Employment rose in the four largest counties in Kansas from June 2012 to June 2013, the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) reported today. (Large counties are defined as those with employment of 75,000 or more as measured by 2012 annual average employment.) Regional Commissioner Stanley W. Suchman noted that Johnson County experienced the fastest growth, up 2.6 percent over the year, and exceeded the national average of 1.6 percent.

Nationally, employment increased in 288 of the 334 largest U.S. counties from June 2012 to June 2013. Fort Bend, Texas, posted the largest increase with a gain of 7.0 percent over the year. Atlantic, N.J., had the largest over-the-year decrease in employment with a loss of 4.5 percent.

Among the four largest counties in Kansas, employment was highest in Johnson County (323,600) and lowest in Wyandotte (83,900). Together, the four largest counties accounted for 55.2 percent of total employment within the state. Nationwide, the 334 large counties made up 71.4 percent of total U.S. employment.

Two of Kansas’s four large counties experienced wage growth that exceeded the 2.1-percent increase for the nation. Sedgwick and Johnson Counties recorded wage growth of 3.1 and 2.7 percent, respectively. Johnson County had the highest average weekly wage among the largest counties in the state at $950 and was above the national average of $921. (See table 1.)

Employment and wage levels (but not over-the-year changes) are also available for the 101 counties in Kansas with employment below 75,000. Of these smaller counties, only Coffey ($1,161) had an average weekly wage above the national average. (See table 2.)

Large county wage changes

As mentioned, Sedgwick County had the largest wage gain at 3.1 percent, placing it 53^rd in the national ranking, followed by Johnson at 2.7 percent and ranking 76^th. (See table 1.) Average wages in Shawnee County rose 1.7 percent and placed 170^th. Wyandotte had a decline in average weekly wages with a loss of 1.1 percent, ranking 326^th.

Among the 334 largest counties in the U.S., 304 had over-the-year increases in average weekly wages in the second quarter of 2013. Union, N.J., ranked first in average weekly wage growth with an increase of 8.1 percent. Davidson, Tenn., had the largest average weekly wage decrease with a loss of 2.2 percent.

Large county average weekly wages

Only one of Kansas’s four large counties had average weekly wages above the national average of $921 and placed in the top 100 nationwide in the second quarter of 2013. Johnson County had an average weekly wage of $950 and ranked 87^th among the 334 largest counties. The state’s remaining large counties had average weekly wages that placed them in the bottom half of the national ranking—Sedgwick ($843,171^st), Wyandotte ($832, 184^th), and Shawnee ($784, 244^th).

Nationally, weekly wages were higher than the average of $921 in 107 of the 334 largest U.S. counties. Santa Clara, Calif., held the top position among the highest-paid large counties with an average weekly wage of $1,810, followed by New York, N.Y., ($1,675) and San Mateo, Calif. ($1,632). Among the 227 large counties with an average weekly wage below the U.S. average in the second quarter of 2013, Horry, S.C. ($537) reported the lowest wage.

Average weekly wages in Kansas’s smaller counties

Of the 101 counties in Kansas with employment below 75,000, only one county—Coffey ($1,161)—had an average weekly wage above the national average of $921. Decatur County reported the lowest weekly wage in the state with an average of $452 in the second quarter of 2013. (See table 2.)

When all 105 counties in Kansas were considered, all but 2 had wages below the national average. Forty-nine reported average weekly wages under $600, 33 reported wages from $600 to $649, 11 had wages from $650 to $699, 4 had wages from $700 to $749, and 8 had wages above $750. (See chart 1.)

Additional statistics and other information

Quarterly 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 the QCEW Web site at 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 2012 edition of this publication, which was published in September 2013, contains selected data produced by Business Employment Dynamics (BED) on job gains and losses, as well as selected data from the first quarter 2013 version of the national news release. Tables and additional content from Employment and Wages Annual Averages 2012 are now available online at www.bls.gov/cew/publications/employment-and-wages-annual-averages/2012/home.htm.

