Employment rose in all of the 19 largest counties in Pennsylvania from June 2020 to June 2021, the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics reported today. (Large counties are those with annual average employment levels of 75,000 or more in 2020.) Regional Commissioner Alexandra Hall Bovee noted that Bucks County had the largest over-the-year increase in employment at 10.8 percent. (See chart 1 and table 1.)

National employment increased 6.7 percent over the year, with 339 of the 343 largest U.S. counties reporting gains. Atlantic, NJ, had the largest over-the-year increase in employment with a gain of 36.8 percent. Calcasieu, LA, had the largest over-the-year percentage decrease in employment with a loss of 0.9 percent.

Among the 19 largest counties in Pennsylvania, employment was highest in Allegheny County (652,800) in June 2021. Within Allegheny County’s private industry, health care and social assistance accounted for the largest employment. Together, the 19 largest Pennsylvania counties accounted for 76.5 percent of total employment within the state. Nationwide, the 343 largest counties made up 72.2 percent of total U.S. employment.

Employment and wage levels (but not over-the-year changes) are also available for the 48 counties in Pennsylvania with employment below 75,000. Wage levels in 47 of the 48 smaller counties were below the national average of $1,241 in the second quarter of 2021. (See table 2.)

Large county wage changes

Of the 19 largest Pennsylvania counties, 16 reported average weekly wage gains from the second quarter of 2020 to the second quarter of 2021. (See chart 2.) No county had a wage increase that was above the national rate of 4.5 percent. Lehigh County has the largest gain (+4.1 percent), followed by Allegheny County (+4.0 percent) and Berks County (+3.7 percent). Over-the-year wage changes among Pennsylvania’s other 16 large counties ranged from 3.0 percent to -3.0 percent.

Among the 343 largest counties in the United States, 302 had over-the-year wage increases. San Francisco, CA, had the largest percentage wage increase (+29.7 percent). Atlantic, NJ, had the largest over-the-year percentage decrease (-7.4 percent).

Large county average weekly wages

Weekly wages in 5 of the 19 largest counties in Pennsylvania were above the national average of $1,241 in the second quarter of 2021. Average weekly wages in two of these counties ranked among the top 50 nationwide: Chester ($1,541, 23^rd) and Montgomery ($1,466, 31^st).

Among the largest U.S. counties, 90 reported average weekly wages above the U.S. average in the second quarter of 2021. Santa Clara, CA, had the highest average weekly wage at $3,516. Average weekly wages were at or below the national average in the remaining 253 counties. At $728 a week, Hidalgo, TX, had the lowest average weekly wage.

Average weekly wages in Pennsylvania’s smaller counties

Among the 48 smaller counties in Pennsylvania—those with employment below 75,000—Montour ($1,475) reported an average weekly wage above the national average. Perry County ($712) reported the lowest average weekly wage in the state.

When all 67 counties in Pennsylvania were considered, 8 reported average weekly wages of less than $800, 25 registered wages from $800 to $899, 14 had wages from $900 to $999, and 20 had average weekly wages of $1,000 or higher.

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 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. This publication is typically published in September of the following year of the reference period or shortly after the QCEW first quarter full data update. The Employment and Wages Annual Averages Online is available at www.bls.gov/cew/publications/employment-and-wages-annual-averages/.

The County Employment and Wages release for third quarter 2021 is scheduled to be released on Wednesday, February 23, 2022. The County Employment and Wages full data update for third quarter 2021 is scheduled to be released on Wednesday, March 9, 2022.

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 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 individuals with sensory impairments upon request. Voice phone: (202) 691-5200; Federal Relay Service: (800) 877-8339.

Table 1. Covered establishments, employment, and wages in the United States and the 19 largest counties in Pennsylvania, second quarter 2021

