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Wednesday, September 19, 2018
The three large counties in Kentucky reported employment gains from March 2017 to March 2018, the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics reported today. (Large counties are those with 2017 annual average employment levels of 75,000 or more.) Regional Commissioner Janet S. Rankin noted that Boone County’s employment increased 5.9 percent over the year, the third-largest employment gain among the 349 largest U.S. counties. (See table 1.)
Nationally, employment advanced 1.6 percent from March 2017 to March 2018 as 314 of the 349 largest U.S. counties registered increases. Midland, Texas, had the largest percentage increase with a gain of 12.6 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 1.4 percent.
Among the three largest counties in Kentucky, employment was highest in Jefferson (464,400) in March 2018, while Boone had the smallest employment level (91,100). Together, Kentucky’s large counties accounted for 39.9 percent of total employment within the state. Nationwide, the 349 largest counties made up 73.1 percent of total U.S. employment, which stood at 144.6 million in March 2018.
Each of Kentucky’s three large counties had an over-the-year wage increase in the first quarter of 2018, with the largest gain in Fayette County (2.5 percent). Jefferson County had the highest average weekly wage among the state’s largest counties at $1,118. Nationally, the average weekly wage increased 3.7 percent over the year to $1,152 in the first quarter of 2018. (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 $1,390 to $494. (See table 2.)
Large county wage changesAs noted, average weekly wages rose in all of Kentucky’s large counties from the first quarter of 2017 to the first quarter of 2018. At 2.5 percent, Fayette County’s wage gain ranked 214th among the nation’s 349 large counties. Jefferson County’s 2.0-percent increase ranked 273rd and Boone County’s 0.1-percent increase ranked 336th. (See table 1.)
Nationally, 336 of the 349 largest counties had over-the-year increases in average weekly wages. Peoria, Ill., had the largest percentage wage increase, up 23.8 percent from the first quarter of 2017. Suffolk, Mass., followed with an increase of 12.1 percent.
Of the 349 largest counties, 13 experienced an over-the-year decrease in average weekly wages. Forsyth, N.C., had the largest percentage decrease in average weekly wages (-4.8 percent), followed by Washington, Ark. (-3.1 percent).
Large county average weekly wagesAverage weekly wages in Kentucky’s three large counties were below the U.S. average of $1,152. The average weekly wage in Jefferson County ($1,118, 107th) placed in the top third of the national ranking. Average weekly wages in Fayette County ($925, 244th) and Boone County ($905, 260th) placed in the bottom half of the national ranking.
Among the 349 largest U.S. counties, 259 had average weekly wages below the national average in the first quarter of 2018. Cameron, Texas reported the lowest wage ($628), followed by Horry County, S.C. ($631), and the Texas counties of Hidalgo ($657) and Webb ($690).
Nationwide, 90 large counties had average weekly wages at or above the U.S. average of $1,152 in the first quarter of 2018. New York, N.Y., had the highest average weekly wage at $3,087. Santa Clara, Calif. ($2,651) was second, followed by San Mateo, Calif. ($2,606); San Francisco, Calif. ($2,485); Suffolk, Mass. ($2,268); and Somerset, N.J. ($2,078).
Average weekly wages in Kentucky’s smaller countiesAmong the 117 counties in Kentucky with employment below 75,000, Hancock ($1,390) and Carroll ($1,171) were the only two with an average weekly wage above the national average of $1,152. Robertson County had the lowest wage in the state, averaging $494 in the first quarter of 2018. (See table 2.)
When all 120 counties in Kentucky were considered, 15 reported average weekly wages below $600, 46 had average weekly wages from $600 to $699, 31 had wages from $700 to $799, 14 had wages from $800 to $899, and 14 had wages above $900. (See chart 1.)
Additional statistics and other informationQCEW 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 the 2017 edition of Employment and Wages Annual Averages 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 second quarter 2018 is scheduled to be released on Wednesday, November 21, 2018. The County Employment and Wages full data update for second quarter 2018 is scheduled to be released on Thursday, December 6, 2018.