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.

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 9.2 million employer reports cover 135.1 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.

Table 1. Covered employment and wages in the United States and the 4 largest counties in Kansas, second quarter 2013

Area	Employment			Average Weekly Wage (1)
	June 2013 (thousands)	Percent change, June 2012-13 (2)	National ranking by percent change (3)	Average weekly wage	National ranking by level (3)	Percent change, second quarter 2012-13 (2)	National ranking by percent change (3)
United States (4)	135094.0	1.6	--	$921	--	2.1	--
Kansas	1350.0	1.2	--	779	41	2.1	19
Johnson, Kan.	323.6	2.6	69	950	87	2.7	76
Sedgwick, Kan.	242.3	0.9	216	843	171	3.1	53
Shawnee, Kan.	95.6	1.1	191	784	244	1.7	170
Wyandotte, Kan.	83.9	1.1	191	832	184	-1.1	326
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: Covered employment and wages includes workers covered by Unemployment Insurance (UI) and Unemployment Compensation for Federal Employees (UCFE) programs. Data are preliminary.

Table 2. Covered employment and wages in the United States and all counties in Kansas, second quarter 2013

Area	Employment June 2013	Average weekly wage (1)		Area	Employment June 2013	Average weekly wage (1)
United States (2)	135,093,963	$921
Kansas	1,349,956	779		Lincoln	960	525
Allen	5,640	596		Linn	2,124	855
Anderson	2,074	534		Logan	1,327	565
Atchison	5,957	617		Lyon	14,211	571
Barber	1,901	578		McPherson	14,725	722
Barton	13,323	661		Marion	3,675	531
Bourbon	6,070	581		Marshall	4,965	649
Brown	5,162	606		Meade	1,587	614
Butler	17,825	650		Miami	7,967	622
Chase	720	460		Mitchell	3,565	607
Chautauqua	797	516		Montgomery	17,078	599
Cherokee	5,891	623		Morris	1,450	520
Cheyenne	886	575		Morton	1,150	629
Clark	809	547		Nemaha	5,442	607
Clay	2,941	566		Neosho	6,695	616
Cloud	3,657	542		Ness	1,346	740
Coffey	4,462	1,161		Norton	2,704	596
Comanche	753	474		Osage	2,894	496
Cowley	14,176	624		Osborne	1,492	515
Crawford	17,101	579		Ottawa	1,344	540
Decatur	996	452		Pawnee	3,241	597
Dickinson	6,569	558		Phillips	2,651	600
Doniphan	2,200	616		Pottawatomie	9,540	661
Douglas	46,108	662		Pratt	4,926	658
Edwards	1,019	623		Rawlins	931	568
Elk	677	456		Reno	27,501	617
Ellis	16,045	660		Republic	2,066	502
Ellsworth	3,028	610		Rice	3,944	586
Finney	18,483	663		Riley	29,308	659
Ford	18,025	649		Rooks	1,997	594
Franklin	9,244	632		Rush	1,130	615
Geary	13,962	726		Russell	2,859	615
Gove	1,233	528		Saline	30,243	645
Graham	1,042	596		Scott	2,231	623
Grant	3,579	742		Sedgwick	242,337	843
Gray	3,236	600		Seward	11,963	668
Greeley	714	547		Shawnee	95,565	784
Greenwood	1,831	561		Sheridan	1,011	647
Hamilton	1,293	588		Sherman	2,700	555
Harper	2,578	647		Smith	1,411	504
Harvey	13,635	668		Stafford	1,401	500
Haskell	1,844	663		Stanton	773	642
Hodgeman	584	589		Stevens	2,197	797
Jackson	4,235	591		Sumner	7,412	598
Jefferson	3,586	608		Thomas	4,075	593
Jewell	829	553		Trego	1,311	620
Johnson	323,599	950		Wabaunsee	1,333	496
Kearny	1,385	598		Wallace	512	565
Kingman	2,671	639		Washington	2,082	463
Kiowa	1,202	570		Wichita	869	639
Labette	9,028	609		Wilson	3,432	612
Lane	717	612		Woodson	674	561
Leavenworth	21,106	811		Wyandotte	83,908	832
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: Covered employment and wages 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 2013

