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News Release Information

18-1274-CHI
Friday, October 12, 2018

Contacts Technical information: Media contact:
  • (312) 353-1138

County Employment and Wages in Ohio — First Quarter 2018

All 13 of Ohio’s large counties reported employment gains from March 2017 to March 2018, 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 2017 annual average employment.) Assistant Commissioner for Regional Operations Charlene Peiffer noted that Delaware County had the largest increase, up 1.9 percent, followed by Franklin County, up 1.6 percent. (See table 1.)

Nationally, employment advanced 1.6 percent from March 2017 to March 2018, as 314 of the 349 largest U.S. counties registered increases. Midland, Texas, had the largest percentage increase with a gain of 12.6 percent over the year. Kanawha, W.Va., had the largest over-the-year percentage decrease in employment among the largest counties in the U.S., with a loss of 1.4 percent.

Among the 13 largest counties in Ohio, employment was highest in Franklin County (744,300) and Cuyahoga County (715,600) in March 2018. Four other counties—Hamilton (510,500), Summit (262,800), Montgomery (253,600), and Lucas (207,300)—had employment levels of more than 200,000. Collectively, Ohio's 13 large counties accounted for 65.1 percent of total employment within the state. Nationwide, the 349 largest counties made up 73.1 percent of total U.S. employment, which stood at 144.6 million in March 2018.

Average weekly wages increased in all of the 13 largest counties in Ohio from the first quarter of 2017 to the first quarter of 2018. Lucas County had the largest percentage increase in average weekly wages, up 5.7 percent, followed by Stark County (4.6 percent). (See table 1.) Hamilton County recorded the highest average weekly wage among the state’s large counties at $1,209, followed by Delaware County ($1,205). Nationally, the average weekly wage increased 3.7 percent over the year to $1,152 in the first quarter of 2018.

Employment and wage levels (but not over-the-year changes) are also available for the 75 counties in Ohio with employment levels below 75,000. Wage levels in all of these smaller counties were below the national average in the first quarter of 2018. (See table 2.)

Large county wage changes

As noted, average weekly wages rose in all of Ohio’s large counties from the first quarter of 2017 to the first quarter of 2018. Wage gains in five of the state’s large counties placed in the top half of the national ranking: Lucas (5.7 percent, 23rd), Stark, (4.6 percent, 51st), Warren (3.5 percent, 124th), and Cuyahoga and Franklin (both 3.0 percent, 172nd). (See table 1.)

Nationally, 336 of the 349 largest counties had over-the-year increases in average weekly wages. Peoria, Ill., had the largest wage gain, up 23.8 percent from the first quarter of 2017. Suffolk, Mass., followed with an increase of 12.1 percent.

Of the 349 largest counties, 13 experienced an over-the-year decrease in average weekly wages. Forsyth, N.C., had the largest percentage decrease in average weekly wages (-4.8 percent), followed by Washington, Ark. (-3.1 percent).

Large county average weekly wages

Hamilton County’s average weekly wage of $1,209 was the highest among the state’s 13 large counties and ranked 73rd among the 349 largest U.S. counties. Delaware County ($1,205, 75th) also reported an average weekly wage above the national average of $1,152. Mahoning ($747) reported the lowest average weekly wage among the state’s large counties and ranked 340th nationwide.

Among the 349 largest U.S. counties, 259 had average weekly wages below the national average in the first quarter of 2018. Cameron, Texas, reported the lowest wage ($628), followed by Horry County, S.C. ($631), and the Texas counties of Hidalgo ($657) and Webb ($690).

Nationwide, 90 large counties had average weekly wages at or above the U.S. average of $1,152 in the first quarter of 2018. New York, N.Y., had the highest average weekly wage at $3,087. Santa Clara, Calif. ($2,651) was second, followed by San Mateo, Calif. ($2,606); San Francisco, Calif. ($2,485); Suffolk, Mass. ($2,268); and Somerset, N.J. ($2,078).

Average weekly wages in Ohio’s smaller counties

All 75 smaller counties in Ohio with employment below 75,000 had average weekly wages below the national average of $1,152. Among these smaller counties, Hancock had the highest average weekly wage at $1,118, while Meigs had the lowest at $576. (See table 2.)

