Employment increased in 4 of Alabama’s 6 largest counties from June 2018 to June 2019, the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics reported today. (Large counties are those with annual average employment levels of 75,000 or more in 2018.) Regional Commissioner Janet S. Rankin noted that employment increases ranged from 2.9 percent in Tuscaloosa County to 0.4 percent in Mobile County. During this same period, employment declined in Montgomery and Shelby Counties, down 0.5 percent and 0.2 percent, respectively. (See table 1.)

Nationally, employment rose 1.1 percent from June 2018 to June 2019 as 279 of the 355 largest U.S. counties gained jobs. Adams, CO, had the largest over-the-year percentage increase in employment, with a gain of 5.3 percent. Bay, FL, had the largest over-the-year percentage decrease in employment, with a loss of 6.4 percent.

Among the largest counties in Alabama, employment was highest in Jefferson County (354,600) in June 2019, followed by Madison County (205,900). Together, Alabama’s large counties accounted for 52.4 percent of total employment within the state. Nationwide, the 355 largest counties made up 73.4 percent of total U.S. employment, which stood at 149.1 million in June 2019.

Each of Alabama’s six large counties had over-the-year wage increases with the largest gain in Madison County (4.7 percent). Madison County had the highest average weekly wage among the state’s six largest counties at $1,153. Nationally, the average weekly wage was $1,095, a 3.8 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 2018 annual average employment levels below 75,000. Average weekly wages in these counties ranged from $1,174 to $607. (See table 2.)

Large county wage changes

In the second quarter of 2019, Madison County (4.7 percent) was the only large county in Alabama to have an over-the-year wage gain above the national average of 3.8 percent. Over-the-year wage gains among Alabama’s other five large counties ranged from 3.6 percent to 2.6 percent.  (See table 1.)

Nationally, 347 of the 355 largest counties had over-the-year increases in average weekly wages in the second quarter of 2019. Benton, AR, had the largest over-the-year wage gain at 16.3 percent, followed by San Francisco, CA (15.5 percent), and Bay, FL (9.2 percent).

Of the 355 largest U.S. counties, 8 had over-the-year decreases in average weekly wages. McLean, IL, had the largest percentage decrease in average weekly wages (-5.8 percent), followed by Shawnee, KS (-2.9 percent), and Lake, IL (-2.5 percent).

Large county average weekly wages

Madison County’s average weekly wage of $1,153 was above the U.S. average of $1,095, and ranked 76^th nationwide. Jefferson County ($1,062) and Shelby County ($1,013) ranked 119^th and 163^rd, respectively.

Nationwide, average weekly wages were at or higher than the U.S. average in 95 of the 355 largest counties. Santa Clara, CA, had the highest average weekly wage at $2,612, followed by San Francisco, CA ($2,430), and San Mateo, CA ($2,373).

Among the largest U.S. counties, 260 had average weekly wages below the national average in the second quarter of 2019. Horry, SC ($649) had the lowest weekly wage, followed by Hidalgo, TX ($657), and Cameron TX ($659).

Average weekly wages in Alabama’s smaller counties

Among the 61 counties in Alabama—those with 2018 annual employment levels below 75,000—only Washington ($1,174) had an average weekly wage above the national average of $1,095. Perry County had the lowest average weekly wage in the state, averaging $607 in the second quarter of 2019. (See table 2.)

When all 67 counties in Alabama were considered, 18 had average weekly wages at or below $699, 29 had wages from $700-$799, 11 had wages from $800-$899, and 9 had wages at or 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 2018 edition of this publication, which was published in September 2019, contains selected data produced by Business Employment Dynamics (BED) on job gains and losses, as well as selected data from the first quarter 2019 version of the national news release. Tables and additional content from the 2018 edition of Employment and Wages Annual Averages are now available online at www.bls.gov/cew/publications/employment-and-wages-annual-averages/2018/home.htm.

The County Employment and Wages release for third quarter 2019 is scheduled to be released on Thursday, February 20, 2020. The County Employment and Wages full data update for third quarter 2019 is scheduled to be released on Wednesday, March 4, 2020.

