Employment rose in all seven large counties in Missouri from September 2017 to September 2018, the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) reported today. (Large counties are defined as those with 2017 average annual 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 Greene County (1.7 percent) had the fastest employment growth among the seven largest counties in the state. (See table 1.)

Nationwide, employment advanced 1.6 percent during the 12-month period as 295 of the 349 largest U.S. counties registered increases. Midland, TX, had the largest percentage increase, up 11.9 percent over the year. New Hanover, NC, experienced the largest over-the-year percentage decrease in employment with a loss of 2.0 percent.

Among the seven largest counties in Missouri, employment was highest in St. Louis County (608,000) and lowest in Boone (94,700) in September 2018. Together, the seven largest Missouri counties accounted for 61.5 percent of total employment within the state.

Average weekly wages in each of the seven large counties in Missouri increased from the third quarter 2017 to the third quarter 2018, with the gains in three counties exceeding the 3.3-percent national increase. Greene County had the largest over-the-year wage increase among the state’s large counties, up 6.1 percent. St. Louis City ($1,118) and St. Louis County ($1,083) had the highest average weekly wages among Missouri’s large counties and were 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 108 counties in Missouri with employment levels below 75,000. Of these small counties, Platte ($884) had the highest average weekly wage level. (See table 2.)

Large county wage changes

Greene County (6.1 percent, 12^th) and Clay County (5.6 percent, 17^th) had annual wage increases that ranked among the top 20 U.S. counties in the third quarter of 2018. St. Louis City had a 4.1-percent increase and ranked 59^th. Jackson County (2.3 percent, 241^st) and Boone County (2.2 percent, 259^th) placed in the bottom third of the national ranking.(See table 1.)

Nationwide, average weekly wages for the nation increased to $1,055, a 3.3-percent increase over the year. Of the 349 largest U.S. counties, 336 had over-the-year wage increases. Chatham, GA, had the largest over-the-year wage gain at 8.5 percent. King, WA, had the second highest with an increase of 7.9 percent followed by Stanislaus, CA (7.8 percent) and Santa Clara, CA (7.8 percent).

Nationwide, 11 large counties experienced over-the-year decreases in average weekly wages. Elkhart, IN, recorded the largest over-the-year percentage decrease in average weekly wages with a loss of 4.2 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 349 largest U.S. counties in the third quarter of 2018. Average weekly wages in St. Louis City ($1,118) and St. Louis County ($1,083) ranked 68^th and 84^th, respectively. Jackson County’s average weekly wage of $1,045 ranked 105^th. The four remaining large counties in Missouri had average weekly wages that placed in the bottom third of the national ranking.

Nationally, average weekly wages were higher than the U.S. average in 94 of the 349 largest counties in the country. Santa Clara, CA, held the top position with an average weekly wage of $2,460. San Mateo, CA, was second at $2,363, followed by San Francisco, CA, at $2,097.

Among the largest U.S. counties, nearly three-fourths (255) reported average weekly wages below the national average in the third quarter of 2018. The lowest weekly wage was reported in Cameron, TX ($632), followed by Horry, SC ($635), and the Texas counties of Hidalgo ($662) and Webb ($698). Wages in these lowest-ranked counties were less than 30 percent of the average weekly wage in the highest-ranked county, Santa Clara, CA.

Average weekly wages in Missouri’s smaller counties

Of the 108 counties in Missouri with employment below 75,000, Platte County reported the highest average weekly wage at $884 and Ozark County reported the lowest average weekly wage at $453 in the third quarter of 2018. (See table 2.)

When all 115 counties in Missouri were considered, all but 2 had wages below the national average. Twenty six reported average weekly wages less than $550, 39 reported wages from $550 to $649, 33 had wages from $650 to $749, 11 recorded wages from $750 to $849, and 6 counties had wages of $850 or higher. (See chart 1.)

Additional statistics and other information

QCEW 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 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 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.

