Kentucky’s three large counties had employment gains from March 2016 to March 2017, the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics reported today. (Large counties are those with 2016 annual average employment levels of 75,000 or more.) Regional Commissioner Janet S. Rankin noted that the employment gains in Boone County and Fayette County, at 2.5 and 2.0 percent, respectively, were above the national average. (See table 1.)

Nationally, employment advanced 1.6 percent from March 2016 to March 2017 as 299 of the 346 largest U.S. counties registered increases. York, S.C., had the largest percentage increase with a gain of 6.8 percent over the year. Kanawha, W.Va., had the largest over-the-year percentage decrease in employment among the largest U.S. counties, with a loss of 2.7 percent.

Among the three large counties in Kentucky, employment was highest in Jefferson County (460,100) in March 2017, while Boone County had the smallest employment (85,000). Together, Kentucky’s large counties accounted for 39.5 percent of total employment within the state. Nationwide, the 346 largest counties made up 72.8 percent of total U.S. employment, which stood at 142.3 million in March 2017.

Each of Kentucky’s three large counties had an over-the-year wage increase in the first quarter of 2017, with the highest gain in Jefferson County (8.2 percent). Jefferson County also had the largest average weekly wage among the state’s largest counties at $1,096. Nationally, the average weekly wage increased 6.6 percent over the year to $1,111 in the first quarter of 2017. (See table 1.)

Employment and wage levels (but not over-the-year changes) are also available for the 117 counties in Kentucky with employment levels below 75,000. Average weekly wages in these counties ranged from $1,349 to $510. (See table 2.)

Large county wage changes

As noted, average weekly wages rose in all of Kentucky’s large counties from the first quarter of 2016 to the first quarter of 2017. At 8.2 percent, Jefferson County’s wage gain ranked 54^th among the nation’s 346 large counties. Boone County’s 6.9-percent increase ranked 135^th and Fayette County’s 5.3-percent increase ranked 249^th. (See table 1.)

Nationally, 345 of the 346 largest counties had over-the-year increases in average weekly wages. McLean, Ill., had the largest wage gain, up 27.8 percent from the first quarter of 2016. Peoria, Ill., had the only percentage decrease in average weekly wages (-1.1 percent).

Large county average weekly wages

Average weekly wages in Kentucky’s three large counties were below the U.S. average of $1,111. The average weekly wage in Jefferson County ($1,096, 105^th) placed in the top third of the national ranking. Average weekly wages in Boone ($914, 219^th) and Fayette ($901, 234^th) placed in the bottom half of the national ranking.

Nationwide, 94 large counties had average weekly wages equal to or above the U.S. average of $1,111 in the first quarter of 2017. New York, N.Y., had the highest average weekly wage at $2,954, followed by Santa Clara, Calif., at $2,450. Rounding out the top five were San Mateo, Calif. ($2,385); San Francisco, Calif. ($2,264); and Somerset, N.J. ($2,026).

Among the largest U.S. counties, 252 had average weekly wages below the national average in the first quarter of 2017. Cameron, Texas ($614), had the lowest wage, followed by the counties of Horry, S.C. ($628); Hidalgo, Texas ($642); Webb, Texas ($675); and Lake, Fla. ($681).

Average weekly wages in Kentucky’s smaller counties

Among the 117 counties in Kentucky with employment below 75,000, Hancock ($1,349) and Carroll ($1,148) were the only two with an average weekly wage above the national average of $1,111. Robertson County had the lowest wage in the state, averaging $510 in the first quarter of 2017. (See table 2.)

When all 120 counties in Kentucky were considered, 20 reported average weekly wages below $600, 49 had average weekly wages from $600 to $699, 26 had wages from $700 to $799, 12 had wages from $800 to $899, and 13 had wages above $900. (See chart 1.)

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 2016 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 2017 version of the national news release. Tables and additional content from the 2016 edition of Employment and Wages Annual Averages are now available online at 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 Wages release for second quarter 2017 is scheduled to be released on Tuesday, December 5, 2017.

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 9.9 million employer reports cover 142.3 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 3 largest counties in Kentucky, first quarter 2017

Area	Employment			Average weekly wage (1)
	March 2017 (thousands)	Percent change, March 2016-17 (2)	National ranking by percent change (3)	Average weekly wage	National ranking by level (3)	Percent change, first quarter 2016-17 (2)	National ranking by percent change (3)
United States (4)	142,309.2	1.6	--	$1,111	--	6.6	--
Kentucky	1,864.1	1.1	--	879	41	6.9	18
Boone, Ky.	85.0	2.5	85	914	219	6.9	135
Fayette, Ky.	192.0	2.0	127	901	234	5.3	249
Jefferson, Ky.	460.1	1.5	176	1,096	105	8.2	54
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.