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News Release Information

17-1711-KAN
Thursday, December 28, 2017

Contacts Technical information: Media contact:
  • (816) 285-7000

County Employment and Wages in Kansas – Second Quarter 2017

Employment rose in 2 of the 4 largest counties in Kansas from June 2016 to June 2017, 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 2016 annual average employment.) Assistant Commissioner for Regional Operations Stanley W. Suchman noted that employment increased 1.0 percent in Johnson County and 0.7 percent in Wyandotte County. (See table 1.)

Nationwide, employment advanced 1.7 percent during the 12-month period as 318 of the 346 largest U.S. counties registered increases. Midland, Texas, had the largest percentage increase, up 7.3 percent over the year. Lucas, Ohio, had the largest over-the-year percentage decrease in employment with a loss of 1.9 percent.

Among the four largest counties in Kansas, employment was highest in Johnson (342,000) and lowest in Wyandotte (91,000) in June 2017. Together, the four largest Kansas counties accounted for 56.4 percent of total employment within the state. Nationwide, the 346 largest counties made up 72.7 percent of total U.S. employment.

Average weekly wages increased in each of the four large counties in Kansas from the second quarter of 2016 to the second quarter of 2017. Wyandotte County had over-the-year wage growth of 5.9 percent and Shawnee County had growth of 4.9 percent, both exceeding the 3.2-percent increase for the nation. Johnson ($1,031) had the highest average weekly wage among Kansas’s large counties and was above the national average of $1,020. (See table 1.)

Employment and wage levels (but not over-the-year changes) are also available for the 101 counties in Kansas with employment levels below 75,000. Of these small counties, Coffey ($1,009) had the highest wage level, but did not exceed the national average. (See table 2.)

Large county wage changes

Wyandotte County’s 5.9-percent annual wage gain was the largest among the state’s large counties and placed 18th in the national ranking. (See table 1.) Shawnee County’s 4.9-percent gain ranked 45th. Johnson County (1.2 percent, 291st) and Sedgwick County (0.4 percent, 315th) placed in the bottom quartile of the national ranking in wage growth.

Among the 346 largest U.S. counties, 325 had over-the-year increases in average weekly wages in the second quarter of 2017. New Hanover, N.C., had the largest percentage increase in average weekly wages with a gain of 11.9 percent. Nationally, 19 large counties experienced over-the-year decreases in average weekly wages. McLean, Ill., had the largest percentage decrease in average weekly wages with a loss of 20.4 percent.

Large county average weekly wages

Johnson County’s average weekly wage of $1,031 ranked 87th among the 346 largest U.S. counties in the second quarter of 2017. Wyandotte recorded an average weekly wage of $987 and placed 128th. Sedgwick County ($860, 249th) and Shawnee County ($842, 271st) had average weekly wages that placed them in the bottom third of the ranking.

Nationally, weekly wages were higher than the U.S. average of $1,020 in 97 of the 346 largest counties. Santa Clara, Calif., held the top position with an average weekly wage of $2,392. San Mateo, Calif., was second at $2,093, followed by San Francisco, Calif. ($1,941) and New York, N.Y. ($1,907). Among the 249 large counties with an average weekly wage below the U.S. average in the second quarter of 2017, Cameron, Texas ($615) reported the lowest wage.

Average weekly wages in Kansas’s smaller counties

Of the 101 counties in Kansas with employment below 75,000, Coffey County reported the highest weekly wage with an average of $1,009, below the national average of $1,020. Washington County reported the lowest weekly wage in the state with an average of $490 in the second quarter of 2017. (See table 2.)

When all 105 counties in Kansas were considered, all but 1 had wages below the national average. Fifteen reported average weekly wages under $600, 28 reported wages from $600 to $649, 24 had wages from $650 to $699, 28 had wages from $700 to $749, and 10 had wages $750 or higher. (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 2016 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 2016 are now available online 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.

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 third quarter 2017 is scheduled to be released on Thursday, March 8, 2018, at 10:00 a.m. (ET).


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 9.7 million employer reports cover 142.7 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.

 

Table 1. Covered employment and wages in the United States and the 4 largest counties in Kansas, second quarter 2017
AreaEmploymentAverage weekly wage (1)
June 2017 (thousands)Percent change, June 2016-17 (2)National ranking by percent change (3)Average weekly wageNational ranking by level (3)Percent change, second quarter 2016-17 (2)National ranking by percent change (3)

United States (4)

145,186.41.7--$1,020--3.2--

Kansas

1,377.8-0.1--849402.439

Johnson, Kan.

342.01.02351,031871.2291

Sedgwick, Kan.

247.2-0.53348602490.4315

Shawnee, Kan.

96.5-1.23438422714.945

Wyandotte, Kan.

