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News Release Information

14-171-SAN
Tuesday, February 04, 2014

Contacts Technical information: Media contact:
  • (415) 625-2270

County Employment and Wages in Alaska – Second Quarter 2013

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.
 


 
Table 2. Covered (1) employment and wages in the United States and all counties in Alaska, second quarter 2013 (2)
Area Employment June 2013 Average Weekly Wage (3)

United States (4)

135,093,963 $921

  Alaska

342,551 970

    Aleutian East Borough

1,735 621

    Aleutian West Census Area

3,627 823

    Anchorage Borough

155,402 1,009

    Bethel Census Area

7,272 751

    Bristol Bay Borough

2,675 786

    Denali Borough

3,655 739

    Dillingham Census Area

3,075 706

    Fairbanks North Star Borough

37,386 946

    Haines Borough

1,146 644

    Hoonah-Angoon Census Area

966 625

    Juneau Borough

18,627 949

    Kenai Peninsula Borough

22,608 876

    Ketchikan Gateway Borough

8,148 794

    Kodiak Island Borough

6,678 789

    Lake and Peninsula Borough

950 726

    Mantanuska-Susitna Borough

21,956 755

    Nome Census Area

3,718 892

    North Slope Borough

14,085 1,784

    Northwest Arctic Borough

3,080 1,168

    Petersburg Census Area

1,405 739

    Prince of Wales-Hyder Census Area

2,186 792

    Sitka Borough

4,507 860

    Skagway Municipality

1,387 671

    Southeast Fairbanks Census Area

2,496 1,149

    Valdez-Cordova Census Area

5,847 906

    Wade Hampton Census Area

2,182 511

    Wrangell City and Borough

953 699

    Yakutat Borough

363 717

    Yukon-Koyukuk Census Area

2,730 776
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) Totals for the United States do not include data for Puerto Rico or the Virgin Islands.    
SOURCE: Quarterly Census of Employment and Wages    

 
Table 3. Covered (1) employment and wages by state, second quarter 2013 (2)
State Employment Average weekly wage (3)
June
2013
(thousands)
Percent
change,
June 2012-13
Average
weekly
wage
National
ranking by
level
Percent change,
second quarter
2012-13
National
ranking by
percent change

United States (4)

135,094.0 1.6 $921 -- 2.1 --

Alabama

1,859.5 0.9 794 35 1.4 44

Alaska

342.6 -0.1 970 9 1.6 37

Arizona

2,438.1 1.8 877 20 1.7 32

Arkansas

1,150.4 -0.6 734 46 2.4 10

California

15,485.8 2.4 1,048 6 2.0 21

Colorado

2,359.4 2.9 933 14 1.6 37

Connecticut

1,666.3 1.0 1,128 3 1.5 41

Delaware

417.8 1.8 966 12 2.0 21

District of Columbia

725.0 0.9 1,575 1 2.1 19

Florida

7,402.0 2.4 822 29 2.0 21

Georgia

3,917.2 1.7 867 22 2.2 17

Hawaii

617.0 1.9 823 28 1.6 37

Idaho

642.7 2.7 683 51 1.9 28

Illinois

5,750.0 0.8 971 8 1.9 28

Indiana

2,863.4 1.1 776 42 1.7 32

Iowa

1,523.9 1.3 757 43 2.0 21

Kansas

1,350.0 1.2 779 41 2.1 19

Kentucky

1,790.6 0.6 782 38 1.3 46

Louisiana

1,894.7 0.9 824 27 2.4 10

Maine

604.4 0.4 732 47 1.8 30

Maryland

2,570.3 0.9 1,005 7 1.4 44

Massachusetts

3,352.7 1.3 1,131 2 2.0 21

Michigan

4,073.7 2.2 875 21 2.0 21

Minnesota

2,745.2 1.9 929 15 2.4 10

Mississippi

1,094.9 0.7 691 49 1.5 41

Missouri

2,668.2 1.2 803 33 1.6 37

Montana

448.4 1.5 717 48 2.4 10

Nebraska

941.0 0.9 737 45 2.6 7

Nevada

1,168.3 2.3 829 26 1.7 32

New Hampshire

629.1 0.8 916 17 2.9 4

New Jersey

3,917.5 1.0 1,084 5 2.6 7

New Mexico

795.0 0.4 781 39 -0.3 51

New York

8,804.9 1.1 1,118 4 2.0 21

North Carolina

3,985.1 1.7 808 31 2.5 9

North Dakota

433.7 3.2 887 18 3.7 1

Ohio

5,162.3 1.1 830 25 1.7 32

Oklahoma

1,560.7 0.9 794 35 3.5 2

Oregon

1,708.0 2.5 848 23 1.3 46

Pennsylvania

5,665.9 0.3 918 16 2.8 5

Rhode Island

465.5 1.0 880 19 2.3 16

South Carolina

1,864.9 1.8 747 44 1.5 41

South Dakota

417.0 1.0 689 50 1.8 30

Tennessee

2,709.3 1.5 820 30 0.5 49

Texas

11,078.8 2.7 944 13 2.4 10

Utah

1,259.7 2.8 783 37 2.2 17

Vermont

303.1 0.3 808 31 2.7 6

Virginia

3,685.4 0.7 968 11 1.7 32

Washington

3,013.3 2.2 969 10 2.4 10

West Virginia

713.1 -0.1 781 39 0.6 48

Wisconsin

2,768.2 0.6 801 34 3.0 3

Wyoming

290.4 0.4 845 24 0.5 49

Puerto Rico

926.1 -1.1 503 (5) 1.0 (5)

Virgin Islands

38.9 -3.0 706 (5) -13.8 (5)

(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) Totals for the United States do not include data for Puerto Rico or the Virgin Islands.
(5) Data not included in the national ranking.
 

 Chart 1. Average weekly wages by county in Alaska, second quarter 2013

 

Last Modified Date: Tuesday, February 04, 2014