Eleven of the 12 largest counties in Virginia registered employment increases from March 2016 to March 2017, 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 2016 annual average employment.) Loudoun County had the fastest rate of employment growth at 3.4 percent, followed by Arlington County, Prince William County and Richmond City at 1.7 percent each. Sheila Watkins, the Bureau’s regional commissioner, noted that Loudoun County’s employment growth rate ranked 26^th among the nation’s 346 largest counties. Alexandria City recorded no employment change over the year.

Nationally, employment grew 1.6 percent during this 12-month period, as 299 of the 346 large counties nationwide gained jobs. York S.C., had the largest percentage increase in employment, up 6.8 percent over the year. Kanawha, W.Va., had the largest employment decrease with a loss of 2.7 percent.

Among the 12 largest counties in Virginia, employment was highest in Fairfax (594,700) in March 2017. No other county in the commonwealth had employment above 200,000. Together, Virginia’s large counties accounted for 56.3 percent of total employment within the commonwealth. Nationwide, the 346 largest counties made up 72.8 percent of total U.S. employment.

The average weekly wage in Henrico County increased 9.7 percent from the first quarter of 2016 to the first quarter of 2017, the fastest increase among Virginia’s 12 largest counties. Chesterfield County had the second largest average weekly wage increase, up 9.2 percent. Arlington County had the highest average weekly wage among the largest counties in the commonwealth at $1,847, followed by Fairfax County ($1,748) and Alexandria City ($1,467). (See table 1.) Nationally, the average weekly wage increased 6.6 percent over the year to $1,111 in the first quarter of 2017.

Employment and wage levels (but not over-the-year changes) are also available for the 121 counties in Virginia with employment below 75,000. Seven of these 121 counties had average weekly wages above the national average. (See table 2.)

Large county wage changes

From the first quarter of 2016 to the first quarter of 2017, all 12 of the large counties in Virginia recorded wage increases. Over-the-year gaines in Henrico County (9.7 percent) and Chesterfield County (9.2 percent), ranked 23^rd and 29^th, respectively, among the nation’s 346 large U.S. counties.

Among the 346 largest U.S. counties, 345 had over-the-year increases in average weekly wages. McLean, Ill., had the largest percentage wage increase, (27.8 percent). Peoria, Ill., had the only percentage decrease in average weekly wages (-1.1 percent).

Large county average weekly wages

Arlington County had the ninth highest average weekly wage among the 346 large U.S. counties. Fairfax County and Alexandria City ranked 11^th and 21^st, respectively. Additionally, Loudoun County, Richmond City, and Henrico County recorded average weekly wages above the U.S. average of $1,111.

In Chesapeake City and Virginia Beach City, average weekly wages placed in the bottom fifth of the national ranking at 298^th and 317^th, respectively.

Average weekly wages in Virginia’s smaller counties

Seven of the 121 counties in Virginia with employment below 75,000 had average weekly wages higher than the national average of $1,111. Among these smaller counties, Goochland ($2,374), Surry ($1,601) and King George ($1,431) had the highest average weekly wages. Mathews County reported the lowest average weekly wage at $525. (See table 2.)

When all 133 counties in Virginia were considered, 120 had wages below the national average of $1,111. Twelve counties reported wages below $599, 43 had wages from $600 to $699, 29 had wages from $700 to $799, 19 had wages from $800 to $899, and 30 had wages above $900.

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 2016 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 2017 version of the national news release. Tables and additional content from Employment and Wages Annual Averages 2016 are now available online at www.bls.gov/cew/publications/employment-and-wages-annual-averages/2016/home.htm. The 2017 edition of Employment and Wages Annual Online will be available in September 2018.

 

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 9.9 million employer reports cover 142.3 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.

Table 1. Covered employment and wages in the United States and the 12 largest counties in Virginia, first quarter 2017

Area	Employment			Average weekly wage (1)
	March 2017 (thousands)	Percent change, March 2016-17 (2)	National ranking by percent change (3)	Average weekly wage	National ranking by level (3)	Percent change, first quarter 2016-17 (2)	National ranking by percent change (3)
United States (4)	142,309.2	1.6	--	$1,111	--	6.6	--
Virginia	3,796.3	1.4	--	1,129	13	6.9	18
Alexandria City, Va.	93.2	0.0	300	1,467	21	5.0	267
Arlington, Va.	174.3	1.7	157	1,847	9	6.6	158
Chesapeake City, Va.	98.4	0.9	229	831	298	8.3	50
Chesterfield, Va.	132.8	0.4	274	915	216	9.2	29
Fairfax, Va.	594.7	1.1	209	1,748	11	7.7	73
Henrico, Va.	190.5	0.8	237	1,119	89	9.7	23
Loudoun, Va.	160.8	3.4	26	1,239	55	3.6	325
Newport News City, Va.	96.5	0.1	294	1,064	117	4.6	289
Norfolk City, Va.	141.6	1.2	201	1,025	138	4.3	302
Prince William, Va.	125.3	1.7	157	900	235	7.3	98
Richmond City, Va.	155.1	1.7	157	1,247	54	6.8	140
Virginia Beach City, Va.	174.9	0.9	229	801	317	5.1	260
Footnotes: (1) Average weekly wages were calculated using unrounded data. (2) Percent changes were computed from quarterly employment and pay data adjusted for noneconomic county reclassifications. (3) Ranking does not include data for Puerto Rico or the Virgin Islands. (4) Totals for the United States do not include data for Puerto Rico or the Virgin Islands. Note: Data are preliminary. Covered employment and wages includes workers covered by Unemployment Insurance (UI) and Unemployment Compensation for Federal Employees (UCFE) programs.

