Employment rose in all seven large counties in Missouri from September 2015 to September 2016, the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) reported today. (Large counties are defined as those with 2015 annual average employment levels of 75,000 or more. The independent city of St. Louis has been designated as a county by the Quarterly Census of Employment and Wages program.) Assistant Commissioner for Regional Operations Stanley W. Suchman noted that Clay County experienced the fastest employment growth, up 4.3 percent over the year, and ranked 14^th among the 344 largest U.S. counties. Three other large counties in the state also had employment gains exceeding the national average of 1.7 percent.

Nationally, employment increased in 307 of the 344 largest U.S. counties from September 2015 to September 2016. York, S.C., posted the largest percentage increase with a gain of 6.0 percent over the year. Midland, Texas, had the largest over-the-year percentage decrease in employment among the largest counties in the U.S. with a loss of 5.8 percent.

Among the seven largest counties in Missouri, employment was highest in St. Louis (599,800) in September 2016. Jackson County and St. Louis City also had employment levels exceeding 200,000. Together, Missouri’s seven large counties accounted for 61.2 percent of total employment within the state. Nationwide, the 344 largest counties made up 72.5 percent of total U.S. employment.

Average weekly wages increased in all seven large counties in Missouri from the third quarter of 2015 to the third quarter of 2016. Wages in St. Charles County experienced the largest growth (6.1 percent), followed by Greene (5.9 percent) and St. Louis City (5.7 percent). St. Louis City had the highest average weekly wage among the largest counties in the state at $1,104, followed by St. Louis ($1,057) and Jackson ($1,024). Greene County recorded the lowest average weekly wage at $802. Nationally, average weekly wages increased 5.4 percent over the year to $1,027. (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 seven large counties in Missouri recorded wage gains from the third quarter of 2015 to the third quarter of 2016, with three counties posting wage increases greater than the U.S. average of 5.4 percent. (See table 1.) St. Charles County had the largest wage gain (6.1 percent), placing 125^th in the national ranking, followed by Greene (5.9 percent, 139^th) and St. Louis City (5.7 percent, 160^th). Jackson County’s wage growth (3.2 percent, 312^th) placed in the bottom quartile of the national ranking.

Among the 344 largest counties in the U.S., 339 had over-the-year increases in average weekly wages in the third quarter of 2016. Clark, Nev., ranked first in average weekly wage growth with an increase of 12.2 percent. Five of the largest U.S. counties experienced over-the-year decreases in average weekly wages. Rockland, N.Y., had the largest percentage decline in average weekly wages with a loss of 14.9 percent.

Large county average weekly wages

Two of the state’s large counties had average weekly wages that placed in the top 100 of the 344 largest U.S. counties in the third quarter of 2016. Average weekly wages in St. Louis City ($1,104) and St. Louis County ($1,057) ranked 69^th and 83^rd, respectively. Jackson County’s average weekly wage of $1,024 ranked 105^th. The four remaining large counties in Missouri had average weekly wages that placed them in the bottom half of the national ranking.

Nationally, weekly wages were higher than the U.S. average of $1,027 in 102 of the 344 largest counties. Santa Clara, Calif., held the top position with an average weekly wage of $2,260. San Mateo, Calif., was second at $2,098, followed by San Francisco, Calif. ($1,892), and New York, N.Y. ($1,879). Among the 241 large counties with an average weekly wage below the U.S. average in the third quarter of 2016, Horry, S.C. ($632) reported the lowest wage.

Average weekly wages in Missouri’s smaller counties

Of the 108 counties in Missouri with employment below 75,000, Ralls County recorded the highest average weekly wage at $873. Shannon County reported the lowest weekly wage in the state at $444 in the third quarter of 2016. (See table 2.)

When all 115 counties in Missouri were considered, 49 reported average weekly wages under $600, 49 reported wages from $600 to $749, 14 had wages from $750 to $899, and 3 had wages $900 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 2015 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 2016 version of the national news release. Tables and additional content from the 2015 edition of Employment and Wages Annual Averages Online are now available at www.bls.gov/cew/publications/employment-and-wages-annual-averages/2015/home.htm. The 2016 edition of Employment and Wages Annual Averages Online will be available in September 2017.

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.

The County Employment and Wages release for fourth quarter 2016 is scheduled to be released on Wednesday, June 7, 2017.

