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Friday, March 19, 2021
Employment fell in all seven of the largest counties in Missouri from September 2019 to September 2020, the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics reported today. (Large counties are those with annual average employment levels of 75,000 or more in 2019. The independent city of St. Louis has been designated as a county-equivalent entity for the Quarterly Census of Employment and Wages program.) Regional Commissioner Michael Hirniak noted that St. Louis City (-9.2 percent) and St. Louis County (-7.1 percent) had the largest over-the-year rate declines in employment in Missouri. (See chart 1 and table 1.)
National employment decreased 6.8 percent over the year, with 355 of the 357 largest U.S. counties reporting declines. Maui + Kalawao, HI, had the largest over-the-year decrease in employment with a loss of 35.4 percent. Utah, UT, experienced the largest over-the-year percentage increase in employment with a gain of 1.9 percent.
Among the seven largest counties in Missouri, employment was highest in St. Louis County (566,000) in September 2020. Within St. Louis County’s private industry, health care and social assistance accounted for the largest employment. Together, the seven largest Missouri counties accounted for 61.0 percent of total employment within the state. Nationwide, the 357 largest counties made up 72.9 percent of total U.S. employment.
Employment and wage levels (but not over-the-year changes) are also available for the 108 counties in Missouri with employment below 75,000 in 2019. Wage levels in all of the smaller counties were below the national average in the third quarter of 2020. (See table 2.)
Large county wage changesAll seven large Missouri counties reported average weekly wage gains from the third quarter of 2019 to the third quarter of 2020. (See chart 2.) Two counties had rates of wage gains that were above the national rate of 7.4 percent. Boone County had the largest gain (+12.3 percent), followed by Clay County (+8.4 percent). Over-the-year wage gains among Missouri’s other five large counties ranged from 6.8 percent to 3.2 percent.
Among the 357 largest counties in the United States, 350 had over-the-year wage increases. Nationally, the increases in average weekly wages largely reflect substantial employment loss among lower-paid industries. Employment declines occurring in some higher-paid industries also feature significant wage increases. San Mateo, CA, had the largest percentage wage increase (+23.2 percent). Seven large counties had wage declines during the period. Ector, TX, had the largest over-the-year percentage decrease (-11.0 percent).
Large county average weekly wagesWeekly wages in the two large counties in Missouri were above the national average of $1,173 in the third quarter of 2020. Average weekly wages in St. Louis City ($1,211, 87th) and St. Louis County ($1,194, 89th) ranked among the top 100 nationwide.
Among the largest U.S. counties, 96 reported average weekly wages above the U.S. average in the third quarter of 2020. San Mateo, CA, had the highest average weekly wage at $2,922. Average weekly wages were at or below the national average in 261 counties. At $697 a week, Cameron, TX, had the lowest average weekly wage.
Average weekly wages in Missouri’s smaller countiesAll 108 smaller counties in Missouri—those with employment below 75,000—reported average weekly wages below the national average of $1,173. Among the smaller counties, Platte County ($987) recorded the highest weekly wage, while Ripley County ($476) reported the lowest average weekly wage in the state.
When all 115 counties in Missouri were considered, 9 reported average weekly wages of less than $550, 29 registered wages from $550 to $649, 40 had wages from $650 to $749, 23 had wages from $750 to $849, and 14 had average weekly wages of $850 or higher. (See chart 3.) The southern counties in Missouri had the highest concentration of lower wages.
Additional statistics and other informationQCEW 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 2019 edition of this publication was published in September 2020. Tables and additional content from the 2019 edition of Employment and Wages Annual Averages Online are available at www.bls.gov/cew/publications/employment-and-wages-annual-averages/2019/home.htm. The 2020 edition of Employment and Wages Annual Averages Online will be available in September 2021.
The County Employment and Wages release for fourth quarter 2020 is scheduled to be released on Wednesday, May 19, 2021.
The County Employment and Wages full data update for fourth quarter 2020 is scheduled to be released on Wednesday, June 2, 2021.
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 individuals with sensory impairments upon request. Voice phone: (202) 691-5200; Federal Relay Service: (800) 877-8339.
