Employment increased in 5 of Alabama’s 6 largest counties from June 2017 to June 2018, the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics reported today. (Large counties are defined as those with employment of 75,000 or greater as measured by 2017 annual average employment.) Regional Commissioner Janet S. Rankin noted that employment increases ranged from 1.7 percent in Madison County to 0.3 percent in Shelby County. Employment in Montgomery County declined 0.8 percent over the year. (See table 1.)

Nationally, employment rose 1.5 percent from June 2017 to June 2018 as 309 of the 349 largest U.S. counties gained jobs. Midland, TX, had the largest over-the-year percentage increase in employment, with a gain of 11.6 percent. McLean, IL, had the largest over-the-year percentage decrease in employment, with a loss of 2.0 percent.

Among the six largest counties in Alabama, employment was highest in Jefferson (350,600) in June 2018, while Shelby had the smallest employment (85,500). Together, Alabama’s large counties accounted for 52.5 percent of total employment within the state. Nationwide, the 349 largest counties made up 72.9 percent of total U.S. employment, which stood at 147.4 million in June 2018.

Each of Alabama’s six large counties had over-the-year wage increases with the largest gain in Shelby County (3.8 percent). Madison County had the highest average weekly wage among the state’s six largest counties at $1,102. Nationally, the average weekly wage was $1,055, a 3.4 percent increase over the year. (See table 1.)

Employment and wage levels (but not over-the-year changes) are also available for the 61 counties in Alabama with employment below 75,000. Average weekly wages in these counties ranged from $1,152 to $599. (See table 2.)

Large county wage changes

As noted, average weekly wages increased in all of Alabama’s large counties from the second quarter of 2017 to the second quarter of 2018. Shelby (3.8 percent, 86^th) was in the top third of the national ranking. Average weekly wage growth in Alabama’s five other large counties ranged from 2.9 to 1.3 percent. (See table 1.)

Nationally, 340 of the 349 largest counties had over-the-year increases in average weekly wages in the second quarter of 2018. Marin, CA, had the largest over-the-year wage gain at 11.7 percent, followed by Lake, IL, and King, WA (9.3 percent each).

Of the 349 largest U.S. counties, 8 had over-the-year decreases in average weekly wages. New Hanover, NC, had the largest percentage decrease in average weekly wages (-6.4 percent), followed by Spartanburg, SC (-2.9 percent) and Morris, NJ (-2.4 percent).

Large county average weekly wages

Average weekly wages in 3 of Alabama’s 6 largest counties placed in the top half of the national ranking among the 349 largest counties in the second quarter of 2018. Madison County’s average weekly wage of $1,102 was above the U.S. average of $1,055, and ranked 78^th nationwide. Jefferson County ($1,034) and Shelby County ($985) ranked 111^th and 160^th, respectively.

Nationwide, average weekly wages were higher than the U.S. average in 94 of the 349 largest counties. Santa Clara, CA, was the highest-paid large county with an average weekly wage of $2,573. San Mateo, CA, was second with an average weekly wage of $2,357, followed by San Francisco, CA ($2,083).

Among the largest U.S. counties, 255 reported average weekly wages below the national average in the second quarter of 2018. Horry, SC ($625) had the lowest weekly wage, followed by Cameron, TX ($642) and Hidalgo, TX ($645).

Average weekly wages in Alabama’s smaller counties

Among the 61 counties in Alabama with employment below 75,000, Washington ($1,152) was the only county with an average weekly wage above the national average of $1,055. Perry County had the lowest weekly wage in the state, averaging $599 in the second quarter of 2018. (See table 2.)

When all 67 counties in Alabama were considered, 28 had average weekly wages at or below $699, 22 had wages from $700-$799, 10 had wages from $800-$899, and 7 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 2017 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 2018 version of the national news release. Tables and additional content from Employment and Wages Annual Averages 2017 are now available online at www.bls.gov/cew/publications/employment-and-wages-annual-averages/2017/home.htm. The 2018 edition of Employment and Wages Annual Averages Online will be available in September 2019.

The County Employment and Wages release for third quarter 2018 is scheduled to be released on Wednesday, February 20, 2019. The County Employment and Wages full data update for third quarter 2018 is scheduled to be released on Wednesday, March 6, 2019.

