Wisconsin’s six large counties had employment increases from September 2016 to September 2017, the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics reported today. (Large counties are defined as those with 2016 annual average employment levels of 75,000 or more.) Brown County had the largest increase, up 1.2 percent, followed by Outagamie County, up 0.8 percent. Assistant Commissioner for Regional Operations Charlene Peiffer noted that the employment gains in five of the state’s large counties were less than the national increase of 1.0 percent. (See table 1.)

Among the six large counties in Wisconsin, employment was highest in Milwaukee (487,000) in September 2017, followed by Dane (333,100) and Waukesha (242,700). Each of the three other counties—Brown, Outagamie, and Winnebago—had employment levels of less than 160,000. Collectively, Wisconsin's six large counties accounted for 49.6 percent of total employment within the state. Nationwide, the 346 largest counties made up 72.7 percent of total U.S. employment.

From the third quarter of 2016 to the third quarter of 2017, each of Wisconsin’s six large counties had over-the-year decreases in average weekly wages. Dane County had the highest average weekly wage in the state at $1,017, followed by Waukesha County at $986 and Milwaukee County at $955. (See table 1.) Nationally, the average weekly wage fell 0.6 percent over the year to $1,021 in the third quarter of 2017.

Employment and wage levels (but not over-the-year changes) are also available for the 66 counties in Wisconsin with employment below 75,000. All of these smaller counties had average weekly wages below the national average. (See table 2.)

Large county wage changes

The six large counties in Wisconsin had wage declines from the third quarter of 2016 to the third quarter of 2017. (See table 1.) These losses ranged from 0.2 percent in Outagamie County to 2.0 percent in Brown County.

Average weekly wages for the nation decreased 0.6 percent over the year. Among the 346 largest counties, 265 had over-the-year wage decreases. Mercer, N.J., had the largest decrease with a loss of 8.8 percent. Wyandotte, Kan., had the second largest decrease in average weekly wages, down 6.0 percent, followed by Clark, Nev. (-5.3 percent); Somerset, N.J. (-5.0 percent); and Clay, Mo. (-4.8 percent).

Of the 346 largest U.S. counties, 71 registered over-the-year wage increases. Midland, Texas, had the largest wage gain, up 8.4 percent from the third quarter of 2016. Union, N.J., was second with a wage increase of 8.2 percent, followed by Elkhart, Ind. (6.5 percent); Forsyth, N.C. (5.3 percent); and Maui + Kalawao, Hawaii (4.6 percent).

Large county average weekly wages

Average weekly wages in three of Wisconsin’s large counties placed in the top half of the national ranking in the third quarter of 2017. However, average weekly wages in these three counties were below the national average of $1,021. Dane County‘s $1,017 average weekly wage ranked 101^st among the 346 largest U.S. counties. Waukesha ($986) and Milwaukee ($955) Counties placed 126^th and 153^rd, respectively. Outagamie County’s $871 weekly wage was the lowest among the state’s large counties, ranking 237^th nationwide.

Nationally, 96 large counties had average weekly wages above the U.S. average of $1,021 in the third quarter of 2017. Santa Clara, Calif., recorded the highest average weekly wage at $2,320, followed by San Mateo, Calif. ($2,123); San Francisco, Calif. ($1,954); New York, N.Y. ($1,889); and Washington, D.C. ($1,759).

Among the largest U.S. counties, 250 had weekly wages below the national average in the third quarter of 2017. Cameron, Texas ($612) reported the lowest wage, followed by Horry County, S.C. ($633); Hidalgo, Texas ($649); and Webb, Texas ($672).

Average weekly wages in Wisconsin’s smaller counties

Of the 66 counties in Wisconsin with employment below 75,000, Sheboygan County had the highest average weekly wage at $870. Florence County had the lowest weekly wage at $503, followed by Bayfield at $549. (See table 2.)

When all 72 counties in Wisconsin were considered, 11 reported average weekly wages of $649 or lower, 34 had wages from $650 to $749, 17 had wages from $750 to $849, and 10 had wages of $850 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 2017 version of the national news release. Tables and additional content from Employment and Wages Annual Averages Online are now available at www.bls.gov/cew/publications/employment-and-wages-annual-averages/2016/home.htm. The 2017 edition of Employment and Wages Annual Averages Online will be available in September 2018.

