Employment increased in all five New York City boroughs from March 2021 to March 2022, the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics reported today. Regional Commissioner William J. Sibley noted that in New York County—commonly known as Manhattan—the over-the-year employment gain of 8.8 percent ranked 6^th among the nation’s 355 largest counties, those with annual average employment levels of 75,000 or more in 2021. Among the other boroughs, employment increases ranged from 7.2 percent in Brooklyn (Kings County) to 3.1 percent in the Bronx (Bronx County) (See chart 1 and table 1.)

National employment increased 5.0 percent over the year, with 349 of the 355 largest U.S. counties reporting gains. Clark, NV, had the largest over-the-year increase in employment with a gain of 12.5 percent. Jefferson, LA, had the largest over-the-year percentage decrease in employment with a loss of 0.8 percent.

Among the five New York City boroughs, employment was highest in Manhattan (2,315,800) in March 2022. Within Manhattan’s private industry, 8 of the 9 supersectors with at least 1,000 employees had over-the-year job gains. Leisure and hospitality had the largest gain (+68.1 percent). By contrast, construction experienced an over-the-year loss (-1.0 percent). (See table 2.)

Nationally, all supersectors reported over-the-year employment gains. The largest employment increase occurred in leisure and hospitality (+16.8 percent). The next largest changes were in information (+7.7 percent) and other services (+7.0 percent).

Over-the-year wage changes

All five boroughs of New York City had over-the-year increases in average weekly wages. Queens County ranked 275^th among the nation’s largest counties with a gain of 4.7 percent. Staten Island (Richmond County) ranked 284^th and posted a 4.4-percent gain, while the Bronx, in 288^th place, posted a 4.3-percent gain. Brooklyn (+3.7 percent) and Manhattan (+2.5 percent) placed in the bottom quarter of the large county rankings. (See chart 2.)

Among the 355 largest counties in the United States, 348 had over-the-year wage increases. Peoria, IL, had the largest percentage wage increase (+25.8 percent). San Francisco, CA, had the largest over-the-year percentage decrease (-9.1 percent).

Average weekly wages

Manhattan’s average weekly wage of $4,064 ranked first in the nation. The Manhattan wage was nearly three times the national average of $1,374 in the first quarter of 2022. Weekly wages in the four other New York City boroughs had averages ranging from $1,199 in Queens to $1,055 in Brooklyn. (See chart 3.)

In Manhattan, the financial activities supersector had the highest first-quarter average weekly wage, $12,190. (See table 2.) Manhattan’s leisure and hospitality supersector had the lowest average weekly wage, $1,082. Average wages in every supersector were higher in Manhattan than their respective national averages.

Among the largest U.S. counties, 87 reported average weekly wages above the U.S. average in the first quarter of 2022. Average weekly wages were below the national average in the remaining 268 counties. At $736 a week, Cameron, TX, had the lowest average weekly wage.

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. This publication is typically published in September of the following year of the reference period or shortly after the QCEW first quarter full data update. The Employment and Wages Annual Averages Online is available at www.bls.gov/cew/publications/employment-and-wages-annual-averages/.

The County Employment and Wages release for second quarter 2022 is scheduled to be released on Tuesday, November 22, 2022. The County Employment and Wages full data update for second quarter 2022 is scheduled to be released on Tuesday, December 6, 2022.

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 individuals with sensory impairments upon request. Voice phone: (202) 691-5200; Federal Relay Service: 7-1-1.

Table 1. Covered establishments, employment, and wages in the United States and the five counties of New York City, first quarter 2022

Area	Establishments, first quarter (thousands)	Employment			Average weekly wage (1)
		March 2022 (thousands)	Percent change, March 2021–22 (2)	National ranking by percent change (3)	First quarter 2022	National ranking by level (3)	Percent change, first quarter 2021–22 (2)	National ranking by percent change (3)
United States (4)	11,299.0	147,648.4	5.0	--	$1,374	--	6.7	--
New York State	681.3	9,107.2	6.0	--	1,972	2	5.6	44
Bronx	20.2	313.8	3.1	228	1,186	165	4.3	288
Kings	70.3	810.0	7.2	24	1,055	255	3.7	301
New York	128.3	2,315.8	8.8	6	4,064	1	2.5	329
Queens	56.2	683.5	6.4	45	1,199	157	4.7	275
Richmond	10.5	130.7	6.1	56	1,131	197	4.4	284
Footnotes: (1) Average weekly wages were calculated using unrounded data. (2) Percent changes were computed from 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 2022