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 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 6 largest counties in Alabama, second quarter 2018

Area	Employment			Average weekly wage (1)
	June 2018 (thousands)	Percent change, June 2017-18 (2)	National ranking by percent change (3)	Average weekly wage	National ranking by level (3)	Percent change, second quarter 2017-18 (2)	National ranking by percent change (3)
United States (4)	147,431.2	1.5	--	$1,055	--	3.4	--
Alabama	1,969.9	1.2	--	882	37	2.8	35
Jefferson, Ala.	350.6	1.4	144	1,034	111	2.7	204
Madison, Ala.	200.7	1.7	118	1,102	78	2.9	185
Mobile, Ala.	171.5	0.9	206	874	263	1.9	278
Montgomery, Ala.	132.3	-0.8	343	860	279	2.4	233
Shelby, Ala.	85.5	0.3	281	985	160	3.8	86
Tuscaloosa, Ala.	93.0	0.9	206	861	277	1.3	313
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 2018

State	Employment		Average weekly wage (1)
	June 2018 (thousands)	Percent change, June 2017-18	Average weekly wage	National ranking by level	Percent change, second quarter 2017-18	National ranking by percent change
United States (2)	147,431.2	1.5	$1,055	--	3.4	--
Alabama	1,969.9	1.2	882	37	2.8	35
Alaska	335.8	-0.9	1,043	15	3.7	9
Arizona	2,770.8	2.6	973	23	3.3	19
Arkansas	1,214.6	0.7	824	47	1.7	47
California	17,473.1	1.9	1,265	4	4.6	3
Colorado	2,704.4	2.4	1,075	10	3.2	27
Connecticut	1,704.5	0.3	1,218	5	0.1	50
Delaware	454.3	1.3	1,023	17	1.4	49
District of Columbia	777.3	1.3	1,713	1	2.6	39
Florida	8,568.9	2.1	931	28	2.9	32
Georgia	4,440.5	2.0	979	22	2.3	43
Hawaii	658.3	0.5	956	24	2.5	41
Idaho	745.3	3.1	794	50	3.8	8
Illinois	6,061.1	0.8	1,097	9	3.4	14
Indiana	3,075.8	1.1	883	36	2.8	35
Iowa	1,583.7	0.8	880	39	3.3	19
Kansas	1,393.3	1.0	879	40	3.4	14
Kentucky	1,905.9	0.9	882	37	2.3	43
Louisiana	1,918.6	0.4	901	33	3.7	9
Maine	636.8	1.0	843	45	3.6	11
Maryland	2,712.0	0.7	1,141	8	3.4	14
Massachusetts	3,650.1	1.0	1,322	2	3.5	12
Michigan	4,424.7	1.3	997	20	2.9	32
Minnesota	2,925.6	0.8	1,072	12	3.3	19
Mississippi	1,130.7	0.2	752	51	2.7	38
Missouri	2,829.0	0.5	924	30	3.9	7
Montana	478.7	1.1	817	48	2.5	41
Nebraska	990.8	0.6	859	43	3.1	29
Nevada	1,372.4	3.1	931	28	3.3	19
New Hampshire	670.8	0.8	1,049	14	3.3	19
New Jersey	4,157.0	0.9	1,201	7	2.3	43
New Mexico	823.6	1.0	852	44	3.5	12
New York	9,579.2	1.7	1,297	3	4.5	4
North Carolina	4,450.2	2.2	933	25	3.3	19
North Dakota	426.1	0.8	986	21	3.4	14
Ohio	5,461.3	0.7	933	25	2.3	43
Oklahoma	1,606.4	1.2	875	41	3.2	27
Oregon	1,947.3	1.5	999	18	3.3	19
Pennsylvania	5,924.9	1.1	1,031	16	3.1	29
Rhode Island	491.0	0.7	998	19	1.7	47
South Carolina	2,126.5	3.4	833	46	0.0	51
South Dakota	439.7	0.9	807	49	2.8	35
Tennessee	2,994.1	1.6	932	27	2.9	32
Texas	12,326.3	2.2	1,062	13	3.4	14
Utah	1,483.9	3.4	899	35	4.3	5
Vermont	312.4	-0.8	907	31	4.3	5
Virginia	3,941.0	1.3	1,073	11	2.6	39
Washington	3,444.1	2.7	1,218	5	6.9	1
West Virginia	702.9	1.6	868	42	4.8	2
Wisconsin	2,933.5	0.9	904	32	3.3	19
Wyoming	282.2	0.5	901	33	3.0	31
Puerto Rico	853.5	-2.3	543	(3)	5.2	(3)
Virgin Islands	33.4	-14.4	838	(3)	12.8	(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.