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 10.0 million employer reports cover 144.6 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.
Area | Employment | Average weekly wage (1) | |||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
March 2018 (thousands) | Percent change, March 2017-18 (2) | National ranking by percent change (3) | Average weekly wage | National ranking by level (3) | Percent change, first quarter 2017-18 (2) | National ranking by percent change (3) | |
United States (4) | 144,562.9 | 1.6 | -- | $1,152 | -- | 3.7 | -- |
Kentucky | 1,873.7 | 0.5 | -- | 901 | 41 | 2.5 | 39 |
Boone, Ky. | 91.1 | 5.9 | 3 | 905 | 260 | 0.1 | 336 |
Fayette, Ky. | 191.4 | 0.1 | 310 | 925 | 244 | 2.5 | 214 |
Jefferson, Ky. | 464.4 | 0.6 | 267 | 1,118 | 107 | 2.0 | 273 |
Footnotes: | |||||||
Note: Data are preliminary. Covered employment and wages includes workers covered by Unemployment Insurance (UI) and Unemployment Compensation for Federal Employees (UCFE) programs. |
Area | Employment March 2018 | Average Weekly Wage (1) |
---|---|---|
United States (2) | 144,562,926 | $1,152 |
Kentucky | 1,873,666 | 901 |
Adair | 4,587 | 603 |
Allen | 4,571 | 669 |
Anderson | 4,756 | 686 |
Ballard | 1,464 | 936 |
Barren | 16,667 | 688 |
Bath | 1,845 | 713 |
Bell | 8,171 | 655 |
Boone | 91,120 | 905 |
Bourbon | 6,536 | 780 |
Boyd | 24,179 | 946 |
Boyle | 14,182 | 749 |
Bracken | 1,324 | 683 |
Breathitt | 3,085 | 644 |
Breckinridge | 3,461 | 629 |
Bullitt | 25,250 | 745 |
Butler | 2,864 | 679 |
Caldwell | 4,105 | 652 |
Calloway | 16,551 | 666 |
Campbell | 30,433 | 849 |
Carlisle | 1,063 | 585 |
Carroll | 6,823 | 1,171 |
Carter | 5,490 | 615 |
Casey | 3,896 | 576 |
Christian | 31,630 | 793 |
Clark | 14,579 | 789 |
Clay | 3,904 | 665 |
Clinton | 3,756 | 571 |
Crittenden | 2,020 | 598 |
Cumberland | 1,777 | 647 |
Daviess | 46,513 | 813 |
Edmonson | 1,606 | 621 |
Elliott | 945 | 612 |
Estill | 2,396 | 662 |
Fayette | 191,435 | 925 |
Fleming | 3,093 | 655 |
Floyd | 10,248 | 772 |
Franklin | 30,797 | 830 |
Fulton | 1,997 | 607 |
Gallatin | 2,408 | 999 |
Garrard | 2,258 | 659 |
Grant | 4,935 | 783 |
Graves | 11,031 | 719 |
Grayson | 7,886 | 671 |
Green | 1,683 | 652 |
Greenup | 7,845 | 738 |
Hancock | 3,894 | 1,390 |
Hardin | 48,163 | 806 |
Harlan | 5,901 | 677 |
Harrison | 4,887 | 795 |
Hart | 5,329 | 676 |
Henderson | 19,302 | 859 |
Henry | 2,682 | 722 |
Hickman | 996 | 579 |
Hopkins | 17,290 | 818 |
Jackson | 1,614 | 617 |