Area | Establishments, third quarter 2020 (thousands) |
Employment | Average weekly wage (1) | |||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
September 2020 (thousands) |
Percent change, September 2019–20 (2) |
National ranking by percent change (3) |
Third quarter 2020 |
National ranking by level (3) |
Percent change, third quarter 2019–20 (2) |
National ranking by percent change (3) |
||
United States (4) |
10,561.3 | 138,549.5 | -6.8 | -- | $1,173 | -- | 7.4 | -- |
Missouri |
218.8 | 2,681.7 | -5.1 | -- | 995 | 32 | 5.6 | 38 |
Boone |
5.0 | 91.2 | -4.4 | 71 | 1,006 | 222 | 12.3 | 16 |
Clay |
6.1 | 102.3 | -3.9 | 51 | 998 | 230 | 8.4 | 103 |
Greene |
9.7 | 164.6 | -3.5 | 44 | 896 | 323 | 6.8 | 202 |
Jackson |
23.4 | 351.8 | -6.3 | 175 | 1,132 | 120 | 5.7 | 263 |
St. Charles |
10.2 | 150.7 | -2.1 | 14 | 920 | 307 | 6.7 | 209 |
St. Louis City |
15.8 | 209.6 | -9.2 | 297 | 1,211 | 87 | 3.2 | 336 |
St. Louis |
42.5 | 566.0 | -7.1 | 208 | 1,194 | 89 | 5.5 | 271 |
(1) Average weekly wages were calculated using unrounded data. |
||||||||
Note: Data are preliminary. Covered employment and wages includes workers covered by Unemployment Insurance (UI) and Unemployment Compensation for Federal Employees (UCFE) programs. |
Area | Employment September 2020 | Average Weekly Wage(1) |
---|---|---|
United States(2) |
138,549,503 | $1,173 |
Missouri |
2,681,749 | 995 |
Adair |
9,507 | 686 |
Andrew |
2,567 | 721 |
Atchison |
1,640 | 668 |
Audrain |
8,222 | 730 |
Barry |
13,992 | 786 |
Barton |
3,252 | 669 |
Bates |
3,593 | 670 |
Benton |
3,565 | 612 |
Bollinger |
1,792 | 570 |
Boone |
91,195 | 1,006 |
Buchanan |
44,953 | 921 |
Butler |
18,129 | 694 |
Caldwell |
1,828 | 655 |
Callaway |
14,447 | 910 |
Camden |
16,782 | 720 |
Cape Girardeau |
40,062 | 831 |
Carroll |
2,337 | 707 |
Carter |
1,528 | 553 |
Cass |
26,504 | 761 |
Cedar |
3,221 | 583 |
Chariton |
1,879 | 664 |
Christian |
17,672 | 673 |
Clark |
1,384 | 559 |
Clay |
102,257 | 998 |
Clinton |
4,005 | 748 |
Cole |
51,556 | 866 |
Cooper |
4,674 | 702 |
Crawford |
6,591 | 696 |
Dade |
1,683 | 615 |
Dallas |
2,578 | 519 |
Daviess |
1,613 | 542 |
De Kalb |
2,789 | 732 |
Dent |
3,894 | 636 |
Douglas |
2,382 | 574 |
Dunklin |
8,702 | 557 |
Franklin |
37,386 | 826 |
Gasconade |
5,082 | 630 |
Gentry |
2,097 | 709 |
Greene |
164,648 | 896 |
Grundy |
2,964 | 606 |
Harrison |
2,404 | 637 |
Henry |
7,149 | 783 |
Hickory |
1,352 | 544 |
Holt |
1,200 | 805 |
Howard |
2,469 | 597 |
Howell |
14,569 | 682 |
Iron |
3,308 | 760 |
Jackson |
351,753 | 1,132 |
Jasper |
54,787 | 787 |
Jefferson |
45,983 | 776 |
Johnson |
15,434 | 768 |
Knox |
864 | 601 |
Laclede |
13,216 | 710 |
Lafayette |
8,512 | 679 |
Lawrence |
8,373 | 712 |
