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Friday, December 13, 2019
Employment rose in five of the eight large counties in Maryland from June 2018 to June 2019, the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics reported today. (Large counties are those with annual average employment levels of 75,000 or more in 2018.) Sheila Watkins, the Bureau’s regional commissioner, noted that Prince George’s County had the largest employment gain, up 1.8 percent over the year. Employment in Anne Arundel County was unchanged over the year, while employment in Harford County and Baltimore City declined 0.5 percent and 0.3 percent, respectively.
Nationally, employment rose 1.1 percent over the year as 279 of the 355 largest U.S. counties gained jobs. Adams, CO, had the largest employment gain, rising 5.3 percent over the year. Bay, FL, had the largest percentage decrease in employment with a loss of 6.4 percent.
Among the eight largest counties in Maryland, employment was highest in Montgomery County (479,500) in June 2019. Three other counties—Baltimore, Baltimore City, and Prince George’s—had employment levels exceeding 300,000. Together, Maryland’s largest counties accounted for 80.1 percent of total employment within the state. Nationwide, the 355 largest counties made up 73.4 percent of total U.S. employment.
Baltimore City (4.8 percent) and Anne Arundel County (4.7 percent) had the fastest over-the-year wage growth among Maryland’s eight large counties from the second quarter of 2018 to the second quarter of 2019. Montgomery County had the highest average weekly wage at $1,421. Only one large county had average weekly wages below $1,000—Frederick ($988). (See table 1.) Nationally, the average weekly wage rose 3.8 percent over the year to $1,095 in the second quarter of 2019.
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 changesFrom the second quarter of 2018 to the second quarter of 2019, Anne Arundel, Baltimore City, and Harford had wage increases that matched or were above the nationwide gain of 3.8 percent. Montgomery and Prince George’s Counties had the lowest wage increases at 2.2 percent each. (See table 1.)
Among the 355 largest U.S. counties, 347 had over-the-year increases in average weekly wages. Benton, AR, had the largest percentage wage increase (16.3 percent), followed by San Francisco, CA (15.5 percent).
Eight large counties nationwide had over-the-year declines in average weekly wages, led by McLean, IL, with a loss of 5.8 percent. Shawnee, KS, had the second-largest decline at 2.9 percent.
Large county average weekly wagesAverage weekly wages in five of Maryland’s eight large counties were above the U.S. average of $1,095, led by Montgomery County ($1,421), which ranked 18th for wage level among the 355 largest U.S. counties in the second quarter of 2019. Howard ($1,316, 29th) and Baltimore City ($1,282, 38th) also placed in the top 50 nationwide for wage level.
Average wages in Maryland’s smaller countiesFifteen 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 County with average weekly wages of $1,343. Worcester County reported the lowest weekly wage in the state, averaging $624 in the second quarter of 2019. (See table 2.)
When all 24 counties in Maryland were considered, 18 had wages below the national average of $1,095. Two of these reported average weekly wages below $700. (See chart 1.)
Additional statistics and other informationQCEW 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 2018 edition of this publication, which was published in September 2019, contains selected data produced by Business Employment Dynamics (BED) on job gains and losses, as well as selected data from the first quarter 2019 version of the national news release. Tables and additional content from the 2018 edition of Employment and Wages Annual Averages Online are now available online at www.bls.gov/cew/publications/employment-and-wages-annual-averages/2018/home.htm. The 2019 edition of Employment and Wages Annual Online will be available in September 2020.
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 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: (800) 877-8339.