Jefferson | 464,422 | 1,118 |
Jessamine | 16,573 | 765 |
Johnson | 5,127 | 647 |
Kenton | 66,387 | 1,131 |
Knott | 2221 | 596 |
Knox | 8,028 | 635 |
Larue | 2,559 | 617 |
Laurel | 26,763 | 704 |
Lawrence | 3,398 | 655 |
Lee | 1,651 | 601 |
Leslie | 1,561 | 728 |
Letcher | 4,547 | 651 |
Lewis | 1,958 | 618 |
Lincoln | 4,195 | 623 |
Livingston | 2,422 | 832 |
Logan | 8,755 | 797 |
Lyon | 2,365 | 610 |
McCracken | 38,528 | 819 |
McCreary | 2,643 | 662 |
McLean | 2,093 | 707 |
Madison | 33,628 | 764 |
Magoffin | 1,597 | 588 |
Marion | 8,649 | 797 |
Marshall | 10,827 | 950 |
Martin | 2,387 | 830 |
Mason | 8,490 | 769 |
Meade | 4,272 | 704 |
Menifee | 932 | 595 |
Mercer | 6,189 | 963 |
Metcalfe | 1,874 | 648 |
Monroe | 3,233 | 607 |
Montgomery | 10,367 | 766 |
Morgan | 2,861 | 656 |
Muhlenberg | 8,121 | 783 |
Nelson | 15,707 | 792 |
Nicholas | 893 | 528 |
Ohio | 7,725 | 687 |
Oldham | 15,874 | 833 |
Owen | 1,520 | 785 |
Owsley | 669 | 532 |
Pendleton | 2,381 | 765 |
Perry | 11,221 | 740 |
Pike | 20,965 | 807 |
Powell | 2,563 | 593 |
Pulaski | 24,754 | 668 |
Robertson | 327 | 494 |
Rockcastle | 3,890 | 613 |
Rowan | 10,638 | 672 |
Russell | 5,722 | 596 |
Scott | 26,326 | 948 |
Shelby | 17,180 | 764 |
Simpson | 9,002 | 767 |
Spencer | 1,921 | 645 |
Taylor | 11,782 | 624 |
Todd | 2,152 | 604 |
Trigg | 2,985 | 607 |
Trimble | 1,299 | 1,107 |
Union | 4,827 | 855 |
Warren | 64269 | 820 |
Washington | 3,374 | 703 |
Wayne | 5,870 | 599 |
Webster | 3,105 | 910 |
Whitley | 11,518 | 708 |
Wolfe | 1,245 | 548 |
Woodford | 9,064 | 823 |
Footnotes: | ||
NOTE: Includes workers covered by Unemployment Insurance (UI) and Unemployment Compensation for Federal Employees (UCFE) programs. Data are preliminary. |
State | Employment | Average weekly wage (1) | ||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
March 2018 (thousands) | Percent change, March 2017-18 | Average weekly wage | National ranking by level | Percent change, first quarter 2017-18 | National ranking by percent change | |
United States (2) | 144,562.9 | 1.6 | $1,152 | -- | 3.7 | -- |
Alabama | 1,948.9 | 1.1 | 919 | 36 | 2.9 | 34 |
Alaska | 311.2 | -0.5 | 1,074 | 20 | 2.3 | 44 |
Arizona | 2,822.5 | 2.8 | 1,025 | 22 | 3.5 | 19 |
Arkansas | 1,211.4 | 0.9 | 879 | 44 | 2.4 | 40 |
California | 17,152.5 | 2.1 | 1,352 | 6 | 4.4 | 6 |
Colorado | 2,639.5 | 2.5 | 1,175 | 11 | 3.4 | 22 |
Connecticut | 1,651.9 | 0.1 | 1,447 | 4 | 2.4 | 40 |
Delaware | 438.7 | 1.2 | 1,202 | 10 | 1.3 | 51 |
