Wages increased in 16 of the 18 largest counties in New York State from the second quarter of 2013 to the second quarter of 2014, the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics reported today. (Large counties are defined as those with employment of 75,000 or more as measured by 2013 annual average employment.) Queens, (3.2 percent), Albany (3.1 percent), and New York (3.0 percent) posted the largest gains. (See chart 1 and table 1.) Chief Regional Economist Martin Kohli noted that Westchester County’s 1.6-percent over-the-year decline in average weekly wages was the largest decrease among the state’s large counties.

Seven of New York’s large counties reported average weekly wages above the $940 national average in the second quarter of 2014. Average weekly wages in five counties (New York, Westchester, Nassau, Suffolk, and Rockland) exceeded $1,000.

The largest employment gain among New York’s large counties was in Kings, up 4.7 percent. Nationally, employment grew 2.0 percent from June 2013 to June 2014. (See chart 2.)

Employment and wage levels (but not over-the-year changes) are also available for the 44 counties in New York with employment below 75,000. All but three of these small counties had an average wage below the U.S. average. (See table 2.)

Large county wage changes

From the second quarter of 2013 to the second quarter of 2014, six large New York counties recorded wage growth above the national increase of 2.1 percent. (See table 1.) Queens County’s 3.2-percent increase ranked 49th in wage growth among the 339 large U.S. counties, followed by Albany and New York which ranked 54^th and 58^th, respectively. Three other counties with above-average wage growth—Erie, Monroe, and Oneida—tied for 123^rd place in the national ranking. In contrast, Westchester County’s 1.6-percent loss ranked 338^th nationally.

Among large counties in the United States, 312 recorded wage gains, with Midland, Texas, registering the largest over-the-year increase in average weekly wages in the second quarter (9.0 percent). Among the 22 counties with declining weekly wages, Williamson, Texas, recorded the largest loss, 2.7 percent. Westchester, N.Y., had the second largest decrease in average weekly wages, followed by Lake, Ind.; and Bibb, Ga.

Large county average weekly wages

Seven of New York’s large counties reported average weekly wages above the $940 national average in the second quarter of 2014. The two highest paying counties, New York ($1,732) and Westchester ($1,215) ranked among the top 25 in the nation. Five additional counties (Nassau, Suffolk, Rockland, Albany, and Dutchess) had average weekly wages that placed them in the top 100 among the 339 large counties nationwide.

At the other end of the scale, Broome ($756), Kings ($759), and Oneida ($760) recorded the lowest weekly averages among the state’s large counties, placing them in the lowest 25 percent of the national ranking.

Nationally, 109 large counties registered average weekly wages above the U.S. average of $940 in the second quarter of 2014. Santa Clara, Calif., held the top position among the highest-paid large counties with an average weekly wage of $1,886. San Mateo, Calif., was second at $1,740, followed by New York, N.Y., at $1,732.

Among the 230 large counties with an average weekly wage below the U.S. average, Horry, S.C. ($548) reported the lowest wage, followed by Cameron, Texas ($585), and Hidalgo, Texas ($608).

Large county employment

Employment rose in 14 of the 18 largest counties in New York State from June 2013 to June 2014. Five of these counties— Kings, Queens, Richmond, Rockland, and New York—posted employment growth above the national rate of 2.0 percent. Three counties posted over-the-year declines. Saratoga experienced the largest loss, down 0.2 percent, followed by Oneida and Onandaga, down 0.1 percent each.

Nationally, employment grew in 305 of the 339 largest counties nationwide. The largest over-the-year percentage growth was recorded in Weld, Colo., (8.9 percent); Atlantic, N.J., had the largest over-the-year decrease (-1.6 percent).

In New York, employment was highest in Manhattan, (2,492,500) followed by Suffolk (656,200) and Nassau (618,400) counties. Altogether, New York’s large counties accounted for 85.0 percent of total state employment. Nationwide, the 339 largest counties made up 71.8 percent of total U.S. employment.

Average weekly wages in New York's smaller counties

Forty-one of New York’s 44 counties with employment below 75,000 had average weekly wages below the national average. Schenectady ($971), Putnam ($963), and Steuben ($949) were the exceptions. (See table 2.) Yates County in western New York and Hamilton County in the Adirondacks reported the lowest average weekly wages at $617 and $641, respectively.

When all 62 counties in New York were considered, all but 10 had wages below the national average. Ten counties reported wages under $699, and 29 reported wages from $700 to $799. Of the 11 counties with average weekly wages ranging from $800 and $899, over half were located in the western part of the state. Twelve counties had an average weekly wage at or above $900, 9 of which were clustered in the Hudson River Valley or on Long Island. The lowest-paid counties, those with wages under $700, were located in the northern and western parts of the the state. (See chart 3.)

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 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 2013 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 2014 version of the national news release. Tables and additional content from Employment and Wages Annual Averages 2013 are now available online at www.bls.gov/cew/publications/employment-and-wages-annual-averages/2013/home.htm. The 2014 edition of Employment and Wages Annual Averages Online will be available in September 2015.

County employment and wage data for the third quarter 2014 are scheduled to be released on Thursday, March 19, 2015.

