Average weekly wages in New York County, more commonly known as the borough of Manhattan, declined 1.3 percent from the first quarter of 2014 to the first quarter of 2015, the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics reported today. Chief Regional Economist Martin Kohli attributed the decline to lower wages in the financial activities sector. Despite the over-the-year wage decline, Manhattan’s average weekly wage of $2,847 was the highest among the nation’s 342 large counties. (Large counties are defined as those with employment of 75,000 or more as measured by 2014 annual average employment.) Nationally, wages rose 2.1 percent over the year to $1,048. (See chart 1.)

The fastest employment gain among the City’s boroughs was in Brooklyn (Kings County), up 4.3 percent. (See table 1.) Nationally, employment grew 2.1 percent from March 2014 to March 2015. (See chart 2.)

 

Over-the-year wage changes

In the first quarter of 2015, 4 of the 5 counties of New York City recorded over-the-year increases in average weekly wages. Brooklyn, at 3.3 percent, was the only borough to experience an increase above the U.S. average, coming in 55^th in the national ranking. Queens’ average weekly wages increased 1.4 percent and ranked 210^th nationally. The Bronx (Bronx County) and Staten Island (Richmond County), with wage increases of 0.9 percent each, placed in the bottom quartile of the national ranking. As noted, Manhattan wages declined 1.3 percent.

In Manhattan, 3 of 10 supersectors with 1,000 or more employees reported over-the-year losses in average weekly wages. Manufacturing experienced the largest drop, 10.0 percent. Financial activities logged a 4.0-percent over-the-year loss and contributed the most to the over-the-year decline in the borough’s average weekly wage. By contrast, three supersectors registered wage gains of at least 4.0 percent—professional and business services (4.1 percent), construction (5.5 percent), and other services (6.5 percent).

Nationally, all supersectors reported over-the-year wage gains. The largest increase in average weekly wages also occurred in leisure and hospitality (3.4 percent), followed by professional and business services (2.9 percent), and natural resources and mining (2.8 percent).

Among the 342 largest U.S. counties, 297 posted gains in average wages over the year; 39 experienced declines. Olmstead, Minn., had the largest wage gain at 11.7 percent. Snohomish, Wash., recorded the largest decline, 4.8 percent.

Average weekly wages

Manhattan’s average weekly wage during the year ending in the first quarter of 2015 was more than two and a half times the national average—$2,847 compared to $1,048. Queens led the four other New York City boroughs with average weekly wages of $936. Brooklyn was the lowest-paying borough, with average weekly wages of $818. (See chart 3.)

Within Manhattan, the financial activities supersector had the highest first-quarter average weekly wage, $8,932. (See table 2.) Information had the second-highest average wage ($3,177), followed by natural resources and mining ($3,085) and professional and business services ($2,667). Manhattan’s leisure and hospitality supersector had the lowest average weekly wage, $834. Wages in every supersector were higher in Manhattan than their respective national averages.

Among the 342 largest counties in the nation, Santa Clara, Calif., trailed Manhattan with the second highest average weekly wage, $2,203, followed by Somerset, N.J., $2,080; San Francisco, Calif., $2,070; and San Mateo, Calif., $2,066. Four of the 10 counties with the highest wages in the nation were located in the greater New York area (New York, N.Y., Somerset, N.J., Fairfield, Conn., and Morris, N.J.), while the rest were located in or around the San Francisco area, the Washington, D.C. area, and the Boston area.

Employment

From March 2014 to March 2015, all five New York City counties gained jobs at rates at or above the national average of 2.1 percent. Brooklyn’s employment growth of 4.3 percent ranked 22^nd among the nation’s 342 large counties, Queens’ 3.5-percent gain ranked 58^th and the Bronx’s 3.2-percent gain ranked 76^th. Manhattan registered an annual job gain of 2.6 percent, while Staten Island had an increase that matched the national gain. Within Manhattan, all supersectors with 1,000 or more employees reported over-the-year increases. Construction reported the largest employment growth (4.9 percent) followed by professional and business services (3.7 percent).

Nationally, employment increased in 323 of the 342 largest U.S. counties from March 2014 to March 2015. Utah, Utah, posted the largest increase, with a gain of 6.7 percent over the year. Conversely, employment declined in 17 of the large counties. Atlantic, N.J., had the largest over-the-year percentage decrease in employment (-4.3 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 2014 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 2015 version of the national news release. Tables and additional content from Employment and Wages Annual Averages 2014 are now available online at https://www.bls.gov/cew/publications/employment-and-wages-annual-averages/2014/home.htm.

County employment and wage data for the second quarter 2015 are scheduled to be released on Thursday, December 17, 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 9.5 million employer reports cover 137.4 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 (see Technical Note below) 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 2015

Area	Employment		Average weekly wage(1)
	March 2015 (thousands)	Percent change, March 2014-15(2)	Average weekly wage	National ranking by level(3)	Percent change, first quarter 2014-15(2)	National ranking by percent change(3)
United States(4)	137,412.4	2.1	$1,048	--	2.1	--
New York State	8,865.5	1.9	1,463	2	0.2	49
Bronx	297.6	3.2	901	183	0.9	256
Kings	649.7	4.3	818	265	3.3	55
New York	2,346.5	2.6	2,847	1	-1.3	331
Queens	621.3	3.5	936	160	1.4	210
Richmond	111.3	2.1	825	258	0.9	256
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: Covered employment and wages includes workers covered by Unemployment Insurance (UI) and Unemployment Compensation for Federal Employees (UCFE) programs. Data are preliminary.

