South Dakota’s only large county, Minnehaha, reported employment growth of 2.4 percent from June 2013 to June 2014, 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 2013 annual average employment.) Regional Commissioner Charlene Peiffer noted that in June 2014, Minnehaha County’s employment level of 122,900 accounted for 29.1 percent of total employment within the state. (See table 1.)

Nationally, employment rose 2.0 percent during this 12-month period, as 305 of the 339 largest U.S. counties gained jobs. Nationwide, the 339 largest counties made up 71.8 percent of total U.S. employment, which stood at 137.8 million in June 2014.

The average weekly wage in Minnehaha County was $796 in the second quarter of 2014, gaining 3.2 percent from the previous year. Nationally, the average weekly wage rose 2.1 percent over the year to $940 in the second quarter of 2014.

Employment and wage levels (but not over-the-year changes) are also available for the 65 counties in South Dakota with employment below 75,000. All 65 of these smaller counties had average weekly wages below the national average. (See table 2.)

Large county wage changes

Minnehaha County’s 3.2-percent wage growth from the second quarter of 2013 to the second quarter of 2014 ranked 49^th nationally. (See table 1.) Among the 339 largest counties in the U.S., 312 had over-the-year increases in average weekly wages in the second quarter of 2014. Midland, Texas, had the largest wage increase (9.0 percent). Twenty-two large counties experienced over-the-year decreases in average weekly wages, of which Williamson, Texas, had the largest decrease (-2.7 percent).

Large county average weekly wages

Minnehaha County’s $796 average wage placed in the third quartile among the 339 large counties, ranking 249^th. Nationally, Santa Clara, Calif., held the top position among the 339 large counties with an average weekly wage of $1,886. San Mateo, Calif. was second at $1,740, followed by New York, N.Y. ($1,732) and San Francisco, Calif. ($1,593).

Average weekly wages in South Dakota’s smaller counties

All 65 counties in South Dakota with employment below 75,000 had average weekly wages lower than the national average of $940. Among these smaller counties, Union County had the highest average weekly wage at $899 and Mellette County had the lowest at $452. (See table 2.)

When all 66 counties in South Dakota were considered, none had wages above the national average of $940. Thirteen reported average weekly wages under $549, 22 had wages from $550 to $599, 12 reported wages from $600 to $649, and 19 reported wages of $650 or more. (See chart 1.)

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. The 2013 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 2014 version of the national news release. Tables and additional content from Employment and Wages Annual Averages 2013 are now available online at www.bls.gov/cew/publications/employment-and-wages-annual-averages/2013/home.htm. The 2014 edition of Employment and Wages Annual Averages Online will be available in September 2015.

The County Employment and Wages release for third quarter 2014 is scheduled to be released on Thursday, March 19, 2015, at 9:00 a.m. (CT).

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 9.4 million employer reports cover 137.8 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 largest county in South Dakota, second quarter 2014

Area	Employment			Average Weekly Wage (1)
	June 2014 (thousands)	Percent change, June 2013-14 (2)	National ranking by percent change (3)	Average weekly wage	National ranking by level (3)	Percent change, second quarter 2013-14 (2)	National ranking by percent change (3)
United States (4)	137,776.4	2.0	--	$940	--	2.1	--
South Dakota	422.9	1.4	--	712	49	3.3	4
Minnehaha, S.D.	122.9	2.4	108	796	249	3.2	49
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 2. Covered employment and wages in the United States and all counties in South Dakota, 2nd quarter 2014

Area	Employment June 2014	Average weekly wage (1)
United States (2)	137,776,364	$940
South Dakota	422,861	712
Aurora	942	558
Beadle	8,706	654
Bennett	841	507
Bon Homme	1,884	573
Brookings	17,573	739
Brown	21,164	699
Brule	1,960	537
Buffalo	533	643
Butte	2,922	587
Campbell	485	565
Charles Mix	3,736	552
Clark	1,085	550
Clay	5,701	643
Codington	16,276	681
Corson	833	649
Custer	3,147	566
Davison	12,729	662
Day	1,996	527
Deuel	1,541	625
Dewey	2,135	676
Douglas	1,214	586
Edmunds	1,314	665
Fall River	2,587	581
Faulk	613	595
Grant	4,040	730
Gregory	1,485	522
Haakon	776	617
Hamlin	1,900	597
Hand	1,347	573
Hanson	565	644
Harding	448	746
Hughes	10,991	741
Hutchinson	2,667	570
Hyde	526	698
Jackson	825	497
Jerauld	1,664	622
Jones	510	468
Kingsbury	2,006	565
Lake	4,756	677
Lawrence	11,878	588
Lincoln	19,230	782
Lyman	1,491	477
Marshall	1,793	643
McCook	1,424	569
McPherson	659	516
Meade	6,837	645
Mellette	353	452
Miner	751	593
Minnehaha	122,905	796
Moody	2,402	663
Pennington	58,003	692
Perkins	1,173	538
Potter	944	549
Roberts	3,602	563
Sanborn	676	527
Shannon	3,700	749
Spink	2,472	601
Stanley	1,427	592
Sully	603	577
Todd	2,720	636
Tripp	2,185	584
Turner	2,196	582
Union	9,475	899
Walworth	2,434	545
Yankton	12,605	678
Ziebach	294	608
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: Includes workers covered by Unemployment Insurance (UI) and Unemployment Compensation for Federal Employees (UCFE) programs. Data are preliminary.

