All eight of the large counties in Indiana reported employment gains from March 2014 to March 2015, 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 2014 annual average employment.) Regional Commissioner Charlene Peiffer noted that Hamilton County had the largest increase, up 3.9 percent, followed by the counties of Elkhart (3.6 percent) and Tippecanoe (2.7 percent). (See table 1.)

Nationally, employment advanced 2.1 percent from March 2014 to March 2015 as 323 of the 342 largest U.S. counties registered increases. Utah, Utah, recorded the largest percentage increase in the country, up 6.1 percent over the year. Atlantic, N.J., had the largest over-the-year percentage decrease in employment among the largest counties in the U.S. with a loss of 4.3 percent.

Among the eight largest counties in Indiana, employment was highest in Marion County (575,000). Two other counties, Lake (183,900) and Allen (177,900), had employment levels above 150,000. Together, the eight largest Indiana counties accounted for 51.5 percent of total employment within the state. Nationwide, the 342 largest counties made up 72.3 percent of total U.S. employment, which stood at 137.4 million in March 2015.

From the first quarter of 2014 to the first quarter of 2015, Tippecanoe County recorded the fastest rate of increase in average weekly wages among the eight large counties in Indiana, registering a gain of 4.8 percent. (See table 1.) Marion County recorded the highest average weekly wage among these large counties at $1,071 per week, followed by Hamilton County at $1,027. Nationally, the average weekly wage increased 2.1 percent over the year to $1,048 in the first quarter of 2015.

Employment and wage levels (but not over-the-year changes) are also available for the 84 counties in Indiana with employment levels below 75,000. Excluding the counties of Martin, Bartholomew, and Posey, all of these smaller counties had average weekly wages below the national average. (See table 2.)

Large county wage changes

Tippecanoe County’s 4.8-percent rise in average weekly wages from the first quarter of 2014 to the first quarter of 2015 ranked 26^th among the nation’s 342 largest counties. (See table 1.) Four other large counties in the state recorded increases at or above the national increase of 2.1 percent: Lake (3.6 percent, 45^th), Elkhart (3.0 percent, 67^th), Vanderburgh (2.2 percent, 127^th), and St. Joseph (2.1 percent, 133^th). Marion County had the lowest wage increase at 0.8 percent, ranking 266^th.

Nationally, 297 of the 342 largest counties registered over-the-year wage increases. Olmsted, Minn., experienced the largest wage gain in the nation, up 11.7 percent from the first quarter of 2014. Washington, Pa., had the second largest increase (10.7 percent), followed by Riverside, Calif. (10.1 percent).

Among the nation’s 342 largest counties, 39 experienced over-the-year wage decreases. Snohomish, Wash., had the largest percentage decrease in average weekly wages, with a loss of 4.8 percent. Chester, Pa., had the second largest wage decline (-4.0 percent), followed by Williamson, Texas (-3.1 percent).

Large county average weekly wages

As noted, Marion County ($1,071) had the highest average weekly wage in the state and ranked 82^nd among the 342 largest U.S. counties. No other large county in Indiana had an average weekly wage that exceeded the national average of $1,048. Hamilton County ($1,027, 108^th) was the only other large county in Indiana to report an average weekly wage above $1,000. St. Joseph ($790) reported the lowest average weekly wage among the state’s large counties and ranked 291^st nationwide.

In the first quarter of 2015, nearly three-fourths of the largest U.S. counties (248) reported weekly wages below the national average. Horry County, S.C., reported the lowest wage ($583), followed by the Texas counties of Cameron ($593) and Hidalgo ($607).

Among the nation’s 342 largest counties, 93 registered weekly wages above the U.S. average. New York, N.Y., held the top position with an average weekly wage of $2,847. Santa Clara, Calif., was second at $2,203, followed by Somerset, N.J. ($2,080), San Francisco, Calif. ($2,070), and San Mateo, Calif. ($2,066). Average wages in the highest-ranked county, New York, N.Y., were nearly five times the average wage in the lowest-ranked county, Horry, S.C. ($583).

Average weekly wages in Indiana’s smaller counties

Among the 84 counties in Indiana with employment below 75,000, three counties—Martin ($1,327), Bartholomew ($1,065), and Posey ($1,054)—had average weekly wages above the national average of $1,048. Average weekly wages in Brown ($470) and Ohio ($490) Counties were the lowest in the state. (See table 2.)

When all 92 counties in Indiana were considered, all but 4 had wages below the national average. Ten reported average weekly wages less than $600, 39 had wages from $600 to $699, 24 reported wages from $700 to $799, 11 had wages from $800 to $899, and 8 had wages of $900 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 2014 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 2015 version of the national QCEW 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 Averages Online will be available in September 2016.

The County Employment and Wages release for second quarter 2015 is scheduled to be released on Thursday, December 17, 2015.

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 9.5 million employer reports cover 137.4 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.