When all 88 counties in Ohio were considered, all but 2 had wages lower than the national average. One reported average weekly wages less than $600, 10 had wages from $600 to $699, 32 reported wages from $700 to $799, 27 had wages from $800 to $899, and 18 had wages of $900 or higher. (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 2017 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 2018 version of the national news release. Tables and additional content from Employment and Wages Annual Averages 2017 are now available online at www.bls.gov/cew/publications/employment-and-wages-annual-averages/2017/home.htm. The 2017 edition of Employment and Wages Annual Averages Online will be available in September 2019.

The County Employment and Wages release for second quarter 2018 is scheduled to be released on Wednesday, November 21, 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 10.0 million employer reports cover 144.6 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: (800) 877-8339.

Table 1. Covered employment and wages in the United States and the 13 largest counties in Ohio, first quarter 2018
Area Employment Average weekly wage (1)
March 2018 (thousands) Percent change, March 2017-18 (2) National ranking by percent change (3) Average weekly wage National ranking by level (3) Percent change, first quarter 2017-18 (2) National ranking by percent change (3)

United States (4)

144,562.9 1.6 -- $1,152 -- 3.7 --

Ohio

5,328.5 0.9 -- 1,005 24 2.9 34

Butler, Ohio

153.2 1.5 149 1,005 171 1.3 310

Cuyahoga, Ohio

715.6 0.9 222 1,150 92 3.0 172

Delaware, Ohio

86.2 1.9 113 1,205 75 2.7 197

Franklin, Ohio

744.3 1.6 140 1,148 94 3.0 172

Hamilton, Ohio

510.5 0.5 273 1,209 73 0.6 325

Lake, Ohio

93.8 0.7 247 888 275 2.1 264

Lorain, Ohio

96.4 1.1 200 848 305 2.8 190

Lucas, Ohio

207.3 0.2 300 998 177 5.7 23

Mahoning, Ohio

96.1 0.5 273 747 340 2.5 214

Montgomery, Ohio

253.6 1.2 181 920 248 2.4 228

Stark, Ohio

158.7 1.5 149 816 320 4.6 51

Summit, Ohio

262.8 0.4 282 981 190 1.0 319

Warren, Ohio

91.7 1.0 212 1,035 155 3.5 124

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 Ohio, first quarter 2018
Area Employment March 2018 Average weekly wage(1)

United States(2)

