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Monday, June 24, 2019
In New Mexico’s only large county, Bernalillo, employment rose 0.8 percent from December 2017 to December 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.) Assistant Commissioner for Regional Operations Stanley W. Suchman noted that the rate of employment growth in Bernalillo County ranked 198th among the 349 largest U.S. counties. (See table 1.)
Nationally, employment advanced 1.5 percent from December 2017 to December 2018 with 296 of the 349 largest U.S. counties registering increases. Midland, TX, recorded the largest percentage increase in the country, up 10.0 percent over the year. Bay, FL, had the largest over-the-year percentage decrease in employment, with a loss of 5.6 percent.
Employment in Bernalillo County stood at 332,500 in December 2018, accounting for 40.1 percent of total employment in New Mexico. Nationwide, the 349 largest counties made up 73.2 percent of total U.S. employment.
The average weekly wage in Bernalillo County was $944 in the fourth quarter of 2018, ranking it 252nd. Nationwide, 255 of the 349 large counties reported average weekly wages below the U.S. average of $1,144. Hidalgo, TX, reported the lowest weekly wage ($680), followed by Cameron, TX, and Horry, SC ($685 each).
Nationally, 94 large counties registered average weekly wages above the U.S. average in the fourth quarter of 2018. Santa Clara, CA, held the top position with an average weekly wage of $2,670. San Francisco, CA, was second at $2,452, followed by San Mateo, CA, at $2,410. The average weekly wage in the highest-ranked county, Santa Clara, CA, was nearly four times the average weekly wage in the lowest-ranked county, Hidalgo, TX ($680).
The average weekly wage in Bernalillo County increased 3.5 percent from the fourth quarter of 2017 to the fourth quarter of 2018, ranking 128th among the largest U.S. counties. Nationally, average weekly wages rose 3.2 percent over the year, as 332 of the 349 largest counties registered increases. Tippecanoe, IN, had the largest over-the-year percentage increase in average weekly wages, with a gain of 15.1 percent.
Among the 349 large U.S. counties, 15 experienced over-the-year decreases in average weekly wages. Washington, PA, had the largest over-the-year percentage decrease with a loss of 6.6 percent in average weekly wages.
Average weekly wages in New Mexico’s smaller countiesEmployment and wage levels (but not over-the-year changes) are also available for the 32 counties in New Mexico with employment levels below 75,000. Two of these smaller counties had average weekly wages above the $1,144 national average in the fourth quarter of 2018: Los Alamos ($1,601) and Eddy ($1,210). Catron County had the lowest average wage in the state at $555 per week. (See table 2.)
When all 33 counties in New Mexico were considered, 2 had weekly wages averaging $599 or less, 10 averaged $600 to $699 per week, 13 reported wages from $700 to $799, and 8 had wages averaging $800 or more. (See chart 1.) The counties with the highest average wages were primarily concentrated around the metropolitan areas of Albuquerque, Carlsbad, Farmington, Hobbs, Los Alamos, and Santa Fe.
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 Online are now available 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 first quarter 2019 is scheduled to be released on Wednesday, August 21, 2019.
The BLS Local Data app, first released for iPhones last fall, is now available for Android devices. Search using your current location, a zip code, or a location name to find employment and wage data for detailed industries and occupations. BLS continues to partner with the U.S. Department of Labor’s Office of the Chief Information Officer to expand the features and data in the app. For more information please visit: www.bls.gov/blog/2019/bls-local-data-app-now-available-for-android-devices.htm.
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.
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) | |||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
December 2018 (thousands) | Percent change, December 2017-18 (2) | National ranking by percent change (3) |
Average weekly wage | National ranking by level (3) | Percent change, fourth quarter 2017-18 (2) |
National ranking by percent change (3) |
|
United States (4) |