Lewis |
2,400 | 692 |
Lincoln |
11,775 | 802 |
Linn |
3,772 | 688 |
Livingston |
6,101 | 682 |
McDonald |
6,938 | 694 |
Macon |
4,799 | 689 |
Madison |
3,560 | 629 |
Maries |
1,249 | 693 |
Marion |
12,939 | 766 |
Mercer |
1,610 | 887 |
Miller |
7,400 | 689 |
Mississippi |
3,449 | 649 |
Moniteau |
4,262 | 766 |
Monroe |
1,717 | 617 |
Montgomery |
2,921 | 731 |
Morgan |
4,488 | 608 |
New Madrid |
7,554 | 709 |
Newton |
20,192 | 836 |
Nodaway |
7,469 | 722 |
Oregon |
2,204 | 517 |
Osage |
4,007 | 777 |
Ozark |
1,518 | 512 |
Pemiscot |
5,194 | 604 |
Perry |
9,026 | 755 |
Pettis |
18,624 | 728 |
Phelps |
18,212 | 796 |
Pike |
5,225 | 687 |
Platte |
43,673 | 987 |
Polk |
8,291 | 725 |
Pulaski |
12,644 | 825 |
Putnam |
885 | 603 |
Ralls |
3,449 | 899 |
Randolph |
9,161 | 745 |
Ray |
3,958 | 734 |
Reynolds |
1,856 | 716 |
Ripley |
2,594 | 476 |
St. Charles |
150,735 | 920 |
St. Clair |
1,580 | 570 |
Ste. Genevieve |
5,848 | 826 |
St. Francois |
22,310 | 651 |
St. Louis |
566,016 | 1,194 |
Saline |
8,542 | 768 |
Schuyler |
563 | 575 |
Scotland |
1,160 | 645 |
Scott |
15,249 | 767 |
Shannon |
1,552 | 514 |
Shelby |
1,763 | 639 |
Stoddard |
10,070 | 735 |
Stone |
6,882 | 622 |
Sullivan |
2,425 | 976 |
Taney |
26,679 | 646 |
Texas |
5,479 | 631 |
Vernon |
6,707 | 759 |
Warren |
7,597 | 789 |
Washington |
4,810 | 597 |
Wayne |
2,314 | 538 |
Webster |
7,891 | 680 |
Worth |
354 | 490 |
Wright |
3,892 | 625 |
St. Louis City |
209,596 | 1,211 |
(1) Average weekly wages were calculated using unrounded data. |
||
Note: Includes workers covered by Unemployment Insurance (UI) and Unemployment Compensation for Federal Employees (UCFE) programs. Data are preliminary. |
State | Establishments, third quarter 2020 (thousands) |
Employment | Average weekly wage (1) | ||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
September 2020 (thousands) |
Percent change, September 2019–20 |
Third quarter 2020 |
National ranking by level |
Percent change, third quarter 2019–20 |
National ranking by percent change |
||
United States (2) |
10,561.3 | 138,549.5 | -6.8 | $1,173 | -- | 7.4 | -- |
Alabama |
132.2 | 1,902.4 | -4.5 | 978 | 33 | 6.4 | 27 |
Alaska |
22.9 | 302.6 | -10.7 | 1,165 | 14 | 5.4 | 42 |
Arizona |
174.1 | 2,797.1 | -4.2 | 1,091 | 22 | 7.3 | 17 |
Arkansas |
93.6 | 1,180.1 | -3.4 | 892 | 49 | 6.1 | 31 |
California |
1,643.8 | 16,096.8 | -9.2 | 1,466 | 4 | 12.0 | 1 |
Colorado |
220.1 | 2,597.2 | -5.6 | 1,235 | 9 | 5.6 | 38 |
Connecticut |
125.4 | 1,555.6 | -7.3 | 1,328 | 7 | 7.4 | 15 |
Delaware |
34.9 | 428.8 | -5.6 | 1,150 | 15 | 6.8 | 21 |
District of Columbia |
43.3 | 713.7 | -8.1 | 1,962 | 1 | 6.1 | 31 |
Florida |
749.1 | 8,329.7 | -5.8 | 1,029 | 27 | 8.0 | 11 |
Georgia |