Area	Establishments, second quarter (thousands)	Employment			Average weekly wage (1)
		June 2021 (thousands)	Percent change, June 2020–21 (2)	National ranking by percent change (3)	Second quarter 2021	National ranking by level (3)	Percent change, second quarter 2020–21 (2)	National ranking by percent change (3)
United States (4)	10,863.2	144,044.8	6.7	--	$1,241	--	4.5	--
Pennsylvania	370.9	5,674.7	6.9	--	1,193	16	2.0	39
Allegheny	36.3	652.8	3.8	286	1,318	64	4.0	139
Berks	8.8	164.4	6.2	156	1,078	192	3.7	155
Bucks	20.5	256.3	10.8	26	1,121	167	0.2	299
Butler	5.2	84.0	2.6	323	1,075	196	0.8	281
Chester	16.0	242.6	8.0	78	1,541	23	0.3	296
Cumberland	6.7	132.7	4.0	273	1,114	171	2.3	216
Dauphin	7.6	180.2	7.9	82	1,166	137	-0.7	317
Delaware	14.3	212.2	8.1	74	1,252	82	0.3	296
Erie	6.8	115.9	6.9	112	894	327	-3.0	337
Lackawanna	5.5	91.6	6.3	150	926	315	0.2	299
Lancaster	14.1	241.7	8.7	54	1,002	261	1.9	236
Lehigh	8.9	190.3	8.0	78	1,175	129	4.1	135
Luzerne	7.5	137.7	4.6	237	963	298	3.0	185
Montgomery	28.3	492.5	8.3	67	1,466	31	1.1	269
Northampton	6.9	114.3	8.5	61	1,019	241	1.5	256
Philadelphia	34.8	646.1	5.9	167	1,363	55	-1.3	323
Washington	5.6	83.0	4.5	242	1,151	145	2.7	197
Westmoreland	9.2	128.6	5.1	217	952	305	1.7	248
York	9.2	173.7	5.7	174	1,047	222	1.8	240
Footnotes: (1) Average weekly wages were calculated using unrounded data. (2) Percent changes were computed from 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 2. Covered establishments, employment, and wages in the United States and all counties in Pennsylvania, second quarter 2021

Area	Establishments	Employment June 2021	Average weekly wage (1)
United States (2)	10,863,217	144,044,799	$1,241
Pennsylvania	370,922	5,674,650	1,193
Adams	2,155	33,329	906
Allegheny	36,315	652,792	1,318
Armstrong	1,490	16,005	864
Beaver	3,695	52,801	1,144
Bedford	1,203	15,356	785
Berks	8,823	164,393	1,078
Blair	3,480	57,258	903
Bradford	1,581	21,400	971
Bucks	20,522	256,327	1,121
Butler	5,182	83,976	1,075
Cambria	3,338	46,883	812
Cameron	157	1,767	914
Carbon	1,274	15,258	785
Centre	3,662	66,780	1,060
Chester	16,013	242,625	1,541
Clarion	1,075	12,151	792
Clearfield	2,108	28,959	835
Clinton	914	12,294	874
Columbia	1,566	23,310	858
Crawford	2,159	28,614	838
Cumberland	6,747	132,721	1,114
Dauphin	7,569	180,208	1,166
Delaware	14,284	212,201	1,252
Elk	980	13,573	846
Erie	6,836	115,909	894
Fayette	2,820	37,074	840
Forest	156	1,932	919
Franklin	3,394	57,790	931
Fulton	316	4,704	898
Greene	798	11,448	1,074
Huntingdon	1,005	12,194	821
Indiana	1,963	26,950	976
Jefferson	1,203	14,531	806
Juniata	551	6,657	756
Lackawanna	5,533	91,584	926
Lancaster	14,063	241,659	1,002
Lawrence	2,003	26,995	858
Lebanon	2,874	50,030	940
Lehigh	8,871	190,283	1,175
Luzerne	7,454	137,704	963
Lycoming	3,124	47,978	941
Mckean	1,129	13,829	836
Mercer	2,903	42,729	897
Mifflin	1,078	15,546	851
Monroe	3,594	54,629	937
Montgomery	28,290	492,492	1,466
Montour	489	16,210	1,475
Northampton	6,902	114,348	1,019
Northumberland	1,866	26,625	863
Perry	899	7,806	712
Philadelphia	34,820	646,121	1,363
Pike	1,094	11,599	746
Potter	467	5,177	885
Schuylkill	3,049	47,777	894
Snyder	975	15,471	759
Somerset	1,860	22,924	841
Sullivan	198	1,387	715
Susquehanna	978	8,409	864
Tioga	1,035	12,456	897
Union	1,017	17,053	976
Venango	1,244	16,994	859
Warren	1,003	13,256	882
Washington	5,558	82,971	1,151
Wayne	1,392	14,985	881
Westmoreland	9,168	128,588	952
Wyoming	700	9,040	1,044
York	9,245	173,677	1,047
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.
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 establishments, employment, and wages by state, second quarter 2021