 

 

Table 3. Covered employment and wages by state, first quarter 2017

State	Employment		Average weekly wage (1)
	March 2017 (thousands)	Percent change, March 2016-17	Average weekly wage	National ranking by level	Percent change, first quarter 2016-17	National ranking by percent change
United States (2)	142,309.2	1.6	$1,111	--	6.6	--
Alabama	1,928.9	1.4	893	36	6.2	35
Alaska	312.8	-1.8	1,061	18	3.9	50
Arizona	2,743.0	2.4	991	21	8.1	4
Arkansas	1,199.9	0.7	859	45	8.5	3
California	16,831.4	2.3	1,295	6	7.6	7
Colorado	2,573.2	2.3	1,136	12	7.5	10
Connecticut	1,651.5	0.1	1,417	4	4.0	49
Delaware	433.2	0.8	1,185	9	10.7	1
District of Columbia	760.7	1.2	1,885	1	7.0	16
Florida	8,532.6	2.8	949	27	7.2	13
Georgia	4,317.1	2.7	1,068	17	6.1	37
Hawaii	653.6	0.9	954	25	6.8	22
Idaho	690.4	3.0	775	50	7.0	16
Illinois	5,842.0	0.5	1,195	8	6.3	34
Indiana	2,985.8	1.2	918	32	7.6	7
Iowa	1,518.3	0.0	899	35	6.5	30
Kansas	1,368.0	0.4	888	38	6.7	25
Kentucky	1,864.1	1.1	879	41	6.9	18
Louisiana	1,901.3	-0.5	906	33	5.5	43
Maine	586.7	1.0	860	44	7.2	13
Maryland	2,626.0	1.2	1,171	10	5.8	42
Massachusetts	3,464.0	1.1	1,428	3	7.7	6
Michigan	4,230.6	1.7	1,041	20	6.8	22
Minnesota	2,806.4	2.1	1,149	11	7.9	5
Mississippi	1,122.9	0.1	750	51	5.3	46
Missouri	2,767.0	1.4	930	31	5.9	38
Montana	451.5	1.4	800	49	6.5	30
Nebraska	960.7	0.4	868	42	6.4	33
Nevada	1,311.6	3.8	932	30	6.9	18
New Hampshire	643.2	1.2	1,070	16	7.3	11
New Jersey	3,955.1	1.5	1,333	5	5.0	47
New Mexico	803.3	0.2	838	46	5.9	38
New York	9,159.3	1.3	1,541	2	5.9	38
North Carolina	4,287.0	1.8	991	21	6.9	18
North Dakota	405.7	-1.0	953	26	5.0	47
Ohio	5,278.3	0.8	976	24	6.7	25
Oklahoma	1,563.9	-1.0	883	39	5.9	38
Oregon	1,855.0	2.5	984	23	5.4	45
Pennsylvania	5,712.3	0.8	1,078	15	6.5	30
Rhode Island	465.4	0.3	1,055	19	7.2	13
South Carolina	2,017.9	2.2	864	43	7.3	11
South Dakota	413.4	0.7	819	48	6.2	35
Tennessee	2,906.2	1.8	945	28	6.7	25
Texas	11,924.5	1.7	1,124	14	5.5	43
Utah	1,411.3	3.1	905	34	6.6	29
Vermont	305.6	0.2	889	37	6.7	25
Virginia	3,796.3	1.4	1,129	13	6.9	18
Washington	3,225.9	2.6	1,215	7	8.6	2
West Virginia	678.2	-0.8	837	47	7.6	7
Wisconsin	2,803.7	1.1	933	29	6.8	22
Wyoming	262.4	-2.3	880	40	3.3	51
Puerto Rico	887.7	-0.9	526	(3)	1.2	(3)
Virgin Islands	38.7	0.0	797	(3)	3.1	(3)
Footnotes: (1) Average weekly wages were calculated using unrounded data. (2) Totals for the United States do not include data for Puerto Rico or the Virgin Islands. (3) Data not included in the national ranking. Note: Data are preliminary. Covered employment and wages includes workers covered by Unemployment Insurance (UI) and Unemployment Compensation for Federal Employees (UCFE) programs.