Employment increased in 21 of the 22 large counties in Florida from September 2012 to September 2013, 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 2012 annual average employment.) Regional Commissioner Janet S. Rankin noted that employment advances ranged from 5.2 percent in Lee County to 0.7 percent in Leon County. Brevard County was the only large county in Florida to experience an employment decline, down 0.3 percent. (See table 1.)

Nationally, employment rose 1.7 percent during the 12-month period as 286 of the 334 largest U.S. counties gained jobs. Fort Bend, Texas, posted the largest over-the-year percentage increase with a gain of 6.0 percent, while Peoria, Ill., experienced the largest employment decline at 3.7 percent.

Among the 22 largest counties in Florida, employment was highest in Miami-Dade County (1,016,700) in September 2013. Two other counties—Broward and Orange—had employment levels exceeding 700,000. Together, Florida’s 22 large counties accounted for 85.4 percent of total employment within the state. (See table 1.) Nationwide, the 334 largest counties made up 71.4 percent of total U.S. employment, which stood at 135.0 million in September 2013.

The average weekly wage in Collier County rose 8.0 percent from the third quarter of 2012 to the third quarter of 2013, the largest increase in the state and the third largest increase in the nation. Palm Beach County had the highest average weekly wage among the state’s largest counties at $884, followed by the counties of Hillsborough ($874) and Miami-Dade ($873). Nationally, the average weekly wage rose 1.9 percent over the year to $922 in the third quarter of 2013. (See table 1.)

Employment and wage levels (but not over-the-year changes) are also available for the 45 counties in Florida with employment levels below 75,000. All of these smaller counties had average weekly wages below the national average in the third quarter of 2013. (See table 2.)

Large county wage changes

Average weekly wages increased in 20 of the 22 largest counties in Florida from the third quarter of 2012 to the third quarter of 2013. As noted, Collier County’s 8.0-percent wage increase ranked third among the nation’s 334 largest counties. Four other Florida counties experienced over-the-year wage increases that placed them in the top third of the national ranking—Marion (2.9 percent, 51^st), Palm Beach (2.6 percent, 70^th) and Alachua and Miami-Dade (2.1 percent each, 108^th). (See table 1.)

Nationwide, 291 large counties experienced increases in average weekly wages. San Mateo, Calif., had the largest gain (9.9 percent) from the third quarter of 2012, followed by the counties of Dane, Wis. (9.3 percent) and Collier, Fla. (8.0 percent).

Among the 334 largest U.S. counties, 40 experienced over-the-year decreases in average weekly wages. Pinellas, Fla., had the largest decrease in the nation (-4.3 percent), followed by the counties of Rockland, N.Y. (-4.1 percent), Harford, Md. (-2.6 percent), and Douglas, Colo. (-2.5 percent).

Large county average weekly wages

Average weekly wages in 4 of Florida’s 22 largest counties place in the top half of the national ranking among the 334 largest counties in the third quarter of 2013. However, none of these counties had an average weekly wage above the national average of $922. The four large counties with the lowest average weekly wages in the state—Pasco ($635, 331^st), Marion ($639, 328^th), Lake ($640, 327^th), and Volusia ($650, 325^th)—placed among the 10 lowest in the United States. (See table 1.)

Average weekly wages were higher than the national average in 101 of the 334 largest counties. Santa Clara, Calif., recorded the highest average weekly wage at $1,868. San Mateo, Calif., was second with an average weekly wage of $1,698, followed by New York, N.Y. ($1,667), Washington, D.C. ($1,560), and San Francisco, Calif. ($1,549).

There were 232 large counties with an average weekly wage below the U.S. average in the third quarter of 2013. Horry County, S.C. ($564), reported the lowest wage, followed by the counties of Cameron, Texas ($587), Hidalgo, Texas ($595), Pasco, Fla. ($635), and Webb, Texas ($636).

Average weekly wages in Florida’s smaller counties

All 45 counties in Florida with employment below 75,000 had average weekly wages lower than the national average of $922. Among these counties, Hamilton County had the highest average weekly wage at $750. Holmes County reported the lowest weekly wage among all counties in the state, averaging $517 in the third quarter of 2013. (See table 2.)

When all 67 counties in Florida were considered, 22 reported average weekly wages under $600, 24 reported wages from $600 to $699, 12 had wages from $700 to $799, and 9 had wages above $800. (See chart 1.)

Additional statistics and other information

Quarterly 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 https://www.bls.gov/cew/.

An annual bulletin, Employment and Wages Annual Averages Online, features comprehensive information by detailed industry on establishments, employment, and wages for the nation and all states. The 2012 edition of this bulletin, which was published in September 2013, contains selected data produced by the Business Employment Dynamics (BED) on job gains and losses, as well as selected data from the first quarter 2013 version of the national news release. Tables and additional content from the Employment and Wages Online Annual Averages 2012 are now available at www.bls.gov/cew/publications/employment-and-wages-annual-averages/2012/home.htm. The 2013 edition of Employment and Wages Annual Averages Online will be available later in 2014.

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.

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 9.3 million employer reports cover 135.0 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.