Average weekly wages in New York County, commonly known as the borough of Manhattan, increased 2.9 percent from the first quarter of 2017 to the first quarter of 2018, the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics reported today. Chief Regional Economist Martin Kohli noted that Manhattan’s average weekly wage of $3,087 ranked the highest among the nation’s 349 large counties, those with 75,000 or more jobs. Nationally, wages increased 3.7 percent over the year. (See chart 1.)

The fastest rate of employment growth among the City’s boroughs was in Brooklyn (Kings County), up 4.7 percent. (See table 1.) Nationally, employment grew 1.6 percent from March 2017 to March 2018. (See chart 2.)

Over-the-year wage changes

All five boroughs of New York City had over-the-year increases in average weekly wages, although these gains were below the 3.7-percent national wage gain. Manhattan (New York County), Staten Island (Richmond County), and the Bronx (Bronx County) had increases ranging from 2.9 to 2.7 percent, ranking in the bottom half of the nation’s 349 large counties. Wage gains in Brooklyn and Queens placed them among the bottom quarter of the nation’s large counties.

In Manhattan, all 10 supersectors with at least 1,000 employees had over-the-year gains in average weekly wages. Manufacturing had the largest wage increase, 7.0 percent. Average weekly wages in education and health services increased 5.1 percent, followed by information with a 4.8-percent increase. Financial activities had the smallest wage increase (0.9 percent) among the supersectors.

Nationally, all supersectors had over-the-year wage gains. The largest increases in average weekly wages occurred in information (6.5 percent) and in natural resources and mining (5.7 percent). Government had the slowest over-the-year wage gain, 2.4 percent.

Of the 349 largest U.S. counties, 336 had over-the-year increases in average weekly wages. Peoria, Ill., had the largest wage growth (23.8 percent) followed by Suffolk, Mass. (12.1 percent). Forsyth, N.C., had the largest wage loss (-4.8 percent) among the 13 counties with wage decreases.

Average weekly wages

For the year ending in the first quarter of 2018, Manhattan’s average weekly wage of $3,087 was more than two and a half times the national average of $1,152. Weekly wages in the four other New York City boroughs trailed those of the nation, with averages ranging from $1,071 in Queens to $920 in Brooklyn. (See chart 3.)

In Manhattan, the financial activities supersector had the highest first-quarter average weekly wage, $9,440. (See table 2.) Information had the second-highest average wage ($3,536), followed by professional and business services ($2,757). Manhattan’s leisure and hospitality supersector had the lowest average weekly wage, $910. Average wages in every supersector were higher in Manhattan than their respective national averages.

Of the 349 largest counties in the nation, 90 had average weekly wages at or above the U.S. average. Manhattan had the highest average weekly wage at $3,087, followed by Santa Clara, Calif. ($2,651) and San Mateo, Calif. ($2,606). Wages in two New Jersey counties located in the New York metropolitan area, Morris and Somerset, ranked among the nation’s top 10 counties.

Employment

From March 2017 to March 2018, job growth in three New York City boroughs exceeded the national average of 1.6 percent. Brooklyn’s employment growth of 4.7 percent ranked sixth among the nation’s 349 largest counties. Employment grew 1.9 percent in Queens and 1.7 percent in the Bronx. The other two boroughs—Staten Island and Manhattan—had rates of job growth that were below the national average.

In Manhattan, 7 of 10 supersectors with 1,000 or more employees gained jobs over the year. Information and construction had the fastest rates of employment growth (3.6 percent each), followed by financial activities (2.1 percent). The largest percentage employment losses occurred in manufacturing (-3.3 percent) and in trade, transportation and utilities (-1.4 percent).

Nationally, employment increased in 314 of the 349 largest U.S. counties from March 2017 to March 2018. Midland, Texas, had the largest employment increase, with a gain of 12.6 percent over the year. Employment declined in 31 large U.S. counties, with the largest over-the-year percentage decrease in Kanawha, W.Va. (-1.4 percent).

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 2016 are now available online at https://www.bls.gov/cew/publications/employment-and-wages-annual-averages/2016/home.htm. The 2017 edition of Employment and Wages Annual Averages Online will be available in September 2018.

The County Employment and Wage release for second quarter 2018 is scheduled to be released on Wednesday, November 21, 2018.

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 10.0 million employer reports cover 144.6 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.

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, New York State, and five counties of New York City, first quarter 2018

Area	Employment		Average weekly wage (1)
	March 2018 (thousands)	Percent change, March 2017-18 (2)	National ranking by percent change (3)	First quarter 2018	National ranking by level (3)	Percent change, first quarter 2017-18 (2)	National ranking by percent change (3)
United States (4)	144,562.9	1.6	--	$1,152	--	3.7	--
New York	9,318.9	1.8	--	1,597	2	3.4	22
Bronx, N.Y.	316.8	1.7	129	1,040	150	2.7	197
Kings, N.Y.	756.7	4.7	6	920	248	2.0	273
New York, N.Y.	2,446.5	1.0	212	3,087	1	2.9	180
Queens, N.Y.	693.7	1.9	113	1,071	132	1.8	285
Richmond, N.Y.	120.7	1.4	158	971	199	2.8	190
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 New York County, first quarter 2018