Table 3. Covered employment and wages by state, second quarter 2014

State	Employment		Average weekly wage (1)
	June 2014 (thousands)	Percent change, June 2013-14	Average weekly wage	National ranking by level	Percent change, second quarter 2013-14	National ranking by percent change
United States (2)	137,776.4	2.0	$940	--	2.1	--
Alabama	1,872.9	0.7	806	36	1.6	38
Alaska	344.9	0.5	1,014	8	4.6	2
Arizona	2,486.0	1.9	888	21	1.3	43
Arkansas	1,168.1	1.5	745	47	1.5	41
California	15,905.6	2.8	1,072	6	2.4	15
Colorado	2,439.3	3.4	960	14	2.9	8
Connecticut	1,676.6	0.6	1,155	3	2.5	13
Delaware	429.0	2.5	976	11	1.2	44
District of Columbia	732.6	1.0	1,569	1	-0.5	51
Florida	7,628.6	3.1	839	28	2.1	23
Georgia	4,036.3	3.1	882	22	1.7	35
Hawaii	624.6	1.1	845	26	2.7	10
Idaho	659.2	2.5	697	51	2.2	22
Illinois	5,836.9	1.5	988	10	1.9	32
Indiana	2,916.9	1.8	784	42	1.2	44
Iowa	1,547.8	1.6	780	43	3.0	7
Kansas	1,372.8	1.7	797	38	2.3	20
Kentucky	1,820.8	1.7	798	37	2.0	27
Louisiana	1,921.6	1.4	843	27	2.4	15
Maine	610.4	0.8	746	46	2.1	23
Maryland	2,594.4	0.9	1,020	7	1.6	38
Massachusetts	3,407.0	1.4	1,158	2	2.4	15
Michigan	4,164.7	2.3	897	20	2.3	20
Minnesota	2,782.0	1.3	947	16	1.9	32
Mississippi	1,101.1	0.5	705	50	2.0	27
Missouri	2,703.2	1.3	818	31	1.9	32
Montana	453.4	1.1	734	48	2.4	15
Nebraska	956.2	1.4	756	45	2.7	10
Nevada	1,210.1	3.4	833	30	0.6	50
New Hampshire	637.2	1.2	955	15	4.3	3
New Jersey	3,944.8	0.8	1,097	5	1.2	44
New Mexico	801.0	0.6	794	40	1.7	35
New York	8,965.2	1.8	1,146	4	2.4	15
North Carolina	4,080.7	2.4	818	31	1.2	44
North Dakota	453.0	4.4	936	17	5.5	1
Ohio	5,233.8	1.4	846	25	2.1	23
Oklahoma	1,578.0	1.0	816	33	2.6	12
Oregon	1,748.4	2.4	874	23	2.9	8
Pennsylvania	5,719.8	1.0	933	18	1.6	38
Rhode Island	472.9	1.6	898	19	2.0	27
South Carolina	1,916.4	2.7	765	44	2.5	13
South Dakota	422.9	1.4	712	49	3.3	4
Tennessee	2,755.7	1.8	836	29	2.0	27
Texas	11,402.8	3.0	973	13	3.1	5
Utah	1,297.5	2.9	796	39	1.7	35
Vermont	307.0	1.0	813	35	0.7	49
Virginia	3,710.8	0.7	976	11	0.8	48
Washington	3,109.6	3.2	990	9	2.1	23
West Virginia	711.3	-0.3	792	41	1.4	42
Wisconsin	2,809.1	1.3	816	33	2.0	27
Wyoming	295.3	1.6	871	24	3.1	5
Puerto Rico	897.0	-2.0	504	(3)	0.6	(3)
Virgin Islands	37.8	-2.2	728	(3)	2.8	(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.