Employment rose in 3 of the 4 largest counties in Kansas from June 2018 to June 2019, the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) reported today. (Large counties are those with annual average employment levels of 75,000 or more) Assistant Commissioner for Regional Operations Stanley W. Suchman noted that employment increased 2.6 percent in Sedgwick County and 0.8 percent each in Johnson and Shawnee Counties. (See table 1.)

Nationwide, employment advanced 1.1 percent during the 12-month period as 279 of the 355 largest U.S. counties registered increases. Adams, CO, had the largest percentage increase, up 5.3 percent over the year. Bay, FL, had the largest over-the-year percentage decrease in employment with a loss of 6.4 percent.

Among the four largest counties in Kansas, employment was highest in Johnson (355,700) and lowest in Wyandotte (89,700) in June 2019. Together, the four largest Kansas counties accounted for 57.0 percent of total employment within the state.

Average weekly wages increased in 3 of the 4 large counties in Kansas from the second quarter of 2018 to the second quarter of 2019. Wyandotte County had over-the-year wage growth of 5.0 percent, which exceeded the 3.8-percent increase for the nation. Johnson ($1,106) had the highest average weekly wage among Kansas’s large counties and was above the national average of $1,095. (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. Wage levels in all of these smaller counties were below the national average in June 2019. (See table 2.)

Large county wage changes

Wyandotte County’s 5.0-percent annual wage gain was the largest among the state’s large counties and placed 39^th in the national ranking. (See table 1.)  Johnson County’s 3.7-percent gain ranked 148^th and Sedgwick County’s 2.4-percent gain ranked 272^nd. Shawnee County (-2.9 percent, 354^th) recorded an over-the-year decrease in wages.

Among the 355 largest U.S. counties, 347 had over-the-year increases in average weekly wages in the second quarter of 2019. Benton, AR, had the largest percentage increase in average weekly wages with a gain of 16.3 percent. Eight large counties nationwide had over-the-year declines in average weekly wages. McLean, IL, had the largest percentage decrease in average weekly wages with a loss of 5.8 percent. Shawnee, KS, had the second-largest decline at 2.9 percent.

Large county average weekly wages

Johnson County’s average weekly wage of $1,106 ranked 89^th among the 355 largest U.S. counties in the second quarter of 2019. Wyandotte County’s average weekly wage of $1,059 placed 123^rd. Sedgwick County ($904, 263^rd) and Shawnee County ($874, 295^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 $1,095 in 93 of the 355 largest counties. Santa Clara, CA, held the top position with an average weekly wage of $2,612. San Francisco, CA, was second at $2,430, followed by San Mateo, CA ($2,373), and New York, NY ($2,109). Among the 355 large counties nationwide, Horry, SC ($649), 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 average weekly wage of $1,038, below the national average of $1,095. Woodson County reported the lowest weekly wage in the state with an average of $498 in the second quarter of 2019. (See table 2.)

When all 105 counties in Kansas were considered, all but 1 had wages below the national average. Twenty four reported average weekly wages under $650, 24 had wages from $650 to $699, 23 had wages from $700 to $749, 23 had wages from $750 to $799, and 11 reported wages of $800 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 2018 edition of this publication, which was published in September 2019, contains selected data produced by Business Employment Dynamics (BED) on job gains and losses, as well as selected data from the first quarter 2019 version of the national news release. Tables and additional content from Employment and Wages Annual Averages 2018 are now available online at https://www.bls.gov/cew/publications/employment-and-wages-annual-averages/2018/home.htm. The 2019 edition of Employment and Wages Annual Averages Online will be available in September 2020.

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 news release for third quarter 2019 is scheduled to be released on Thursday, February 20, 2020, at 10:00 a.m. (EST). The County Employment and Wages full data update for third quarter 2019 is scheduled for Wednesday, March 4, 2020 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 2019

Area	Employment			Average weekly wage (1)
	June 2019 (thousands)	Percent change, June 2018-19 (2)	National ranking by percent change (3)	Average weekly wage	National ranking by level (3)	Percent change, second quarter 2018-19 (2)	National ranking by percent change (3)
United States (4)	149,089.2	1.1	--	$1,095	--	3.8	--
Kansas	1,403.0	0.6	--	905	39	2.8	42
Johnson	355.7	0.8	184	1,106	89	3.7	148
Sedgwick	257.6	2.6	36	904	263	2.4	272
Shawnee	96.9	0.8	184	874	295	-2.9	354
Wyandotte	89.7	-1.0	338	1,059	123	5.0	39
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, 2nd quarter 2019

