Employment was unchanged in Alaska’s only large county, Anchorage Borough, from June 2012 to June 2013, 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 2012 annual average employment.) Regional Commissioner Richard J. Holden noted that in June 2013, Anchorage Borough’s employment totaled 155,400 and accounted for 45.4 percent of total employment within the state.

Nationally, employment advanced 1.6 percent from June 2012 to June 2013 as 288 of the 334 largest U.S. counties gained jobs. Fort Bend, Texas, had the largest increase with a gain of 7.0 percent over the year. Atlantic, N.J., had the largest over-the-year decrease with a loss of 4.5 percent. Nationwide, the 334 large counties made up 71.4 percent of total U.S. employment.

The average weekly wage in Anchorage Borough was $1,009 in the second quarter of 2013, an increase of 1.3 percent from the second quarter of 2012. Nationally, the average weekly wage rose 2.1 percent over the year to $921 in the second quarter of 2013. (See table 1.)

Employment and wage levels (but not over-the-year changes) are also available for 28 boroughs in Alaska with employment below 75,000. Average weekly wages in these counties ranged from $1,784 to $511 during the second quarter of 2013. (See table 2.)

Large county wage changes

Anchorage Borough’s 1.3-percent wage gain placed 218th in the national ranking for large counties. (See table 1.) Among the 334 largest U.S. counties, 304 had over-the-year increases in average weekly wages in the second quarter of 2013. Union, N.J., ranked first with an increase of 8.1 percent from the second quarter of 2012. San Mateo, Calif., ranked second with a gain of 8.0 percent, followed by the counties of Williamson, Tenn. (7.8 percent), Rockingham, N.H. (6.9 percent), and Dane, Wis. (6.0 percent).

Among the nation’s largest counties, 18 experienced over-the-year decreases in average weekly wages. Davidson, Tenn., had the largest decrease (-2.2 percent), followed by Whatcom, Wash. (-1.5 percent). Washington, Ore., and Shelby, Tenn., tied for the third largest percentage decrease (-1.3 percent). El Paso, Colo., and Wyandotte, Kan., tied for the fifth largest percentage decrease (-1.1 percent).

Large county average weekly wages

Anchorage Borough’s $1,009 average weekly wage placed in the top 20 percent in the nation, ranking 60th in the second quarter of 2013. Average weekly wages were higher than the national average in 107 of the 334 largest U.S. counties. Santa Clara, Calif., held the top position with an average weekly wage of $1,810. New York, N.Y., was second at $1,675, followed by San Mateo, Calif. ($1,632) and Washington, D.C. ($1,575).

There were 227 large counties with an average weekly wage below the U.S. average in the second quarter of 2013. Horry, S.C. ($537) reported the lowest wage, followed by the counties of Cameron, Texas ($572), Hidalgo, Texas ($592), Yakima, Wash. ($629), and Lake, Fla. ($633).

Average weekly wages in Alaska’s smaller counties

Alaska consists of 16 smaller boroughs, 11 census areas, and 1 municipality, each of which is considered a county level equivalent. Twenty-three of the 28 counties in Alaska with employment below 75,000 had average weekly wages lower than the national average of $921. The exceptions were North Slope Borough ($1,784), Northwest Arctic Borough ($1,168), Southeast Fairbanks Census Area ($1,149), Juneau Borough ($949), and Fairbanks North Star Borough ($946). The Wade Hampton Census Area reported the lowest weekly wage among the smaller counties, averaging $511. (See table 2.)

When all 29 counties in Alaska were considered, 11 had wages above $800. Twelve counties had average weekly wages ranging from $700 to $799, 5 had wages from $600 to $699, and 1 had wages under $600. (See chart 1.)

Additional statistics and other information

Quarterly 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 the QCEW Web site at 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 2012 edition of this publication, which was published in September 2013, contains selected data produced by Business Employment Dynamics (BED) on job gains and losses, as well as selected data from the first quarter 2013 version of the national news release. Tables and additional content from Employment and Wages Annual Averages 2012 are now available online at https://www.bls.gov/cew/publications/employment-and-wages-annual-averages/2012/home.htm. The 2013 edition of Employment and Wages Annual Averages Online will be available in September 2014.

Information in this release will be made available to sensory impaired individuals upon request. Voice phone: 202-691-5200; Federal Relay Service: 1-800-877-8339.

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 9.2 million employer reports covered 135.1 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 BLS 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.
 

Table 1. Covered (1) employment and wages in the United States and the largest county in Alaska, second quarter 2013 (2)

Area	Employment			Average Weekly Wage (3)
	June 2013 (thousands)	Percent change, June 2012-13 (4)	National ranking by percent change (5)	Average weekly wage	National ranking by level (5)	Percent change, second quarter 2012-13 (4)	National ranking by percent change (5)
United States (6)	135,094.0	1.6	--	$921	--	2.1	--
Alaska	342.6	-0.1	--	970	9	1.6	37
Anchorage Borough, Alaska	155.4	0.0	289	1,009	60	1.3	218
Footnotes: (1) Includes workers covered by Unemployment Insurance (UI) and Unemployment Compensation for Federal Employees (UCFE) programs. (2) Data are preliminary. (3) Average weekly wages were calculated using unrounded data. (4) Percent changes were computed from quarterly employment and pay data adjusted for noneconomic county reclassifications. (5) Ranking does not include the county of San Juan, Puerto Rico. (6) Totals for the United States do not include data for Puerto Rico or the Virgin Islands.