Employment rose in 3 of the 4 largest counties in Kansas from June 2017 to June 2018, the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) reported today. (Large counties are defined as those with employment of 75,000 or greater as measured by 2017 annual average employment.) Assistant Commissioner for Regional Operations Stanley W. Suchman noted that employment increased 2.2 percent in Wyandotte County, 2.0 percent in Johnson County and 1.2 percent in Sedgwick County. (See table 1.)

Nationwide, employment advanced 1.5 percent during the 12-month period as 309 of the 349 largest U.S. counties registered increases. Midland, TX, had the largest percentage increase, up 11.6 percent over the year. McLean, IL, had the largest over-the-year percentage decrease in employment with a loss of 2.0 percent.

Among the four largest counties in Kansas, employment was highest in Johnson (352,200) and lowest in Wyandotte (90,800) in June 2018. Together, the four largest Kansas counties accounted for 56.7 percent of total employment within the state. Nationwide, the 349 largest counties made up 72.9 percent of total U.S. employment.

Average weekly wages increased in each of the four large counties in Kansas from the second quarter of 2017 to the second quarter of 2018. Shawnee County had over-the-year wage growth of 6.3 percent, which exceeded the 3.4-percent increase for the nation. Johnson ($1,068) had the highest average weekly wage among Kansas’s large counties and was above the national average of $1,055.  (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, only Coffey ($1,260) had an average weekly wage that exceeded the national average.  (See table 2.)

Large county wage changes

Shawnee County’s 6.3-percent annual wage gain was the largest among the state’s large counties and placed 13^th in the national ranking. (See table 1.)  Wyandotte County’s 3.2-percent gain ranked 150^th. Johnson County (2.9 percent, 185^th) and Sedgwick County (2.7 percent, 204^th) placed in the bottom half of the national ranking in wage growth.

Among the 349 largest U.S. counties, 340 had over-the-year increases in average weekly wages in the second quarter of 2018. Marin, CA, had the largest percentage increase in average weekly wages with a gain of 11.7 percent. Nationally, eight large counties experienced over-the-year decreases in average weekly wages. New Hanover, NC, had the largest percentage decrease in average weekly wages with a loss of 6.4 percent.

Large county average weekly wages

Johnson County’s average weekly wage of $1,068 ranked 87^th among the 349 largest U.S. counties in the second quarter of 2018. Wyandotte County recorded an average weekly wage of $1,009 and placed 136^th. Shawnee County ($900, 231^st) and Sedgwick County ($882, 258^th) 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 $1,055 in 94 of the 349 largest counties. Santa Clara, CA, held the top position with an average weekly wage of $2,573. San Mateo, CA, was second at $2,357, followed by San Francisco, CA ($2,083) and New York, NY ($2,025). Among the 255 large counties with an average weekly wage below the U.S. average in the second quarter of 2018, Horry, SC ($625) 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 $1,260, above the national average of $1,055. Washington County reported the lowest weekly wage in the state with an average of $519 in the second quarter of 2018. (See table 2.)

When all 105 counties in Kansas were considered, all but 2 had wages below the national average. Fifteen reported average weekly wages under $600, 20 had wages from $600 to $649, 25 had wages from $650 to $699, 24 had wages from $700 to $749, and 21 reported wages of $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 2017 edition of this publication, which was published in September 2018, contains selected data produced by Business Employment Dynamics (BED) on job gains and losses, as well as selected data from the first quarter 2018 version of the national news release. Tables and additional content from Employment and Wages Annual Averages 2017 are now available online at https://www.bls.gov/cew/publications/employment-and-wages-annual-averages/2017/home.htm. The 2018 edition of Employment and Wages Annual Averages Online will be available in September 2019.

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 2018 is scheduled to be released on Wednesday, February 20, 2019, at 10:00 a.m. (EST).

