Employment rose in 6 of the 8 large counties in Maryland from June 2015 to June 2016, 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 2015 annual average employment.) Sheila Watkins, the Bureau’s regional commissioner, noted that Anne Arundel County recorded the largest employment gain, up 1.5 percent over the year. Employment in Frederick County decreased 0.1 percent while employment in Prince George’s County was unchanged over the year. 

Nationally, employment rose 1.5 percent during this 12-month period as 291 of the largest 344 U.S. counties gained jobs. Williamson, Tenn., posted the largest employment gain, rising 6.7 percent over the year. Midland, Texas, had the largest over-the-year percentage decrease in employment with a loss of 8.3 percent.

Among the eight largest counties in Maryland, employment was highest in Montgomery County (471,000) in June 2016. 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 344 largest counties made up 72.5 percent of total U.S. employment.

Baltimore City recorded the fastest over-the-year wage growth among Maryland’s eight large counties, rising 4.3 percent from the second quarter of 2015 to the second quarter of 2016, followed by Anne Arundel County at 3.0 percent. Montgomery County reported the highest average weekly wage among the state’s large counties at $1,319. Four other counties had weekly wages above $1,000—Howard ($1,197), Baltimore City ($1,137), Anne Arundel ($1,046), and Prince George’s ($1,020). (See table 1.) Nationally, the average weekly wage rose 2.2 percent over the year to $989 in the second quarter of 2016.

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 2015 to the second quarter of 2016, the counties of Anne Arundel, Baltimore City, Baltimore, and Montgomery recorded wage increases greater than the national gain of 2.2 percent. Howard and Prince George’s Counties had wage gains of 1.7 and 1.6 percent, respectively. Frederick County had the lowest wage increase at 0.6 percent. Harford County recorded an over-the-year wage decrease, down 2.4 percent. (See table 1.)

Among the 344 largest U.S. counties, 304 had over-the-year increases in average weekly wages. McLean, Ill., had the largest percentage wage increase (21.0 percent), followed by the counties of Elkhart, Ind. (8.5 percent) and King, Wash. (8.1 percent).

Only 36 large counties nationwide experienced over-the-year declines in average weekly wages, led by Ventura, Calif., with a loss of 8.4 percent. Forsyth, N.C., had the second-largest decline at 6.5 percent, followed by Lafayette, La. (-6.2 percent); Gregg, Texas (-3.7 percent); and Midland, Texas (-3.2 percent).

Large county average weekly wages

Average weekly wages in 5 of Maryland’s 8 large counties were above the U.S. average of $989, led by Montgomery County ($1,319), which ranked 15^th for wage level among the 344 largest U.S. counties in the second quarter of 2016. Two other Maryland counties placed in the top 50 nationwide for wage level—Howard ($1,197, 30^th) and Baltimore City ($1,137, 46^th). Anne Arundel and Prince George’s Counties ranked 73^th and 81^st, respectively. Average weekly wages in Maryland’s three remaining large counties 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 weekly wage of $1,191. Worcester County reported the lowest weekly wage in the state, averaging $584 in the second quarter of 2016. (See table 2.)

When all 24 counties in Maryland were considered, 18 had wages below the national average of $989. Three of these reported average weekly wages below $700. (See chart 1.) Of the six counties with wages above the national average, four (Montgomery, St. Mary’s, Howard, and Baltimore City) had average weekly wages above $1,100. Three of the six counties with above-average wages were located in the Baltimore metropolitan area, while one was located in the Washington, D.C., metropolitan area.

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 2015 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 2016 version of the national news release. Tables and additional content from Employment and Wages Annual Averages 2015 are now available online at www.bls.gov/cew/publications/employment-and-wages-annual-averages/2015/home.htm. The 2016 edition of Employment and Wages Annual Averages Online will be available in September 2017.

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 9.7 million employer reports cover 142.7 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.