Area | Employment | Average weekly wage (1) | |||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
June 2019 (thousands) | Percent change, June 2018-19 (2) | National ranking by percent change (3) | Average weekly wage | National ranking by level (3) | Percent change, second quarter 2018-19 (2) | National ranking by percent change (3) | |
United States (4) | 149,089.20 | 1.1 | -- | $1,095 | -- | 3.8 | -- |
Maryland | 2,733.60 | 0.7 | -- | 1,178 | 8 | 3.3 | 33 |
Anne Arundel, MD | 276.7 | 0.0 | 280 | 1,159 | 71 | 4.7 | 53 |
Baltimore City, MD | 344.2 | -0.3 | 308 | 1,282 | 38 | 4.8 | 48 |
Baltimore, MD | 384.3 | 0.4 | 236 | 1,076 | 106 | 3.5 | 166 |
Frederick, MD | 106.9 | 1.7 | 97 | 988 | 183 | 3.6 | 156 |
Harford, MD | 95.8 | -0.5 | 317 | 1,032 | 152 | 3.8 | 133 |
Howard, MD | 177.1 | 1.0 | 160 | 1,316 | 29 | 3.7 | 148 |
Montgomery, MD | 479.5 | 0.1 | 269 | 1,421 | 18 | 2.2 | 290 |
Prince George's, MD | 324.6 | 1.8 | 84 | 1,137 | 81 | 2.2 | 290 |
Footnotes: | |||||||
Note: Data are preliminary. Covered employment and wages includes workers covered by Unemployment Insurance (UI) and Unemployment Compensation for Federal Employees (UCFE) programs. |
Area | Employment June 2019 | Average weekly wage(1) |
---|---|---|
United States(2) | 149,089,158 | $1,095 |
Maryland | 2,733,588 | 1,178 |
Allegany | 29,421 | 779 |
Anne Arundel | 276,721 | 1,159 |
Baltimore County | 384,346 | 1,076 |
Baltimore City | 344,170 | 1,282 |
Calvert | 22,993 | 910 |
Caroline | 10,280 | 806 |
Carroll | 59,483 | 846 |
Cecil | 34,232 | 978 |
Charles | 41,174 | 889 |
Dorchester | 11,422 | 778 |
Frederick | 106,925 | 988 |
Garrett | 12,248 | 678 |
Harford | 95,838 | 1,032 |
Howard | 177,100 | 1,316 |
Kent | 8,188 | 782 |
Montgomery | 479,505 | 1,421 |
Prince George's | 324,561 | 1,137 |
Queen Anne's | 16,359 | 769 |
St. Mary's | 46,555 | 1,343 |
Somerset | 6,719 | 944 |
Talbot | 19,267 | 829 |
Washington | 65,715 | 841 |
Wicomico | 46,040 | 859 |
Worcester | 31,130 | 624 |
Footnotes | ||
NOTE: Includes workers covered by Unemployment Insurance (UI) and Unemployment Compensation for Federal Employees (UCFE) programs. Data are preliminary. |
State | Employment | Average weekly wage (1) | ||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
June 2019 (thousands) | Percent change, June 2018-19 | Average weekly wage | National ranking by level | Percent change, second quarter 2018-19 | National ranking by percent change | |
United States (2) | 149,089.2 | 1.1 | $1,095 | -- | 3.8 | -- |
Alabama | 1,993.7 | 1.1 | 911 | 36 | 3.4 | 28 |
Alaska | 338.9 | 0.7 | 1,078 | 15 | 3.6 | 26 |
Arizona | 2,843.3 | 2.6 | 1,010 | 23 | 3.8 | 16 |
Arkansas | 1,222.5 | 0.6 | 862 | 47 | 4.6 | 4 |
