 305 of the largest 339 U.S. counties gained jobs. Weld, Colo., posted the fastest employment gain, rising 8.9 percent over the year. Atlantic, N.J., had the largest over-the-year percentage decrease in employment (-1.6 percent).

Among the eight largest counties in Maryland, employment was highest in Montgomery County (462,700) in June 2014. Three other counties—Baltimore, Baltimore City, and Prince George’s—had employment levels exceeding 300,000. Together, Maryland’s large counties accounted for 80.1 percent of total employment within the state. Nationwide, the 339 largest counties made up 71.8 percent of total U.S. employment.

Baltimore County recorded the fastest over-the-year wage growth among Maryland’s eight large counties, rising 2.1 percent from the second quarter of 2013 to the second quarter of 2014, followed by Baltimore City at 1.6 percent. Montgomery County reported the highest average weekly wage among the state’s large counties at $1,244. Two other counties had weekly wages above $1,000—Howard ($1,118) and Baltimore City ($1,068). (See table 1.) Nationally, the average weekly wage rose 2.1 percent over the year to $940 in the second quarter of 2014.

Employment and wage levels (but not over-the-year changes) are also available for the 16 counties in Maryland with employment below 75,000. Fifteen of these smaller counties had average weekly wages below the national average. (See table 2.)

Large county wage changes

From the second quarter of 2013 to the second quarter of 2014, Baltimore County was the only large county in Maryland to record a wage increase which matched the national advance of 2.1 percent; three other counties had wage advances greater than 1.5 percent. No large counties recorded a wage decrease, while wages in Montgomery County were unchanged from the second quarter of 2013. (See table 1.)

Among the 339 largest counties nationwide, 312 had over-the-year increases in average weekly wages. Midland, Texas, had the largest wage gain, up 9.0 percent from the second quarter of 2013. Douglas, Colo., was second with 8.8-percent growth, followed by Hillsborough, N.H., (7.4 percent).

Only 22 large counties nationwide experienced over-the-year declines in average weekly wages, led by Williamson, Texas, with a loss of 2.7 percent. Westchester, N.Y. (-1.6 percent), had the second-largest decline, followed by Lake, Ind., and Bibb, Ga., down 1.4 and 1.3 percent, respectively. Two counties, Washington, D.C., and Chittenden, Vt., each down 1.1 percent, tied for the fourth-largest percent decrease in average weekly wages.

Large county average weekly wages

Average weekly wages in 6 of Maryland’s 8 large counties were above the U.S. average of $940, led by Montgomery County ($1,244) which ranked 16^th for wage level among the 339 largest counties in the United States in the second quarter of 2014. Including Montgomery, two other counties placed in the top 50 of the largest counties nationwide for wage level—Howard ($1,118) ranked 37^th, followed by Baltimore City ($1,068) at 49^th. Prince George’s and Anne Arundel counties ranked 72^nd and 74^th, respectively, and placed in the top 75 counties nationwide. The average weekly wages in Maryland’s remaining large counties all placed in the top half of the national ranking.

Average wages in Maryland’s smaller counties

Fifteen of the 16 counties in Maryland with employment under 75,000 had average weekly wages below the national average. The exception was St. Mary’s with an average wage of $1,162. Worcester County reported the lowest weekly wage in the state, averaging $552 in the second quarter of 2014. (See table 2.)

When all 24 counties in Maryland were considered, 17 had wages below the national average of $940. Six of these reported average weekly wages below $700. (See chart 1.) Of the seven counties with wages above the national average, three (Montgomery, St. Mary’s, and Howard) had average weekly wages above $1,100. Four of the seven counties with above-average wages were concentrated in the Baltimore metropolitan area, while two were located in the Washington metropolitan area. Four of the six lower-paid counties, those with wages below $700, were located on the Delmarva Peninsula.

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 the QCEW Web site at 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 2013 edition of this publication contains selected data produced by Business Employment Dynamics (BED) on job gains and losses, as well as selected data from the first quarter 2014 version of the national news release. Tables and additional content from Employment and Wages Annual Averages 2013 are now available online at www.bls.gov/cew/publications/employment-and-wages-annual-averages/2013/home.htm. The 2014 edition of Employment and Wages Annual Averages Online will be available later in 2015.

Information in this release will be made available to sensory impaired individuals upon request. Voice phone: 202-691-5200; Federal Relay Service: 1-800-877-8339.

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 9.4 million employer reports cover 137.8 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 (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.

Chart 1. Average weekly wages by county in Maryland, second quarter 2014