Table 2. Covered employment and wages in the United States and New York County, first quarter 2015

Area	Employment		Average weekly wage(1)
	March 2015 (thousands)	Percent change March 2014-15(2)	Average weekly wage	Percent change, first quarter 2014-15(2)
United States(3)	137,412.4	2.1	$1,048	2.1
Private industry	115,901.4	2.5	1,056	2.0
Natural resources and mining	1,933.8	0.2	1,278	2.8
Construction	6,016.1	4.9	1,016	1.7
Manufacturing	12,219.9	1.4	1,275	1.3
Trade, transportation, and utilities	26,120.2	2.3	860	2.3
Information	2,717.9	0.7	1,959	2.5
Financial activities	7,723.3	1.7	2,161	2.0
Professional and business services	19,178.9	2.9	1,391	2.9
Education and health services	20,903.3	2.0	865	1.6
Leisure and hospitality	14,546.2	2.7	400	3.4
Other services	4,237.2	1.6	657	2.5
Government	21,511.0	0.4	1,006	2.3
New York, N.Y.	2,346.5	2.6	2,847	-1.3
Private industry	2,084.4	2.8	3,049	-1.5
Natural resources and mining	0.1	-8.7	3,085	-22.0
Construction	35.0	4.9	1,795	5.5
Manufacturing	26.9	0.9	1,615	-10.0
Trade, transportation, and utilities	256.8	1.1	1,352	1.3
Information	152.0	1.7	3,177	-0.8
Financial activities	361.9	1.6	8,932	-4.0
Professional and business services	532.3	3.7	2,667	4.1
Education and health services	332.7	3.0	1,215	1.2
Leisure and hospitality	280.0	3.2	834	3.1
Other services	99.0	2.0	1,153	6.5
Government	262.1	1.6	1,232	0.9
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 2015

State	Employment		Average weekly wage (1)
	March 2015 (thousands)	Percent change, March 2014-15	Average weekly wage	National ranking by level	Percent change, first quarter 2014-15	National ranking by percent change
United States (2)	137,412.4	2.1	$1,048	--	2.1	--
Alabama	1,873.5	1.3	844	39	2.2	19
Alaska	322.2	1.0	1,051	15	2.6	10
Arizona	2,605.6	2.5	926	23	1.0	45
Arkansas	1,166.6	1.3	790	47	0.8	47
California	16,029.5	3.0	1,207	6	3.7	3
Colorado	2,458.0	3.7	1,071	13	2.4	16
Connecticut	1,640.5	0.8	1,382	3	1.5	35
Delaware	422.8	2.5	1,105	9	-0.5	51
District of Columbia	732.6	1.4	1,764	1	3.2	4
Florida	8,018.0	3.6	885	28	1.8	27
Georgia	4,107.0	3.5	989	18	1.7	31
Hawaii	633.7	1.3	881	31	2.8	9
Idaho	650.3	3.1	736	50	2.2	19
Illinois	5,724.6	1.2	1,130	7	2.4	16
Indiana	2,894.8	1.8	857	35	1.4	38
Iowa	1,504.3	1.3	848	37	2.9	7
Kansas	1,357.1	1.0	851	36	1.4	38
Kentucky	1,810.3	1.5	823	41	1.5	35
Louisiana	1,927.1	1.0	885	28	2.0	21
Maine	571.4	0.9	793	45	0.9	46
Maryland	2,540.8	1.2	1,113	8	2.5	12
Massachusetts	3,338.6	1.7	1,341	4	3.2	4
Michigan	4,079.5	1.8	969	21	1.9	24
Minnesota	2,709.2	1.8	1,079	12	4.3	1
Mississippi	1,102.3	0.6	711	51	0.7	48
Missouri	2,678.0	1.7	882	30	1.8	27
Montana	441.0	2.7	750	49	2.6	10
Nebraska	943.1	1.4	818	42	2.5	12
Nevada	1,227.7	3.7	865	34	-0.2	50
New Hampshire	623.5	1.5	982	20	1.2	43
New Jersey	3,834.6	1.4	1,288	5	1.9	24
New Mexico	798.7	1.4	805	43	1.5	35
New York	8,865.0	1.9	1,463	2	0.2	49
North Carolina	4,099.4	2.5	930	22	1.9	24
North Dakota	436.0	1.6	984	19	4.2	2
Ohio	5,144.5	1.4	922	24	1.4	38
Oklahoma	1,592.7	1.3	869	33	2.0	21
Oregon	1,748.7	3.5	919	25	2.9	7
Pennsylvania	5,606.9	0.9	1,031	16	2.4	16
Rhode Island	456.1	1.4	1,008	17	1.2	43
South Carolina	1,919.1	2.5	801	44	1.8	27
South Dakota	406.5	1.5	763	48	3.0	6
Tennessee	2,772.7	2.1	886	27	1.4	38
Texas	11,557.0	2.9	1,089	10	2.5	12
Utah	1,318.8	3.7	845	38	1.7	31
Vermont	303.9	0.9	824	40	2.0	21
Virginia	3,649.3	1.1	1,068	14	1.7	31
Washington	3,064.4	3.2	1,087	11	1.8	27
West Virginia	692.4	-0.3	792	46	1.4	38
Wisconsin	2,734.3	1.5	877	32	2.5	12
Wyoming	277.8	0.8	892	26	1.7	31
Puerto Rico	904.9	-1.1	524	(3)	1.0	(3)
Virgin Islands	38.5	0.0	738	(3)	-0.7	(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.