The County Employment and Wages release for fourth quarter 2017 is scheduled to be released on Wednesday, May 23, 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 9.9 million employer reports cover 144.5 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 6 largest counties in Wisconsin, third quarter 2017

Area	Employment			Average weekly wage (1)
	September 2017 (thousands)	Percent change, September 2016-17 (2)	National ranking by percent change (3)	Average weekly wage	National ranking by level (3)	Percent change, third quarter 2016-17 (2)	National ranking by percent change (3)
United States (4)	144,464.4	1.0	--	$1,021	--	-0.6	--
Wisconsin	2,866.9	0.5	--	876	32	-1.0	29
Brown, Wis.	157.1	1.2	132	884	222	-2.0	256
Dane, Wis.	333.1	0.7	192	1,017	101	-1.4	195
Milwaukee, Wis.	487.0	0.1	270	955	153	-1.3	186
Outagamie, Wis.	108.1	0.8	182	871	237	-0.2	90
Waukesha, Wis.	242.7	0.2	259	986	126	-1.9	245
Winnebago, Wis.	93.5	0.1	270	921	187	-0.9	150
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 3. Covered employment and wages by state, third quarter 2017

State	Employment		Average weekly wage (1)
	September 2017 (thousands)	Percent change, September 2016-17	Average weekly wage	National ranking by level	Percent change, third quarter 2016-17	National ranking by percent change
United States (2)	144,464.4	1.0	$1,021	--	-0.6	--
Alabama	1,941.1	0.8	859	37	-1.3	38
Alaska	335.4	-0.7	1,025	15	-2.8	50
Arizona	2,760.1	2.4	948	24	-0.2	10
Arkansas	1,213.0	0.6	788	49	-0.6	19
California	17,153.4	1.7	1,215	4	0.5	4
Colorado	2,625.9	1.9	1,067	9	0.5	4
Connecticut	1,676.3	0.1	1,179	6	-2.2	47
Delaware	443.0	0.4	1,026	14	0.4	6
District of Columbia	764.7	0.7	1,759	1	1.3	2
Florida	8,305.8	-0.2	896	29	-1.1	31
Georgia	4,343.5	1.3	961	21	-0.9	27
Hawaii	652.5	0.4	953	22	-0.3	13
Idaho	722.3	2.7	778	50	-0.5	16
Illinois	5,969.6	0.5	1,057	10	-0.3	13
Indiana	3,044.0	0.6	861	36	-0.6	19
Iowa	1,546.1	-0.2	855	38	-2.2	47
Kansas	1,376.4	-0.1	839	41	-2.1	46
Kentucky	1,890.4	0.5	837	42	-2.4	49
Louisiana	1,904.3	-0.1	869	33	-1.7	42
Maine	621.9	0.7	821	46	-0.5	16
Maryland	2,661.8	0.5	1,105	8	-1.7	42
Massachusetts	3,568.0	0.9	1,265	2	-0.9	27
Michigan	4,334.3	0.9	964	20	-1.1	31
Minnesota	2,883.0	1.1	1,030	13	-2.0	45
Mississippi	1,129.1	-0.1	729	51	-1.4	39
Missouri	2,805.8	0.9	878	31	-1.2	34
Montana	468.6	0.9	793	48	0.1	8
Nebraska	973.3	-0.2	850	39	-0.8	23
Nevada	1,337.7	2.9	914	26	-3.8	51
New Hampshire	659.1	0.6	1,022	16	-0.4	15
New Jersey	4,043.6	1.1	1,156	7	-1.5	41
New Mexico	816.0	0.3	823	45	-0.8	23
New York	9,329.8	1.2	1,219	3	-0.2	10
North Carolina	4,348.0	1.3	904	27	-0.7	21
North Dakota	419.2	-1.0	953	22	-1.2	34
Ohio	5,383.6	0.6	920	25	-0.8	23
Oklahoma	1,593.3	0.7	843	40	-1.2	34
Oregon	1,905.3	1.8	969	19	-0.1	9
Pennsylvania	5,836.5	1.0	1,002	17	-1.1	31
Rhode Island	484.5	0.8	973	18	-1.8	44
South Carolina	2,027.2	0.8	828	43	-0.5	16
South Dakota	426.2	0.4	803	47	-0.7	21
Tennessee	2,953.3	1.1	903	28	-1.2	34
Texas	12,008.9	1.4	1,032	12	-1.0	29
Utah	1,444.1	2.6	879	30	-0.2	10
Vermont	310.3	0.1	869	33	-1.4	39
Virginia	3,843.6	1.0	1,053	11	-0.8	23
Washington	3,343.4	2.0	1,208	5	1.7	1
West Virginia	694.0	0.2	826	44	1.1	3
Wisconsin	2,866.9	0.5	876	32	-1.0	29
Wyoming	276.2	0.3	868	35	0.3	7
Puerto Rico	862.8	-3.1	509	(3)	-2.7	(3)
Virgin Islands	36.9	-1.1	763	(3)	-1.9	(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.