State	Employment		Average weekly wage(1)
	June 2013 (thousands)	Percent change, June 2012-13	Average weekly wage	National ranking by level	Percent change, second quarter 2012-13	National ranking by percent change
United States(2)	135094.0	1.6	$921	--	2.1	--
Alabama	1859.5	0.9	794	35	1.4	44
Alaska	342.6	-0.1	970	9	1.6	37
Arizona	2438.1	1.8	877	20	1.7	32
Arkansas	1150.4	-0.6	734	46	2.4	10
California	15485.8	2.4	1,048	6	2.0	21
Colorado	2359.4	2.9	933	14	1.6	37
Connecticut	1666.3	1.0	1,128	3	1.5	41
Delaware	417.8	1.8	966	12	2.0	21
District of Columbia	725.0	0.9	1,575	1	2.1	19
Florida	7402.0	2.4	822	29	2.0	21
Georgia	3917.2	1.7	867	22	2.2	17
Hawaii	617.0	1.9	823	28	1.6	37
Idaho	642.7	2.7	683	51	1.9	28
Illinois	5750.0	0.8	971	8	1.9	28
Indiana	2863.4	1.1	776	42	1.7	32
Iowa	1523.9	1.3	757	43	2.0	21
Kansas	1350.0	1.2	779	41	2.1	19
Kentucky	1790.6	0.6	782	38	1.3	46
Louisiana	1894.7	0.9	824	27	2.4	10
Maine	604.4	0.4	732	47	1.8	30
Maryland	2570.3	0.9	1,005	7	1.4	44
Massachusetts	3352.7	1.3	1,131	2	2.0	21
Michigan	4073.7	2.2	875	21	2.0	21
Minnesota	2745.2	1.9	929	15	2.4	10
Mississippi	1094.9	0.7	691	49	1.5	41
Missouri	2668.2	1.2	803	33	1.6	37
Montana	448.4	1.5	717	48	2.4	10
Nebraska	941.0	0.9	737	45	2.6	7
Nevada	1168.3	2.3	829	26	1.7	32
New Hampshire	629.1	0.8	916	17	2.9	4
New Jersey	3917.5	1.0	1,084	5	2.6	7
New Mexico	795.0	0.4	781	39	-0.3	51
New York	8804.9	1.1	1,118	4	2.0	21
North Carolina	3985.1	1.7	808	31	2.5	9
North Dakota	433.7	3.2	887	18	3.7	1
Ohio	5162.3	1.1	830	25	1.7	32
Oklahoma	1560.7	0.9	794	35	3.5	2
Oregon	1708.0	2.5	848	23	1.3	46
Pennsylvania	5665.9	0.3	918	16	2.8	5
Rhode Island	465.5	1.0	880	19	2.3	16
South Carolina	1864.9	1.8	747	44	1.5	41
South Dakota	417.0	1.0	689	50	1.8	30
Tennessee	2709.3	1.5	820	30	0.5	49
Texas	11078.8	2.7	944	13	2.4	10
Utah	1259.7	2.8	783	37	2.2	17
Vermont	303.1	0.3	808	31	2.7	6
Virginia	3685.4	0.7	968	11	1.7	32
Washington	3013.3	2.2	969	10	2.4	10
West Virginia	713.1	-0.1	781	39	0.6	48
Wisconsin	2768.2	0.6	801	34	3.0	3
Wyoming	290.4	0.4	845	24	0.5	49
Puerto Rico	926.1	-1.1	503	(3)	1.0	(3)
Virgin Islands	38.9	-3.0	706	(3)	-13.8	(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: Covered employment and wages includes workers covered by Unemployment Insurance (UI) and Unemployment Compensation for Federal Employees (UCFE) programs. Data are preliminary.