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 9.4 million employer reports cover 137.8 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 and the 18 largest counties in New York, second quarter 2014

Area	Employment			Average weekly wage (1)
	June 2014 (thousands)	Percent change, June 2013-14 (2)	National ranking by percent change (3)	Average weekly wage	National ranking by level (3)	Percent change, second quarter 2013-14 (2)	National ranking by percent change (3)
United States (4)	137,776.4	2.0	--	$940	--	2.1	--
New York	8,965.2	1.8	--	1,146	4	2.4	15
Albany, N.Y.	227.3	0.4	289	985	81	3.1	54
Bronx, N.Y.	251.6	1.4	194	889	153	0.2	308
Broome, N.Y.	89.2	0.1	302	756	293	1.1	249
Dutchess, N.Y.	110.6	0.0	306	969	83	0.7	276
Erie, N.Y.	462.7	0.7	267	826	212	2.2	123
Kings, N.Y.	566.7	4.7	13	759	286	1.5	205
Monroe, N.Y.	381.2	0.4	289	889	153	2.2	123
Nassau, N.Y.	618.4	1.5	185	1,061	52	1.6	195
New York, N.Y.	2,492.5	2.7	87	1,732	3	3.0	58
Oneida, N.Y.	104.0	-0.1	311	760	284	2.2	123
Onondaga, N.Y.	243.7	-0.1	311	866	169	1.3	226
Orange, N.Y.	138.9	1.2	222	825	214	-0.2	323
Queens, N.Y.	553.6	3.1	64	884	157	3.2	49
Richmond, N.Y.	99.1	2.9	73	797	246	0.9	264
Rockland, N.Y.	118.3	2.8	78	1,003	70	1.7	177
Saratoga, N.Y.	83.2	-0.2	317	868	168	1.3	226
Suffolk, N.Y.	656.2	0.4	289	1,014	65	1.7	177
Westchester, N.Y.	421.1	1.2	222	1,215	22	-1.6	338
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 2014

State	Employment		Average weekly wage (1)
	June 2014 (thousands)	Percent change, June 2013-14	Average weekly wage	National ranking by level	Percent change, second quarter 2013-14	National ranking by percent change
United States (2)	137,776.4	2.0	$940	--	2.1	--
Alabama	1,872.9	0.7	806	36	1.6	38
Alaska	344.9	0.5	1,014	8	4.6	2
Arizona	2,486.0	1.9	888	21	1.3	43
Arkansas	1,168.1	1.5	745	47	1.5	41
California	15,905.6	2.8	1,072	6	2.4	15
Colorado	2,439.3	3.4	960	14	2.9	8
Connecticut	1,676.6	0.6	1,155	3	2.5	13
Delaware	429.0	2.5	976	11	1.2	44
District of Columbia	732.6	1.0	1,569	1	-0.5	51
Florida	7,628.6	3.1	839	28	2.1	23
Georgia	4,036.3	3.1	882	22	1.7	35
Hawaii	624.6	1.1	845	26	2.7	10
Idaho	659.2	2.5	697	51	2.2	22
Illinois	5,836.9	1.5	988	10	1.9	32
Indiana	2,916.9	1.8	784	42	1.2	44
Iowa	1,547.8	1.6	780	43	3.0	7
Kansas	1,372.8	1.7	797	38	2.3	20
Kentucky	1,820.8	1.7	798	37	2.0	27
Louisiana	1,921.6	1.4	843	27	2.4	15
Maine	610.4	0.8	746	46	2.1	23
Maryland	2,594.4	0.9	1,020	7	1.6	38
Massachusetts	3,407.0	1.4	1,158	2	2.4	15
Michigan	4,164.7	2.3	897	20	2.3	20
Minnesota	2,782.0	1.3	947	16	1.9	32
Mississippi	1,101.1	0.5	705	50	2.0	27
Missouri	2,703.2	1.3	818	31	1.9	32
Montana	453.4	1.1	734	48	2.4	15
Nebraska	956.2	1.4	756	45	2.7	10
Nevada	1,210.1	3.4	833	30	0.6	50
New Hampshire	637.2	1.2	955	15	4.3	3
New Jersey	3,944.8	0.8	1,097	5	1.2	44
New Mexico	801.0	0.6	794	40	1.7	35
New York	8,965.2	1.8	1,146	4	2.4	15
North Carolina	4,080.7	2.4	818	31	1.2	44
North Dakota	453.0	4.4	936	17	5.5	1
Ohio	5,233.8	1.4	846	25	2.1	23
Oklahoma	1,578.0	1.0	816	33	2.6	12
Oregon	1,748.4	2.4	874	23	2.9	8
Pennsylvania	5,719.8	1.0	933	18	1.6	38
Rhode Island	472.9	1.6	898	19	2.0	27
South Carolina	1,916.4	2.7	765	44	2.5	13
South Dakota	422.9	1.4	712	49	3.3	4
Tennessee	2,755.7	1.8	836	29	2.0	27
Texas	11,402.8	3.0	973	13	3.1	5
Utah	1,297.5	2.9	796	39	1.7	35
Vermont	307.0	1.0	813	35	0.7	49
Virginia	3,710.8	0.7	976	11	0.8	48
Washington	3,109.6	3.2	990	9	2.1	23
West Virginia	711.3	-0.3	792	41	1.4	42
Wisconsin	2,809.1	1.3	816	33	2.0	27
Wyoming	295.3	1.6	871	24	3.1	5
Puerto Rico	897.0	-2.0	504	(3)	0.6	(3)
Virgin Islands	37.8	-2.2	728	(3)	2.8	(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.