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 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 4 largest counties in Kansas, second quarter 2018

Area	Employment			Average weekly wage (1)
	June 2018 (thousands)	Percent change, June 2017-18 (2)	National ranking by percent change (3)	Average weekly wage	National ranking by level (3)	Percent change, second quarter 2017-18 (2)	National ranking by percent change (3)
United States (4)	147,431.2	1.5	--	$1,055	--	3.4	--
Kansas	1,393.3	1.0	--	879	40	3.4	14
Johnson, Kan.	352.2	2.0	94	1,068	87	2.9	185
Sedgwick, Kan.	250.8	1.2	176	882	258	2.7	204
Shawnee, Kan.	96.4	-0.1	316	900	231	6.3	13
Wyandotte, Kan.	90.8	2.2	76	1,009	136	3.2	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, second quarter 2018

State	Employment		Average weekly wage (1)
	June 2018 (thousands)	Percent change, June 2017-18	Average weekly wage	National ranking by level	Percent change, second quarter 2017-18	National ranking by percent change
United States (2)	147,431.2	1.5	$1,055	--	3.4	--
Alabama	1,969.9	1.2	882	37	2.8	35
Alaska	335.8	-0.9	1,043	15	3.7	9
Arizona	2,770.8	2.6	973	23	3.3	19
Arkansas	1,214.6	0.7	824	47	1.7	47
California	17,473.1	1.9	1,265	4	4.6	3
Colorado	2,704.4	2.4	1,075	10	3.2	27
Connecticut	1,704.5	0.3	1,218	5	0.1	50
Delaware	454.3	1.3	1,023	17	1.4	49
District of Columbia	777.3	1.3	1,713	1	2.6	39
Florida	8,568.9	2.1	931	28	2.9	32
Georgia	4,440.5	2.0	979	22	2.3	43
Hawaii	658.3	0.5	956	24	2.5	41
Idaho	745.3	3.1	794	50	3.8	8
Illinois	6,061.1	0.8	1,097	9	3.4	14
Indiana	3,075.8	1.1	883	36	2.8	35
Iowa	1,583.7	0.8	880	39	3.3	19
Kansas	1,393.3	1.0	879	40	3.4	14
Kentucky	1,905.9	0.9	882	37	2.3	43
Louisiana	1,918.6	0.4	901	33	3.7	9
Maine	636.8	1.0	843	45	3.6	11
Maryland	2,712.0	0.7	1,141	8	3.4	14
Massachusetts	3,650.1	1.0	1,322	2	3.5	12
Michigan	4,424.7	1.3	997	20	2.9	32
Minnesota	2,925.6	0.8	1,072	12	3.3	19
Mississippi	1,130.7	0.2	752	51	2.7	38
Missouri	2,829.0	0.5	924	30	3.9	7
Montana	478.7	1.1	817	48	2.5	41
Nebraska	990.8	0.6	859	43	3.1	29
Nevada	1,372.4	3.1	931	28	3.3	19
New Hampshire	670.8	0.8	1,049	14	3.3	19
New Jersey	4,157.0	0.9	1,201	7	2.3	43
New Mexico	823.6	1.0	852	44	3.5	12
New York	9,579.2	1.7	1,297	3	4.5	4
North Carolina	4,450.2	2.2	933	25	3.3	19
North Dakota	426.1	0.8	986	21	3.4	14
Ohio	5,461.3	0.7	933	25	2.3	43
Oklahoma	1,606.4	1.2	875	41	3.2	27
Oregon	1,947.3	1.5	999	18	3.3	19
Pennsylvania	5,924.9	1.1	1,031	16	3.1	29
Rhode Island	491.0	0.7	998	19	1.7	47
South Carolina	2,126.5	3.4	833	46	0.0	51
South Dakota	439.7	0.9	807	49	2.8	35
Tennessee	2,994.1	1.6	932	27	2.9	32
Texas	12,326.3	2.2	1,062	13	3.4	14
Utah	1,483.9	3.4	899	35	4.3	5
Vermont	312.4	-0.8	907	31	4.3	5
Virginia	3,941.0	1.3	1,073	11	2.6	39
Washington	3,444.1	2.7	1,218	5	6.9	1
West Virginia	702.9	1.6	868	42	4.8	2
Wisconsin	2,933.5	0.9	904	32	3.3	19
Wyoming	282.2	0.5	901	33	3.0	31
Puerto Rico	853.5	-2.3	543	(3)	5.2	(3)
Virgin Islands	33.4	-14.4	838	(3)	12.8	(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: Data are preliminary. Covered employment and wages includes workers covered by Unemployment Insurance (UI) and Unemployment Compensation for Federal Employees (UCFE) programs.