Employment rose in 17 of the 19 largest counties in Pennsylvania from March 2015 to March 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 Northampton County’s 3.1 percent rate of employment growth was the fastest in Pennsylvania and ranked 78^th among the 344 largest counties nationwide. Lancaster County followed with an employment increase of 2.7 percent, ranking 109^th among the nation’s large counties. Washington and Erie Counties had the only employment declines among Pennsylvania’s large counties, down 2.5 and 1.4 percent, respectively.

Nationally, employment grew 2.0 percent during this 12-month period, as 318 of the 344 large counties nationwide gained jobs. Williamson County, Tenn., had the largest percentage increase in employment, up 7.9 percent over the year. Midland County, Texas, had the largest employment decrease with a loss of 9.0 percent.

Among the 19 largest counties in Pennsylvania, employment was highest in Allegheny County (678,100) in March 2016. One other county, Philadelphia, had employment above 600,000. Together, Pennsylvania’s 19 large counties accounted for 77.0 percent of total employment within the commonwealth. Nationwide, the 344 largest counties made up 72.6 percent of total U.S. employment.

The average weekly wage in Washington County declined 12.0 percent from the first quarter of 2015 to the first quarter of 2016—the largest wage decrease among Pennsylvania’s largest counties and ranked 2^nd in wage decline among the large counties nationwide. Thirteen large counties in Pennsylvania had wage decreases ranging from 6.2 percent in Allegheny to 0.1 percent in Bucks, Erie, and Northampton counties. Two counties—Lackawanna and Lehigh—had unchanged average weekly wages over the year. The remaining three large counties had wage increases from 0.1 percent (Westmoreland) to 1.1 percent (Lancaster). (See table 1.) Nationally, the average weekly wage decreased 0.5 percent over the year to $1,043 in the first quarter of 2016.

Employment and wage levels (but not over-the-year changes) are also available for the 48 counties in Pennsylvania with employment below 75,000. Forty-seven of these smaller counties had weekly wages below the national average. (See table 2.)

Large county wage changes

Nine of Pennsylvania’s 19 large counties had over-the-year wage decreases greater than the national decline of 0.5 percent in the first quarter of 2016. Three counties had wage growth and ranked in the top half among the 344 large counties nationwide.

Among the nation’s largest counties, 164 had over-the-year increases in average weekly wages. Clayton, Ga., led the nation in average weekly wage growth with an increase of 15.5 percent from the first quarter of 2015. King, Wash., was second with a gain of 5.1 percent.

Nationwide, 167 large counties had decreases in average weekly wages over the year. McLean, Ill., had the largest decrease in wages with a decline of 13.3 percent from the first quarter of 2015. Washington, Pa., had the second largest decrease in average weekly wages (-12.0 percent), followed by Lafayette, La. (-10.3 percent); Mercer, N.J. (-8.5 percent); and Williamson, Texas (-7.8 percent).

Large county average weekly wages

The average weekly wage in one of Pennsylvania’s large counties, Montgomery, ranked 22^nd in the nation while Chester and Philadelphia also ranked in the top 50 nationwide. In addition to these counties, Allegheny, Delaware, and Washington also had wages above the U.S. average of $1,043.

Five large counties in the Commonwealth had average weekly wages that placed in the bottom fourth of the national ranking—Lackawanna, Erie, Luzerne, Westmoreland, and Lancaster. Wages in these counties were more than 20 percent below the national average for the first quarter of 2016.

Average weekly wages in Pennsylvania’s smaller counties

Forty-seven of the 48 counties in Pennsylvania with employment below 75,000 had average weekly wages lower than the national average of $1,043. The exception was Montour County with wages of $1,247. Perry had the lowest weekly wage among the smaller counties, averaging $569 in the first quarter of 2016. (See table 2.)

When all 67 counties in Pennsylvania were considered, 60 had wages below the national average of $1,043. Twenty-two reported wages below $700, 24 had wages from $701 to $800, 8 had wages from $801 to $900, 5 had wages from $901 to $1,000, and 8 had wages above $1,000. (See chart 1.) Four of the seven counties with wages above the national average of $1,043 were concentrated in the Philadelphia metropolitan area, and two were located in the Pittsburgh 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 2014 edition of this publication is now available and contains selected data produced by Business Employment Dynamics (BED) on job gains and losses, as well as selected data from the first quarter 2015 version of the national news release. Tables and additional content from Employment and Wages Annual Averages 2014 are now available online at www.bls.gov/cew/publications/employment-and-wages-annual-averages/2014/home.htm. The 2015 edition of Employment and Wages Annual Online will be available in September 2016.

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 140.1 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.

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.