State	Establishments, second quarter (thousands)	Employment		Average weekly wage (1)
		June 2021 (thousands)	Percent change, June 2020–21	Second quarter 2021	National ranking by level	Percent change, second quarter 2020–21	National ranking by percent change
United States (2)	10,863.2	144,044.8	6.7	$1,241	--	4.5	--
Alabama	137.8	1,952.0	4.4	1,010	35	4.8	15
Alaska	23.7	315.5	6.7	1,181	17	-1.2	51
Arizona	180.2	2,857.8	5.3	1,154	20	5.9	6
Arkansas	96.1	1,205.3	4.4	974	45	5.2	12
California	1,662.9	16,992.1	7.0	1,579	3	7.5	5
Colorado	228.9	2,723.9	7.1	1,283	10	4.4	19
Connecticut	130.1	1,604.1	7.9	1,411	6	0.6	47
Delaware	35.1	440.1	5.1	1,165	19	1.7	41
District of Columbia	44.0	724.6	3.3	2,096	1	5.4	8
Florida	782.5	8,654.0	6.7	1,113	24	7.7	3
Georgia	337.0	4,453.5	6.5	1,139	22	5.9	6
Hawaii	48.7	590.5	12.7	1,117	23	0.7	46
Idaho	76.4	801.8	7.3	930	50	5.3	10
Illinois	394.6	5,743.5	6.5	1,260	11	3.5	25
Indiana	178.2	3,011.8	5.2	1,013	34	5.4	8
Iowa	106.1	1,528.0	4.8	999	38	2.1	38
Kansas	90.5	1,356.0	4.0	995	41	2.7	30
Kentucky	132.4	1,851.2	5.6	999	38	2.9	28
Louisiana	142.7	1,806.6	5.4	1,005	36	2.0	39
Maine	57.0	623.0	8.7	1,005	36	2.4	33
Maryland	175.6	2,599.7	6.8	1,319	9	1.0	44
Massachusetts	277.4	3,497.0	10.1	1,591	2	1.1	43
Michigan	270.2	4,175.6	8.4	1,143	21	2.5	32
Minnesota	192.8	2,814.5	6.4	1,240	13	3.3	26
Mississippi	75.7	1,107.1	4.1	843	51	3.8	22
Missouri	221.6	2,759.3	5.3	1,052	32	3.6	23
Montana	55.1	490.7	7.0	959	47	4.5	18
Nebraska	74.4	976.6	4.8	997	40	3.9	21
Nevada	93.9	1,353.9	14.0	1,106	25	5.3	10
New Hampshire	58.5	657.4	8.7	1,345	8	10.6	1
New Jersey	300.4	3,993.8	12.0	1,387	7	0.8	45
New Mexico	63.0	790.6	4.3	987	42	2.9	28
New York	667.9	8,885.4	9.2	1,540	5	1.3	42
North Carolina	311.1	4,511.3	7.2	1,092	27	5.1	14
North Dakota	32.6	407.4	4.3	1,067	29	0.6	47
Ohio	312.4	5,266.7	4.3	1,068	28	3.6	23
Oklahoma	114.6	1,568.7	3.1	963	46	2.4	33
Oregon	169.2	1,899.6	5.6	1,196	15	4.8	15
Pennsylvania	370.9	5,674.7	6.9	1,193	16	2.0	39
Rhode Island	42.1	472.2	10.0	1,168	18	-0.3	50
South Carolina	150.1	2,091.9	4.9	977	44	5.2	12
South Dakota	36.3	442.3	6.4	936	49	2.6	31
Tennessee	182.3	3,012.4	5.9	1,094	26	7.6	4
Texas	758.0	12,466.7	5.7	1,210	14	4.7	17
Utah	119.9	1,586.0	7.6	1,060	30	4.2	20
Vermont	27.8	292.4	7.5	1,053	31	-0.2	49
Virginia	293.6	3,854.3	6.1	1,257	12	3.2	27
Washington	263.6	3,376.7	5.7	1,547	4	8.3	2
West Virginia	52.7	663.8	4.8	955	48	2.2	37
Wisconsin	186.5	2,845.7	5.7	1,037	33	2.3	35
Wyoming	28.2	275.1	5.6	987	42	2.3	35
Puerto Rico	47.6	867.2	8.6	567	(3)	2.0	(3)
Virgin Islands	3.5	35.7	0.0	923	(3)	-8.4	(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.