Area	Employment June 2019	Average Weekly Wage(1)
United States(2)	149,089,158	$1,095
Kansas	1,402,978	905
Allen	5,981	710
Anderson	2,167	655
Atchison	5,663	775
Barber	1,680	668
Barton	12,099	758
Bourbon	6,037	665
Brown	5,280	773
Butler	19,204	745
Chase	1,087	668
Chautauqua	779	572
Cherokee	6,025	781
Cheyenne	931	750
Clark	773	745
Clay	3,106	629
Cloud	3,214	585
Coffey	3,634	1,038
Comanche	672	548
Cowley	13,357	772
Crawford	17,194	680
Decatur	974	555
Dickinson	6,161	677
Doniphan	2,223	713
Douglas	49,652	773
Edwards	978	710
Elk	610	519
Ellis	15,617	735
Ellsworth	2,460	728
Finney	19,937	790
Ford	16,546	808
Franklin	9,329	759
Geary	12,980	792
Gove	1,371	656
Graham	851	683
Grant	2,898	852
Gray	3,251	770
Greeley	634	656
Greenwood	1,732	637
Hamilton	1,550	723
Harper	2,624	796
Harvey	13,808	757
Haskell	1,818	781
Hodgeman	625	585
Jackson	4,371	666
Jefferson	3,829	699
Jewell	804	566
Johnson	355,682	1,106
Kearny	1,524	728
Kingman	2,217	675
Kiowa	1,144	617
Labette	8,964	724
Lane	660	756
Leavenworth	21,069	898
Lincoln	924	622
Linn	2,094	878
Logan	1,302	667
Lyon	15,329	701
McPherson	15,828	938
Marion	3,666	626
Marshall	4,672	700
Meade	1,666	795
Miami	8,808	732
Mitchell	3,140	687
Montgomery	14,927	679
Morris	1,595	591
Morton	859	695
Nemaha	5,163	705
Neosho	6,439	699
Ness	1,166	730
Norton	2,421	723
Osage	2,977	562
Osborne	1,536	640
Ottawa	1,319	600
Pawnee	2,796	738
Phillips	2,466	698
Pottawatomie	9,856	756
Pratt	4,704	781
Rawlins	981	690
Reno	26,902	736
Republic	1,804	583
Rice	3,989	732
Riley	29,775	769
Rooks	1,869	616
Rush	1,073	672
Russell	2,503	670
Saline	29,693	746
Scott	2,354	751
Sedgwick	257,627	904
Seward	10,485	787
Shawnee	96,937	874
Sheridan	1,034	713
Sherman	2,479	663
Smith	1,368	593
Stafford	1,289	638
Stanton	912	797
Stevens	1,892	764
Sumner	6,931	732
Thomas	4,157	699
Trego	1,278	641
Wabaunsee	1,323	649
Wallace	562	683
Washington	2,061	557
Wichita	1,296	907
Wilson	3,684	703
Woodson	782	498
Wyandotte	89,743	1,059
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 2019

State	Employment		Average weekly wage (1)
	June 2019 (thousands)	Percent change, June 2018-19	Average weekly wage	National ranking by level	Percent change, second quarter 2018-19	National ranking by percent change
United States (2)	149,089.2	1.1	$1,095	--	3.8	--
Alabama	1,993.7	1.1	911	36	3.4	28
Alaska	338.9	0.7	1,078	15	3.6	26
Arizona	2,843.3	2.6	1,010	23	3.8	16
Arkansas	1,222.5	0.6	862	47	4.6	4
California	17,717.4	1.5	1,325	4	4.7	3
Colorado	2,765.7	2.2	1,128	9	4.9	2
Connecticut	1,690.8	-0.8	1,266	6	3.9	11
Delaware	458.0	0.8	1,057	17	3.4	28
District of Columbia	780.4	0.5	1,778	1	3.8	16
Florida	8,722.9	1.8	968	26	3.9	11
Georgia	4,507.1	1.7	1,016	22	3.9	11
Hawaii	652.2	-1.2	992	24	3.7	22
Idaho	765.1	2.6	820	50	3.3	33
Illinois	6,074.7	0.3	1,122	10	2.4	47
Indiana	3,089.8	0.5	910	38	3.1	39
Iowa	1,584.7	0.1	902	40	2.5	45
Kansas	1,403.0	0.6	905	39	2.8	42
Kentucky	1,909.7	0.3	911	36	3.3	33
Louisiana	1,920.2	-0.2	923	35	2.4	47
Maine	639.6	0.4	874	45	3.7	22
Maryland	2,733.6	0.7	1,178	8	3.3	33
Massachusetts	3,690.1	0.9	1,377	2	4.3	5
Michigan	4,419.7	0.1	1,018	21	2.4	47
Minnesota	2,952.6	0.8	1,101	13	2.6	44
Mississippi	1,135.9	0.4	767	51	2.0	51
Missouri	2,836.7	0.3	948	30	2.5	45
Montana	483.1	1.0	843	48	3.3	33
Nebraska	991.5	0.1	889	42	3.5	27
Nevada	1,408.8	2.6	961	29	3.2	38
New Hampshire	676.1	0.8	1,090	14	4.0	10
New Jersey	4,182.5	0.7	1,236	7	3.0	41
New Mexico	834.0	1.0	888	44	4.3	5
New York	9,682.8	1.0	1,347	3	3.9	11
North Carolina	4,527.3	2.0	970	25	3.9	11
North Dakota	431.8	1.3	1,026	20	4.1	7
Ohio	5,486.7	0.4	965	27	3.4	28
Oklahoma	1,618.5	0.5	900	41	3.1	39
Oregon	1,976.5	1.3	1,036	18	3.8	16
Pennsylvania	5,972.1	0.8	1,070	16	3.8	16
Rhode Island	494.5	0.7	1,034	19	3.4	28
South Carolina	2,144.2	1.3	867	46	3.7	22
South Dakota	441.8	0.4	838	49	3.8	16
Tennessee	3,047.8	1.8	964	28	3.3	33
Texas	12,585.6	2.0	1,102	12	3.8	16
Utah	1,526.1	3.0	936	32	4.1	7
Vermont	314.0	0.0	929	34	2.7	43
Virginia	3,981.6	1.0	1,113	11	3.7	22
Washington	3,500.6	1.8	1,288	5	5.9	1
West Virginia	700.4	-0.6	889	42	2.4	47
Wisconsin	2,945.3	0.3	940	31	4.1	7
Wyoming	287.6	1.7	932	33	3.4	28
Puerto Rico	867.7	1.5	531	(3)	-1.8	(3)
Virgin Islands	37.0	10.0	919	(3)	8.8	(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.