District of Columbia | 770.2 | 1.2 | 1,917 | 1 | 1.9 | 49 |
Florida | 8,716.8 | 2.2 | 988 | 25 | 4.1 | 9 |
Georgia | 4,409.1 | 2.3 | 1,095 | 17 | 2.3 | 44 |
Hawaii | 658.4 | 0.3 | 974 | 29 | 2.3 | 44 |
Idaho | 712.6 | 3.5 | 809 | 50 | 4.3 | 7 |
Illinois | 5,909.3 | 1.0 | 1,241 | 8 | 3.9 | 10 |
Indiana | 3,018.8 | 1.2 | 954 | 32 | 3.9 | 10 |
Iowa | 1,525.8 | 0.5 | 921 | 35 | 2.4 | 40 |
Kansas | 1,370.6 | 0.2 | 912 | 40 | 2.7 | 38 |
Kentucky | 1,873.7 | 0.5 | 901 | 41 | 2.5 | 39 |
Louisiana | 1,914.7 | 0.5 | 932 | 34 | 3.0 | 30 |
Maine | 592.1 | 0.9 | 891 | 43 | 3.6 | 16 |
Maryland | 2,646.9 | 0.9 | 1,209 | 9 | 3.2 | 26 |
Massachusetts | 3,509.9 | 1.1 | 1,510 | 3 | 5.6 | 2 |
Michigan | 4,289.0 | 1.4 | 1,078 | 19 | 3.4 | 22 |
Minnesota | 2,823.6 | 0.7 | 1,175 | 11 | 2.1 | 47 |
Mississippi | 1,125.9 | 0.1 | 765 | 51 | 2.1 | 47 |
Missouri | 2,777.6 | 0.5 | 960 | 31 | 3.1 | 28 |
Montana | 455.5 | 1.0 | 819 | 49 | 2.4 | 40 |
Nebraska | 966.0 | 0.4 | 898 | 42 | 3.6 | 16 |
Nevada | 1,351.6 | 3.0 | 977 | 28 | 4.8 | 5 |
New Hampshire | 648.2 | 0.8 | 1,122 | 15 | 4.9 | 3 |
New Jersey | 3,997.6 | 1.3 | 1,373 | 5 | 3.0 | 30 |
New Mexico | 813.3 | 1.0 | 862 | 47 | 2.9 | 34 |
New York | 9,318.9 | 1.8 | 1,597 | 2 | 3.4 | 22 |
North Carolina | 4,370.6 | 1.8 | 1,022 | 23 | 3.0 | 30 |
North Dakota | 408.2 | 0.6 | 988 | 25 | 3.7 | 15 |
Ohio | 5,328.5 | 0.9 | 1,005 | 24 | 2.9 | 34 |
Oklahoma | 1,600.9 | 1.8 | 914 | 38 | 3.5 | 19 |
Oregon | 1,894.3 | 2.0 | 1,026 | 21 | 4.3 | 7 |
Pennsylvania | 5,787.2 | 1.4 | 1,115 | 16 | 3.4 | 22 |
Rhode Island | 469.9 | 1.1 | 1,086 | 18 | 3.2 | 26 |
South Carolina | 2,067.4 | 2.2 | 877 | 45 | 1.7 | 50 |
South Dakota | 417.5 | 1.0 | 842 | 48 | 2.8 | 37 |
Tennessee | 2,950.0 | 1.6 | 978 | 27 | 3.5 | 19 |
Texas | 12,179.2 | 2.0 | 1,168 | 13 | 3.9 | 10 |
Utah | 1,458.8 | 3.3 | 949 | 33 | 4.9 | 3 |
Vermont | 307.1 | 0.4 | 917 | 37 | 3.1 | 28 |
Virginia | 3,854.4 | 1.5 | 1,162 | 14 | 3.0 | 30 |
Washington | 3,316.1 | 2.8 | 1,306 | 7 | 7.7 | 1 |
West Virginia | 684.8 | 0.6 | 868 | 46 | 3.6 | 16 |
Wisconsin | 2,831.7 | 1.0 | 968 | 30 | 3.8 | 14 |
Wyoming | 263.7 | 0.3 | 914 | 38 | 3.9 | 10 |
Puerto Rico | 856.7 | -3.8 | 563 | (3) | 7.0 | (3) |
Virgin Islands | 33.3 | -15.5 | 969 | (3) | 24.4 | (3) |
Footnotes: | ||||||
Note: Data are preliminary. Covered employment and wages includes workers covered by Unemployment Insurance (UI) and Unemployment Compensation for Federal Employees (UCFE) programs. |
Last Modified Date: Wednesday, September 19, 2018