Employment rose in all six large counties in Tennessee from March 2017 to March 2018, 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 2017 annual average employment.) Regional Commissioner Janet S. Rankin noted that employment increases ranged from 4.2 percent in Williamson County to 0.9 percent in Knox County. (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 counties in the U.S., with a loss of 1.4 percent.

Among the largest counties in Tennessee, employment was highest in Shelby County (492,500) in March 2018, followed by Davidson County (488,400). Together, Tennessee’s six large counties accounted for 57.1 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 Tennessee’s six large counties posted over-the-year wage increases in the first quarter of 2018. Davidson County (6.2 percent) had the largest over-the-year wage gain, followed by Knox County (4.4 percent). Williamson County had the highest average weekly wage among the state’s largest counties at $1,280, followed by Davidson County at $1,228. Nationally, the average weekly wage increased 3.7 percent over the year, growing 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 89 counties with employment levels below 75,000 in Tennessee. Average weekly wages in these counties ranged from $1,355 to $498. (See table 2.)

Large county wage changes

As noted, average weekly wages rose in all of Tennessee’s large counties from the first quarter of 2017 to the first quarter of 2018. Wage gains in two of the state’s large counties placed in the top 75 of the national ranking—Davidson (6.2 percent, 19^th), and Knox (4.4 percent, 59^th). (See table 1.)

Nationally, 336 of the 349 largest counties had over-the-year increases in average weekly wages. Peoria, Ill., had the largest wage gain, 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 wages

Williamson and Davidson Counties, with average weekly wages of $1,280 and $1,228, respectively, placed in the top quarter among the 349 largest U.S. counties in the first quarter of 2018. Average weekly wages in three large counties in Tennessee 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 Tennessee’s smaller counties

Among the 89 counties in Tennessee with employment below 75,000, only Roane County ($1,355) had an average weekly wage above the national average of $1,152. Grundy County reported the lowest average weekly in the state, averaging $498 in the first quarter of 2018. (See table 2.)

When all 95 counties in Tennessee were considered, 9 reported average weekly wages below $600, 28 had wages from $600 to $699, 33 had wages from $700 to $799, 13 had wages from $800 to $899, and 12 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 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.

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 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.

Table 1. Covered employment and wages in the United States and the 6 largest counties in Tennessee, first quarter 2018

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	--
Tennessee	2,950.0	1.6	--	978	27	3.5	19
Davidson, Tenn.	488.4	2.7	56	1,228	68	6.2	19
Hamilton, Tenn.	203.5	2.0	103	963	206	2.4	228
Knox, Tenn.	237.3	0.9	222	982	187	4.4	59
Rutherford, Tenn.	129.3	3.5	25	906	259	0.3	332
Shelby, Tenn.	492.5	1.1	200	1,074	130	1.6	302
Williamson, Tenn.	132.7	4.2	13	1,280	56	2.1	264
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 2. Covered employment and wages in the United States and all counties in Tennessee, first quarter 2018

Area	Employment March 2018	Average Weekly Wage (1)
United States (2)	144,562,926	$1,152
Tennessee	2,950,002	978
Anderson	38,788	1127
Bedford	17,647	742
Benton	4,117	664
Bledsoe	2,167	641
Blount	48,852	904
Bradley	41,624	790
Campbell	9,345	671
Cannon	2,260	618
Carroll	7,219	740
Carter	11,245	651
Cheatham	8,545	836
Chester	3,670	627
Claiborne	9,149	675
Clay	1,473	565
Cocke	7,643	661
Coffee	26,217	852
Crockett	3,675	788
Cumberland	17,763	643
Davidson	488,423	1,228
Decatur	3,601	720
De Kalb	5,822	717
Dickson	17,444	727
Dyer	15,199	764
Fayette	7,762	851
Fentress	4,800	586
Franklin	11,922	678
Gibson	14,036	693
Giles	10,696	730
Grainger	3,915	779
Greene	25,443	721
Grundy	2,065	498
Hamblen	31,266	750
Hamilton	203,498	963
Hancock	841	520
Hardeman	6,602	770
Hardin	8,090	847
Hawkins	13,011	810
Haywood	4,971	751
Henderson	7,916	783
Henry	11,596	733
Hickman	3,691	685
Houston	1,472	593
Humphreys	5,794	1013
Jackson	1,456	605
Jefferson	13,235	774
Johnson	4,248	767
Knox	237,273	982
Lake	1,737	620
Lauderdale	6,656	729
Lawrence	10,350	664
Lewis	2,664	574
Lincoln	10,048	675
Loudon	15,132	819
McMinn	5,025	815
McNairy	58,766	633
Macon	7,603	631
Madison	9,694	820
Marion	34,613	716
Marshall	18,010	786
Maury	5,580	942
Meigs	2,160	711
Monroe	14,382	736
Montgomery	54,038	724
Moore	2,042	843
Morgan	2,999	674
Obion	9,566	702
Overton	4,899	701
Perry	2,075	596
Pickett	1178	644
Polk	2,035	600
Putnam	36,716	738
Rhea	10,496	795
Roane	17,941	1,355
Robertson	22,338	739
Rutherford	129,328	906
Scott	5,761	601
Sequatchie	2,956	598
Sevier	45,658	570
Shelby	492,498	1,074
Smith	5,400	802
Stewart	2,543	891
Sullivan	68,677	1000
Sumner	53,781	820
Tipton	11,446	685
Trousdale	1,874	721
Unicoi	4,785	883
Union	2,480	647
Van Buren	829	616
Warren	12,872	743
Washington	61,646	771
Wayne	3,604	651
Weakley	11,115	629
White	7,121	662
Williamson	132,684	1,280
Wilson	45,021	779
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.
NOTE: Includes workers covered by Unemployment Insurance (UI) and Unemployment Compensation for Federal Employees (UCFE) programs. Data are preliminary.

Table 3. Covered employment and wages by state, first quarter 2018

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: (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.