Area	Establishments, first quarter 2022	Employment		Average weekly wage(1)
		March 2022 (thousands)	Percent change March 2021-22(2)	First quarter 2022	Percent change, first quarter 2021-22(2)
United States(3)	11,299.0	147,648.4	5.0	$1,374	6.7
Private industry	10,996.2	126,152.4	5.7	1,398	6.9
Natural resources and mining	142.1	1,682.3	2.7	1,359	12.1
Construction	889.9	7,417.4	3.7	1,308	5.6
Manufacturing	376.4	12,632.4	3.2	1,560	7.7
Trade, transportation, and utilities	2,003.9	28,042.6	4.4	1,115	10.6
Information	246.9	2,981.3	7.7	3,083	-0.6
Financial activities	1,018.1	8,485.7	2.7	2,953	7.6
Professional and business services	2,236.7	22,105.5	6.2	1,866	7.5
Education and health services	1,965.7	23,126.2	2.1	1,095	7.0
Leisure and hospitality	922.0	15,032.7	16.8	540	14.9
Other services	856.7	4,296.6	7.0	885	5.7
Government	302.8	21,495.9	1.3	1,233	4.5
New York, NY	128.3	2,315.8	8.8	4,064	2.5
Private industry	126.9	2,091.8	9.8	4,311	1.6
Natural resources and mining	0.0	0.2	-1.9	3,287	19.7
Construction	2.4	36.1	-1.0	2,232	6.2
Manufacturing	1.7	16.5	15.6	1,940	4.8
Trade, transportation, and utilities	16.9	211.0	9.0	1,999	6.8
Information	5.7	197.1	7.8	4,337	-0.9
Financial activities	19.0	380.5	1.7	12,190	7.7
Professional and business services	28.0	560.2	5.7	3,496	6.7
Education and health services	10.2	359.2	3.3	1,622	6.6
Leisure and hospitality	14.0	228.7	68.1	1,082	6.2
Other services	18.1	91.7	6.6	1,530	1.7
Government	1.5	224.0	0.5	1,770	9.6
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 establishments, employment, and wages by state, first quarter 2022

State	Establishments, first quarter (thousands)	Employment		Average weekly wage (1)
		March 2022 (thousands)	Percent change, March 2021–22	First quarter 2022	National ranking by level	Percent change, first quarter 2021–22	National ranking by percent change
United States (2)	11,299.0	147,648.4	5.0	$1,374	--	6.7	--
Alabama	143.7	1,990.4	2.5	1,072	39	8.2	21
Alaska	24.2	303.9	2.8	1,178	25	4.9	45
Arizona	195.8	3,048.2	5.0	1,234	21	7.5	29
Arkansas	98.3	1,232.7	3.1	1,060	40	10.9	2
California	1,667.6	17,720.8	7.7	1,644	5	1.0	51
Colorado	238.0	2,767.9	5.1	1,455	9	8.8	11
Connecticut	135.7	1,618.6	4.3	1,716	4	9.2	6
Delaware	38.1	447.8	3.9	1,362	14	7.5	29
District of Columbia	46.9	749.1	5.8	2,221	1	2.6	49
Florida	844.0	9,249.2	6.1	1,222	23	10.8	3
Georgia	359.6	4,615.2	5.0	1,301	17	8.8	11
Hawaii	50.4	612.1	7.9	1,135	30	4.2	47
Idaho	83.6	806.4	4.7	982	49	8.5	18
Illinois	403.8	5,808.8	4.5	1,487	8	7.3	33
Indiana	183.0	3,071.1	3.7	1,127	32	9.8	5
Iowa	108.2	1,511.6	2.5	1,080	36	7.6	27
Kansas	93.1	1,369.8	2.5	1,073	38	9.0	10
Kentucky	137.5	1,911.5	4.0	1,038	44	7.6	27
Louisiana	147.6	1,820.6	1.3	1,058	42	8.6	16
Maine	60.4	604.1	2.8	1,103	35	10.3	4
Maryland	179.9	2,623.1	3.9	1,410	10	2.0	50
Massachusetts	286.6	3,516.0	5.3	1,827	3	5.9	43
Michigan	282.2	4,212.5	4.6	1,225	22	6.2	41
Minnesota	194.1	2,772.6	2.7	1,374	11	6.8	37
Mississippi	77.9	1,134.2	2.9	879	51	8.5	18
Missouri	227.1	2,788.2	3.0	1,128	31	7.0	34
Montana	57.5	479.9	3.1	991	48	8.3	20
Nebraska	78.7	965.4	1.5	1,079	37	9.2	6
Nevada	102.7	1,441.3	11.6	1,164	27	8.0	23
New Hampshire	61.1	659.9	4.3	1,361	15	7.8	25
New Jersey	317.9	4,085.1	7.2	1,606	6	4.6	46
New Mexico	68.0	817.4	5.1	1,018	45	6.5	40
New York	681.3	9,107.2	6.0	1,972	2	5.6	44
North Carolina	335.8	4,638.3	4.8	1,241	20	9.2	6
North Dakota	33.3	400.5	2.7	1,106	34	6.9	35
Ohio	320.5	5,299.0	3.1	1,179	24	7.5	29
Oklahoma	120.7	1,601.8	2.9	1,012	46	8.0	23
Oregon	175.1	1,921.9	4.0	1,259	18	7.4	32
Pennsylvania	384.0	5,778.2	4.3	1,309	16	6.9	35
Rhode Island	45.0	469.3	4.7	1,249	19	6.8	37
South Carolina	164.1	2,142.9	3.9	1,043	43	9.2	6
South Dakota	37.8	432.0	3.5	1,012	46	8.6	16
Tennessee	198.1	3,104.1	4.6	1,172	26	8.8	11
Texas	788.4	12,985.4	6.1	1,369	12	8.7	14
Utah	126.5	1,625.6	4.5	1,152	28	8.2	21
Vermont	29.3	295.8	3.9	1,107	33	7.7	26
Virginia	310.8	3,889.4	3.1	1,366	13	6.6	39
Washington	277.3	3,453.4	6.0	1,596	7	3.8	48
West Virginia	55.2	668.1	2.9	968	50	6.1	42
Wisconsin	193.9	2,816.5	2.9	1,137	29	8.7	14
Wyoming	28.9	263.6	2.6	1,059	41	11.2	1
Puerto Rico	48.7	917.1	6.8	579	(3)	2.8	(3)
Virgin Islands	3.5	34.8	-0.3	947	(3)	-3.7	(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.