California | 17,717.4 | 1.5 | 1,325 | 4 | 4.7 | 3 |
Colorado | 2,765.7 | 2.2 | 1,128 | 9 | 4.9 | 2 |
Connecticut | 1,690.8 | -0.8 | 1,266 | 6 | 3.9 | 11 |
Delaware | 458.0 | 0.8 | 1,057 | 17 | 3.4 | 28 |
District of Columbia | 780.4 | 0.5 | 1,778 | 1 | 3.8 | 16 |
Florida | 8,722.9 | 1.8 | 968 | 26 | 3.9 | 11 |
Georgia | 4,507.1 | 1.7 | 1,016 | 22 | 3.9 | 11 |
Hawaii | 652.2 | -1.2 | 992 | 24 | 3.7 | 22 |
Idaho | 765.1 | 2.6 | 820 | 50 | 3.3 | 33 |
Illinois | 6,074.7 | 0.3 | 1,122 | 10 | 2.4 | 47 |
Indiana | 3,089.8 | 0.5 | 910 | 38 | 3.1 | 39 |
Iowa | 1,584.7 | 0.1 | 902 | 40 | 2.5 | 45 |
Kansas | 1,403.0 | 0.6 | 905 | 39 | 2.8 | 42 |
Kentucky | 1,909.7 | 0.3 | 911 | 36 | 3.3 | 33 |
Louisiana | 1,920.2 | -0.2 | 923 | 35 | 2.4 | 47 |
Maine | 639.6 | 0.4 | 874 | 45 | 3.7 | 22 |
Maryland | 2,733.6 | 0.7 | 1,178 | 8 | 3.3 | 33 |
Massachusetts | 3,690.1 | 0.9 | 1,377 | 2 | 4.3 | 5 |
Michigan | 4,419.7 | 0.1 | 1,018 | 21 | 2.4 | 47 |
Minnesota | 2,952.6 | 0.8 | 1,101 | 13 | 2.6 | 44 |
Mississippi | 1,135.9 | 0.4 | 767 | 51 | 2.0 | 51 |
Missouri | 2,836.7 | 0.3 | 948 | 30 | 2.5 | 45 |
Montana | 483.1 | 1.0 | 843 | 48 | 3.3 | 33 |
Nebraska | 991.5 | 0.1 | 889 | 42 | 3.5 | 27 |
Nevada | 1,408.8 | 2.6 | 961 | 29 | 3.2 | 38 |
New Hampshire | 676.1 | 0.8 | 1,090 | 14 | 4.0 | 10 |
New Jersey | 4,182.5 | 0.7 | 1,236 | 7 | 3.0 | 41 |
New Mexico | 834.0 | 1.0 | 888 | 44 | 4.3 | 5 |
New York | 9,682.8 | 1.0 | 1,347 | 3 | 3.9 | 11 |
North Carolina | 4,527.3 | 2.0 | 970 | 25 | 3.9 | 11 |
North Dakota | 431.8 | 1.3 | 1,026 | 20 | 4.1 | 7 |
Ohio | 5,486.7 | 0.4 | 965 | 27 | 3.4 | 28 |
Oklahoma | 1,618.5 | 0.5 | 900 | 41 | 3.1 | 39 |
Oregon | 1,976.5 | 1.3 | 1,036 | 18 | 3.8 | 16 |
Pennsylvania | 5,972.1 | 0.8 | 1,070 | 16 | 3.8 | 16 |
Rhode Island | 494.5 | 0.7 | 1,034 | 19 | 3.4 | 28 |
South Carolina | 2,144.2 | 1.3 | 867 | 46 | 3.7 | 22 |
South Dakota | 441.8 | 0.4 | 838 | 49 | 3.8 | 16 |
Tennessee | 3,047.8 | 1.8 | 964 | 28 | 3.3 | 33 |
Texas | 12,585.6 | 2.0 | 1,102 | 12 | 3.8 | 16 |
Utah | 1,526.1 | 3.0 | 936 | 32 | 4.1 | 7 |
Vermont | 314.0 | 0.0 | 929 | 34 | 2.7 | 43 |
Virginia | 3,981.6 | 1.0 | 1,113 | 11 | 3.7 | 22 |
Washington | 3,500.6 | 1.8 | 1,288 | 5 | 5.9 | 1 |
West Virginia | 700.4 | -0.6 | 889 | 42 | 2.4 | 47 |
Wisconsin | 2,945.3 | 0.3 | 940 | 31 | 4.1 | 7 |
Wyoming | 287.6 | 1.7 | 932 | 33 | 3.4 | 28 |
Puerto Rico | 867.7 | 1.5 | 531 | (3) | -1.8 | (3) |
Virgin Islands | 37.0 | 10.0 | 919 | (3) | 8.8 | (3) |
Footnotes: | ||||||
Note: Data are preliminary. Covered employment and wages includes workers covered by Unemployment Insurance (UI) and Unemployment Compensation for Federal Employees (UCFE) programs. |
Last Modified Date: Friday, December 13, 2019