The County Employment and Wages release for fourth quarter 2018 is scheduled to be released on Wednesday, May 22, 2019, 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 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 7 largest counties in Missouri, third quarter 2018

Area	Employment			Average weekly wage (1)
	September 2018 (thousands)	Percent change, September 2017-18 (2)	National ranking by percent change (3)	Average weekly wage	National ranking by level (3)	Percent change, third quarter 2017-18 (2)	National ranking by percent change (3)
United States (4)	146,824.1	1.6	--	$1,055	--	3.3	--
Missouri	2,812.0	0.4	--	907	31	3.3	21
Boone, Mo.	94.7	0.2	276	837	297	2.2	259
Clay, Mo.	105.3	0.6	219	904	233	5.6	17
Greene, Mo.	168.6	1.7	115	829	305	6.1	12
Jackson, Mo.	372.6	0.1	284	1,045	105	2.3	241
St. Charles, Mo.	148.5	0.7	206	834	299	3.3	128
St. Louis City, Mo.	231.5	0.2	276	1,118	68	4.1	59
St. Louis, Mo.	608.0	0.4	249	1,083	84	3.2	141
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 2018

State	Employment		Average weekly wage (1)
	September 2018 (thousands)	Percent change, September 2017-18	Average weekly wage	National ranking by level	Percent change, third quarter 2017-18	National ranking by percent change
United States (2)	146,824.1	1.6	$1,055	--	3.3	--
Alabama	1,966.0	1.2	885	38	3.1	25
Alaska	334.0	-0.4	1,065	13	3.7	12
Arizona	2,838.6	2.8	974	23	2.9	31
Arkansas	1,222.1	0.7	811	49	2.9	31
California	17,457.5	1.8	1,260	5	3.8	9
Colorado	2,684.0	2.1	1,104	9	3.5	18
Connecticut	1,681.5	0.3	1,209	6	2.5	41
Delaware	447.8	0.6	1,046	15	2.4	42
District of Columbia	770.7	0.7	1,807	1	2.8	36
Florida	8,690.7	4.6	924	29	3.1	25
Georgia	4,448.8	2.3	993	20	3.3	21
Hawaii	654.7	0.0	975	22	2.4	42
Idaho	743.5	3.0	805	50	3.2	23
Illinois	6,029.2	0.8	1,087	10	3.0	28
Indiana	3,072.3	0.9	883	39	2.4	42
Iowa	1,555.0	0.6	887	37	3.7	12
Kansas	1,390.4	1.0	867	42	3.5	18
Kentucky	1,898.7	0.5	855	43	2.2	47
Louisiana	1,915.4	0.5	901	33	3.7	12
Maine	626.5	0.6	851	45	3.7	12
Maryland	2,683.9	0.7	1,130	8	2.4	42
Massachusetts	3,598.1	0.7	1,305	2	3.2	23
Michigan	4,366.5	0.8	991	21	2.8	36
Minnesota	2,904.3	0.8	1,074	12	4.2	5
Mississippi	1,133.7	0.2	754	51	3.4	20
Missouri	2,812.0	0.4	907	31	3.3	21
Montana	473.3	1.0	815	48	2.8	36
Nebraska	980.3	0.6	873	41	2.8	36
Nevada	1,382.9	3.4	936	28	2.4	42
New Hampshire	662.3	0.5	1,040	16	1.7	49
New Jersey	4,072.6	0.8	1,181	7	2.1	48
New Mexico	826.2	1.2	855	43	3.9	7
New York	9,467.5	1.4	1,272	4	4.2	5
North Carolina	4,398.0	1.1	938	26	3.8	9
North Dakota	424.3	1.1	995	19	4.4	3
Ohio	5,424.4	0.7	947	25	2.9	31
Oklahoma	1,616.8	1.2	874	40	3.6	16
Oregon	1,939.8	1.5	1,005	18	3.8	9
Pennsylvania	5,894.8	1.0	1,031	17	3.0	28
Rhode Island	489.4	1.0	963	24	-1.3	51
South Carolina	2,088.2	2.8	834	46	0.8	50
South Dakota	431.5	1.3	827	47	3.0	28
Tennessee	3,005.6	1.7	938	26	3.9	7
Texas	12,327.0	2.6	1,064	14	3.1	25
Utah	1,494.4	3.4	911	30	3.6	16
Vermont	310.9	0.0	892	36	2.6	40
Virginia	3,889.6	1.1	1,082	11	2.9	31
Washington	3,425.6	2.4	1,280	3	6.2	2
West Virginia	706.0	1.7	894	35	8.1	1
Wisconsin	2,888.9	0.7	901	33	2.9	31
Wyoming	278.2	0.6	905	32	4.3	4
Puerto Rico	862.5	0.2	534	(3)	5.3	(3)
Virgin Islands	33.4	-8.0	888	(3)	18.6	(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.