Employment rose in 6 of the 7 largest counties in Missouri from September 2013 to September 2014, 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 2013 annual average employment. The independent city of St. Louis has been designated as a county by the Quarterly Census of Employment and Wages program.) Regional Commissioner Stanley W. Suchman noted that Clay County reported the largest increase at 4.1 percent followed by Greene, 2.3 percent. These two counties registered employment gains that exceeded the national average of 2.0 percent.

Nationally, employment increased in 306 of the 339 largest U.S. counties from September 2013 to September 2014. Weld, Colo., posted the largest increase with a gain of 8.8 percent over the year. Atlantic, N.J., had the largest over-the-year decrease in employment with a loss of 4.0 percent.

Among the seven largest counties in Missouri, employment was highest in St. Louis County (582,500) in September 2014. Jackson County and St. Louis City also had employment levels exceeding 200,000. Together, Missouri’s seven large counties accounted for 60.9 percent of total employment within the state. Nationwide, the 339 largest counties made up 71.8 percent of total U.S. employment.

Average weekly wages increased in all seven large counties in Missouri from the third quarter of 2013 to the third quarter of 2014. Wages in St. Charles County experienced the largest growth (4.8 percent), followed by St. Louis (3.7 percent) and St. Louis City (3.1 percent). Nationally, average weekly wages increased 2.9 percent. St. Louis City had the highest average weekly wage among the largest counties in the state at $1,031, followed by St. Louis ($993) and Jackson ($961). Average weekly wages in these three counties exceeded the national average of $949. Greene County recorded the lowest average weekly wage at $725. (See table 1.)

Employment and wage levels (but not over-the-year changes) are also available for the 108 counties in Missouri 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

As mentioned, the 7 large counties in Missouri recorded wage gains from the third quarter of 2013 to the third quarter of 2014, with 3 counties posting increases greater than the U.S. average of 2.9 percent. (See table 1.) St. Charles County had the largest wage gain (4.8 percent), placing 19^th in the national ranking, followed by St. Louis (3.7 percent, 55^th) and St. Louis City (3.1 percent, 103^rd). Of the remaining large counties in Missouri, Boone registered wage growth of 1.9 percent and placed 244^th in the national ranking followed by Greene (1.8 percent, 257^th), and Jackson (1.7 percent, 264^th). Wages in Clay grew 0.4 percent, placing it near the bottom (323^rd).

Among the 339 largest counties in the U.S., 328 had over-the-year increases in average weekly wages in the third quarter of 2014. Olmsted, Minn., ranked first in average weekly wage growth with an increase of 11.1 percent. Collier, Fla., had the largest percentage decrease in average weekly wages, with a loss of 3.9 percent.

Large county average weekly wages

Three of the state’s large counties had average weekly wage levels that placed in the top 100 among the 339 largest counties in the United States in the third quarter of 2014. Average wages in St. Louis City ($1,031) and St. Louis County ($993) ranked 63^rd and 77^th, respectively. Jackson County’s average weekly wage of $961 was also above the national average of $949 and ranked 89^th. The wage levels in Missouri’s four other large counties were below average and placed in the bottom half of the national ranking.

Nationally, weekly wages were higher than the average of $949 in 99 of the 339 largest U.S. counties. Santa Clara, Calif., held the top position among the highest-paid large counties with an average weekly wage of $2,012, followed by San Mateo, Calif. ($1,824) and New York, N.Y. ($1,733). Among the 237 large counties with an average weekly wage below the U.S. average in the third quarter of 2014, Horry, S.C. ($580) reported the lowest wage.

Average weekly wages in Missouri’s smaller counties

Of the 108 counties in Missouri with employment below 75,000, Platte County recorded the highest average weekly wage at $800 followed by Ralls at $785. Shannon County reported the lowest weekly wage in the state with an average of $381 in the third quarter of 2014. (See table 2.)

When all 115 counties in Missouri were considered, all but 3 had wages below the national average of $949. Seventy-two reported average weekly wages under $600, 34 reported wages from $600 to $749, 6 had wages from $750 to $899, and 3 had wages of $900 and above. (See chart 1.) Of the 9 counties with wages of $750 or higher, 6 were located in the major metropolitan areas of Kansas City and St. Louis.

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 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.

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.

The County Employment and Wages release for fourth quarter 2014 is scheduled to be released on Wednesday, June 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 9.4 million employer reports cover 137.7 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.