148,061.8 | 1.5 | -- | $1,144 | -- | 3.2 | -- |
New Mexico |
830.2 | 1.5 | -- | 905 | 45 | 4.6 | 9 |
Bernalillo, NM |
332.5 | 0.8 | 198 | 944 | 252 | 3.5 | 128 |
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 December 2018 |
Average weekly wage(1) |
---|---|---|
United States(2) |
148,061,773 | $1,144 |
New Mexico |
830,234 | 905 |
Bernalillo |
332,513 | 944 |
Catron |
626 | 555 |
Chaves |
21,267 | 725 |
Cibola |
7,673 | 709 |
Colfax |
4,309 | 634 |
Curry |
17,069 | 714 |
De Baca |
436 | 724 |
Dona Ana |
73,546 | 762 |
Eddy |
31,964 | 1,210 |
Grant |
9,284 | 781 |
Guadalupe |
1,463 | 631 |
Harding |
168 | 704 |
Hidalgo |
1,578 | 823 |
Lea |
32,937 | 1,099 |
Lincoln |
6,271 | 634 |
Los Alamos |
16,345 | 1,601 |
Luna |
7,137 | 724 |
McKinley |
20,786 | 712 |
Mora |
714 | 622 |
Otero |
17,404 | 755 |
Quay |
2,613 | 627 |
Rio Arriba |
9,649 | 713 |
Roosevelt |
5,969 | 712 |
Sandoval |
30,797 | 802 |
San Juan |
47,152 | 916 |
San Miguel |
8,227 | 604 |
Santa Fe |
62,027 | 960 |
Sierra |
3,364 | 598 |
Socorro |
5,168 | 752 |
Taos |
11,269 | 627 |
Torrance |
2,972 | 690 |
Union |
1,288 | 686 |
Valencia |
15,168 | 699 |
Footnotes: |
||
Note: Covered employment and wages includes workers covered by Unemployment Insurance (UI) and Unemployment Compensation for Federal Employees (UCFE) programs. Data are preliminary. |
State | Employment | Average weekly wage (1) | ||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
December 2018 (thousands) | Percent change, December 2017-18 | Average weekly wage | National ranking by level | Percent change, fourth quarter 2017-18 | National ranking by percent change | |
United States (2) |
148,061.8 | 1.5 | $1,144 | -- | 3.2 | -- |
Alabama |
1,986.6 | 1.6 | 957 | 36 | 3.1 | 33 |
Alaska |
308.3 | 0.4 | 1,103 | 16 | 4.9 | 7 |
Arizona |
2,921.1 | 3.0 | 1,017 | 24 | 4.1 | 11 |
Arkansas |
1,227.0 | 0.8 | 869 | 50 | 2.4 | 43 |
California |
17,556.7 | 1.7 | 1,392 | 4 | 3.3 | 26 |
Colorado |
2,713.7 | 2.2 | 1,180 | 10 | 4.1 | 11 |
Connecticut |
1,697.9 | 0.5 | 1,334 | 5 | 1.3 | 49 |
Delaware |
451.2 | 1.1 | 1,107 | 15 | 2.4 | 43 |
District of Columbia |
775.1 | 0.6 | 1,943 | 1 | 7.3 | 2 |
Florida |
8,902.7 | 2.1 | 1,006 | 27 | 3.1 | 33 |
Georgia |
4,499.8 | 1.8 | 1,053 | 21 | 2.4 | 43 |
Hawaii |
669.3 | 0.6 | 1,016 | 25 | 3.3 | 26 |
Idaho |
734.4 | 3.2 | 890 | 47 | 3.6 | 20 |
Illinois |
6,026.0 | 0.3 | 1,189 | 9 | 3.3 | 26 |
Indiana |
3,086.2 | 0.9 | 941 | 38 | 2.8 | 37 |
Iowa |
1,558.4 | 0.5 | 966 | 35 | 3.0 | 35 |
Kansas |
1,402.2 | 0.8 | 927 | 41 | 3.7 | 18 |
Kentucky |
1,914.0 | 0.3 | 924 | 42 | 3.2 | 30 |
Louisiana |
1,934.1 | 0.7 | 968 | 34 | 3.8 | 15 |
Maine |
618.4 | 1.3 | 906 | 44 | 2.5 | 41 |
Maryland |
2,702.5 | 0.8 | 1,228 | 8 | 1.7 | 48 |
Massachusetts |
3,620.3 | 1.0 | 1,457 | 2 | 3.3 | 26 |
Michigan |
4,366.5 | 1.0 | 1,077 | 19 | 1.3 | 49 |
Minnesota |
2,902.3 | 0.9 | 1,140 | 14 | 3.6 | 20 |
Mississippi |
1,144.3 | 0.2 | 793 | 51 | 2.5 | 41 |
Missouri |
2,821.3 | 0.5 | 980 | 31 | 3.6 | 20 |
Montana |
468.8 | 1.6 | 888 | 48 | 5.2 | 5 |
Nebraska |
983.0 | 0.2 | 930 | 40 | 3.2 | 30 |
Nevada |
1,397.4 | 3.3 | 1,006 | 27 | 5.3 | 4 |
New Hampshire |
666.0 | 0.7 | 1,158 | 12 | 2.3 | 46 |
New Jersey |
4,125.6 | 0.8 | 1,298 | 6 | 2.7 | 38 |
New Mexico |
830.2 | 1.5 | 905 | 45 | 4.6 | 9 |
New York |
9,613.2 | 1.5 | 1,445 | 3 | 1.0 | 51 |
North Carolina |
4,458.9 | 1.6 | 1,013 | 26 | 5.1 | 6 |
North Dakota |
422.3 | 1.5 | 1,057 | 20 | 4.7 | 8 |
Ohio |
5,442.9 | 0.5 | 1,006 | 27 | 3.4 | 24 |
Oklahoma |
1,632.3 | 1.5 | 932 | 39 | 4.1 | 11 |
Oregon |
1,935.8 | 1.7 | 1,052 | 22 | 3.7 | 18 |
Pennsylvania |
5,932.5 | 1.0 | 1,103 | 16 | 2.6 | 39 |
Rhode Island |
487.2 | 0.8 | 1,085 | 18 | 2.6 | 39 |
South Carolina |
2,119.6 | 2.8 | 893 | 46 | 1.9 | 47 |
South Dakota |
428.4 | 1.2 | 885 | 49 | 3.4 | 24 |
Tennessee |
3,039.8 | 1.8 | 1,030 | 23 | 3.0 | 35 |
Texas |
12,531.7 | 2.5 | 1,148 | 13 | 3.5 | 23 |
Utah |
1,511.5 | 3.2 | 972 | 33 | 3.8 | 15 |
Vermont |
314.2 | -0.4 | 954 | 37 | 3.2 | 30 |
Virginia |
3,927.2 | 1.1 | 1,164 | 11 | 3.8 | 15 |
Washington |
3,384.2 | 2.4 | 1,292 | 7 | 6.3 | 3 |
West Virginia |
704.2 | 1.5 | 917 | 43 | 8.3 | 1 |
Wisconsin |
2,892.3 | 0.6 | 989 | 30 | 4.0 | 14 |
Wyoming |
272.1 | 1.8 | 978 | 32 | 4.4 | 10 |
Puerto Rico |
896.4 | 0.8 | 576 | (3) | 0.9 | (3) |
Virgin Islands |
34.5 | 0.5 | 925 | (3) | 2.3 | (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: Monday, June 24, 2019