313.0 | 4,282.1 | -5.2 | 1,084 | 23 | 5.8 | 35 |
Hawaii |
46.5 | 507.5 | -22.9 | 1,114 | 18 | 10.3 | 4 |
Idaho |
70.7 | 763.7 | -0.2 | 884 | 50 | 5.5 | 41 |
Illinois |
385.9 | 5,558.5 | -7.8 | 1,199 | 11 | 6.8 | 21 |
Indiana |
172.4 | 2,941.8 | -4.7 | 961 | 39 | 5.3 | 43 |
Iowa |
105.1 | 1,475.0 | -5.2 | 969 | 36 | 6.0 | 34 |
Kansas |
89.2 | 1,325.4 | -5.0 | 952 | 40 | 6.6 | 24 |
Kentucky |
128.0 | 1,807.1 | -5.5 | 935 | 43 | 5.8 | 35 |
Louisiana |
139.5 | 1,734.6 | -9.6 | 970 | 35 | 5.2 | 45 |
Maine |
54.4 | 597.3 | -5.9 | 966 | 37 | 9.0 | 9 |
Maryland |
172.4 | 2,496.6 | -7.6 | 1,277 | 8 | 9.5 | 7 |
Massachusetts |
265.1 | 3,314.8 | -9.4 | 1,488 | 2 | 9.7 | 6 |
Michigan |
266.9 | 4,035.9 | -7.9 | 1,096 | 20 | 7.5 | 14 |
Minnesota |
183.1 | 2,703.3 | -7.4 | 1,178 | 12 | 6.4 | 27 |
Mississippi |
74.9 | 1,092.4 | -4.0 | 810 | 51 | 5.6 | 38 |
Missouri |
218.8 | 2,681.7 | -5.1 | 995 | 32 | 5.6 | 38 |
Montana |
53.0 | 466.9 | -2.5 | 904 | 48 | 6.6 | 24 |
Nebraska |
73.7 | 949.9 | -3.8 | 964 | 38 | 6.4 | 27 |
Nevada |
87.9 | 1,251.0 | -11.6 | 1,048 | 24 | 7.8 | 13 |
New Hampshire |
56.1 | 634.2 | -5.2 | 1,171 | 13 | 8.9 | 10 |
New Jersey |
289.3 | 3,778.4 | -8.0 | 1,331 | 6 | 9.5 | 7 |
New Mexico |
63.1 | 771.9 | -8.6 | 944 | 41 | 5.1 | 46 |
New York |
657.6 | 8,547.7 | -10.8 | 1,446 | 5 | 10.0 | 5 |
North Carolina |
301.4 | 4,308.2 | -4.4 | 1,039 | 26 | 6.9 | 20 |
North Dakota |
32.5 | 398.2 | -7.0 | 1,025 | 28 | -0.3 | 50 |
Ohio |
305.7 | 5,136.8 | -5.6 | 1,040 | 25 | 6.6 | 24 |
Oklahoma |
112.4 | 1,538.5 | -5.7 | 917 | 46 | 2.3 | 48 |
Oregon |
164.6 | 1,837.3 | -7.0 | 1,113 | 19 | 7.4 | 15 |
Pennsylvania |
366.5 | 5,501.0 | -7.6 | 1,139 | 17 | 7.0 | 19 |
Rhode Island |
40.1 | 452.5 | -8.0 | 1,092 | 21 | 10.4 | 3 |
South Carolina |
146.6 | 2,022.9 | -5.2 | 924 | 44 | 6.7 | 23 |
South Dakota |
35.2 | 422.3 | -2.6 | 918 | 45 | 7.2 | 18 |
Tennessee |
173.6 | 2,918.1 | -4.6 | 1,022 | 29 | 5.8 | 35 |
Texas |
733.1 | 11,926.8 | -5.5 | 1,150 | 15 | 3.8 | 47 |
Utah |
114.3 | 1,518.2 | -1.0 | 1,015 | 30 | 6.1 | 31 |
Vermont |
26.4 | 283.9 | -8.6 | 1,001 | 31 | 7.9 | 12 |
Virginia |
285.7 | 3,737.0 | -5.0 | 1,201 | 10 | 6.4 | 27 |
Washington |
256.6 | 3,266.2 | -6.3 | 1,482 | 3 | 11.0 | 2 |
West Virginia |
51.7 | 649.1 | -6.7 | 913 | 47 | 1.8 | 49 |
Wisconsin |
181.2 | 2,746.6 | -5.2 | 977 | 34 | 5.3 | 43 |
Wyoming |
27.5 | 264.0 | -6.8 | 939 | 42 | -0.4 | 51 |
Puerto Rico |
45.7 | 831.6 | -5.3 | 547 | (3) | 3.4 | (3) |
Virgin Islands |
3.4 | 33.9 | -13.0 | 1,019 | (3) | -0.5 | (3) |
(1) Average weekly wages were calculated using unrounded data. |
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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: Friday, March 19, 2021