144,562,926 $1,152

Ohio

5,328,477 1,005

Adams

6,015 713

Allen

50,492 889

Ashland

18,451 750

Ashtabula

30,291 714

Athens

20,822 803

Auglaize

21,411 838

Belmont

22,285 810

Brown

7,844 702

Butler

153,227 1,005

Carroll

6,041 694

Champaign

10,693 808

Clark

47,871 794

Clermont

58,212 857

Clinton

17,554 962

Columbiana

29,230 718

Coshocton

9,996 786

Crawford

12,263 760

Cuyahoga

715,602 1,150

Darke

18,269 803

Defiance

15,598 873

Delaware

86,194 1,205

Erie

35,009 779

Fairfield

43,238 719

Fayette

11,478 684

Franklin

744,310 1,148

Fulton

18,431 788

Gallia

11,442 738

Geauga

33,778 836

Greene

75,334 1,025

Guernsey

15,264 782

Hamilton

510,525 1,209

Hancock

45,330 1,118

Hardin

8,352 691

Harrison

3,745 1,017

Henry

10,698 777

Highland

10,714 654

Hocking

6,415 632

Holmes

19,366 735

Huron

20,394 787

Jackson

10,360 643

Jefferson

20,139 807

Knox

19,880 805

Lake

93,780 888

Lawrence

12,482 643

Licking

59,169 815

Logan

19,801 825

Lorain

96,371 848

Lucas

207,342 998

Madison

16,919 820

Mahoning

96,137 747

Marion

24,611 789

Medina

59,722 839

Meigs

3,628 576

Mercer

20,343 733

Miami

40,235 822

Monroe

2,663 661

Montgomery

253,560 920

Morgan

2,663 714

Morrow

5,099 680

Muskingum

32,922 773

Noble

2,989 738

Ottawa

12,368 948

Paulding

4,887 731

Perry

6,271 761

Pickaway

13,684 886

Pike

9,641 979

Portage

53,667 855

Preble

11,127 744

Putnam

11,686 745

Richland

50,240 760

Ross

28,471 841

Sandusky

26,072 776

Scioto

23,283 711

Seneca

19,250 714

Shelby

27,170 921

Stark

158,693 816

Summit

262,802 981

Trumbull

66,706 820

Tuscarawas

35,657 732

Union

33,914 1,051

Van Wert

11,114 763

Vinton

2,199 688

Warren

91,700 1,035

Washington

24,945 897

Wayne

47,710 862

Williams

17,300 800

Wood

66,042 956

Wyandot

9,340 825

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, first quarter 2018
State Employment Average weekly wage (1)
March 2018 (thousands) Percent change, March 2017-18 Average weekly wage National ranking by level Percent change, first quarter 2017-18 National ranking by percent change

United States (2)

144,562.9 1.6 $1,152 -- 3.7 --

Alabama

1,948.9 1.1 919 36 2.9 34

Alaska

311.2 -0.5 1,074 20 2.3 44

Arizona

2,822.5 2.8 1,025 22 3.5 19

Arkansas

1,211.4 0.9 879 44 2.4 40

California

17,152.5 2.1 1,352 6 4.4 6

Colorado

2,639.5 2.5 1,175 11 3.4 22

Connecticut

1,651.9 0.1 1,447 4 2.4 40

Delaware

438.7 1.2 1,202 10 1.3 51

District of Columbia

770.2 1.2 1,917 1 1.9 49

Florida

8,716.8 2.2 988 25 4.1 9

Georgia

4,409.1 2.3 1,095 17 2.3 44

Hawaii

658.4 0.3 974 29 2.3 44

Idaho

712.6 3.5 809 50 4.3 7

Illinois

5,909.3 1.0 1,241 8 3.9 10

Indiana

3,018.8 1.2 954 32 3.9 10

Iowa

1,525.8 0.5 921 35 2.4 40

Kansas

1,370.6 0.2 912 40 2.7 38

Kentucky

1,873.7 0.5 901 41 2.5 39

Louisiana

1,914.7 0.5 932 34 3.0 30

Maine

592.1 0.9 891 43 3.6 16

Maryland

2,646.9 0.9 1,209 9 3.2 26

Massachusetts

3,509.9 1.1 1,510 3 5.6 2

Michigan

4,289.0 1.4 1,078 19 3.4 22

Minnesota

2,823.6 0.7 1,175 11 2.1 47

Mississippi

1,125.9 0.1 765 51 2.1 47

Missouri

2,777.6 0.5 960 31 3.1 28

Montana

455.5 1.0 819 49 2.4 40

Nebraska

966.0 0.4 898 42 3.6 16

Nevada

1,351.6 3.0 977 28 4.8 5

New Hampshire

648.2 0.8 1,122 15 4.9 3

New Jersey

3,997.6 1.3 1,373 5 3.0 30

New Mexico

813.3 1.0 862 47 2.9 34

New York

9,318.9 1.8 1,597 2 3.4 22

North Carolina

4,370.6 1.8 1,022 23 3.0 30

North Dakota

408.2 0.6 988 25 3.7 15

Ohio

5,328.5 0.9 1,005 24 2.9 34

Oklahoma

1,600.9 1.8 914 38 3.5 19

Oregon

1,894.3 2.0 1,026 21 4.3 7

Pennsylvania

5,787.2 1.4 1,115 16 3.4 22

Rhode Island

469.9 1.1 1,086 18 3.2 26

South Carolina

2,067.4 2.2 877 45 1.7 50

South Dakota

417.5 1.0 842 48 2.8 37

Tennessee

2,950.0 1.6 978 27 3.5 19

Texas

12,179.2 2.0 1,168 13 3.9 10

Utah

1,458.8 3.3 949 33 4.9 3

Vermont

307.1 0.4 917 37 3.1 28

Virginia

3,854.4 1.5 1,162 14 3.0 30

Washington

3,316.1 2.8 1,306 7 7.7 1

West Virginia

684.8 0.6 868 46 3.6 16

Wisconsin

2,831.7 1.0 968 30 3.8 14

Wyoming

263.7 0.3 914 38 3.9 10

Puerto Rico

856.7 -3.8 563 (3) 7.0 (3)

Virgin Islands

33.3 -15.5 969 (3) 24.4 (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.

  Chart 1. Average weekly wages by county in Ohio, first quarter 2018

 

Last Modified Date: Friday, October 12, 2018