91.00.72649871285.918

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 Kansas, second quarter 2017
AreaEmployment June 2017Average Weekly Wage(1)

United States(2)

145,186,369$1,020

Kansas

1,377,791849

Allen

5,452651

Anderson

2,047661

Atchison

5,646709

Barber

1,754629

Barton

12,524693

Bourbon

6,411627

Brown

5,230720

Butler

18,760702

Chase

941641

Chautauqua

783559

Cherokee

5,772731

Cheyenne

961592

Clark

743736

Clay

3,013600

Cloud

3,196547

Coffey

3,7401,009

Comanche

680498

Cowley

14,138710

Crawford

17,272649

Decatur

982534

Dickinson

6,391625

Doniphan

2,237647

Douglas

48,640733

Edwards

964695

Elk

628502

Ellis

15,232712

Ellsworth

2,279642

Finney

19,029749

Ford

17,725734

Franklin

9,499722

Geary

13,129730

Gove

1,238621

Graham

846692

Grant

3,096837

Gray

3,386700

Greeley

689631

Greenwood

1,679613

Hamilton

1,406661

Harper

2,160640

Harvey

13,732708

Haskell

1,958738

Hodgeman

582620

Jackson

4,244637

Jefferson

3,621688

Jewell

778559

Johnson

342,0351,031

Kearny

1,419696

Kingman

2,430622

Kiowa

1,139625

Labette

9,045679

Lane

646743

Leavenworth

21,358844

Lincoln

966621

Linn

2,237899

Logan

1,376602

Lyon

15,166648

Mcpherson

14,673803

Marion

3,958702

Marshall

4,517636

Meade

2,164692

Miami

8,563708

Mitchell

3,137692

Montgomery

14,454648

Morris

1,499547

Morton

840692

Nemaha

5,314674

Neosho

6,206651

Ness

1,114707

Norton

2,468667

Osage

2,978527

Osborne

1,512554

Ottawa

1,320559

Pawnee

2,953673

Phillips

2,540665

Pottawatomie

9,614755

Pratt

4,525736

Rawlins

935653

Reno

27,116705

Republic

1,996552

Rice

4,084672

Riley

29,863743

Rooks

1,771609

Rush

1,046647

Russell

2,648651

Saline

29,912715

Scott

2,381674

Sedgwick

247,196860

Seward

10,951718

Shawnee

96,478842

Sheridan

950709

Sherman

2,469639

Smith

1,303563

Stafford

1,276602

Stanton

852714

Stevens

1,844706

Sumner

7,216696

Thomas

3,997676

Trego

1,323640

Wabaunsee

1,329618

Wallace

569608

Washington

2,096490

Wichita

784709

Wilson

3,713671

Woodson

731542

Wyandotte

90,999987

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, second quarter 2017
StateEmploymentAverage weekly wage (1)
June 2017 (thousands)Percent change, June 2016-17Average weekly wageNational ranking by levelPercent change, second quarter 2016-17National ranking by percent change

United States (2)

145,186.41.7$1,020--3.2--

Alabama

1,946.41.2858382.831

Alaska

338.4-0.71,00516-0.551

Arizona

2,699.62.9943232.535

Arkansas

1,206.00.7810473.222

California

17,150.92.21,21054.73

Colorado

2,638.82.51,042114.25

Connecticut

1,701.20.61,21640.450

Delaware

446.60.61,012152.243

District of Columbia

766.51.01,67513.319

Florida

8,390.62.8905272.535

Georgia

4,357.82.1956212.927

Hawaii

653.01.0935243.513

Idaho

723.53.4765503.416

Illinois

6,006.60.91,06292.439

Indiana

3,041.01.5859373.79

Iowa

1,571.40.4853393.319

Kansas

1,377.8-0.1849402.439

Kentucky

1,889.40.8862352.927

Louisiana

1,907.70.0869342.046

Maine

629.10.9814462.535

Maryland

2,694.81.41,10383.123

Massachusetts

3,604.51.61,27823.611

Michigan

4,365.31.6969192.927

Minnesota

2,902.12.01,037123.96

Mississippi

1,128.90.7732510.849

Missouri

2,818.71.2889303.025

Montana

473.61.3797483.96

Nebraska

984.00.4833433.513

Nevada

1,333.53.4900292.927

New Hampshire

665.41.61,015141.248

New Jersey

4,123.51.81,17362.341

New Mexico

815.40.7823451.547

New York

9,417.41.61,23732.243

North Carolina

4,361.41.8902284.34

North Dakota

422.7-0.2953225.02

Ohio

5,422.81.2912253.319

Oklahoma

1,583.80.8845412.535

Oregon

1,912.62.2967203.88

Pennsylvania

5,859.41.31,000173.025

Rhode Island

487.31.0980182.633

South Carolina

2,053.92.0834423.611

South Dakota

435.50.6785493.416

Tennessee

2,948.11.8906263.513

Texas

12,059.62.11,027132.732

Utah

1,440.33.4862352.633

Vermont

314.21.0870332.145

Virginia

3,886.61.51,047103.79

Washington

3,352.52.21,14175.61

West Virginia

690.9-0.3828443.416

Wisconsin

2,905.31.1876312.341

Wyoming

280.2-0.7875323.123

Puerto Rico

873.6-1.0515(3)1.2(3)

Virgin Islands

38.60.4762(3)2.6(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.
 

 

Last Modified Date: Thursday, December 28, 2017