Area	Employment		Average weekly wage(1)
	March 2018 (thousands)	Percent change March 2017-18(2)	First quarter 2018	Percent change, first quarter 2017-18(2)
United States(3)	144,562.9	1.6	$1,152	3.7
Private industry	122,643.6	1.8	1,164	3.8
Natural resources and mining	1,792.7	2.3	1,280	5.7
Construction	6,896.4	4.0	1,166	3.4
Manufacturing	12,529.8	1.6	1,407	4.3
Trade, transportation, and utilities	26,979.5	1.1	942	3.4
Information	2,804.9	0.3	2,373	6.5
Financial activities	8,108.5	1.3	2,388	4.8
Professional and business services	20,497.9	1.9	1,530	3.7
Education and health services	22,524.5	1.8	942	2.7
Leisure and hospitality	15,763.7	1.6	446	3.5
Other services	4,427.1	1.0	734	3.2
Government	21,919.3	0.2	1,088	2.4
New York, N.Y.	2,446.5	1.0	3,087	2.9
Private industry	2,217.8	1.2	3,248	2.9
Natural resources and mining	0.2	16.3	2,326	-6.7
Construction	42.4	3.6	1,967	3.1
Manufacturing	24.1	-3.3	1,831	7.0
Trade, transportation, and utilities	249.7	-1.4	1,525	3.0
Information	173.5	3.6	3,536	4.8
Financial activities	379.2	2.1	9,440	0.9
Professional and business services	581.1	0.9	2,757	3.6
Education and health services	354.8	0.8	1,345	5.1
Leisure and hospitality	303.8	1.2	910	4.2
Other services	104.1	1.3	1,281	2.2
Government	228.7	-0.2	1,521	2.5
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) Totals for the United States do not include data for Puerto Rico or the Virgin Islands.
Note: Covered employment and wages 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, first quarter 2018

State	Employment		Average weekly wage (1)
	March 2018 (thousands)	Percent change, March 2017-18	Average weekly wage	National ranking by level	Percent change, first quarter 2017-18	National ranking by percent change
United States (2)	144,562.9	1.6	$1,152	--	3.7	--
Alabama	1,948.9	1.1	919	36	2.9	34
Alaska	311.2	-0.5	1,074	20	2.3	44
Arizona	2,822.5	2.8	1,025	22	3.5	19
Arkansas	1,211.4	0.9	879	44	2.4	40
California	17,152.5	2.1	1,352	6	4.4	6
Colorado	2,639.5	2.5	1,175	11	3.4	22
Connecticut	1,651.9	0.1	1,447	4	2.4	40
Delaware	438.7	1.2	1,202	10	1.3	51
District of Columbia	770.2	1.2	1,917	1	1.9	49
Florida	8,716.8	2.2	988	25	4.1	9
Georgia	4,409.1	2.3	1,095	17	2.3	44
Hawaii	658.4	0.3	974	29	2.3	44
Idaho	712.6	3.5	809	50	4.3	7
Illinois	5,909.3	1.0	1,241	8	3.9	10
Indiana	3,018.8	1.2	954	32	3.9	10
Iowa	1,525.8	0.5	921	35	2.4	40
Kansas	1,370.6	0.2	912	40	2.7	38
Kentucky	1,873.7	0.5	901	41	2.5	39
Louisiana	1,914.7	0.5	932	34	3.0	30
Maine	592.1	0.9	891	43	3.6	16
Maryland	2,646.9	0.9	1,209	9	3.2	26
Massachusetts	3,509.9	1.1	1,510	3	5.6	2
Michigan	4,289.0	1.4	1,078	19	3.4	22
Minnesota	2,823.6	0.7	1,175	11	2.1	47
Mississippi	1,125.9	0.1	765	51	2.1	47
Missouri	2,777.6	0.5	960	31	3.1	28
Montana	455.5	1.0	819	49	2.4	40
Nebraska	966.0	0.4	898	42	3.6	16
Nevada	1,351.6	3.0	977	28	4.8	5
New Hampshire	648.2	0.8	1,122	15	4.9	3
New Jersey	3,997.6	1.3	1,373	5	3.0	30
New Mexico	813.3	1.0	862	47	2.9	34
New York	9,318.9	1.8	1,597	2	3.4	22
North Carolina	4,370.6	1.8	1,022	23	3.0	30
North Dakota	408.2	0.6	988	25	3.7	15
Ohio	5,328.5	0.9	1,005	24	2.9	34
Oklahoma	1,600.9	1.8	914	38	3.5	19
Oregon	1,894.3	2.0	1,026	21	4.3	7
Pennsylvania	5,787.2	1.4	1,115	16	3.4	22
Rhode Island	469.9	1.1	1,086	18	3.2	26
South Carolina	2,067.4	2.2	877	45	1.7	50
South Dakota	417.5	1.0	842	48	2.8	37
Tennessee	2,950.0	1.6	978	27	3.5	19
Texas	12,179.2	2.0	1,168	13	3.9	10
Utah	1,458.8	3.3	949	33	4.9	3
Vermont	307.1	0.4	917	37	3.1	28
Virginia	3,854.4	1.5	1,162	14	3.0	30
Washington	3,316.1	2.8	1,306	7	7.7	1
West Virginia	684.8	0.6	868	46	3.6	16
Wisconsin	2,831.7	1.0	968	30	3.8	14
Wyoming	263.7	0.3	914	38	3.9	10
Puerto Rico	856.7	-3.8	563	(3)	7.0	(3)
Virgin Islands	33.3	-15.5	969	(3)	24.4	(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.