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 9.8 million employer reports cover 142.9 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 7 largest counties in Missouri, third quarter 2016

Area	Employment			Average weekly wage (1)
	September 2016 (thousands)	Percent change, September 2015-16 (2)	National ranking by percent change (3)	Average weekly wage	National ranking by level (3)	Percent change, third quarter 2015-16 (2)	National ranking by percent change (3)
United States (4)	142,940.5	1.7	--	$1,027	--	5.4	--
Missouri	2,782.1	1.6	--	888	30	5.0	34
Boone, Mo.	93.5	1.5	195	833	286	4.8	233
Clay, Mo.	104.8	4.3	14	899	216	5.3	198
Greene, Mo.	164.7	1.8	164	802	313	5.9	139
Jackson, Mo.	365.9	2.8	83	1,024	105	3.2	312
St. Charles, Mo.	145.7	2.7	87	822	295	6.1	125
St. Louis City, Mo.	228.7	1.0	238	1,104	69	5.7	160
St. Louis, Mo.	599.8	1.0	238	1,057	83	5.3	198
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 2016

State	Employment		Average weekly wage (1)
	September 2016 (thousands)	Percent change, September 2015-16	Average weekly wage	National ranking by level	Percent change, third quarter 2015-16	National ranking by percent change
United States (2)	142,940.5	1.7	1027	--	5.4	--
Alabama	1,923.8	1.5	870	36	4.9	38
Alaska	337.4	-2.6	1055	12	1.2	49
Arizona	2,695.5	3.1	950	24	6.9	5
Arkansas	1,205.4	1.0	794	48	5.2	32
California	16,871.1	2.4	1210	4	6.7	8
Colorado	2,576.5	2.6	1062	10	5.6	23
Connecticut	1,674.2	0.3	1204	5	5	34
Delaware	440.7	0.8	1022	16	5.6	23
District of Columbia	759.2	1.7	1728	1	3.8	45
Florida	8,320.2	3.7	905	29	6.2	14
Georgia	4,290.4	2.9	969	21	5.9	18
Hawaii	648.4	1.8	956	23	6.7	8
Idaho	703.7	3.5	782	50	6.3	12
Illinois	5,933.6	0.6	1062	10	4.4	40
Indiana	3,025.9	1.8	866	37	5.9	18
Iowa	1,548.6	0.8	873	35	6.2	14
Kansas	1,377.2	0.5	857	39	5.9	18
Kentucky	1,880.2	1.5	857	39	6.5	10
Louisiana	1,908.8	-0.9	883	32	2.9	48
Maine	616.2	0.9	825	45	5.9	18
Maryland	2,648.1	1.4	1124	8	5.3	30
Massachusetts	3,522.9	2.0	1277	2	6.8	7
Michigan	4,292.2	2.1	976	19	5.9	18
Minnesota	2,849.5	1.6	1053	13	6.4	11
Mississippi	1,126.9	0.7	739	51	4.7	39
Missouri	2,782.1	1.6	888	30	5	34
Montana	464.5	1.5	792	49	4.3	41
Nebraska	973.9	0.9	857	39	5.5	26
Nevada	1,300.7	3.8	949	25	10.1	1
New Hampshire	655.0	1.8	1027	15	7.9	2
New Jersey	4,000.0	1.8	1173	7	5	34
New Mexico	811.5	0.2	830	44	4	43
New York	9,216.6	1.6	1222	3	3.5	46
North Carolina	4,290.3	2.3	909	28	5.3	30
North Dakota	423.2	-3.4	964	22	0.7	50
Ohio	5,347.3	1.1	924	26	5.4	27
Oklahoma	1,578.7	-1.3	854	42	3.5	46
Oregon	1,866.5	2.6	970	20	5.2	32
Pennsylvania	5,776.7	1.0	1013	17	5.4	27
Rhode Island	481.1	0.8	990	18	7.6	3
South Carolina	2,008.6	2.5	832	43	5.6	23
South Dakota	424.2	1.1	809	47	7	4
Tennessee	2,918.8	2.5	912	27	5.4	27
Texas	11,830.7	1.3	1042	14	4.3	41
Utah	1,407.4	3.8	881	33	6.3	12
Vermont	309.9	0.5	880	34	6.2	14
Virginia	3,801.0	1.0	1063	9	5	34
Washington	3,278.9	3.0	1188	6	6.9	5
West Virginia	691.5	-1.6	816	46	3.9	44
Wisconsin	2,850.1	1.0	885	31	6.2	14
Wyoming	274.8	-4.7	865	38	0	51
Puerto Rico	888.2	-0.4	524	(3)	2.3	(3)
Virgin Islands	37.4	1.4	778	(3)	5.9	(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.