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 2019

Area	Employment			Average weekly wage (1)
	June 2019 (thousands)	Percent change, June 2018-19 (2)	National ranking by percent change (3)	Average weekly wage	National ranking by level (3)	Percent change, second quarter 2018-19 (2)	National ranking by percent change (3)
United States (4)	149,089.2	1.1	--	$1,095	--	3.8	--
Alabama	1,993.7	1.1	--	911	36	3.4	28
Jefferson, Ala.	354.6	0.8	184	1,062	119	2.6	258
Madison, Ala.	205.9	2.3	54	1,153	76	4.7	53
Mobile, Ala.	172.0	0.4	236	904	263	3.3	187
Montgomery, Ala.	131.5	-0.5	317	891	279	3.6	156
Shelby, Ala.	85.5	-0.2	298	1,013	163	3.1	210
Tuscaloosa, Ala.	96.1	2.9	26	883	285	2.7	253
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 2019

State	Employment		Average weekly wage (1)
	June 2019 (thousands)	Percent change, June 2018-19	Average weekly wage	National ranking by level	Percent change, second quarter 2018-19	National ranking by percent change
United States (2)	149,089.2	1.1	$1,095	--	3.8	--
Alabama	1,993.7	1.1	911	36	3.4	28
Alaska	338.9	0.7	1,078	15	3.6	26
Arizona	2,843.3	2.6	1,010	23	3.8	16
Arkansas	1,222.5	0.6	862	47	4.6	4
California	17,717.4	1.5	1,325	4	4.7	3
Colorado	2,765.7	2.2	1,128	9	4.9	2
Connecticut	1,690.8	-0.8	1,266	6	3.9	11
Delaware	458.0	0.8	1,057	17	3.4	28
District of Columbia	780.4	0.5	1,778	1	3.8	16
Florida	8,722.9	1.8	968	26	3.9	11
Georgia	4,507.1	1.7	1,016	22	3.9	11
Hawaii	652.2	-1.2	992	24	3.7	22
Idaho	765.1	2.6	820	50	3.3	33
Illinois	6,074.7	0.3	1,122	10	2.4	47
Indiana	3,089.8	0.5	910	38	3.1	39
Iowa	1,584.7	0.1	902	40	2.5	45
Kansas	1,403.0	0.6	905	39	2.8	42
Kentucky	1,909.7	0.3	911	36	3.3	33
Louisiana	1,920.2	-0.2	923	35	2.4	47
Maine	639.6	0.4	874	45	3.7	22
Maryland	2,733.6	0.7	1,178	8	3.3	33
Massachusetts	3,690.1	0.9	1,377	2	4.3	5
Michigan	4,419.7	0.1	1,018	21	2.4	47
Minnesota	2,952.6	0.8	1,101	13	2.6	44
Mississippi	1,135.9	0.4	767	51	2.0	51
Missouri	2,836.7	0.3	948	30	2.5	45
Montana	483.1	1.0	843	48	3.3	33
Nebraska	991.5	0.1	889	42	3.5	27
Nevada	1,408.8	2.6	961	29	3.2	38
New Hampshire	676.1	0.8	1,090	14	4.0	10
New Jersey	4,182.5	0.7	1,236	7	3.0	41
New Mexico	834.0	1.0	888	44	4.3	5
New York	9,682.8	1.0	1,347	3	3.9	11
North Carolina	4,527.3	2.0	970	25	3.9	11
North Dakota	431.8	1.3	1,026	20	4.1	7
Ohio	5,486.7	0.4	965	27	3.4	28
Oklahoma	1,618.5	0.5	900	41	3.1	39
Oregon	1,976.5	1.3	1,036	18	3.8	16
Pennsylvania	5,972.1	0.8	1,070	16	3.8	16
Rhode Island	494.5	0.7	1,034	19	3.4	28
South Carolina	2,144.2	1.3	867	46	3.7	22
South Dakota	441.8	0.4	838	49	3.8	16
Tennessee	3,047.8	1.8	964	28	3.3	33
Texas	12,585.6	2.0	1,102	12	3.8	16
Utah	1,526.1	3.0	936	32	4.1	7
Vermont	314.0	0.0	929	34	2.7	43
Virginia	3,981.6	1.0	1,113	11	3.7	22
Washington	3,500.6	1.8	1,288	5	5.9	1
West Virginia	700.4	-0.6	889	42	2.4	47
Wisconsin	2,945.3	0.3	940	31	4.1	7
Wyoming	287.6	1.7	932	33	3.4	28
Puerto Rico	867.7	1.5	531	(3)	-1.8	(3)
Virgin Islands	37.0	10.0	919	(3)	8.8	(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.